Aircraft & Propulsion

A small transonic wing section, tucked under a NASA F-15B for flight testing, could pave the way for more efficient next-generation airliner wing designs.

Rolls-Royce has produced the first new-build Trent 1000XE incorporating a second phase of durability improvements.

Aviation Week editors share the highlights of Boeing's latest financials, touching on the manufacturer's positive turnaround, challenges ahead and program updates.

Boeing is convincing observers and stakeholders it has turned the corner on its recovery, despite having a financially noisy fourth quarter of 2025

Raytheon’s production output increased 20% on several critical programs last year; the company expects to significantly boost output again in 2026.

Boeing is reviewing a potential durability issue on the GE Aerospace GE9X engine powering the 777X.

Embraer and Adani Defense and Aerospace have announced their intention to build a final assembly line in India, and they will also collaborate on advancing India’s regional aircraft sector.

P&WC advances hybrid propulsion; GE’s hybrid Passport success; Europe’s Clean Aviation launches ultraefficient regional projects; UAE orders uncrewed VTOLs.

Ground tests of a modified Passport business jet engine in hybrid-electric mode mark a key step toward development of a future single-aisle propulsion system.

Manufacturing of hardware has begun for Pratt & Whitney Canada’s long-planned hybrid-electric propulsion flight demonstrator, a heavily modified Dash 8-100.

Vertical Aerospace’s Valo electric air taxi made its U.S. debut on Jan. 22, with a non-flying, full-scale mock-up of its eVTOL aircraft displayed in New York.

The University of Oxford study highlights the potential for efficiency-focused policy to cut aviation fuel use without affecting capacity.

Stratolaunch and Varda Space Industries will provide reusable systems capable of supporting dozens of flight tests annually at hypersonic speed, the DOD says.

The Norwegian government plan to take over search-and-rescue provision in Tromso looks set to result in additional orders for Leonardo’s AW101 heavy helicopter.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

Suppliers to GE Aerospace boosted their material input to the engine OEM by more than 40% in 2025, including a double-digit improvement in the fourth quarter.

Aviation Week’s Fleet Discovery database shows that last year the A220's backlog for the first time sank below the level of when Airbus acquired it, raising key questions for the program.

While commercial passenger services have yet to materialize, the defense sector is shaping up to be a more immediate market for advanced air mobility companies.

Daher will provide industrial services on a second Airbus A321 final assembly line in Toulouse, the Paris-based company announced Jan. 21.

The shortened variant of the Comac C919, designated the C919-600, has broken cover, with photographers capturing the aircraft at Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG).

NASA is poised to begin flight tests of a representative stub wing section that is aimed at dramatically enhancing the drag-reducing benefits of natural laminar flow (NLF) in next-generation, swept wing airliners.

Hybrid regional propulsion advances, Windracers pushes scheduled cargo drones, and Luminary speeds uncrewed combat designs.

Daher is upgrading its TBM 900 small business aircraft and looking for more aerostructures and services work.

Engine OEMs’ profit drivers are in direct opposition to those of Boeing and Airbus—everyone is in the same boat, but they are rowing in different directions.

Italy is establishing a rotary-wing flying school to train pilots for all the country’s armed forces, parapublic agencies as well as from overseas militaries.