Testing
The most important milestone in the Air Barrow Fuel Cell development project has now been reached. On June 6th, 2023, the drone successfully took off for the first time with hydrogen propulsion. This makes the Air Barrow Fuel Cell the first UAV in Europe with a fuel cell drive. And
Propulsion
A European aerospace company revealed a prototype for what could be the first hydrogen-fueled supersonic plane in aviation history at the Paris Air Show. Switzerland-based Destinus unveiled the Destinus-3 at its static display at the Paris-Le Bourget Airport alongside its first two prototypes Jungfrau/Destinus-1 and Eiger/Destinus-2, both of
Business
Czech aerospace company PBS has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ukraine’s Ivchenko-Progress to develop a new engine for unmanned vehicle applications. The AI-PBS-350 engine is designed for use in cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, and other unmanned systems. It produces 764lb (3.4kN) of thrust and weighs just
Propulsion
Technology company Whisper Aero has unveiled its Whisper Jet concept as part of a larger reveal of the applications of their ultra-quiet ducted fan technology that is currently under development. Whisper Aero’s tech employs a ducted fan with a large number of propellers turning at much slower speeds than
Propulsion
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) conducted the first flight of its new 200-horsepower heavy fuel engine on a Gray Eagle aircraft at its El Mirage flight facility on May 9, 2023. The Heavy Fuel Engine (HFE) 2.0 is being considered by the U.S. Army to become the
Propulsion
Hypersonix has been awarded a US patent for technology used in its SPARTAN scramjet design. US Patent Number US11639700B2 protects for close to 20 years some key features of an “Airframe integrated scramjet with fixed geometry and shape transition for hypersonic operation over a large Mach number range”. The air
Propulsion
Orbital Corporation Ltd advised that it has delivered the first new engine prototypes for the second engine program with Textron Systems, one of the world’s largest suppliers of tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (‘TUAVs’). Orbital UAV was contracted by Textron Systems for the development of upgrades to existing engines for
Propulsion
Hermeus has accepted its first F100 engine from Pratt & Whitney. Set to be integrated into the enhanced Chimera II turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) propulsion system, this powerful engine component marks a critical milestone in Hermeus' development of Darkhorse which is set to unlock new possibilities in both military
Transport
Natilus, an innovator in designing and developing new autonomous blended-wing body (BWB) cargo aircraft, and ZeroAvia, the leader in zero-emission commercial aviation, have announced a strategic partnership to jointly develop hydrogen-electric engines for the Natilus Kona cargo UAV. ZeroAvia’s ZA600 will be the sole hydrogen-electric propulsion source offered for
Propulsion
Northwest UAV has announced that its newest heavy-fuel UAV engine (NW-230) has received EAR 99 export approval, expanding market reach on a global scale. Export Administration Regulations, commonly known as (EAR), administered by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, control most US exports of products considered strategically
Propulsion
Korea's Hydrogen Industries Inc. and just announced its entry into the UAV market with the HyliumX liquid hydrogen fuel cell drone which reportedly can fly for over 5-hours straight without needing to be powered up. For comparison, the DJI Mini 2 SE is good for up to 30-minutes
Propulsion
Whilst the commercial drone industry continues to expand, key issues surrounding the safety, integration and noise pollution of unmanned aircraft are failing to be addressed. Founded in 2022, British company Greenjets Limited is capitalising on these industry shortcomings with their family of breakthrough electric jet engines. On May 10th, Greenjets