International aviation research summit in Vienna
IFAR
- The 2025 International Forum for Aviation Research (IFAR) this year focused on technologies and research for quiet aviation.
- IFAR has established trusted, cross-border cooperation with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS).
- Visits to Austrian aviation companies rounded off the event programme.
- Focus: Aviation, international collaboration
The 16th annual summit of the International Forum for Aviation Research (IFAR) was successfully held at the Vienna University of Technology, TU Wien. Nearly 70 participants from 20 member countries attended the event, which took place from 28 to 31 October 2025. As in previous years, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) played a key role. This year's 'aviation research summit' primarily revolved around technologies for quieter aviation.
Panel discussion and IFAR Café workshop
Alongside the official annual agenda of the General Assembly, keynotes were delivered by Vice-Rector Peter Ertl representing TU Wien; Peter Glaser, VP Engineering at FACC AG, as representative of the Austrian aviation industry; and Polina Wilhelm representing the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) and Austria's Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI).
This was followed by an intense panel discussion during which experts from DLR, ONERA and TU Wien explored the topic of noise emissions, together with guests from ICAS and ICAO. Building on the perspectives presented, an IFAR Café workshop took place inviting summit participants and external experts to discuss and develop statements. Topics included propulsion and aerodynamic noise from large aircraft, regulatory frameworks, operations, low-noise advanced air mobility (AAM) and the potential for noise reduction in supersonic flight.
IFAR partnerships
IFAR maintains strong partnerships with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS). At the IFAR summit, participants discussed the recent activities of the ICAO-IFAR Working Group on 'Digital Transformation in Aircraft Certification'. Yuri Fattah from ICAO praised the close collaboration, as did ICAS President Chris Atkin: "As researchers, we tend to think that it is someone else's job to solve the problems that our new ideas bring about. IFAR members play a key role in the middle, speaking the language of both designers and researchers."
Visits to industry companies in Wiener Neustadt and Vienna
Alongside the discussions, the programme also featured visits to Austrian aviation companies located in Wiener Neustadt and Vienna. Diamond Aircraft Industries – a world-leading manufacturer of light aircraft – gave the international participants insights into its production line. The tour began with the 'lay-up process' of individual aircraft components and concluded with the integration of the engine and systems into the completed fuselage. Visitors also got the chance to see the ground test facilities, including the research and development hangar, where the all-electric eDA40 aircraft was on display. These industry visits were rounded off with a tour of the Icing Wind Tunnel (IWT) – a state-of-the-art facility that simulates extreme weather conditions to test the performance of rail, road and aviation vehicles.