The global aviation industry today, contributes only around two percent of all human-induced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to the atmosphere. However, as the aviation industry is growing rapidly across the world, research and development in this domain is increasingly being focussed on reduction of carbon emission from aircraft engines so as to obviate the possibility of this segment of the industry becoming a major contributor to this malaise. As burning of aviation fuel is the primary source of carbon emissions, the aviation industry is looking at electric propulsion as an alternative to address the problem of environmental degradation. There has undoubtedly been progress in this area as a number of aircraft equipped with electric-powered engines have either been developed or are under development. Prospects in this segment of the industry do appear to be encouraging. Ayushee Chaudhary covers this subject in great details in this issue of SP’s Aviation.

Induction into the Brazilian Air Force of the C-390 Millennium, a twin-engine military transport aircraft designed, developed and manufactured by Embraer, commenced two years ago and since then, has progressed very smoothly. This a modern platform that has the potential to meet the requirements of Air Forces across that world, including the Indian Air Force, that are in the process of upgrading the capability of their fleets of transport aircraft. This issue of the magazine carries a detailed report on the capability of the C-390 Millennium and its suitability for acquisition by the IAF.

Even before the COVID-19 Pandemic struck Brazil, the Air Force of the nation went into action to rescue 34 of its citizens who were stranded in Wuhan in China as, following the detection of this virus there, all civil flights to this destination had been suspended. During the period that the nation was plagued by COVID-19, the Brazilian Air Force played a major role in the national effort to combat the Pandemic. Aircraft of the Brazilian Air Force logged more than 5,700 hours, transporting over 5,000 tonnes of cargo and over 6,400 personnel. This issue of the magazine carries a detailed coverage on the role played by the Brazilian Air Force in the campaign against the pandemic.

Of late, China is embarking on perpetuating its status as a dominant player in the Asia-Pacific region impinging on peace and stability of nations in the region. Not only was India confronted with a major security challenge in 2017 by China in Doklam on the North East frontier, there was a major military confrontation in Eastern Ladakh over a year ago. Apart from these episodes that the armed forces of India handled effectively, the aircraft of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) of China have been violating the airspace under the control of Taiwan, a tiny island nation over which China claims ownership. Aircraft of the PLAAF have also been reported to have violated the airspace of Malaysia. Undoubtedly, China has become a destabilising factor in the region. Nations in South and South East Asia need to learn lessons from these episodes and develop the capability to cope with any threat from this Asian giant. A number of articles in this issue of the magazine deal with issues relating to challenges emanating from China.

All this and more in this issue of SP’s Aviation. Welcome aboard and wish you many happy landings!

Jai Hind!