A sale of 50 F-35As and 18 MQ-9Bs to the UAE remains on hold as senior Biden administration officials continue to review the orders signed in the last days of the Trump White House that are worth a combined $13.4 billion, a U.S. Air Force official said on Aug. 5.
Startup hypersonic aircraft developer Hermeus has won a $60 million U.S. Air Force contract to develop single-engine flight demonstrators of its planned turbine-based, combined cycle-powered Mach 5 transport concept.
The Japanese startup that won the Pratt & Whitney Disruptor Award at the 2020 GoFly Prize event has unveiled its first product, a single-seat electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicle it plans to offer as a kit-built experimental aircraft beginning in 2022.
The suspension of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ (MHI) SpaceJet regional jet program helped the company’s aerospace division return to profit in the first quarter of fiscal 2021.
The UK Royal Air Force has declared the end of the operational career of its Boeing E-3D Sentry fleet after the airborne early warning aircraft flew its final missions over the Middle East at the end of July.
The U.S. State Department has approved the sale of 44 Raytheon RIM-116C Rolling Airframe Missiles Block 2 to Japan. The missiles are destined for Japan Maritime Self Defense Force ships.
The European Union-funded project has devised a roadmap for a future propulsive fuselage airliner concept (PFC) after revealing better-than-expected potential fuel burn savings of 4.7% compared to an equivalent-technology conventional aircraft.
In another blow for U.S. hypersonic flight testing, John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory confirmed that a long-delayed flow physics flight experiment supported by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory failed to meet “all science objectives” after an anomaly with the launch vehicle.
Air medical helicopter operator Air Methods has announced a collaboration with German drone manufacturer Wingcopter to develop a drone delivery network for medical supplies.
Launch of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner on a long-awaited reflight demonstration to the International Space Station remained on hold while engineers assessed options to address an issue with valves in the spacecraft’s propulsion system.
The first orbital-class SpaceX Falcon Super Heavy rocket, outfitted with 29 methane-burning Raptor engines, was moved to its launch mount in Boca Chica, Texas, on Aug. 3.
The timing of a potential production line shutdown at Boeing is partly driving an urgent near-term decision on when to start replacing the U.S. Air Force’s E-3 AWACS fleet, with the 737NG-based E-7 Wedgetail emerging as a likely, if challenging, candidate.
NASA and its partners are using the International Space Station to better understand how samples of muscle tissue donated on Earth are changed at the cellular levels by spaceflight.
German defense electronics firm Hensoldt has been awarded study contracts to investigate the modernization of the Eurofighter’s Praetorian self-defense suite.
U.S. Air Force officials will not know how the latest test failure of a hypersonic missile prototype will impact the schedule until an ongoing root cause investigation is completed, Brig. Gen. Heath Collins said on Aug. 4.
The new chief executive of L3Harris Technologies does not expect major mergers or acquisitions in his company’s immediate future, and the so-called sixth prime has largely completed the major divestiture project started two years ago when its two halves came together.
High-altitude unmanned aircraft and satellites are an integral part of SoftBank’s vision for future 6G mobile networks that expand beyond wireless communications to underpin the digitalization of all industries.
India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, the future INS Vikrant, has begun sea trials in preparation for the ship’s planned introduction into service in 2022.
Lockheed Martin surprised stakeholders late Aug. 3 when it announced the sudden departure of its chief financial officer, the second in almost as many years, as well as lower earnings per share guidance for the year, albeit due to a one-time financial transaction.
Startup Regent plans to have a piloted 12-passenger seaglider on the market by 2025 as a replacement for seaplanes and water taxis, followed by a 50-passenger vehicle that the company sees replacing not only ferries, but regional turboprops and jets.
In comments that may reverberate in the global fighter market, the U.S. Navy’s top aviation requirements officer on Aug. 3 described the Boeing F/A-18E/F as obsolete by the mid-2050s and criticized efforts by some lawmakers to buy more in fiscal 2022.
Those with research and technology connections to the NASA-led International Space Station believe the door has been opened for at least another decade of significant development activity.
