Aircraft & Propulsion

A design change of the Bell 360 Invictus was driven by the release of the U.S. Army ’s list of requirements for mission systems, the company’s CEO said Oct. 7.

What can Kabul teach the military about evacuation missions?

Boeing on Oct. 6 handed over the 48th KC-46 to the U.S. Air Force, the latest delivery in a year that has seen several missed deadlines due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and a lingering problem of foreign object debris inside the tankers.

The U.S. Air Force will have a shortage of Pratt & Whitney F100-220 and F100-229 engines that power F-15s and F-16s through at least April 2024 as the service focuses sustainment resources on higher priority problems with the F-15 Eagle fleet, a new report says.

Switzerland’s defense minister has warned that an initiative by political opponents to prevent the country from buying the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter could leave the country without a fighter jet capability.

The test marked the first time since the end of World War II that a fixed-wing aircraft has operated from a Japanese warship.

The U.S. Air Force’s F-35A is one step closer to becoming dual capable after two Lightning IIs dropped B61-12 test gravity bombs to finish the nuclear design certification process in September.

Boeing on Sept. 30 received a $172.8 million contract to install a new pressure and oxygen monitoring system in 78 new Block III F/A-18E/Fs as part of the U.S. Navy’s effort to mitigate potential physiological incidents.

The Swedish Air Force will begin to introduce the new-model Gripen E fighter to a frontline squadron beginning in 2025.

Another landmark in the rapid evolution of China’s aerospace industry was on display last week in Zhuhai.

The circular 12,200-mi. flight started on Sept. 24 at Edwards AFB, California, and landed back at the base on Oct. 2.

China is in the process of trialing two types of domestically built turbofans on its Xian Y-20 strategic airlifter.

The U.S. State Department has given the go-ahead to sell a single Boeing EA-18G Growler to Australia to replace an aircraft that was written off after an engine fire in 2018.

U.S. Air Force wants to add hypersonics to B-1s; North Korea’s hypersonic missile; Boeing wins German P-8, C-17 sustainment contracts.

Stealth aircraft have struggled to meet cost and schedule targets, but Northrop Grumman shows how B-21 can break the cycle.

Boeing and the Defense Department have agreed on a contract worth up to $23.8 billion for C-17 sustainment over the next decade, starting with $3.5 billion for Globemaster III work through September 2024.

The UK Royal Air Force has formally retired its Boeing E-3 Sentry airborne early warning aircraft from service.

The UK Royal Navy has launched unmanned air systems from the flight deck of its new carrier HMS Prince of Wales.

Germany is the third European nation to choose the P-8 following the UK and Norway after awarding a $756 million contract to Boeing for five of the maritime patrol aircraft.

Airbus Helicopters has been extolling the virtues of its H175 super-medium helicopter as a platform for the UK’s New Medium Helicopter with a series of demonstration flights.

RE2 Robotics has received U.S. Air Force funding to develop an autonomous system to automate certain flight line maintenance tasks during aircraft turnarounds.

China has again flexed its domestic fighter-development capabilities at the Zhuhai Airshow, this time flying the Chengdu J-20 with the locally built WS-10C turbofan as well as rolling out the Shenyang J-16D electronic warfare aircraft.

China unveiled its new Cai Hong-6 jet-powered high-altitude long-endurance (UAS, along with a number of other unmanned technologies at the 2021 Zhuhai Airshow on Sept. 28.

U.S. Air Force leaders signal new interest in F-35 reengining, as Pratt & Whitney and GE Aviation start testing adaptive turbofans.

The so-called “production smoothing” agreement establishes the likely ceiling for annual F-35 deliveries at 156 aircraft after 2023.