Aircraft & Propulsion

The UK has brought another seven aerospace companies into the Team Tempest consortium to develop technologies for a future UK-led combat air system.

Leaps in computing power, sensors and weapons will benefit the F-35 in the next eight years—if Lockheed can keep modernization on track.

Boeing may accelerate development of its Airpower Teaming System (ATS) to begin deliveries before the middle of the decade, amid what it said is unexpectedly strong early interest in the loyal-wingman drone.

Mainplane skins, flaperons, tail surfaces and rear fuselage are made of carbon fiber. Rollout is due in April 2021.

Milestones for the T-7 trainer; what comes after the MQ-9; Sierra Nevada’s Shooting Star and a new name for Airbus operations in the U.S.

An analysis shows that a disruptive acquisition strategy for the Next-Generation Air Dominance program would reduce costs.

The Pentagon has selected the Liteye Systems containerized anti-UAS defense system (C-AUDS) to be the first platform integrated with one of the Defense Department’s inaugural interim counter small unmanned systems (C-sUAS).

NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance Force (NAGSF) has taken delivery of its third RQ-4D Phoenix radar-reconnaissance unmanned aircraft system.

Actions for this year: choose contracting arrangements, a prime contractor and foreign partners, and allocate funds.

One of the UK’s three RC-135 Rivet Joint signals intelligence aircraft has been upgraded with a new cockpit as part of a modernization of the fleet.

China has begun volume production of a second version of the Avic Chengdu J-20 fighter, one fitted with thrust vectoring, the South China Morning Post reported.

A series of 25 flight tests with T408 engines on a CH-47 testbed was set to begin this summer, but the Army and industry demonstration team is still copping with the impact of the pandemic on a long list of pre-flight tasks.

President Matthew Bromberg on COVID-19, production increases and future development efforts.

The twin-engine T-7A is designed to train future U.S. Air Force fighter pilots, but is demonstrating “fighter-like” performance itself, Boeing said.

British aerospace firms will be less well-resourced to cope with a no-deal Brexit if the UK government and the European Union cannot come to a consensus on a future trading relationship by the end of the year, industry has warned.

The outlook for Eurofighter and F-35 looks bright, but questions remain about the future of the Hawk jet trainer.

U.S. small drone manufacturer Skydio said it has raised $100 million in venture capital, which the company will use to accelerate product development and expand into the commercial and public-sector markets.

ANA Holdings, parent company of All Nippon Airways, is cooperating with Japanese startup Aeronext on the development of delivery drones with the goal of beginning commercial operations in 2022-23.

The Italian Army has taken delivery of the first of two commercial-model Leonardo AW169s in a move that paves the way for the wider introduction of a military version of the rotorcraft.

Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston says in an interview how the RAF is adapting to COVID-19 and looking ahead to transformative initiatives such as ASTRA.

Manned-unmanned teaming and combat cloud technologies are key disruptors in Europe’s Future Combat Air System.

Airbus Defense & Space CEO Dirk Hoke talks with Aviation Week about COVID impact, Europe’s big defense initiatives and other challenges.

Italian and Swedish industry will begin joining discussions on Tempest later this year.

A country-by-country look at who will benefit from the alphabet soup of European defense and aerospace programs in progress to bolster industry.

The UK is preparing to advance to the next stage of its Lightweight Affordable Novel Combat Aircraft technology demonstrator project.