Autonomous flight has the potential to deliver increased fuel savings, reduce the operating costs of airlines, and support pilots in their strategic decision-making and mission management. At Airbus, we are building certifiable, safe and secure autonomy systems and programmes to power the next generation of commercial aircraft applications.
Our autonomous flight projects
ATTOL
The Autonomous Taxi, Take-off and Landing (ATTOL) project leveraged computer-vision technologies and techniques to successfully complete fully autonomous tests (taxi, take off, approach and landing) using a commercial aircraft.
fello’fly
This flight demonstrator project aims to prove the technical, operational and economic viability of wake-energy retrieval for commercial aircraft. This collaborative activity could make a significant impact on an aircraft’s environmental performance, including potential fuel savings of 5-10% per trip.
CONNECT
This enhanced, multi-crew operation enables the crew to better organise their presence in the cockpit during cruise phase. Pilots can thus achieve a better balance between working and resting time, optimise fatigue management on long-range flights, and concentrate on the most strategic tasks to enhance safety.
Disruptive Cockpit (DISCO)
This enhanced cockpit is designed to enable single-pilot operations for new aircraft.
Wayfinder
This Acubed project builds scalable, certifiable autonomy systems that power self-piloted aircraft applications throughout Airbus, from small urban aerial vehicles to large commercial aircraft.
Vertex
Through this project, autonomous features are introduced to the helicopters Flightlab. These technologies aim to simplify mission preparation and management, reduce helicopter pilot workload, and further increase safety.
Latest news
Innovation
Airbus and its partners demonstrate how sharing the skies can save airlines fuel and reduce CO2 emissions
Airbus has performed the first long-haul demonstration of formation flight in general air traffic (GAT) regulated transatlantic airspace with two A350 aircraft flying at three kilometers apart from Toulouse, France to Montreal, Canada. The aircraft were greeted at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport. Over 6 tons of CO2 emissions were saved on the trip, confirming the potential for more than a 5% fuel saving on long-haul flights.
Innovation
How a fello'fly flight will actually work
The Airbus fello’fly demonstrator project is putting the principles of wake-energy retrieval to the test as a way to reduce CO2 emissions—by between 3 and 4 million tons per year—on widebody operations. But flying two large passenger aircraft close together poses new operational challenges for the aviation ecosystem at large, requiring new procedures to be identified. Airbus has therefore signed agreements with two airline customers and three air navigation service providers (ANSPs) to tackle these challenges head on.
Sustainability
Airbus joined by European partners to demonstrate reduced emission fello’fly operations
Airbus has signed agreements with two airline customers; Frenchbee and SAS Scandinavian Airlines, as well as three Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP); France’s DSNA (Direction des Services de la Navigation Aérienne), the UK’s NATS and EUROCONTROL to demonstrate the operational feasibility of Airbus’ demonstrator project, fello’fly, for reducing aviation emissions.
