Airbus teams up with VDL on laser communication development for aircraft

Airbus announced on January 10 that it has signed an agreement with Dutch high-tech industrial supplier VDL Group for the development and manufacturing of UltraAir, a laser communication terminal for aircraft that could offer airline passengers high-speed data connections. The partners are to prepare a demonstration of a prototype and a first test in 2024, based on the development led by Airbus and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO). Airbus said the aim, once testing is complete, is to further industrialise the system to make it ready for integration with a hosting aircraft. UltraAir will “enable the exchange