Days after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his nuclear forces to be on a special alert, the Pentagon announced it has postponed a test of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from this coming weekend to try to lower tensions.
As airspace over Russia and Ukraine is effectively closed, except for domestic flights in the former, the most immediate consequence of the war for airlines is the impact on carriers’ flight operations.
Use of Russia’s largest commercial space contract may be halted, with Russian State Space Corp. Roscosmos requesting legally binding guarantees from the OneWeb satellite operator and the French Arianespace launch provider that the constellation, deployed by Russian Soyuz 2 rockets, will not be used for military purposes.
European Union plans to transfer Warsaw Pact-era combat aircraft to Ukraine appear to have faltered after the Eastern European governments operating them said they would not be handing over the aircraft.
Airlines forced to cancel operations through Russian airspace connecting Europe and Asia are generally re-routing south, but the old Arctic route via Anchorage has become of interest again.
Despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine adding to a panoply of issues facing the aerospace industry, executives from Boeing and Airbus told the Aviation Week Raw Materials and Manufacturers Supply Chain Conference that the OEMs were standing firm on planned airliner production rate ramps.
Sanctions targeting Russia’s airlines and broader economy will disrupt one of the strongest post-downturn domestic-market recoveries and put much of its international flying at immediate risk.
A webinar presented by aviation analytics company IBA on March 1 summarized some of the effects of the Ukraine-Russia crisis as can be ascertained so far.
Russia’s forces appear to be reassessing their approach and changing tactics as they advance into Ukraine from the north toward Kyiv, the Pentagon said March 1 in its latest assessment of the invasion.
Boeing has suspended support of Russian airlines operating its products, including spare parts sales and engineering services, adding to previously announced pauses affecting its Russian and Ukrainian operations.
A Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27 has been returned to the embattled country six days after a pilot fled with the two-engine fighter to Romania in the first hours of the Russian invasion, Romanian military officials said on March 1.
As much of the aerospace and defense industry recoils from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, advanced air mobility remained a strong investment bet based not only on AAM but also on the probable uses of AAM aircraft in a military action.
The pilot of an Aeroflot airliner that violated Canadian airspace on Feb. 27 after it had been closed to all Russian aircraft declared the flight to be on a hum
The Pentagon is exploring ways to deconflict U.S. and Russian aircraft as airspace over Ukraine continues to be contested, though so far there has not been interest from Moscow as the invasion continues.
If there is any good news about possible supply chain disruptions linked to Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the related logistical and political fallout, it’s that they do not appear to be imminently catastrophic.
