Aerospace & Defense Roundup: September 01

Noise is the focus as Joby Aviation becomes the first company to fly an electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft as part of NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign. For the two-week test campaign—which began Aug. 30 at Joby’s Electric Flight Base near Big Sur, California—NASA has deployed its Mobile Acoustics Facility and an array of 50 ground microphones. The equipment will measure the acoustic signature of Joby’s S4 tiltprop electric air taxi during remotely piloted flights. Credit: Joby Aviation

The U.S. Marine Corps will fly Lockheed Martin F-35Bs off of a Japanese ship for the first time in October or November, Gen. David Berger, the commandant, said on Sept. 1. “We’re not going on deployment with [them], but we’re actually going to fly U.S. Marine Corps F-35s off of a Japanese ship,” said Berger, speaking at a virtual event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Credit: U.S. Navy

For most electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) vehicle developers, certifying the advanced flight controls is a key challenge. Not only is digital fly-by-wire control essential to making this new class of aircraft flyable, but many manufacturers also want to automate and simplify the operation of their vehicle to enhance its safety and make pilot training easier. Credit: Joby Aviation/Bradley Wentzel

Airbus has secured a much-anticipated and long-awaited export contract for its A400M airlifter with an order from Kazakhstan for two aircraft. The Central Asian country, which is already a customer of the company’s C295 twin-turboprop platform, will take delivery of its first aircraft in 2024.

Former GE Aviation chief David Joyce is joining Boeing’s board of directors, while Navy Adm. (ret.) Ed Giambastiani Jr. will leave at the end of the year, the company announced Aug. 31. Credit: GE Aviation

The Pentagon is reaching out to small businesses to learn about the barriers they face in winning Defense Department contracts, as the proportion of smaller companies in the defense industrial base continues to shrink. Credit: Defense Department

The Japanese Defense Ministry’s fiscal 2022 budget request seeks 5.48 trillion yen ($50 billion), a 7% increase from the 5.12 trillion yen it sought the prior year. The budget includes a request for 77.9 billion yen to buy eight Lockheed Martin F-35As, 52.1 billion yen to purchase four F-35Bs, an unspecified amount for the F-15J upgrade, plus 22.4 billion yen to buy one Kawasaki C-2 airlifter for Japan’s air force. Credit: Italian Air Force

A Japanese industrial team led by Mitsubishi Power is to develop a commercial-scale supply chain for sustainable aviation fuel produced from woody biomass. The four-year project is funded by the Japanese government’s New Energy and Industrial Technological Development Organization. Credit: Japan Airlines

The Netherlands aerospace center Royal NLR is conducting a series of flights with an electric aircraft under an initiative to help airports gain knowledge on the feasibility, potential and handling of electric-powered aircraft. Credit: Royal NLR

p Republican, was a compilation of “unfunded requirements” submitted by military commanders, along with about 200 funding requests from lawmakers. Credit: USN

Nigeria’s Air Force has inducted the Embraer A-29 Super Tucano as the country strengthens its air arm to fight against the growing threat of Islamic extremists in West Africa. The first six of 12 A-29s ordered through a U.S. Foreign Military Sale (FMS) were handed over in a ceremony held in the capital of Abuja on Aug. 31 following their ferry flight and arrival in-country in July. Credit: Embraer