Airbus

With the move towards electric aviation comes new opportunities to explore what a powertrain looks like, and Airbus is experimenting with a new design that builds entire hydrogen propulsion units, tanks and all, into detachable pods along the wings.

ESA has awarded Airbus a €491 million contract to design and build the Earth Return Orbiter, which will return the first samples collected from the Red Planet by NASA's Perseverance rover to Earth.

Looking forward to a zero-emission future for the commercial aircraft industry, Airbus has revealed three hydrogen-fueled concepts, including a striking blended wing design, with the aim of putting the first flyer into service by 2035.

Autopilot has been around longer than you think – the first daredevil public demos happened back in 1914. But today's airliners still need pilots, and Airbus has only recently completed testing on the first autonomous taxi, takeoff and landing system.

Airbus Helicopters' VSR700 unmanned aerial system (UAS) prototype has flown autonomously for the first time. At a drone test center near Aix-en-Provence in the south of France, the pilotless rotorcraft performed a 10-minute free flight.

Airbus Helicopters' multi-role H160 helicopter has received type certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and it is now expected to gain US FAA certification before commercial deliveries begin later this year.

Helicopters regularly have to get their rotor blades inspected, so they can be replaced if they're wearing out. Using the BladeSense system, however, the aircraft would be able to monitor the condition of their blades in real time, while in flight.

Airbus has announced the successful completion of the world's first fully automatic boom system air-to-air refueling (A3R) operation, in which an Airbus tanker test aircraft completed 120 dry fueling contacts with an F-16 fighter jet.

While it's important to keep aircraft wings ice-free, the application of chemical deicers before takeoff can be problematic. German scientists are working on something that could help, in the form of a laser-based treatment for flight surfaces.

If flying cars and other similar vehicles become commonplace, our cities will surely need to adapt – but will New York City resemble The Jetsons, or look much like it does now? A study led by MVRDV and Airbus has some interesting ideas.

At this year's Singapore Air Show, Airbus has taken the wraps off its latest Blended Wing Body (BWB) scale model demonstrator aircraft, whose purpose is to study propulsion and other systems for an airframe where the fuselage and wing merge into one.

A giant cargo plane designed to cart around large aircraft components for Airbus has entered service, with three-story tall BelugaXL making its first ever operational flight following an extensive testing regime.