UAVs Coming Of Age. They Take Over The Farnborough Airshow

Farnborough Airshow, held just outside London, is one of the aviation industry's biggest gatherings. But what strikes the visitor now is that a lot of the excitement and innovation has moved away from the manned sector to the unmanned drones.

Unmanned Airplanes Take Over Farnborough Airshow -- Popular Mechanics

At the Farnborough Airshow, UAVs get their own pavilion—and plenty of fanfare.

Farnborough Airshow, held just outside London every two years, is one of the aviation industry's biggest gatherings. A staggering amount of business is done here; last time around there were estimated to be more than 130,000 trade visitors, with $88 billion of new orders announced during the week-long show. But what strikes the visitor now is that a lot of the excitement and innovation has moved away from the manned sector to the unmanned drones.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has made headlines by making its first trip to Europe to be at Farnborough. But it's hard to get too excited about improved fuel economy, the Dreamliner's big selling point, and it takes an aviation buff to tell it apart from another airliner. Whereas the drones are breaking new ground: QinetiQ started the show by announcing that its solar-powered Zephyr drone has just broken its own endurance record by flying for seven days nonstop.

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