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Today, drones are generally piloted by ground-based operators. But a number of research organizations, including Onera, are trying to make them more autonomous, in order to increase their operational effectiveness. We asked Claude Barrouil, head of Onera’s Information Processing and Systems branch, to shed some light on drone autonomy…

Since its invention in 1960, applications of the laser have multiplied constantly. Research in aeronautics hasn't been left out, and lasers are now an essential tool for studying and understanding turbulence, analyzing combustion and observing pollution. A short tour around laser research at Onera.

The laser was invented 50 years ago, in 1960. To celebrate this landmark anniversary, France launched the “Year of the Laser” at the Palais de la Découverte science and technology museum in Paris on January 7.

If we don't want to drones to be restricted to just a few reserved sectors of air space we have to show that they can be introduced with zero risk into the airspace occupied by piloted aircraft.

Plasmas can initiate and accelerate combustion in engines and turbines. Their experimental study on test benches aims to improve the understanding of the involved phenomenon and to optimize it.

To reproduce the shock wave of a launcher on take off, the University of Poitier's Martel* test bench is being adapted for the generation of acoustic transient phenomena.

The fan of a turbojet is one of the dominant sources of the noise generated by aircraft in the take-off and approach phases. Consequently, predicting fan noise with a view to reducing it has become a priority research topic.

Voici des représentations de la dimension micrométrique de matériaux composites utilisés par exemple dans les moteurs aéronautiques. Ces matériaux, aux propriétés thermomécaniques remarquables, sont constitués de composants élastiques - des fibres longues ou des inclusions particulaires - figés dans une matrice métallique.

Onera researchers are working on the behaviour of wind turbines. Objective: to improve their performances in all wind speeds and also to build even more powerful wind turbines. The solution may lie in more flexible blades.