Aviation Week & Space Technology

After decades of promise, directed-energy weapons could finally see operational action by the end of this decade.

Do airlines much care if the ban on U.S. oil exports is removed? So far, most carriers have avoided entanglement in the debate.

The chairman of United Launch Alliance says the company is not seriously considering a recent proposal by Aerojet Rocketdyne to purchase the Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture for a reported $2 billion in cash.

Two of the Air Force’s top generals say that a podded, tactical laser is likely to be ready for operational use on aircraft by 2020, a major breakthrough in a technology that has been under slow but steady development for decades.

Defense officials need to do more than sound like an abusive partner returning to his lover (“Baby, it will be different this time”).

The botanist played by Matt Damon in The Martian has real-life counterparts in space and on the ground today.

Simulation of complete aircraft and engines takes a giant step as software developer Ansys shows computational fluid dynamics code can run efficiently on a massively parallel supercomputer.

Company reshuffles Falcon 9 manifest, moving a commercial satellite launch on an upgraded version of the rocket ahead of the Jason-3 ocean-monitoring mission for NASA.

Company’s modifications are popular among operators because they improve performance or free up cabin space.

JPL concept outlines a slingshot concept for exploring multiple asteroids, comets and small planets in the outer Solar System in one mission.

Fewer maintenance inspections are occurring post-severe turbulence encounters, thanks to new software that improves upon traditional qualitative pilot reports.

Software applications that will help futurecast storms and other hazards will soon be on tap as cockpit connectivity flourishes.

European manufacturer plans to deliver its first U.S.-assembled A321 in April 2016, and expand production to other types.

The biggest hurdle to the U.S. Air Force declaring initial operational capability for the F-35A in August 2016 as planned is work left to be done on the Autonomic Logistics Information System.

As Russia continues saber rattling in Europe, Poland has joined the small group of nations to buy the latest U.S. Air Force conventional cruise missile.

Darpa’s Gremlins mess with defenses; robotic landing gear; countering unmanned aircraft; drone collision in Norway; NASA’s airspace design challenge.

FAA awards contracts to eight companies to mature technologies to reduce fuel burn, noise and emissions in commercial aircraft, beginning around 2026.

Leader in lightweight metal industry invests in R&D of materials, processes and design tools for additive manufacturing of complex metal parts, with aerospace demand taking the lead.

Members of the nine-nation F-35 team are nearing decisions on how to introduce new capabilities to the forthcoming Block 4 configuration of the aircraft, with the retrofit of a new electro-optical and infrared system high on that list.

Several comments about recent Commentary pages; Air Intel and Viewpoint elicit range of responses.

Kuwait has selected the Eurofighter Typhoon as the country’s next generation fighter, marking the first success of the aircraft in open competition.

Oct. 6-7—SpeedNews 20th Annual Business & General Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference, Los Angeles. Oct. 13-15—MRO Europe. London. Nov. 3-5—MRO Asia-Pacific. Singapore. Nov. 3-5—AerospaceDefenseChain. Scottsdale, Arizona. Jan. 21-22, 2016—MRO Latin America. Lima, Peru. Feb. 3-4, 2016—MRO Middle East. Dubai. Feb 15, 2016—ATW’s Airline Industry Achievement Awards, Singapore.March 3, 2016—Aviation Week Laureate Awards. Washington.

The CAAC certified the ARJ21 in December, but 14 months will pass before Comac subsidiary Chengdu Airlines puts it into service.

COMMERCIAL AVIATION An uncontained high-pressure compressor failure is suspected in the left General Electric GE90-85B engine of a British Airways Boeing 777-200ER that caught fire, prompting the crew to reject takeoff at Las Vegas McCarran Airport on Sept. 8. All 159 passengers and 13 crew on BA Flight 2276 to London Gatwick evacuated the aircraft.

ULA, Blue Origin announce production deal in wake of Aerojet’s offer to buy rocket manufacturer.