Aviation Week & Space Technology

It might look like fun and games, but virtual reality head-mounted displays and specialized software will become key to keeping aircraft flying and technicians trained.

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.

Last year’s back-to-back station-cargo launch failures have not dimmed growing commercial interest in station research.

All Nippon Airways is considering new orders, and this might prove to be a boon for Airbus’s sluggish A380 sales.

Air Seoul will be Asiana Airline’s second low-cost subsidiary, but the first to focus on international routes from the key market of Seoul.

Peru’s airlines want to continue expanding in spite of infrastructure constraints and slower economic growth.

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.

One passenger, no pilot; Intel inside UAVs; Tailsitting Tern; HorseFly delivers; Soaring for two.

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.

Research into shape-changing aircraft has picked up but still has a long way to go.

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.

Top market players A400M and KC-46 suffered problems in 2015 but are set to move forward with milestones in 2016.

Avalanche of operating data coming from new-generation aircraft poses a new problem for MROs—how to mine it for the most useful information.

Finmeccanica restructures its business to focus on aerospace, defense and space, and even a name change maybe in the offing.

Lockheed and Northrop would know every delay and overrun will count against their chances of replacing the F-15E.

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.

New Spirit CEO Robert Fornaro already sold one airline. Will he do it again?

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.

Expect to see more engine MRO expenditures in 2016—led by CFM56-7 and V2500-A5 shop visits.

The strongest defense stocks last year had several factors in common that may influence contractor behavior this year.

U.S. Air Force eyes GPS satellite options; ULA stocks up on Russian engines; Lockheed wins C-130 multiyear contract; India test-fires the Barak-8 missile.

New fighters and frigates are priorities for Belgium as it prepares to modernize its armed forces.

The defense ministry’s awarding of the contract to KAI was the company’s second big win for 2015. Far more than the first, for the LCH-LAH helicopter, the KF-X should be transformative for the company.