Aviation Week & Space Technology, March 21, 2022 is part of our Aviation Week & Space Technology - Inside MRO and AWIN subscriptions.

Subscribe now to read this content, plus receive full coverage of what's next in technology from the experts trusted by the commercial aircraft MRO community.

Already a subscriber to AWST or an AWIN customer? Log in with your existing email and password.

Subscribe    Log in    
Magazine Issue

Aviation Week & Space Technology, March 21, 2022

VOL. 184 NO. 11 March 21, 2022

WAR IN UKRAINE | COMMERCIAL AVIATION

Aeroflot Airbus A320 awaiting completion in Toulouse 2013
article

Answers To Key Questions About The Ukraine War And Aviation

Mar 18, 2022
Slowly coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, aviation is facing another huge task: dealing with the fallout of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

FIRST TAKE

James Webb Space Telescope’s primary mirror
article

First Take, March 21, 2022

Mar 18, 2022
Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

DEFENSE

Northrop Grumman X-47B demonstrators
article

U.S. Air Force B-21 and NGAD Programs Spawn Autonomous Shadow Aircraft

Mar 18, 2022
Uncrewed “wingmen” for the Air Force’s next bomber and fighter will be large, sophisticated and costly.
Lockheed Martin F-35
article

Germany Favors F-35s In Tornado Successor Rethinking

Mar 16, 2022
Berlin’s reengagement with the F-35 comes as it prepares to make bolder defense commitments prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
F-35 fighter aircraft
article

U.S. Air Force F-35 Costs To Climb

Mar 16, 2022
Price per tail increase likely as negotiations are delayed; Lockheed points to pandemic impacts and inflation.
F-15
article

The Week in Defense, March 18-25, 2022

Mar 18, 2022
Egypt approved to receive F-15EX; North Korean missile test failure; Satcom prototype clears review; and Boeing’s Australian suppliers.

WAR IN UKRAINE | DEFENSE

Swedish Air Force Saab Gripens and Royal Danish Air Force F-16
article

Europe Unlocks Defense Funding In Face Of Russian Aggression

Mar 17, 2022
Aviation Week analysis suggests annual defense spending by Europe biggest spenders could rise to over $400 billion by 2030.

WAR IN UKRAINE | SPACE

SpaceX Starlink satellite terminals heading to Ukraine
article

Ukrainian Users Of SpaceX’s Starlink Internet Face War Zone Risks

Mar 17, 2022
Starlink not built for battlefield, so Elon Musk makes on-the-fly updates to keep Ukrainians online.

WAR IN UKRAINE | SUPPLY CHAIN

titanium processing plant
article

Opinion: Aerospace’s Titanium Headache

Mar 17, 2022
The Russian titanium supply cutoff has two silver linings for the battered aerospace supply chain.
landing gear
article

Opinion: How Aerospace Can Sidestep Russia’s Titanium Cutoff

Mar 17, 2022
Many suppliers have found alternate sources of the metal, and OEMs have built up buffer inventory.

SPACE

space laser comms concept
article

NASA To Demo Laser Communications To And From GEO

Mar 15, 2022
Optical communications technology is gaining ground in space.
Mynaric co-founder Markus Knapek
article

Satellite Laser Communications Business Expected To Blossom

Mar 14, 2022
With commercial LEO satellite constellations growing tenfold and governments eager to tap new-space, lasers comms’ have arrived.
ESA’s HyDRON satellite communications system project
article

Optical Links Are Enabling Future Space Architectures To Be Reimagined

Mar 18, 2022
Long in the making, space-based optical communications is finally joining the mainstream.

VERTICAL LIFT

Robinson helicopters at Heli Expo
article

Busy Heli-Expo Indicates Fast Rebound Of Rotorcraft Business

Mar 17, 2022
Attendees from 72 nations and 590 exhibitors at HAI’s Heli-Expo boost hopes of a return to pre-COVID civil helicopter industry growth.
Metro Aviation Airbus Helicopters EC145e

Crowded Scene At HAI Heli-Expo Sets Stage For Rotorcraft Renaissance

Mar 18, 2022
With more than 13,000 visitors, a busy show floor and a bevy of orders, the 2022 HAI Heli-Expo showed it is back to business as usual.
vertiport diagram
article

Lack Of Data Creates Hazy Regulatory Environment For Vertiports

Mar 16, 2022
Undefined safety and noise regulations, cloud future vertiport and eVTOL operations.

COMMERCIAL AVIATION

Air India jet
article

India Moves Beyond Bubbles With International Reopening

Mar 16, 2022
Airlines will be boosted by the decision to remove restrictive travel bubble system.

TRAINING

Cirrus TRAC SR20 single-engine training aircraft
article

Alaska Airlines And United Airlines Launch Pilot Academies

Mar 14, 2022
Airlines are doubling their recruitment and training effort to address a national pilot shortage in the U.S.

TECHNOLOGY

Whisper Aero drone concept
article

The Week In Technology, March 14-18, 2022

Mar 14, 2022
Whisper’s quiet drone; Avoiding satellite collision; Refueling in space; Hypersonic funding boost; and Rapid hydrogen refueling.

COLUMNS AND OPINION

article

Opinion: Is This The Start Of A New Defense Supercycle?

Mar 14, 2022
The war in Ukraine could push defense spending to grow annually as fast or faster than GDP for the balance of the 2020s.
aircraft de-icing operation
article

What Will Happen To SPACs That Miss Their Aerospace Targets?

Mar 15, 2022
This is the year is when the bevy of SPACs that formed in 2020 faces a deal-or-no-deal moment.
Whisper Aero eVTOL aircraft
article

In Pursuit Of Ultra-Quiet Electric Propulsion

Mar 16, 2022
If aviation is to be more accessible and ubiquitous, aircraft will have become quieter.
Michael Lopez-Alegria
article

Astronaut’s Post-NASA Career Leads Back Into Orbit

Mar 18, 2022
Retired astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria is heading back to the ISS to oversee three private travelers.

DEPARTMENTS

article

Letters From Our Readers, March 21, 2022

Mar 18, 2022
Readers write about the Sikorsky/DARPA H-60 OPV, a pilot-in-command's duties, the ISS partnership and the Space Launch System.
article

New Positions, Promotions, Honors And Elections, March 21, 2022

Mar 18, 2022
Recent appointments, promotions and honors in the aviation and aerospace industry.
article

Aerospace Calendar And Aviation Week Events, March 21, 2022

Mar 18, 2022
A roundup of upcoming conferences, exhibitions and summits.