In concert with that, a conceptual design team looking at what the aircraft of the future could look like. His strategic technologies office is advancing a diverse portfolio of research programs, tasked with ensuring that the Canadian airframer can achieve the technology readiness levels required to progress. “Our approach has been to think about what our portfolio of products should and could look like 30 years from now, and then backtrack to determine what technologies we need to achieve that, with a carte blanche in terms of options to be considered,” Breault explained. Breault indicated that the company is already in talks with several leading engine manufacturers about how the blended-wing architecture might accommodate next-generation propulsion systems. Switching to using sustainable aviation fuel and adopting new propulsion systems such as hydrogen, hybrid-electric, and all-electric power sources round out the other two pillars.įor now, Bombardier remains agnostic about what direction it might take for the propulsion system of a next-generation business jet. While details of the development are still very much in the works or under wraps, Benoit Breault, Bombardier’s director of research and technology, told AIN that the blended-wing concept is “a key part of our strategic thinking.” The company’s engineering brain-trust sees the aerodynamic improvements promised by the new wing as being one of three pillars to support its ambitions to reduce business aviation's carbon emissions. In the shorter-term, the company (Booth Z117, Static AD_15) is also employing this model as a testbed for improvements that could be introduced more incrementally to existing aircraft.

Yesterday at EBACE 2022, the Canadian airframer revealed a small-scale model it has been using for extensive flight and wind-tunnel testing as it seeks to refine the technology it views as integral to its long-term product strategy. Bombardier is offering a glimpse at what it thinks could be the future of business jets: a blended-wing body design that forms a key part of its new Eco Jet sustainability initiative.

Bombardier aviation