Wingcopter has introduced the Wingcopter 262, an all-electric reconnaissance aircraft designed for missions lasting up to six hours as the German company expands its defense business. Aerotime reports the drone is designed to “launch vertically without a runway or catapult” and has a maximum takeoff weight of 10 kg (22 pounds) and a 2.62-meter wingspan.
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Tag: UAM
Honda Positions Hybrid eVTOL as New Path for Urban Air Mobility
AirInsight reports, “After four years in ‘stealth mode,’ Honda revealed at the Dubai Airshow 2025 that its hybrid eVTOL program is far more advanced than anyone outside the company knew, with over 400 flight tests already completed.”
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Video
Honda’s first full-scale hybrid eVTOL prototype
AIN; YouTube; Framegrab
Vertical Aerospace Introduces Valo, Its Latest eVTOL Design
Aerotime reports, “Electric vehicle takeoff and landing (eVTOL) developer Vertical Aerospace has unveiled Valo, the latest evolution of its urban air mobility aircraft following the VX4 prototype. On December 12, 2025, the first photos of Valo were released showing a much sleeker and sharper unit from the VX4, Vertical’s workhorse eVTOL prototype.”
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U.S. Airlines Eyeing Air Taxis for Airport Shuttle Service
Aviation Week reports, “Millions of dollars have flown into the nascent electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) sector over the past several years, as investors bet that quiet, emissions-free air taxis will unlock a new wave of demand for urban air mobility (UAM). While those services are not expected to reach scale until the next decade, air taxi startups are looking toward the airport shuttle mission as an initial launch application in the coming years, promising to shave long trips on congested urban road networks down to 10-20 mins. or less.”
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Joby, SK Telecom to Offer Air Taxi Services in South Korea
Aviation Week reports that South Korea’s “ambition to launch urban air mobility (UAM) services in 2025 has been boosted by the signing of a strategic collaboration agreement between air taxi developer Joby Aviation and Korean telecommunications giant SK Telecom (SKT).”
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Airbus Helicopters Flightlab to Test UAM Technologies
Aviation International News reported that Airbus Helicopters “started in-flight tests onboard the European aerospace group’s rotary-wing Flightlab facility.” The Flightlab facility is “exclusively dedicated to maturing new technologies for the company’s current helicopters and future fixed-wing and eVTOL aircraft designs,” and “will be used to test hybrid and electric propulsion, autonomy, noise reduction, and improved maintenance and safety technologies.” Noise reduction flight tests began in April 2020 and “focused on buildings’ impact on people’s sound perception with a view toward applying the data to sound modeling and regulation of urban air mobility (UAM) aircraft.” In December, flights “concentrated on evaluating the rotor strike alerting system.” Other tests that will be conducted this year include a dedicated health and usage monitoring system (HUMS) for light helicopters, a camera image-detection solution to enable low-altitude navigation, and an engine back-up system that provides emergency electric power in the event of turbine failure.
Full Story (Aviation International News)