Aviation Week & Space Technology

Tom Gentile’s appointment as CEO of Spirit AeroSystems may be surprising, but it should be the last blast of proverbial fireworks in the company’s turnaround.

Some U.S. politicians are calling for restarting the F-22 line, citing its superiority to the F-35. We weigh the pros and cons of each aircraft.

The companies that lost out to Aurora Flight Sciences to build DARPA’s high-speed VTOL demonstrator have taken the wraps off their competing designs.

Flirtey delivers ship-to-shore; Special forces plan laser gunship; FAA wants advanced controls for GA; Obama backs sensors for advanced manufacturing.

The reengined A330 is progressing more quietly than other major Airbus problems.

Air Force Special Operations Command is pushing industry to demonstrate an offensive laser weapon on an AC-130W by the turn of the decade.

Pundits fear that British referendum could be catalyst for European disintegration.

Auditors can help ensure that qualified pilots are at the helm, but in some cases their assessments can be compromised by faulty information or background checks.

After Solar Impulse 2's 70-hr. solar-powered crossing of the Atlantic, we look at the flight itself and the wider significance of the Swiss group's attempt to fly around the world without using fuel. Talking are EIC Joe Anselmo, managing editor for technology Graham Warwick and our new French correspondent Thierry Dubois, who interviewed Si2's solo pilot Bertrand Piccard by satellite while he was over the Atlantic.

Bombardier’s Alain Bellemare talks to Aviation Week about the progress made since he became CEO in February 2015.

Tokyo would have to vastly increase its defense research and development budget to create an all-new fighter.

Boeing must overcome banking and political roadblocks to finalize the Iranian aircraft order.

Downstream of Germanwings, the FAA endorses the legacy approach to pilot mental health but looks to remove reporting barriers for its doctors.

Switzerland’s Solar Impulse 2 completes Atlantic crossing on solar power as round-the-world attempt enters final stages.

With production of several large programs ramping up this year, the challenge for French aerospace companies will be to maintain quality and schedule.

At the Pentagon and on Wall Street, they are beginning to consider the possible impacts from Trump vs. Clinton. On Capitol Hill, there is blow-back from Boeing’s Iran deal.

Splitting up is hard to do, but sometimes necessary. That is what Alcoa-turned-Arconic’s chief executive and chairman tells Aviation Week in a recent interview about his company’s future.

The benefit of automotive safety features to general aviation persuades the FAA to grant Terrafugia a waiver of weight and stall-speed limits.

Airlines are willing to offset their carbon emissions with a global system, but are governments also aligned?

Reluctance by lawmakers to embrace the value of X-planes to U.S. industry has NASA coming up with creative approaches

With almost 200 F-35s set to call the U.K. home in the coming years, the U.S. and U.K. are talking up training and logistics.

As Europe gears up to develop a MALE UAS, Israeli and U.S. systems still dominate inventories.

India relaxes rules on foreign defense investment; first temporary EA-18G detachment deploys for training; Norway, Poland test naval strike missile; more North Korean missile tests.

Long in the making, the FAA’s final rule for commercial operation of small unmanned aircraft, or drones, gets the thumbs up, but industry is already impatient for the next set of capabilities.

A coronal mass ejection could be particularly devastating in today’s globally wired world. Scientists advocate research into solar storms with smallsats at the forefront.