August 5, 2026

ASMG General Assembly at the ILA Berlin: Setting an important course for the future

The members of the AREANA Synergy MoU Group (ASMG) met for their 5th General Assembly as part of the ILA Berlin.

Representatives from the member organisations came together to take strategic decisions, expand international cooperation and set out the network’s future direction.

ASMG auf der ILA Berlin
Credit:

Ba-Linnarz / Projektträger Luftfahrtforschung

The meeting was opened by Ron van Manen. At the start, the members confirmed that the officers to be elected would remain in office until the next annual face-to-face meeting.

This was followed by the elections to the committees. Vera Eichberger was unanimously elected as spokesperson for the General Assembly, whilst Chris Low was unanimously appointed as deputy spokesperson. In addition, the members extended Hartwig Hagena’s term of office as spokesperson for the Steering Committee.

The election underlines the members’ confidence in the organisation’s leadership and its future development.

Another key item on the agenda was the vote on the application by the DLR, the Programme Management Agency for Aviation Research, for full membership of the ASMG. The application was unanimously approved by the members and strengthens the group’s broad technical remit.

Focus on international cooperation

During the progress report, a number of activities undertaken since the last meeting were presented. These included:

  • Discussions with the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regarding potential membership or other forms of cooperation.
  • Coordination with Brazilian partners and funding programmes, particularly in relation to Embraer.
  • Discussions with GARTEUR regarding potential collaboration on strategic alignment; discussions on a potential international synergy project to develop a new water bomber;
  • opportunities for the joint use of research and test facilities, particularly in the field of icing wind tunnels.

The members emphasised the importance of closer international cooperation in order to implement future research and development projects more efficiently. During the meeting, discussions also took place on the next steps for the international JoinED Call 2025/26 and the Call 2026/2027 planned for the following year. The aim is to further expand cooperation between European and global partners and to prepare joint innovation projects.

The General Assembly concluded with a positive outlook for future activities. The members reaffirmed their shared goal of sustainably advancing innovation, collaboration and technological excellence in aeronautical research. Following the General Assembly, the Embassy of the Netherlands hosted a networking dinner. This provided an excellent platform for dialogue between representatives from politics, research and industry from Germany, the Netherlands and the other ASMG partner countries.