Aviation Week & Space Technology

Early this century, Asian airlines’ major accident rates improved markedly. Now they are drifting higher again, and the industry association wants tighter regulation.

China’s ASAT tests have forced the Pentagon to funnel billions of dollars into new satellite architectures and defensive measures.

Civil Air Patrol could solve USAF training woes; Truly new weapons are needed, not JSF; Aerospace engineers vs. video game developers is unbalanced comparison; Call to bring back flight engineers; United safety standards queried; Fatigue is a killer

Lawmakers keep A-10 aircraft but cut NASA climate science; the FAA learns of cyber vulnerabilities; and inventors band together.

Carter unveils plans and delivers observations that could weigh on defense company strategies and how those businesses are valued.

Boeing and Lockheed Martin together have been lead integrators for 95% of the Air Force’s bomber and strike aircraft.

Deeper dive into Air Force requirements and the competing teams’ capabilities establishes Northrop Grumman as an overwhelming favorite to produce the LRS-B.

U.S. Navy faces a choice between reducing risk and reducing competition for the Uclass carrier-based unmanned aircraft if it keeps X-47B unmanned combat air system demonstrators flying.

A look inside how Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy autonomously refueled an unmanned aircraft in flight, and what it could mean for aviation

Business jet and general aviation pilots already enjoy the safety benefits of synthetic vision. Airline pilots are next in line.

Sierra Nevada is using its deep pockets to keep the Dream Chaser mini-space shuttle alive while it looks for paying customers.

Certainly there is a new space race underway, just as there was 50 years ago. This time the goal is profits—and the skilled workforces that can generate them—although national prestige remains important, too.

SpaceX is juggling a mix of commercial and government missions at a time when its cargo-resupply services are in growing demand.

Airlines are going back to school to build new training programs to demonstrate deep-stall and upset recoveries in the simulator.

Despite interruptions from winter storms, a sustained drop in jet fuel prices underpinned the rosiest first quarter for major U.S. airlines in years.

Slow throttle valve response is blamed for the failure of SpaceX’s latest attempt to recover and reuse the first stage of its Falcon 9v1.1 launch vehicle.

NASA, FAA and industry join to reduce burden of costly, time-consuming materials and structures testing that comes with using carbon fiber in aircraft.

Making a flying car a good aircraft is one challenge; making it good to drive is another.

Russia’s MS-21 gets active side-sticks; EcoDemo 757 tests active-flow-control tail; British air-breathing rocket engine passes AFRL exam; small UAS aims for 100-hr.-plus flight; Solar Impulse prepares for cross-Pacific flight.

​Brian Hunter has been named vice president-sales and marketing for Ametek Singapore. He was head of the Asia Pacific Comprehensive Accessory Repair and Exchange program of UTC Aerospace Systems. Steve Hasker has been appointed to the board of directors of Los Angeles-based Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. He is global president at Nielsen N.V. and was its president for global products.

Are some A&D companies becoming too good at business? Many are acting like well-oiled corporations, doing all the right things for their owners and executives—but maybe not for the nations they serve.

BAE may not be leading the pack of its TPC peers, but it is managing its business portfolio and it is a leading performer for the Pentagon.

Although Airbus cites a market for an upgraded A330, the manufacturer seems to be overly optimistic about its chances of success.

NASA is spending a little money to see if cargo carriers for the ISS can be “evolved” into crew habitats for deep-space exploration.

DEFENSE The U.S. Navy’s Northrop Grumman X-47B accomplished the first autonomous aerial refueling of an unmanned aircraft on April 22. Flying behind an Omega Boeing K-707 tanker off the U.S. East Coast, the probe-equipped unmanned combat air system demonstrator autonomously engaged the deployed drogue and took on 4,000 lb. of fuel. The test concluded the planned X-47B demo program.