Over 75,000 visitors were expected over the course of the five-day event in the small British town southeast of London. With Royal Air Force flyovers, and more than 1,200 exhibitors, it’s sure to be a busy week.

Over the next five days, all the events taking place will be covered in daily roundup articles, so be sure to check back each evening. In this article, we take a look at all the events occurring on the first day of the show, as well as a small press conference with executives at Boeing. 

• READ MORE: Boom Unveils Supersonic Overture Flight Deck

Boeing’s Pre-Airshow Press Conference 

At a press conference in London on the day before the show began, Boeing Commercial Aircraft CEO Stephanie Pope shared key details on the company. In response to questions regarding the impact on Boeing’s production, Pope claimed that Boeing had managed to increase production on its 737s and 787s. 

Pope, who recently took the helm of Boeing commercial aircraft due to the resignation of its former leader, claimed that she had key priorities to address when taking leadership. These included culture at the company, production, and quality. 

Korean Air Renews Long-Haul Fleet 

Korean Air announced at a press conference that they were ordering additional long-haul aircraft to its fleet.

The order consisted of 20 Boeing 777-9s, and 20 Boeing 787-10s, with a further 10 Boeing 787s being optional. Korean Air CEO Walter Cho claimed that these additional aircraft tied in nicely with the Airbus A350-1000s ordered earlier this year.

When questioned on when the aircraft would be delivered, Cho said Korean Air was looking at 2028 as the first delivery slot.

Japan Airlines Orders More Boeing 787s

Japan Airlines has announced that it will procure an additional 10 Boeing 787-9s, with the first set to arrive in 2028 going through to 2031.

This is a finalization of the order announced in March of this year. Once the order is finalized, it will bring JAL’s order total to 10 Boeing 787s and 21 Boeing 737 Max.

Drukair Plans to Add 5 Airbus Jets

In one of the first A321XLR orders of the airshow, Bhutan flag carrier Drukair announced a revolutionary short-haul order for the airline. The full breakdown consists of three Airbus A320neos and two Airbus A321XLRs. 

The airline’s current Airbus fleet consists of four Airbus A320 family aircraft: three Airbus A319s and an A320ceo. The new aircraft will be revolutionary for the small Bhutani carrier, allowing it to reach destinations farther away, such as the Middle East or northeastern Asia.

• READ MORE: Embraer Inks A-29 Super Tucano Deal

“[We’re] thrilled to embark on this new chapter in Drukair’s history, which dovetails perfectly with the development of the Gelephu Mindfulness City and work to expand the Gelephu Airport [VQGP],” Drukair CEO Tandi Wangchuk said. “Our investment in these state-of-the-art aircraft underscores our dedication to supporting Bhutan’s vision of holistic and mindful development.”

Qatar Airways Touts Upgraded Qsuite Product

Qatar Airways revealed its “QSuite next-gen” product, an upgrade to its current business-class product featured on its Boeing 777s and Airbus A350s. The new features include moveable 4K OLED Panasonic Astrova IFE screens, the first to be featured on board an airline’s cabin.

The seats in the cabin are also wider now, and the ability to socialize in so-called “Quad suites” (four seats grouped together) still remains at the heart of its product. The new seats will be featured on Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777-9s, which are on order and set to first arrive in 2025. 

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AirlineGeeks.com.

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It’s a scenario that seems more appropriate for a science fiction movie, or perhaps even a Hitchcock-esque nightmare. Earlier this week, however, the concept moved closer to reality at an Army training facility in California as the muted, concerted buzz of dozens of quadcopters, networked on a singular flight path, filled the morning sky. 

The spectacle, shared in a video by an Army training commander, is nothing short of chilling.

“At sunrise this morning a swarm of 40 quadcopters all equipped with cameras, [multiple integrated laser engagement system] MILES, and lethal munition capable launched in advance of 11th [Armored Cavalry Regiment] ACR’s attack on a prepared defense by [1st Armored Division] 1AD,” U.S. Army’s National Training Center commander Brig. Gen. Curtis Taylor said Sunday in a video on social media.  

“Drones will be as important in the first battle of the next war as artillery is today,” he added.

The prediction is one backed up by economists, according to a new study that says the military drone market is expected to swell by an average of about $1 billion annually over the next five years.

At sunrise this morning a swarm of 40 quadcopters all equipped with cameras, MILES, and lethal munition capable launched in advance of 11th ACR’s attack on a prepared defense by 1AD. Drones will be as important in the first battle of the next war as artillery is today. pic.twitter.com/zPQ2I8SoqN

— NTC Lead 6 (@NTCLead6) September 11, 2022

The need to integrate combat drones into future war scenarios has been obvious since at least 2018, when The Islamic State used swarms of off-the-shelf drones modified to release munitions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, Vice reported. 

Army: Largest Drone Swarm Test Ever

Earlier this year, the Army conducted what it called its largest drone swarm test ever when it launched nearly three dozen networked combat drones above the Great Salt Lake Desert.

• READ MORE: Army Drone Test Evolves From ‘Bee Swarms’ to ‘Wolf Packs’

At a time when combat drones have been pivotal in modern conflicts, such as the ongoing war in Ukraine, officials at the Army’s National Training Center are working to integrate small drones into immersive combat scenarios designed to prepare soldiers for deployments, Task and Purpose reported.

“The mantra of NTC is to prepare formations to win the first battle of the next war, and what we’re looking at is: Are we properly portraying what the next war will look like?” Taylor said, according to the report. “We believe that lethal drones will be a huge part of the next battle, and will represent an asymmetric advantage for mid-tier adversaries.”

• READ MORE: U.S. Army To Test Networked Drone Swarms

The skills needed to operate military drones, along with availability of drone pilots, is considered a restraint on the future military drone market, according to a recent study. 

“The number of pilots available for high precision operations is comparatively low,” Markets and Markets said. “An increase in drone adoption in the military drone verticals adds to the growing need for skilled drone pilots. Presently, to reduce the number of accidents caused due to the poor control skills of drone operators, efforts are underway to improve the autonomy of these systems.”

Peaceful Applications

Not all drone swarms are meant to be menacing, however. 

Korean Air, for example, has turned to using drone swarms to inspect aircraft exteriors. High-performance cameras on drones can spot defects not easily seen with the naked eye, the airline said. 

Perhaps the biggest reward of drone swarm inspections, however, is time. The technology can slash visual inspection times from about 10 hours to four hours, the airline said during a demonstration late last year.

The post Watch: U.S. Army Trains for Combat Drone Swarms appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

One of the latest applications for drones is inspecting aircraft for damage and wear during maintenance inspections. Korean Air is taking the concept to the next level by using multiple robot aircraft to make the work faster and easier.

The airline says it has developed technology that for the first time allows a swarm of drones to inspect an aircraft exterior. Last week it demonstrated the concept on one of its aircraft inside a hangar in Seoul. 

Four unmanned aerial vehicles have been programmed to simultaneously take photos of preplanned areas of an airplane. If one of the drones fails to operate, the system is configured to automatically complete the mission using the remaining UAVs.

Why This Matters

Drone inspections are attracting interest from airlines, maintenance and repair organizations, and leasing companies. Global aviation regulations require airlines to periodically conduct visual checks of the fuselage. Manually checking the upper section of a transport category airplane is challenging and requires lift equipment. Drones can conduct the inspections with a greater degree of safety—as well as with increased accuracy and speed—while eliminating subjectivity, developers say.

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Drone inspections can reduce the amount of time an aircraft is out of service, helping airlines maintain schedules and ensure revenues. Using remotely piloted aircraft after a lightning strike, for example, could allow an airline to quickly determine if there is any damage without having to pull an airplane into a hangar, according to maintenance experts.

Korean Air said a drone swarm can visually inspect an aircraft in about four hours compared to 10 hours for human inspections. The drones, equipped with high-performance cameras, can identify objects up to 1 millimeter in size, allowing for detection of tiny defects that can’t be seen from above with the naked eye.

The inspection data is shared through the cloud, enabling employees to easily check inspection results anywhere and anytime. The airline has also applied a collision-avoidance system and geo-fencing to maintain safety distances from surrounding facilities and prevent drones from breaking away from the mission area.

Korean Air said it will work to perfect safety and worker interfaces, stabilize operations, and increase inspection accuracy through continuous trials before officially deploying inspection drones next year.

Another Player in the Game

Another company focused on drone inspection of aircraft is Mainblades. In August, the drone developer conducted a fully automated outdoor airport inspection of an Airbus A330 at an active airport in the EU. It was the first time such an inspection has been conducted on the continent, according to the company.

The inspection took place at an air base in Woensdrecht, the Netherlands.

Mainblades currently operates inside hangars owing to airport limitations regarding the use of drones, but said it continues to validate the case for outdoor airport inspections.

“If an aircraft lands, and it is damaged on the way, for example by lightning or birds, it must now first go to a closed location such as a hangar. That way you lose a lot of time. Besides this, hangar space is expensive to rent and not always available,” which makes open-air inspections an attractive alternative, Dejan Borota, co-founder and director of Mainblades, said in a blog post on the company’s website.

The outdoor test enabled the company to identify obstacles and necessary procedures so it can build an operation that is scalable worldwide, he said.

Automated inspections could be useful during lease transitions, said Jack Bos, technical director at TrueNoord, an aircraft leasing company, in a video of the outdoor inspection event. Inspectors typically check aircraft to make sure all damage repairs are correctly recorded, but that can be difficult to do on top of the fuselage, empennage, or wings, he explained.

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