Aircraft
Saab To Fly First ‘Software-defined’ Fuselage
3D-printed fuselage anchors software-defined hardware
Saab 3D-printed fuselage
The 3D-printed fuselage for Saab’s autonomous vehicle includes complex shapes and varying thicknesses to optimize structural load paths.

Later this year, Saab plans to fly a self-funded autonomous air vehicle that will be used as a testbed for some of its systems. More importantly, the vehicle will be the first aircraft to fly with a software-defined fuselage at the heart of its structure.

Working with Divergent Technologies, Saab has developed an autonomous vehicle approximately 5 meters long that comprises 26 3D-printed parts made using laser powder-fusion additive technology. Divergent has already built and supplied the vehicle's fuselage, and its load-bearing properties have been rigorously tested.