Air TaxiFCC Study Supports Using 5 GHz Band for Drone Operations A report submitted to Congress by the Federal Communications Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau on spectrum allocation for unmanned aircraft recommended proceeding with rulemaking to enable the use of the 5030-5091 MHz band…
Editor's NotePentagon Building Foundation for Al-Enabled Unmanned Systems in Future Conflicts The U.S. military may in the next decade develop a concept of operations to employ artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML)-enabled drones as a first wave in future conflicts, in order to avoid casualties…
Editor's NoteIs There Room for Multicopters in Electric VTOL? Designs for eVTOL aircraft may be converging in the direction of efficient, wing-borne lift + cruise and vectored thrust concepts. Is there room for inefficient multicopter concepts in transport applications? The Vertical…
Air TaxiVertical Aerospace Reveals ‘VA-1X’ Air Taxi, Targets 2024 for Commercial Operations Vertical Aerospace, Britain’s leading entrant in the race to commercialize electric vertical flight, unveiled the VA-1X, a vectored-thrust air taxi that represents a significant departure from the company’s previous multicopter design. Specs…
Air TaxiU.S. Air Force Leaders Witness Manned eVTOL Demonstration by LIFT Aircraft’s HEXA Leadership from the U.S. Air Force observed a manned demonstration of an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft last week near Austin, Texas, as first reported by eVTOL.news. Secretary of the…
Air TaxiEHang Joins ICAO’s Ambular Project As First Hardware Partner Chinese autonomous aerial vehicle-maker EHang has joined Ambular, a volunteer project run by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to explore applications of electric vertical flight for emergency medical response operations. Launched…
MilitaryIn Effort to Bolster U.S. Small Drone Industry, Pentagon Clears Five Models for Government Use With Congress poised to ban all U.S. government purchasing of Chinese drones and components, the Department of Defense is leveraging its small UAS prototyping efforts with industry to offer domestically manufactured options…
Air TaxiLong Road Ahead for FAA, Airports on Drone Security and Integration Continuing on its path toward greater integration of drones into the national airspace, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will soon proceed with testing and evaluation of drone security systems for safe use…