Flight

• The French government in particular has made clear that it expects fast, concrete results: specifically, a hydrogen-powered aircraft that enters service by 2035.
• The UK transport sector, with the notable exception of aviation, is expected to reach absolute zero carbon emissions, not net zero by 2050 (or 2045 in Scotland).
• In 2019, OneWeb and Arianespace agreed that OneWeb satellites would fly on the inaugural launch of the next-generation Ariane 6 rocket, a mission now scheduled for late 2021.
• The global aviation industry has set ambitious targets to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from air transport, including carbon-neutral growth from 2020 and beyond, and a 50% reduction of net aviation carbon emissions by 2050.
• Solutions to mitigate all economy-wide emissions by mid-century, including hard to abate sectors such as agriculture and aviation, are not expected to be economic or technologically realized by 2050.
• Aerospace manufacturing giant Airbus has revealed three futuristic concept designs for zero-emission aircraft with hydrogen as the primary power source, claiming that they could operate commercial flights by 2035.
• Airbus has revealed three concepts for the world's first zero-emission commercial aircraft which could enter service by 2035.
• The French government in particular has made clear that it expects a hydrogen aircraft, for which it has provided research funding, to enter service by 2035.
• Airbus is narrowing in on three concept studies for liquid-hydrogen-powered aircraft as it tries to define a next-generation commercial aircraft to enter service in 2035.
• The US has deployed an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf and is sending armored vehicles to Syria in response to tensions between Russian and American forces and a growing fear of an ISIS resurgence.
• Global airline alliance Oneworld has become the latest leading brand to commit to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, as the aviation industry looks to accelerate efforts to tackle its outsized environmental footprint.
• SkyDrive may not be the first company to complete a test flight, but it is the first firm to combine a successful untethered test flight of its soon-to-be-marketed flying car while also receiving government backing and significant funding to achieve its end goal of commercialization by 2023.
• The UK government said the new stop and search powers would apply to people suspected of using drones maliciously nears airports.
• Security firms have found a way of using interceptor drones that can lock onto a target, release a net and disable it in mid-air.
• Drone activity becomes both terror-related and a deliberate act of disruption, using industrial specification drones.
• The total number of passenger flights in Europe will plummet by more than expected in 2020 as countries fail to coordinate policy on air travel during a pandemic.
• The global market for drones is forecast to grow from $3.7 billion in 2018 to $103.7 billion by 2023, with Chinese manufacturers capturing half that value.
• Airlines are adding back international routes to their networks as coronavirus travel restrictions slowly recede, but the number of frequencies is still far below last year's level and not expected to catch up until 2024 because most people are reluctant, or unable, to fly.
• With South Korea moving to build aircraft carriers equipped with F-35Bs by 2030, and Japan converting its Izumo-class vessels into F-35B carriers, the potential for a rapid expansion in China's naval airpower could drive further growth of carrier aviation in Asia.
• Capable of carrying up to five people, a pilot and four passengers, VA-1X is set to be the world's first certified winged all-electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, and is on course to start commercial flights in 2024.
• After a successful OFT-2, Boeing and NASA will fly Starliner's first crewed mission, the Crew Flight Test, in the summer of 2021, with the first post-certification mission, Starliner-1, tentatively scheduled for the following winter.
• If the test mission is successful, Boeing and NASA will fly Starliner's first crewed mission in summer 2021, with a post-certification mission roughly scheduled for the following winter.

Last updated: 05 October 2020