Electric Aircraft Outshine Boeing, Airbus Deals as Farnborough Air Show Kicks Off

The Farnborough International Airshow is held biennially in even years, leaving the odd years to the Paris Air Show because nothing rivals a week in the City of Light like spending one in a Hampshire town full of chain pubs.

To kick off the week, it’s typical for the world’s two largest commercial aircraft manufacturers, America’s Boeing and Europe’s Airbus, to make a show of dealmaking force. On Monday, they did not disappoint, but it was a pair of smaller firms with an electric twist that generated the most buzz.

Charging Up eVTOLs

The aviation duopoly’s annual flex went off as expected. Boeing secured an order of 100 737 Max planes from Ireland-based aircraft leasing company SMBC Aviation Capital, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo. The Virginia-headquartered aviation giant also notched commitments from Riyadh Air to buy 28 Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets and from Philippine Airlines to buy up to 20. Not to be outdone, Airbus won an order for 100 of its A320neo family aircraft, and Riyadh Air tacked on six additional Airbus A350-1000 aircraft to an order for 25 placed last year.

Airbus led in deliveries last month, while Boeing led in new orders, but the two have years of backlog to fulfill, making them strategic long-term holds in many portfolios. Airbus estimates annual global passenger traffic will more than double over the next 20 years to 10 billion, with the annual growth rate of 3.9% creating demand for over 42,000 aircraft in that time. And, while Farnborough’s first day backed up that projection, it also offered a glimpse into aviation’s future:

• GE Aerospace, NASA and eVTOL-maker Beta Technologies said they successfully carried out the world’s first high-altitude flight using hybrid-electric propulsion. After they outfitted a Saab 340B commuter plane with a hybrid electric system, their pilots reached above 30,000 feet and flew for over two hours.
• Electric air taxi firm Archer unveiled a hybrid-electric eVTOL jointly developed with buzzy defense startup Anduril for commercial and military use. With significant speed, range and endurance, the so-called Thunder can be a cargo vehicle or an “autonomous attack rotorcraft.”

Defensive Posture: Defense was front of mind, and in more immediate ways than robotaxis-turned-military-attack-rotorcraft. Lockheed Martin announced a lower-cost Patriot interceptor missile Monday, slated for production with fewer components in 2028, that could more than halve the $4 million price tag of the original model. Meanwhile, European missile company MBDA announced a rival low-cost interceptor system specifically designed to counter high-volume attacks by cheap munitions like drones, a tactic that’s been used to deplete enemy stockpiles.