The contract could pave the way for follow-on integration of the system into more advanced combat and aggressor training aircraft such as the Lockheed Martin F-16.
Airbus has said the partnership’s Bridge Tanker proposal will be based on the Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT), but comments from a Skunk Works executive suggest advanced upgrades could be added for the U.S. version of the international best-seller.
As part of longer-term KC-46A upgrade plans aimed at current aircraft as well as the U.S. Air Force’s upcoming Bridge Tanker requirement, Boeing has flown two test aircraft to demonstrate tracking technology for future autonomous air-to-air refueling (A3R) capability.
Plans for the center will be welcomed by the U.S. high-speed systems development community, which for years has highlighted the shortage of adequate centralized hypersonic test facilities.
The organizers of the Australian International Airshow, better known as the Avalon Airshow, have canceled this year’s event as they acknowledged the “unpredictable environment” brought about by the Delta strain of COVID-19.
The existence of the new production facility also points to a likely return by the Skunk Works to a series manufacturing role after spending most of the last four decades focused on being a rapid prototyping arm and future concepts developer.
The TH-73 arrived at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Florida, on Aug. 6 following the June 10 handover of the aircraft by manufacturer Leonardo in Philadelphia, where the aircraft is being produced.
As the Pentagon develops a plan to formalize the investigation of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), a group of scientists and researchers are advocating for greater civilian involvement.
In a bid to bridge the so-called valley of death between technology demonstration and full-scale development, DARPA is exploring the concept of an “X Prime” program that would fit between an experimental X-plane and a Y-plane prototype and help transition capabilities from research to operation.
Eurofighter partner nations have agreed to a €300 million ($352.8 million) package of enhancements to boost the fighter’s capabilities that will also prepare the aircraft for future upgrades.
The recoverable exercise-variant torpedo, which lacks a warhead or propulsion system, was released by the aircraft near the UK’s main Poseidon operating base at RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland.
The U.S. government may offer the Colombian Air Force an option to buy used F-16s rather than a new production order, a senior U.S. Air Force official said on Aug. 6.
A sale of 50 F-35As and 18 MQ-9Bs to the UAE remains on hold as senior Biden administration officials continue to review the orders signed in the last days of the Trump White House that are worth a combined $13.4 billion, a U.S. Air Force official said on Aug. 5.
Startup hypersonic aircraft developer Hermeus has won a $60 million U.S. Air Force contract to develop single-engine flight demonstrators of its planned turbine-based, combined cycle-powered Mach 5 transport concept.
The UK Royal Air Force has declared the end of the operational career of its Boeing E-3D Sentry fleet after the airborne early warning aircraft flew its final missions over the Middle East at the end of July.
In another blow for U.S. hypersonic flight testing, John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory confirmed that a long-delayed flow physics flight experiment supported by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory failed to meet “all science objectives” after an anomaly with the launch vehicle.
The U.S. Air Force has pushed back final airworthiness certification for the Boeing/Leonardo MH-139 Gray Wolf through the end of fiscal 2022, raising questions about the timing and scope of any production restart.
Few ideas in aerospace have been tried and have failed as often as high-speed vertical-takeoff-and-landing but, undeterred by the scores of past dead ends, the U.S. military is trying again.
