Category Archives: Aircraft Propulsion & Energy

H2Fly Prepares for Pioneering Liquid Hydrogen Flight Tests

H2Fly has successfully tested the ground-based cryogenic fuel filling procedure that’ll power groundbreaking liquid hydrogen aircraft flights in the coming months. Liquid H2 will be an absolute game-changer, allowing clean long-distance air travel. Continue reading →

Solar-Powered Stratospheric Aircraft Launched from Audi EV

New Zealand startup Kea Aerospace used an electric Audi launch vehicle for the “Kea Atmos Mk1” aircraft. After reaching takeoff speed, the solar-powered aircraft is released for flight testing. Continue reading →

Laser Wireless Power Transmission with Improved Non-Imaging Optics

In an article recently published in the journal Solar Energy, researchers discussed the enhancements of photovoltaic (PV) receivers in laser wireless power transmission (LWPT) by using non-imaging optics. Continue reading →

Orbital Corp Gets $1.4M Contract Continuation for UAV Engine

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) engine developer Orbital Corporation has received a A$2.08 million continuation contract with its major Singapore customer for the Design and Development and Verification and Validation phase of the principal engine development contract signed in July 2022. Continue reading →

US Army Trials BAE Systems Counter-Drone Laser Guidance Kits

The Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO) has successfully tested BAE Systems’ APKWS laser-guidance kits in a counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) mission. The testing against Class-2 UAS paves the way for fielding of the precision-guided rockets to partner nations around the globe.

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Hybrid-Electric Propulsion – The Reason Why

In early March, Dufour Aerospace put the hybrid unit, consisting of a two-cylinder engine from Suter Industries, a generator from Plettenberg and our own digital control hardware, into operation for the first time on its own test bench. Some further optimisation and testing work still remains to be done before the drive can then be installed on the Aero2 X2.3 prototype. Continue reading →

Pentagon Chooses Australia’s Hypersonix to Build Hypersonic Test Aircraft

Australia’s aerospace company Hypersonix Launch Systems has been selected to provide hypersonic vehicles to the United States’ Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) for testing. Continue reading →

Wingcopter and ZAL to Develop Hydrogen Power for Delivery Drones

Wingcopter, the German developer and operator of delivery drones, and Hamburg-based ZAL Center of Applied Aeronautical Research GmbH have announced a development partnership. Together, they intend to explore the potential of green hydrogen to power Wingcopter’s drones, which are already purely electric, and develop a sustainable, hydrogen-based propulsion system. Continue reading →