Future Flight Challenge

On the 24th August 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced up to £300m investment in cleaner flight solutions for people and goods. The government will provide £125 million, which will be supported by industry co-investment of up to £175 million to support new technologies. The PM said “this £300 million investment will help speed up the development of greener flights, and new ways of delivering the goods we order online.”

The Future Flight Challenge (FFC) will initially focus on smaller aircraft and drones to ensure the suitability of the new technologies before developing them for larger passenger aircraft. FFC is a 4 year, 3 phase, £125 million Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) programme.

The aim of the programme is to:

• Demonstrate innovative ways to enable greener flight in a publicly acceptable manner leading to reduced carbon footprint for aviation
• Investigate and create new services and ways to travel
• Increase mobility
• Improve connectivity
• Alleviate congestion

“This investment will help make the most of the exceptional talent and expertise we have in these industries, and ensure the U.K. leads the way internationally in designing and developing technology, from electric taxis to drones delivering parcels.” Andrea Leadsom, Business Secretary