Aircraft & Propulsion

By Michael Bruno
Spirit AeroSystems is growing the defense part of its revenue streams faster than expected, which is mildly helping to offset lost work in making airliners, the company’s CEO said Feb. 23.
Manufacturing & Supply Chain

By Jen DiMascio
NGI sparks industrial base concern; Israel to buy U.S. tankers, fighters; T-7 to final assembly; new approach to small parts contracting.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
Orange Flag, a regular exercise hosted by the Air Force Flight Test Center, will allow the Air Force to get a first glimpse of the Skyborg technology.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
U.S. Air Mobility Command is pitching a plan to approve a portion of KC-46A aircraft for limited operational missions despite remaining deficiencies that will hinder the tanker to participate in combat missions.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Jen DiMascio
Sierra Nevada on Feb. 22 filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office of the U.S. Air Force’s decision to award a sole-source upgrade contract to Sikorsky for the HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
U.S. Air Force officials say the B-21 program was not slowed down by a need to redesign the engine inlet, with the second aircraft now entering the production system.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Guy Norris, Steve Trimble
The pair of F-117As seen over Southern California are believed to be two of the cadre of four stealth aircraft resurrected from a small number that have been retained in flyable storage.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
The U.S. government and Lockheed Martin are negotiating a scaled back version of the performance-based logistics contract the company previously pitched for F-35 sustainment, with the aim of getting the flying hour price to $25,000 by 2025.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Thirty years since the U.S. Army retired the Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe, Erickson is looking to offer a more capable version of the helicopter for use by the U.S. military.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Aeralis’ modular jet trainer concept could prove UK’s Pyramid open architecture software development.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
The move activates the final assembly line nearly 29 months after the U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing a $9.2 billion contract to supply 351 jets and 46 simulators to replace the Northrop T-38C Talon.
Light Attack and Advanced Training

By Tony Osborne
Ask the Editors: Exports will be critical for both the Tempest and FCAS programs.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
The 41-kg (90-lb.) N-Raven is advertised with the ability to carry 10-15 kg payloads for up to 250 km at a cruise speed of 180 km/hr.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
The UK Royal Navy is to use Saab’s remote air traffic control tower technology to manage a remote satellite airfield in Cornwall.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
A decade of durability and fatigue testing revealed that 30 parts on the F-35B could fail between 2,000 and 4,000 flight hours, or far short of the 8,000 flight hour service life required in the original development contract awarded to Lockheed in 2001.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
The Israeli government has confirmed it will acquire a third squadron of Lockheed Martin F-35s as well as heavy-lift helicopters and advanced munitions as part of its new arms procurement program to update the Israeli Defense Forces.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
Despite the fact that the U.S. Air Force is advocating for a Pentagon-wide tactical aircraft study that may push the service to purchase cheaper airframes, Lockheed Martin maintains the F-35 will achieve a $25,000 flight hour goal by 2025 as long as the military signs a performance-based logistics contract.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
U.S. Air Force leadership from Air Combat Command and Air Force Materiel Command have requested a meeting with F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) leadership and subject matter experts to discuss options and impacts of F135 depot capacity and sustainment concerns.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
Boeing’s T-7A already “flies like a fighter” and would require several minor modifications to be adapted from an advanced jet trainer into a combat role, the company’s program manager said.
Aircraft & Propulsion

This webinar took place February 19, 2021 and sponsored by Element. The U.S. and Europe are pursuing development of next-generation combat aircraft
Defense

By Tony Osborne
The U.S. Army has retired the Bell TH-67 Creek training helicopter as part of its transition to the Airbus UH-72 Lakota. The last of the TH-67s, a derivative of the Bell Model 206B3 JetRanger, made their final flights at Cairns Army Airfield, Alabama, part of the Army’s Fort Rucker Aviation Center of Excellence training center, on Feb 17.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
The U.S. Air Force is whittling down upgrade options for the brand-new HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter fleet because new threats from China and Russia outpaced the design before delivery of the first aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury has said negotiations with partner nations and industry on the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) have entered a “challenging” phase.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
UAE’s Hope and China’s Tianwen-1 open new chapters in Mars exploration.
Space

By Jen DiMascio
SOCOM plans Armed Overwatch buy; GBSD moves past initial review; GE engine to power Italian helo and Denmark bolsters Arctic defenses.
Missile Defense & Weapons