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BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: 35 martyrs, 75 injured in occupation targeting of civilians seeking food aid in Rafah, Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
Da Silva: What is happening in Gaza is not a war, it is a genocide
Da Silva: Even the Jewish people do not want this war; it is revenge by a government against the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state
Brazilian President Lula da Silva: What we are seeing is not a war between two armies. [What we have is a] completely professional army that is killing women and children in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas: We affirm our readiness to immediately begin a round of indirect negotiations to reach an agreement on the points of contention
Hamas: We welcome the continued Qatari and Egyptian efforts to end the war waged by the Zionist occupation against our people
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli occupation forces blew up Noura Al-Kaabi Hospital, designated for kidney dialysis patients, in the northern Gaza Strip
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli drone targets a car on the Ayta al-Shaab-Debel road in southern Lebanon
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: The remaining airlines that have not yet complied with the ban are urged to take this into serious consideration to ensure the safety of their aircraft and passengers
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: The YAF, after successfully imposing a partial ban on air traffic at Lydd Airport, are now working to impose a full ban on air traffic at the aforementioned airport in the coming period

Honda Spends $45 Billion on Flying Cars

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: The Verge
  • 30 Sep 2021 17:01
2 Min Read

The automobile manufacturer is heavily leaning into the future of tech.

  • x
  • For Honda, the future starts now
    For Honda, the future starts now

Honda has vowed to spend $45 billion on research and development over the next six years. What for you may ask?

A small dream of the future,  known as electrical vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL), i.e. flying cars.

Additionally, the automaking giant will also be distributing parts of this large budget towards developing rockets and robots.

However, Honda did not specify if it plans on pursuing those projects as commercial businesses, given that it sees these three departments as an extension of its essential business of manufacturing automobiles. Most importantly, the company wants to see if it could produce working prototypes before jumping to the next phase.

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Marcos Frommer, head of corporate communications for Honda, explained that the company is “pursuing these new areas as an expansion of our core business as a mobility company.”

Interestingly, Honda said it is viewing the eVTOL aircraft could become part of urban taxi service by building a hybrid solution that would accommodate the wide range required by the customers: Instead of building pure battery-electric aircraft - which would have a maximum range of tens of kilometers -, they intend to use gas turbines to supplement their electric motor. This would allow the vehicle to achieve a range of 400 km, thus enabling more commercially viable trips.

Whether or not Honda will pursue a commercial air taxi service before 2025 remains to be seen, as it aims of obtaining regulatory certification in order to launch a new service by 2030.

Given Honda’s pioneering track record in the field of robotics, having created Asimo, one of the first robots to walk on two legs. 

With the recent shift in the auto industry and the phasing out of gas-powered vehicles in favor of electric ones, internal combustion engine vehicles will not be around for much longer. In fact, Honda has vowed to stop selling similar vehicles by 2040.

Honda’s ambitious project is costly and largely risky, yet it could be the next step to redefine the future.

  • automobiles
  • Honda
  • technology
  • eVTOL

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