Also: Eve Urban Air Mobility, Electra Hybrid-Electric, Aerovironment Relocates, ASTM International

Avolon and Vertical Aerospace have agreed on a ground-breaking US$2 billion order for up to 500 electric eVTOL aircraft.

Building out of the technologies here-to-fore pioneered by the autonomous air vehicle industries, Avolon and Vertical Aerospace have agreed on a ground-breaking agreement. This agreement, which is subject to certain conditions, will introduce the ultra-short-haul aircraft category to commercial aviation. The agreement will see both companies collaborate throughout the development, road map to certification and subsequent commercial roll-out of the VA-X4. Zenith AeroTech has, over the span of a week, flown its Quad 8 multi-rotor platform for a total of 161 hours and 49 minutes—108 hours of which were continuous, uninterrupted flight. The test, which took place over a seven-day period at the company’s facility in Afton, was initiated at the request of a government customer prior to delivery. The Quad 8 TAV, which carried an electro-optical/infrared camera and an Echodyne EchoFlight radar, flew for most of that time, only coming down twice, during lightning storms, which had to be waited out. Lt. Col. Gary “Mouth” Shill recently took command of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (UX) 24 from Cmdr. Daniel “Hugs” Martin during a ceremony at Naval Air Station Patuxent River's Webster Outlying Field. UX-24 is the service's only dedicated UAS test squadron. The squadron provides research, development and test services for Groups 1-4 UAS, including operational platforms like the RQ-20B Puma, RQ-21 Blackjack, and MQ-8 Fire Scout. All this -- and MORE in today's episode of Airborne-Unmanned!!!

Airborne-Unmanned 06.16.21 is chock full of info in this Weekly News Episode, Wednesday, June 16th, 2021... Presented by Aero-TV veteran videographer and Airborne Hosts Kimberly Kay, Sophie Hurlock, Brianne Cross, Christopher Odom, and Laura Hutson, and is supported by ANN CEO/Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell, and Chief Videographer Nathan Cremisino, this episode covers:

• Avolon and Vertical Aerospace Confirm Massive eVTOL Aircraft Order
• Tethered Aerial Vehicle Flies 108 Hours Continuously 
• Navy’s First Unmanned Test Squadron Changes Command
• Eve Urban Air Mobility Partners With Ascent
• Electra Unveils Hybrid-Electric Aircraft 
• Aerovironment Relocates Corporate Headquarters To Arlington, Virginia
• ASTM International to Resume In-Person Committee Meetings in October

Get Comprehensive, Real-Time, 24/7 coverage of the latest aviation and aerospace stories anytime, at aero-news.net. And be sure to join us again next week for the next edition of "Airborne-Unmanned" here on Aero-TV. Thanks for watching. See you, again, next week!

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