Aviation Week & Space Technology

For years, we complained about lack of political leadership. Now we have it, but industry can’t seem to come together.

As the Australian government raises defense spending to 2% from 1.6% of GDP, room is opening up to extend a campaign of military aviation renewal that by now should be coming to an end. Candidates include armed UAVs and top-up orders for transports and tankers.

Test pilots say the F-35 can be cleared for greater agility as a growth option based on the results of basic fighter maneuvers against an F-16 and earlier flight-envelope evaluations.

As the Netherlands gets ready to fly its F-35s in 2019, senior commanders are thinking about how to fill a technological training gap between the Talon and the Lightning II.

With the Indian prime minister heading to Paris in April, all eyes are on the export of French combat jets to the Indian air force.

Smallsats in low Earth orbit have captured the interest of deep-pocket investors who see new technologies and applications offering substantial returns.

A CRT Capital study warns that parts of Boeing and Airbus backlogs might be under threat if lobbying campaigns against Gulf carriers bear fruit.

Russia may be open to Chinese participation in future space collaboration.

John Logsdon’s Nixon-tape transcripts show how the decision to build the space shuttle was derailed by dishonesty.

Australian and New Zealand carriers want to tap into the burgeoning services from China by forming alliances with their Chinese counterparts, although regulators are impeding some efforts.

With the capabilities of installed avionics but more flexibility, next-generation electronic flight bags—not tablets—will bring legacy cockpits into the secure NextGen era.

The technology exists to physically take command away from a pilot and is in operation with the U.S. Air Force.

Competition is driving ADS-B prices down, but installation complexities continue to dominate costs.

Mid-size UAV with max-size endurance; Predator-class persistent ISR for small ships; U.S. polysonic tunnel gets a refresh; Israeli AESA guides Lockheed counter-rocket laser; Amazon’s FAA-certified UAS is “obsolete”

Operator of the FAA’s ADS-B surveillance network sees opportunity to expand its capabilities to enable long-range operations in civil airspace by unmanned aircraft.

A unique NASA truck-mounted wing testbed is laying the foundation for a distributed electric propulsion X-plane demonstrator.

Facebook’s solar-powered UAV will be able to stay aloft at 60,000-90,000 ft. altitude for months at a time.

Aviation has become technically safer and safer. Is it now time to address the pilot as a safety concern?

NASA and industry are making progress on the human factors aspects of a long-distance relationship between two pilots flying an airliner – one in the air and one on the ground.

How well the Clean Sky 2 research program balances near- and long-term technologies could prove crucial to Europe’s civil-aircraft industry

Whether the U.S. Navy keeps to the new schedule and cost estimates for the CVN 78 Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier may come down to just how well a set of redesigned fasteners for the ship's Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) survives a new round of extremely important tests.

CEO Mauro Moretti is grappling with the Italian group’s debt in a bid to restore Finmeccanica to profitability by the end of this decade.

Suggestions for enhancing USAF stealth capability; questioning the divide between defense and commercial sectors; lauding an Aviation Week Laureate winner; noting a history of pilot retention woes

Investigators of downed Germanwings find that the first officer “deliberately crashed” the Airbus A320 into the side of a mountain; debates about psychological oversight of pilots and cockpit access are already beginning.

Germanwings crash could spur a revival of technology solutions to scuttle deliberate pilot, passenger actions to down an aircraft.