This thematic session will host international experts from academia and industry who will share their experiences and the latest findings in the field Additive Manufacturing (AM). It is expected that new advanced scientific knowledge in the AM research field, in the following topic and related areas:

• Innovative methodologies for design-against-fatigue of AM parts,
• Advanced theoretical models,
• Advanced numerical models,
• AM technological solutions,
• AM to optimise weight and material use,
• New approaches to Maintenance applying AM,
• Sustainability of AM technologies,
• Artificial Intelligence versus AM technologies,
• Case studies applying AM technologies. 
   

This session presents recent research advances that push the boundaries of hybrid electric and more electric aircraft. The contributions explore high efficiency electrical powertrains, cryogenic power electronics, integrated thermal management solutions, and lightweight high voltage distribution concepts. Together, these developments show measurable gains in efficiency, power density, thermal stability, and component integration—offering promising pathways toward scalable, ultra efficient future aircraft systems.
 

Managing the safe and efficient flow of air traffic requires increased efforts from the aerospace scientific community. ATM remains a bright spot on the innovation chart. There are several questions facing the ATM system and the airports as key components, which this section addresses: 

(i) The safety around airports, with the increasing number of incidents and accidents, is diverging from the overall very good aviation safety. In the take-off and landing phases, as in the final approach phase, the anti-collision solutions (ACAS/TCAS) can offer no protection because they were not designed for it. In 2024, 2025, and in 2026 we had a series of runway incursion accidents in Japan and the United States, following a very large number of incidents. Engagement of the scientific community in addressing this aviation safety issue is expected to increase. Can the aerospace science community offer solutions to improve the safety at airports and in the airport traffic zone? 

(ii) What are the effects of the increasing unlawful interferences with the GNSS signals and other security challenges in the war areas on aviation? How resilient is civil aviation to GNSS jamming and spoofing? How could the risks of GNSS outage be mitigated? 

(iii) Flight trajectory optimization problems considering contrail avoiding and other environmental factors, and minimising the total costs and risks of navigation. The current Clearance Based Operations transition to the future Trajectory Based Operations based on contractual 4D trajectory solutions could be a key point on the agenda of the aerospace scientific community.  

(iv) How can AI tools be employed to solve ATM and airport problems? 

(v) Urban mobility and U-space challenges the traditional ATM: UAV/UAS and RPAS integration in the airspace. How can UAV/UAS and RPAS interfere with the classic VFR and IFR traffic, especially around busy airports?
 

A short description of this session will be provided soon.
 

A short description of this session will be provided soon.
 

A short description of this session will be provided soon.

A short description of this session will be provided soon.

The aim of the session is to discuss data-driven approaches that expand beyond conventional design and analysis methods by leveraging systems modelling, machine learning, probabilistic methods, multidisciplinary optimisation, uncertainty quantification, and visual analytics. Contributions to this session include, but are not limited to:

• Design space exploration of multiple criteria
• Design requirements uncertainty management
• Multidisciplinary analysis and design optimisation for complexity in systems design
• AI/ML techniques for engineering design support
   

A short description of this session will be provided soon.
 

A short description of this session will be provided soon.

A short description of this session will be provided soon.
 

A short description of this session will be provided soon.

A short description of this session will be provided soon.

A short description of this session will be provided soon.

FACELIFT (Fluidic Actuators for Control of stEaLth aIrcraFT) is a European Defence Fund project. The project develops innovative fluidic actuators designed to improve the maneuverability, survivability and operational resilience of future stealth aircraft while helping reduce aerodynamic drag and radar signature. Active jet flows blowing upstream of the ailerons allow their size to be reduced while maintaining the same aerodynamic performance. Detailed wind tunnel results, flight test results, and system design will be presented during this session. Based on these results, a study on the benefits of active flow control for larger-scale military aircraft will also be presented.
 

A short description of this session will be provided soon.
 

A short description of this session will be provided soon.

A short description of this session will be provided soon.

As the aviation sector strives toward ambitious environmental targets and climate neutrality, the ability to accurately quantify the impact of novel technologies and operations in aviation becomes paramount. This session provides a comprehensive deep dive into the Impact Monitor 2 (IM2) methodology—a systematic, multi-fidelity approach designed to evaluate the impact of next-generation aviation solutions and to support key stakeholders in science-based, informed decision-making.

The session will guide attendees through the full spectrum of impact assessment, beginning with the strategic context of European aviation R&I and proceeding with a detailed overview of the IM2 Digital Collaborative Framework, illustrating how disparate simulation models are integrated into unified workflows. Participants will gain insights into the aircraft modelling process and the execution of assessment studies at two streams:

• Technology-Focused Studies
  Aircraft Level: Modeling novel aircraft concepts and propulsion systems.
  Airport- and ATS-Level Studies: Assessing the impacts of emerging aircraft technologies across future fleets until 2070.
• Operations-Focused Studies
  ATS-Level Study: Assessing contrail avoidance strategies incorporating uncertainty considerations.
  Airport-Level Study: Assessing the impacts of reduced separation minima on arrival and departure procedures.

Finally, the session will highlight the Impact Monitor 2 Academy, showcasing how academic talent and research are being integrated to foster the next generation of aeronautics experts.
 

A short description of this session will be provided soon.
 

This session is dedicated to one of the most rapidly advancing fields in modern aviation: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). UAVs range from small-scale aerial platforms weighing just a few kilograms to large systems with a Gross Takeoff Weight (GTOW) of several tonnes capable of executing diverse missions with increased effectiveness and efficiency compared to crewed aircraft. In the 21st century, UAVs have firmly established their presence in global Aviation, leading to a substantial rise in dedicated research efforts by academia and industry alike.

Authors are invited to present their research on UAV-related topics focused on (but not limited to):

• fixed-wing UAV layout design & aerodynamics
• shape and mission optimization
• flow control techniques
• alternative energy sources & energy methods
• structures and materials
• airworthiness
• sensors
   

This session will address issues of interest across a spectrum of technology subjects related to near future air & space propulsion systems, with the view on sustainability for civil aviation as well as high speed vehicles and propulsion. Authors are invited to present their research on relative topics, including (but not limited to):

• Modelling and Simulations
• Engine Modelling, Simulation and Validation
• Whole Engine Performance and Operability
• Engine Emissions Modelling & Characterisation
• Alternative Fuels for Aircraft Applications
• Net Zero Carbon Emission Technologies
• Hydrogen for Civil Aviation
• Unconventional Engine Architectures & Variable Cycles
• More-Electric & Hybrid-Electric Propulsion Systems
• Supersonic Propulsion Systems
• Hypersonic Propulsion Systems
• Integrated Engine Design & Multi-disciplinary Design Optimisation
• Collaborative Design
• Co-located, Distributed and Set-Based Design
• Value-Driven Design
• Model-Based Systems Engineering
• Design Optimisation using AI & Machine Learning
   

A short description of this session will be provided soon.

The present session will include contributions concerning novel wing morphing, able to drastically increase the aerodynamic performances and simultaneously reduce the noise sources in the approach to urban areas. The drastic increase of the performances will be proven by well-focused experiments regarding take-off and landing by respecting realistic conditions for an aircraftable system, as well as by High-Fidelity simulations and Reduce Order approaches enabled through Artificial Intelligence.

The lift increase and drag reduction will lead to a considerable reduction of any form of propulsive energy needed,  in respect of all sources of renewal energy.   Emphasis will be attributed in the efficiency of multiscale electrical actuations with increased DoF over strategic areas of the lifting structures through novel smart actuators disposed in a distributed way on the “skin” of the lifting structure. The presentations investigate the morphing effects on the fluid-structure interaction, beneficially manipulating the surrounding turbulence towards simultaneous drag reduction, lift increase, thus enabling a considerable reduction of emissions, as well as noise sources attenuation having a considerable societal impact. The new morphing designs ensure a considerable energy decrease for the propulsion, beneficial for all sources of renewal energy. These studies are a continuation from the EU-funded Horizon 2020research project N° 723402 SMS, “Smart Morphing and Sensing for aeronautical configurations”, https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/723402 and www.smartwing.org/SMS/EU in the context of the ongoing HORIZON-EIC-2023-PATHFINDER Project N° 101129952 – BEALIVE, "Bioinspired Electroactive multiscale Aeronautical Live skin", https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101129952 and http://horizon-europe-bealive.eu/. 

These designs are able to produce optimal interfacial layers interacting with the coherent and chaotic turbulence structures and applying deformation of strategic parts of the wing. The topic of this session prepares future wing design for aeronautics industrial applications aiming at saving energy and at reducing pollution through these new morphing concepts,  meeting the targets fixed by Flightpath 2050 -  Europe’s Vision for Aviation.
 

The topic of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is gaining importance and interest in the aviation sector to support the assessment of the environmental impact of aviation. LCA belongs to the wider Life Cycle Engineering, which includes also Life Cycle Costing (LCC), Social Life Cycle Assessment (S.LCA) and Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA), and others.

All those methodologies (LCA, LCC, S-LCA, etc.) are more and more topics of research and application to aviation projects. This session wants to be a moment of exchange for practitioners and researchrs involved with aviation use-cases.

Contributions to this session can include:

• LCA studies on aviation use cases (e.g. aircraft, aircraft components)
• LCC studies on aviation use cases (e.g. aircraft, aircraft components)
• S-LCA, LCSA and other LCE studies on aviation use cases (e.g. aircraft, aircraft components)
• Methodologies for LCA/LCC/... tailored to the aviation sector
• Discussions on gaps in LCA/LCC/... in aviation
   

The modern and modernised aircraft are equipped with new avionics whose importance is constantly increasing. Its extensive development created new capabilities for crewed and uncrewed aircraft to perform new missions at a high level of automation or autonomy.

The crucial to modern aircraft are onboard sensors and systems. They are dedicated to navigation, particularly in GNSS denied environment, flight control, surveillance, object recognition, and monitoring. They can be: electric, mechanical, optical, magnetic, MEMs and different electromagnetic spectrums sensing. These systems can work independently or in complicated hierarchical structures.

This session is dedicated to onboard sensors and systems, and data fusion. In addition, the papers on designing, optimising, researching, testing, and the lessons learned from the virtual and real-life tests are welcome. The AI-based methods of data fusion, applied to navigation, flight control of a single vehicle and the UAV swarm are of big interest in that session.

The session is the best platform to share ideas, recognise new trends and know the experts' opinions.
 

This session highlights recent advances in high rate fuselage manufacturing enabled by automated assembly technologies, thermoplastic CFRP structures, and innovative welding processes. New production approaches demonstrate significant potential for weight and cost reduction while enabling nearly rivetless architectures and dust free joining for highly integrated fuselage shells. Automated positioning and joining of large components reveal pathways to faster, lighter, and more resource efficient airframe production for future aircraft.
 

This session shares key insights from the Novel Propulsion Architectures (NPA) technology cluster of the Engine Industry Management Group (EIMG). With the NPA cluster, the EIMG has formed a close partnership with key European academic and research partners in the field of advanced propulsion systems having strong links to the industry. The NPA-partners have a longstanding shared experience in EU-funded collaborative projects, both in basic research up to TRL3 (e.g. ULTIMATE, CENTRELINE, ENABLEH2, IMOTHEP, MINIMAL and EXAELIA) as well as in pre-competitive technology research up to TRL4/5 (e.g. VITAL, NEWAC, DREAM, LEMCOTEC, E-BREAK and ENOVAL). The group has been successfully studying a broad range of advanced and revolutionary propulsion system concepts covering revolutionary cycle and core engine technology, highly advanced propulsive devices and engine integration solutions, as well as alternative types of energy. The individual presentations will highlight important technical achievements and provide forward-looking perspectives into highly promising technology options for evolutionary and disruptive propulsion systems.

Modern trends in services and the need to accommodate the increasing demand for connectivity are actually pushing satellite front-end electronics towards higher operating frequencies and larger bandwidths. Performance requirements, often conflicting with time-to-market, volume, and cost, pose major challenges at both the system and electronics levels.

The session aims to showcase recent results and demonstrators towards effective and challenging solutions.

A short description of this session will be provided soon.

Simulation based on computational solid mechanics models describe the response of structures, as a function of their geometry, loading, boundary conditions, material properties and manufacturing process. Digital Twin validation i.e. 'the process of determining the degree to which a model is an accurate representation of the real world, from the perspective of the intended uses of the model', is of the most important aspects of engineering simulation and design. It is the responsibility of the digital twin users to perform sufficient validation of the models developed, by reference to experiments specifically designed for this purpose. Optical measurement and other relevant experimental methods have reached a sufficient technology readiness level that enable displacement or strain data over large areas or even the entire structure to be reliably captured during an experimental test and thereafter visualized and analyzed. Such developments have provided the background for a more comprehensive approach to model validation used in engineering design and evaluation of structural integrity, which could lead to optimized, less conservative and more sustainable designs. An important parameter in digital twins is the mechanical performance of the materials and how it is affected by the manufacturing process, especially when recycled materials are used. During the session, important recent advances on simulation models development, validation methods, and digital sustainability-driven design optimization of aircraft structures will be addressed by researchers from industry and academia. 

Current and future developments in space robotics can be presented in this session. This also includes technologies that have already been used in planetary or orbital environments as well as have been tested in field tests. The topics range from the use of robotic systems for future planetary exploration involving robotic mobility, manipulation, multi-robot cooperation, modularity, sustainability, sampling, and astronaut assistance. This includes all aspects of these robotic systems like design, development, implementation, operation as well as the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Also, research prototypes as well as fielded or flown systems are of interest. Topics of on-going and future missions involving in-space robotic systems and operations, to include On-Orbit Servicing, Active Debris Removal, Assembly, and Astronaut Assistance are also welcome. This includes designs and methods to accomplish robotic tasks in orbit, such as mobility, manipulation, assembly or maintenance. Specific aspects can be addressed, such as hardware design, open-loop or closed-loop control, rendezvous trajectory generation, autonomy, teleoperation, experimental facilities on the ground, modularity, sustainability, or others of relevance.

A short description of this session will be provided soon.

The aim of the session is to discuss ideas and methodologies to include sustainability and circular economy in the design process of aviation and its assets.

In particular, the subjects of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Progress on sustainability-driven design, including new design trends, ecodesign, etc.
• Approaches to assess sustainability and circularity, including multi-criteria optimisation, etc.
• Practical applications of sustainability as assessment and design criterion
• Implementation of circular economy principles in aviation
• Link between design and end of life

Lightweight, resilient, and responsible—sustainable materials are redefining the future of aerospace. From bio-based composites to next-generation recyclability, innovation is taking flight at every scale. This session brings together cutting-edge research and real-world applications shaping greener aircraft and spacecraft. Join us to explore how performance and sustainability can coexist beyond Earth’s atmosphere, with presentations providing an overview of solutions and the current state of scientific advancements:

• Bio-based resins
• Vitromers
• Automated deposition (additive manufacturing/hybridization) (OoA, no molds, hands-on, material savings)—the IRT would be interested in submitting a presentation
• New alternative to non-toxic phenolic resins
• Natural fibers
• rCF

The aeronautical and aerospace sectors require cutting-edge technologies to meet both industrial and environmental requirements of clean aviation. Fiber-reinforced polymeric composites greatly contribute to the reduction in weight of aeronautical structures, improving the efficiency of the aircraft.

However, aviation in the future should be more competitive, environmentally friendly, and safe. To achieve this goal, it is essential to develop structural materials with high mechanical performance from a sustainable point of view, with an emphasis on the potential use of bio-based materials, recyclable structural composites, and effective energy-saving processes.

In line with the Principles of Green Chemistry and Process Green Engineering, the session topic is focused on novel approaches to improving the sustainability of aerospace and aeronautical composites. It also includes contributions toward integrating smart functions in composite materials, preserving the weight reduction of the structures.

A short description of this session will be provided soon.
 

A short description of this session will be provided soon.
 

CS-23 certified aircraft are increasingly emerging as a key enabler for the transformation of the aviation system. Light and commuter-category aeroplanes, as defined by EASA CS-23, provide a highly suitable environment for the rapid validation of novel propulsion technologies, sustainable energy carriers, digital flight operations and new regional aviation concepts under realistic operating conditions.

In contrast to broader and less precise classifications such as “General Aviation”, the CS-23 framework offers a certification-driven perspective that directly links research and innovation to regulatory pathways and industrial implementation. In particular, CS-23 aircraft—with capacities ranging from small aircraft up to commuter configurations with up to 19 passengers—serve as an effective bridge between early-stage technology development and large-scale applications, including future CS-25 large aeroplanes.

The session will open with a short introductory presentation on the OST4AVIATION innovation ecosystem, highlighting current initiatives that support the transformation of aviation through coordinated regional activities, shared research infrastructures and strong industrial partnerships.

Subsequently, the session will focus on technological innovations, experimental infrastructures and operational concepts enabling climate-neutral aviation. Particular emphasis will be placed on flying testbeds, hybrid-electric and hydrogen-based propulsion systems, the integration of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), and the digitalisation of flight operations. In addition, the role of regional innovation ecosystems—including research institutions, SMEs and suppliers—will be addressed as key drivers for accelerating technology maturation and market entry.

Key Topics

• Flying testbeds and CS-23 aircraft as platforms for technology validation
• Hybrid-electric, hydrogen-based and other climate-neutral propulsion concepts
• Integration and operational validation of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF)
• Digital flight operations, automation and data-driven aviation systems
• Regional and commuter aviation concepts (up to 19 PAX)
• CS-23 as a pathway and enabler towards CS-25 large aircraft applications
• Role of regional innovation ecosystems, SMEs and suppliers
• Infrastructure, certification and regulatory challenges