Australia has gone public on its airborne electronic intelligence program. In ordering two adapted Gulfstream business jets, it could hardly avoid doing so.
Ahead of new budget talks in late 2016, German Aerospace Center DLR and the European Space Agency are evaluating the cost of continuing support for the International Space Station beyond 2020, even as the other four space station partners pledge to fund the orbiting science lab to 2024.
Accurately predicting the maximum-lift performance of transport aircraft is still a challenge, so Airbus and DLR are working to improve computational tools and wind-tunnel testing.
With the goal of eliminating the arrays for nonstructural aerials on current intelligence-gathering aircraft, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory is developing spray-on and load-bearing conformal antennas.
Virtual reality. Crowd-sourcing weather data. Co-pilots on the ground. Changes are coming to flight operations, maintenance and training. Executive Editor Jim Asker and Avionics and Safety Editor John Croft discuss the next-generation hardware and new techniques that will boost safety and save money.
Andre Turcat, who died this week at 94, was the test pilot on Concorde’s first flight, the highlight of his aviation career, then chose to retire at 54, going on to excel in other fields.
Scientists prepare to save dollars for research; officials call for increased missile defense presence after North Korean test; and the FAA signs up 181,000 small UAS owners.
Supporters and opponents of Norwegian Air International’s application to fly to the U.S. have reiterated their positions on a similar proposal from its sister company. Organized labor strongly opposes the plan, while cargo carriers, travel groups and airports are staunch supporters of the new service.
Accepting that the MRJ will enter service only about two years before its close competitor, the Embraer 175-E2, the company is now allowing for far more ground testing in support of the flight-test program that began Nov. 11.
