Aviation Week & Space Technology

BAE’s Tempest factory will say goodbye to jigs and tooling in favor of introducing robots, digital twins and joining methods.

European militaries are poised to welcome the delivery of 326 F-35 fighters in 2019-29 and are continuing to buy Saab Gripens, Dassault Rafales and Eurofighter Typhoons.

C919 development will last 14 years after the latest schedule change. The program has begun certification flight testing.

Commonality and advanced technology in its future F-16 force will compensate Taiwan for the long wait in placing an order.

Advances in aerospace vehicles almost always follow advances in propulsion. And propulsion technology continues to advance, creating new opportunities. So what is in store for the future? Attending the AIAA Propulsion & Energy conference in Indianapolis, senior editor Guy Norris and technology editor Graham Warwick discuss possibilities ranging from nuclear rockets to electric aircraft.

At best, the answer is a definite “maybe.” But the environment could be set to force a change.

With updates and fixes in place, Boeing is targeting first Starliner flight within two months, while SpaceX aims for flight carrying crew to ISS by year-end.

WhiteKnightTwo performs simulated space launch flight profiles over New Mexico as Virgin Galactic gears up for tests and operations from Spaceport America.

Test schedules now look certain to push first SLS launch for the Artemis 1 mission from next year into 2021.

The U.S. Air Force is taking lessons learned from the plagued B-2 development program and applying it to the B-21 Raider.

Taiwan F-16 buy gets State Department nod; Brazil flies upgraded AEW jet; Ford carrier’s AAG clears milestone; Rafael offers Spike NLOS for UK military helos.

CEO Rupert Hogg and his deputy have resigned in response to Beijing’s concerns, but their replacements will confront a wide range of challenges.

Original subsystem supplier preserves role as Block 4 upgrade takes shape.

Pentagon Editor Lee Hudson joined the first tour of Lockheed Martin’s THAAD facility in Troy, Alabama.

From ending premium-class seating to building a Boeing/Airbus short-haul aircraft, the air transport industry needs to consider previously unthinkable options.

While Craic considers GE and Rolls-Royce to supply an initial engine, Chinese and Russian state companies vie to build the alternative.

Under the Swiss U-space program, authorities activate a drone flight information management system.

Arriving late to the party, Japan finds that it has the second-biggest acquisition plan in the F-35 Lightning program but very little industrial participation.

Sweden’s all-electric regional; design challenge winner; Dzyne’s robotic pilot; dissipating wake vortices; active flow-control X-plane.

Graham Warwick and Richard Aboulafia got together to discuss how big the UAM market will be. Will there be fireworks, or harmony? Listen and find out.

Design teams refine technology for high-power electric motors and generators that can be competitive with gas turbines.

Design from the ground up around battery-electric propulsion drove the unconventional appearance of Eviation’s Alice.

Recent appointments, promotions and honors in the aviation and aerospace industry.

Initially eVTOL will focus on niche markets and retain pilots.

Upcoming aviation and aerospace industry events and Aviation Week Network events.