Aviation Week & Space Technology

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

Readers responded to nearly every article in the Aerospace & Defense 2018 edition. Topics include military outlooks for Canada, Turkey and Russia; the F-35; progress in civil and military engines; and MRO spending.

Aviation Partners Boeing has promoted Mike Stowell to president and CEO from executive vice president and chief technology officer. He succeeds Bill Ashworth, who is leaving the company.

The Falcon 9-launched satellite is rumored to have reentered after what SpaceX says was a successful launch.

He walked on the Moon, commanded the inaugural shuttle mission and was the first person to fly on six space missions. He also headed NASA’s astronaut office and was an outspoken advocate for astronaut safety.

Pratt & Whitney’s Executive Director for Advanced Programs and Technologies James Kenyon joins Aviation Week’s Guy Norris and Graham Warwick to talk about adaptive engines and high-speed propulsion from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ Scitech conference in Kissimmee, Florida.

After doubling production last year, Kratos' target drone business is set for another expansion after capturing the Army’s MQM-107 replacement program.

“We have to move at the speed of business, not the speed of bureaucracy,” says 45th Space Wing Commander Wayne Monteith.

Japan moves ahead with potential purchase of SM-3 Block 2A, U.S. Army takes first step to buying new Airbus Lakota helos, new questions about Indonesia’s AW101 purchase and Mexico considers U.S. weapons for its ships.

Demand is strong for converting the newer narrowbody aircraft for cargo use, but supply can be a problem.

Studies show missile guidance law closely mimics how peregrine falcons track and catch their prey in flight.

Shareholders of public A&D companies have always been expected to benefit from U.S. tax law changes, but another list of potential winners is emerging.

As Airbus takes control of the Bombardier C Series, there is no clarity about the manufacturer’s next moves.

Though belly capacity increasingly helps meet the demand, there is still a need for widebody freighters.

The Russian S-400 deal is signed, but Ankara is continuing to pursue joint European air defense studies.

Aviation Week predicts that the global engine MRO market will increase in value by nearly one-third during the next decade, with strong demand anticipated from the Asia-Pacific region.

Propulsion for quiet supersonic airliners, industry’s digital transformation and GE’s vision for additive manufacturing are the topics discussed by Aviation Week’s Guy Norris and Graham Warwick in the first of three Check 6 podcasts recorded live from the exhibit floor at AIAA’s SciTech 2018 conference in Kissimmee, Florida.

The U.S. tax code received a needed major revamp, but one great concern is the manner in which it will be paid for—and what that could mean for defense budgets going forward.

U.S.-based passenger airlines haven’t suffered a fatal accident since 2009, but industry safety experts don’t agree on the reason why.

Visitors to Bell Helicopter’s booth at the CES consumer electronics show in Las Vegas will get a taste of flying in an air taxi.

For onboard electric power, hydrogen fuel cells are serious competitors against batteries.

A retirement decision by a key congressman who has been pushing so-called privatization of the U.S. ATC system may spell the demise of that effort.

Companies such as Blue Origin, Orbital ATK, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance are jostling to be a part of the future U.S. military spacelift market. Photo: Orbital ATK

Researchers have made significant progress with morphing wings, bringing the long-sought dream of copying birds on how to achieve aerodynamics closer to reality.

Now officially designated as China’s fourth intercontinental gateway, Chengdu looks forward to having more than 20 intercontinental long-haul routes this year.