Aerospace & Defense Roundup: Apr. 22

ABMS illustration.

Airbus has begun using an “e-Delivery” remote process for aircraft handovers as a way to ensure health and safety amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The method could become a permanent cost-saving option for the customer.

Germany’s future F/A-18 Super Hornet fleet will be a “bridge” capability for a future platform, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has said, after finally confirming the U.S.-built aircraft will form part of a fleet that will go on to replace the Panavia Tornado. Formally announcing the selection on April 22, Kramp-Karrenbauer said that if the Tornado is retired, the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) will “lose capabilities that are currently only offered by American manufacturers.”

Senior U.S. defense officials raised alarms on April 22 about a two-day-old decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to grant Ligado Networks a slice of the spectrum adjacent to the military-operated GPS network.

USS Gerald R. Ford

Jaunt Air Mobility hopes to begin making parts for its electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) demonstrator by year’s end. The startup is aiming to fly the aircraft in 2022, followed in 2023 by the first of four certification flight-test aircraft. Certification is scheduled for 2026.

Italian aircraft-interiors specialist Aviointeriors has unveiled two social-distancing seat designs, aimed at safeguarding against COVID-19 contamination, which could be available within a short time frame.

Textron Aviation has delivered two Cessna Citation Latitude midsize business jets configured for flight inspection missions to Kanematsu Corp., owned by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.

When life gives you lemons, the adage goes. And when the planned kickoff of the U.S. Air Force’s Agility Prime program at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, was canceled because of COVID-19, the service decided to make lemonade, turning the launch into a five-day virtual event.

After handing over distribution of its Quantix commercial drone to a Canadian specialist, AeroVironment has launched a military version of the highly automated small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for its core defense customers.