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Autonomous flying cars and air-taxis have been the subject of science fiction movies for decades, but Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer has now announced plans to develop a practical – if futuristic – small commercial air vehicle.

Aircraft orders exceed $95 billion in value and are complemented by roughly $3 billion in aircraft engine and engine service agreement contracts announced in the first two days of the 2018 Farnborough International Airshow. “The future starts at Farnborough; our exhibition halls are full of innovation that will shape how we fly, enabling us to go further, faster, and with less environmental impact,” says Farnborough International Commercial Director Amanda Stainer.  

Boeing and U.S Air Force teams recently achieved a major KC-46 Pegasus tanker program milestone, completing all flight testing required for first delivery. This past week, the KC-46 team concluded both its Military Type Certification (MTC) testing and receiver certification testing with KC-135, F-16, and C-17 aircraft.

U.K. Space Agency officials in Swindon, England, are partnering with Lockheed Martin in Bethesda, Md., to execute several strategic projects to support the U.K. Spaceflight Program, with a goal of building its first commercial spaceport in Scotland and achieving its first vertical space launch in the early 2020s.

As part of its ongoing Wi-Fi 6 program, the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) – an industry association focused on next generation Wi-Fi services and interoperability – is starting the world’s first Wi-Fi 6 Industrial Enterprise and Internet of Things (IoT) trial at Mettis Aerospace Limited’s (Mettis Aerospace’s) 27-acre West Midlands facility.

Kepler Communications, Inc.’s (Kepler’s) TARS six-unit cubesat – the company’s third satellite scheduled for launch later this year – will feature an innovative smart radiator device (SRD) designed to significantly optimize heat dissipation on communication satellites where environmental conditions have a big impact on transmission signals.

To maximize H130 safety, Dart Aerospace Limited (Dart) has acquired supplemental type certificate (STC) approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for a newly developed emergency float system (EFS) for unexpected water landings.

Continental Aerospace Technologies is partnering with Diamond Aircraft Industries GmbH of Austria to provide a new powerplant for the DA50 general aviation aircraft. Continental also recently expanded its portfolio with a “cash and in-kind contribution” investment in Ampaire Inc., an electric aircraft and propulsion company.

“We originally thought solar cells would be standard on the airplane’s wings,” says George E. Bye, founder and CEO of Bye Aerospace Bye. “However, with eFlyer’s primary markets being flight training and air taxi services, it makes more sense to make the price of the airplane as reasonable as possible.”

The first Airbus BelugaXL has rolled out of the paint shop, sporting a special, beluga whale-inspired livery selected by Airbus employees.

Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) have launched RemoveDEBRIS, the first satellite with space debris-removal capabilities and the largest satellite ever deployed from the ISS. RemoveDEBRIS, a low Earth orbit test bed for determining the efficacy of active debris removal (ADR) systems, is a multinational effort involving space agencies, aerospace experts, and technologies from throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and the U.S.

NASA invited MIS to submit a proposal for a technology flight demonstration mission of its Archinaut technology – an in-space robotic manufacturing and assembly platform designed by Made In Space (MIS). It's purpose is to construct space-optimized systems of sizes not previously feasible.

Early today at AeroTech Americas – SAE International’s North America-based international aerospace congress – GoFly announced the five Phase II winners of the GoFly Prize for personal mobility vehicles. Each of the innovative winning teams, from the United States, Latvia, Russia, and the Netherlands, were awarded $50,000 in prizes.

The potential of daily on-demand aviation in and around cities is a major goal of many aerospace start-ups, including those that participated in the panel at SAE International’s AeroTech Americas 2019 event in Charleston, South Carolina. Companies like Zeva Aero, Detroit Flying Cars, and Varon Vehicles, are continuing to develop various vehicle types, whether they generate lift during forward flight or use a multi-rotor vertical flight approach, to make widespread personal urban air mobility (UAM) a reality in the coming years.

The imagining system, or Pilotage Distributed Aperture Sensor (PDAS) system, is designed to enhance situational awareness and threat detection for pilots and auxiliary personnel in visually degraded environments.

OneWeb has secured $1.25 billion in its latest funding round. The company, which seeks to deploy a satellite communication network by 2021 that will enable global high-speed, low-latency Internet access, has now raised a total of $3.4 billion to fund its mission. Tokyo-based Softbank Group Corp., Mexico’s Grupos Salinas, San Deigo-based Qualcomm Technologies Inc., and the Government of Rwanda led the last round of funding.

While the pandemic continues, aerospace companies are rising to embrace new and emerging challenges at a time when there’s so much innovation. This innovation can be seen in the emergence of urban air mobility (UAM), the rebirth of supersonic flight, the drive towards a “zero emission” aircraft, and the continued use of autonomous drones for delivery, freight, search & rescue, and defense. There are exciting new developments in space as companies are developing products for commercial exploration and space tourism, and new ways to launch satellites. A new generation of engineering is also emerging in the defense sector and its development of not only aircraft, but also ships, tankers, and even flight trainers.

A General Atomics Aeronautical System, Inc. (GA-ASI) MQ-9B SkyGuardian remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) was controlled – from takeoff to landing – by an operator using a GA-ASI certifiable ground control station (CGCS), marking the first time a CGCS was used to control an end-to-end flight and the first step in type-certifying the unit.

Under the OFFSET program, BBN Technologies (a subsidiary of Raytheon) is developing direct and control solutions for swarms of small, autonomous air, and ground vehicles.

This week, Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp. (UTC), announced the establishment of GatorWorks, a newly formed prototyping arm that will focus on the rapid and agile development of dependable, lower cost military engines.