Future Aviation

We’re entering a new era of flight. Building agile and innovative solutions that boost the overall efficiency of airports. Using real-time data to reduce flight emissions as we move towards net zero by 2050. Supporting the safe integration of drones into the aviation ecosystem. And keeping all digital communications reliable, fast and secure. 

This is blue-sky thinking that’s leading to greener skies.

Drawing on decades of insight and proven success, we’re uniquely placed to help drive forward, connect and integrate every part of the future aviation ecosystem.

The airport of the future is equipped for efficiency. Its digital backbone enables seamless communication between passengers, staff and crew – as well as the technology across the airport ecosystem. Fast, secure 5G networks connect a multitude of touchpoints and sensors, generating reams of actionable data that can be used to inform fast and confident operational decisions. 

Whether it’s passenger touchpoints that talk to each other from check-in to boarding, specialist techniques such as drone connection and airspace management, or integrated radars and navaids that support take-off and landing, everything is connected, aligned and designed to minimise the impact of air travel. 

Our solutions focus on making this future airport a reality. Our Fly to Gate solution combines biometrics with document verification to create a secure digital ID to use at every touchpoint, and reduces passenger processing time by 30%. Our world-leading airspace management covers both unmanned and piloted traffic. Our Aveillant radar ensures safe, efficient flights by detecting drones and helping with wind farm mitigation. And our pioneering cyber innovations help keep users connected whilst safeguarding digital interactions.

Greener flight operations will play a significant role in reducing emissions as we move towards net zero. While retiring old fleets in one go would instantly reduce emissions by 20 – 25%, there are some more practical solutions too. Sophisticated flight management systems can adapt an aircraft’s trajectory in real time for optimised flight: shortening delays, lowering fuel consumption, and reducing contrails and their associated greenhouse effect. And better air traffic management can reduce stacking over airports. 

Airports themselves should concentrate on being ultra-efficient, switch ground support equipment from diesel to electric, and encourage passengers to get to the airport in an eco-friendly way. 

We’re committed to using our advances in flight and air traffic management and artificial intelligence (AI) to play our part in reducing global CO2 emissions. Our flight management system, PureFlyt, constantly monitors, adjusts and fine-tunes the trajectory of an aircraft to optimise fuel consumption. And we’re trialling an application that will help with the planning of flights to minimise contrails. 

Complete trust in digital flight avionics is vital to meeting the complex challenges of aviation’s accelerating technological revolution. Across civil and military air platforms, manned and unmanned, digital data drives everything – and the safety, effectiveness and efficiency of every flight depends on it. 

With interference-free connectivity and reliable, timely information, you can make fast decisions based on reliable insight, allow air crews to co-ordinate continuously with ground-based activities, and offer internet to passengers to enhance their in-flight experience.

Our global cybersecurity leadership and avionics capabilities deliver superior performance with minimal risk – gate to gate, nose to tail and air to ground. In fact, 40% of the world’s aerospace is managed by our systems. Our FlytLINK™ connectivity solutions keeps aircraft connected and safe in the air, anytime, anywhere. And regardless of supplier, our avionic systems are underpinned by world-leading cyber security. We’ll keep the people, objects and platforms that matter connected.

The commercial, societal and environmental potential of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) is expanding as new applications and benefits are recognised. From delivering groceries or medical supplies, protecting our borders to increasing connectivity across the globe, they can do a lot of good. But it’s essential that they are brought into the aerospace ecosystem responsibly so they can co-exist safely in our skies alongside piloted aircraft. This means infrastructures will need to be extended or updated to meet the demands of new classes of aircraft operating in new airspace structures and complying with evolving regulatory frameworks, certification standards and security safeguards. Some significant challenges will need to be overcome along the way – from increasing levels of autonomy and AI to huge increases in predicted traffic volumes and occupancy of lower level airspace.

After thousands of hours of modelling, simulation, flight testing and evaluation, we have the insight needed to inform the design of a truly sustainable drone landscape. Our world-class test environment, NBEC, was officially opened in 2021 and is the UK’s first national test facility for UAS operating beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). The new Thales TopSky UAS is a cloud-based collaborative solution used by drone operators, air navigation services and administrative services to simplify the flight request process and grant drones access to airspace more quickly. The system is being deployed at Cranfield Airport to coordinate drone operations alongside crewed aircraft movements.