Leonardo has completed an in-flight technological demonstration in Italy for European Clean Sky 2, a European Union-supported research program to develop low-emissions aircraft.
The company provided its C-27J Spartan aircraft as a test bed to validate aviation solutions designed to enhance aircraft performance and reduce fuel consumption.
As the program’s innovation and sustainability coordinator, Leonardo sees significant technological results enabled by the efforts of its European aeronautical partners, said Aurelio Calcedonio Boscarino, head of strategy and innovation at Leonardo’s aircraft division.
According to the company, data from the demonstration could be used to train artificial intelligence algorithms for enhanced automation of flight controls and digital systems, noting that performance optimization is essential in reducing aircraft weight, fuel consumption and operational costs.
The European Clean Sky 2 program aims to make the new aircraft operational by 2035 and encourage operators worldwide to replace 75 percent of the existing civil aviation fleet by 2050 in support of the European Commission’s climate-neutral aviation goal.