Aviation Week & Space Technology

By Guy Norris
Airbus Helicopters has come from virtually nowhere in a little over 15 years to become the third biggest maker of military rotorcraft in the U.S.
Defense

By Steve Trimble, Lee Hudson
U.S. missile architecture, now focused on limited attacks and intercepting targets in midcourse and terminal phases, is being reshaped for a wider range of threats.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
A two-type fleet, while expensive, could balance the tension between European and transatlantic partners, says a German thinktank.
Aircraft & Propulsion

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

By Steve Trimble
The Air Force’s acceptance of a new refueling tanker will allow the company to start recovering $3.5 billion in losses incurred during eight years of development.
Defense

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

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.
First Take

By Jen DiMascio, Guy Norris, Irene Klotz
Listen in as our editors discuss the shocking turnabout for the late Paul Allen’s air-launch space company and other recent churn in the space launch market.
Space

By Jens Flottau, Guy Norris
Airbus launches construction for the Airbus A220 final-assembly line in Mobile.
Air Transport

By Joe Anselmo, Michael Bruno
The chief of the Airbus Engineering Center in Mobile talks about big changes coming to aircraft cabin interiors.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
A near-term capacity crunch and next-generation fighter costs conspired to force the Air Force to reconsider non-stealthy combat aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Michael Bruno
January was not kind for space businesses. If it is a bellwether for the rest of the year, 2019 might be a year of de-orbiting some expectations.
Space

By Irene Klotz, Maxim Pyadushkin
The first rocket officially named Soyuz was launched in 1966 and has since flown 1,050 times, of which 1,023 were successful.
Space

By Steve Trimble, Lee Hudson
Will a five-year bipartisan consensus on increasing defense spending hold up in the next Pentagon budget?
Defense

By Graham Warwick
Startup works to balance high- and low-speed requirements for Mach 2.2 airliner, aiming to approach subsonic noise standards.
Air Transport

By Kerry Reals
Flybe’s network and fleet are expected to be slashed after Virgin-led takeover.
Air Transport

By Maxim Pyadushkin
Once disguised as a coal-mining town, this Russian spaceport is looking for a piece of commercial launch action.
Space

By Thierry Dubois, Sean Broderick
At both Airbus and Boeing, fuel prices and interest rates are being monitored as the emerging market’s importance is acknowledged.
Air Transport

By Irene Klotz
A government-backed company is selling Soyuz launch services from Russian spaceports.
Commercial Space

By Graham Warwick
Initial European studies of distributed hybrid-electric propulsion underscores the challenges to making the technology feasible for large passenger aircraft.
Aerospace

By Tony Osborne
Industry is already stockpiling components—at no small cost—to prevent production disruption in the event of a “no-deal” Brexit.
Program Management

By Bradley Perrett, Steve Trimble
A few details and the probable choice of engines suggest the aircraft will be conceptually like the retired U.S. F-111, but perhaps a lot bigger.
Defense

By Graham Warwick
X-59A cockpit; saltwater biofuel; flow-control wing; F-16s fly biofuel.
Aerospace

By Graham Warwick
NATO task group five-year assessment says active flow control can be used to fly a stealthy unmanned combat aircraft, at least for part of a strike mission.
Aerospace

By William Garvey
GAMA delivery and billing stats remain flat, but look to China for real movement as it continues to make substantial investments in general aviation sector.
Business Aviation