Aviation

The US Air Force's XQ-58A Valkyrie experimental combat drone has made its first flight under the control of artificial intelligence. On July 25, 2023, the robotic aircraft completed a three-hour sortie at the Eglin Test and Training Complex in Florida.

Covering short distances with zero emissions is the modus operandi for electric aviation startups like Eviation, whose Alice plane has caught the eye of Air New Zealand as the carrier works to reduce its carbon footprint.

Rolls-Royce and easyJet have edged the era of clean aviation a little closer to take-off, with the successful testing of a modern jet engine using hydrogen as fuel, and flight testing in the pipeline.

An aviation company at the cutting edge of electrified air travel has taken a significant step forward, completing a first-of-a-kind test flight using a retrofitted seaplane to demonstrate the viability of its cleaner approach to short-haul flights.

There's a billion-dollar elephant in the room; any startup that wants to bring an eVTOL air taxi into commercial service needs to structure its entire operation to meet the same aerospace standards Boeing does. Does anyone have the money?

Seattle-based company Jetoptera says its air-accelerating Fluidic Propulsive System, which works a lot like a Dyson "bladeless" fan, produces thrust for half the fuel of a small turbojet while being the "most silent propulsion system in the skies."

Shifting to alternative propulsion technologies could go a long way toward cleaning up the pollution created by the aviation sector, and a new design by MIT scientists could cut as much as 95 percent of a plane’s harmful nitrogen oxide emissions.

The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has released new regulations streamlining the path to supersonic flight testing over US soil, giving a new generation of super-fast aircraft a chance to prove their "boomless cruise" capabilities over land.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted society and ordinary citizens on a scale not seen since the Second World War. For the aerospace industry, the crisis goes far beyond ruined holiday plans.

By observing a barn owl in flight as it contended with strong winds, scientists have discovered how its wings can act as a suspension system to absorb the forces in mid-air, lessons they hope to apply to the development of small-scale aircraft.

British company Samad Aerospace has unveiled a very unique VTOL aircraft design. The long-range, high-speed Q-Starling uses modified helicopter turbine engines to power turbojet thrusters as well as to charge the battery on an electric VTOL system.

If delivery drones ever do enter common usage, they won't be able to fly wherever they want. They'll have to stick to flight corridors, such as one that's set to open west of London. It's believed to be the first one located in unrestricted airspace.