Aircraft & Propulsion

By Thierry Dubois
All three air chiefs of staff involved in the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) are emphasizing the importance of achieving first flights of the demonstrators by 2026.
Aircraft & Propulsion

The new merger of the two General Dynamics information technology business units into a new Technologies division is raising eyebrows for a potential spinoff someday, particularly as large mergers and acquisitions continue to be announced across the military, space and intelligence services sector.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
Aerovel has conducted reliability testing of its Flexrotor vertical-takeoff-and-landing Group 2 unmanned aircraft system for the U.S. Special Operations Command.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
The ongoing AoA will seek to identify gaps in capabilities that will be required in the 2030s, as compared to current technology.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
Shoulder-mounted conformal fuel tanks could be cut after flight testing reveals “challenges.”
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Top Aces has begun the process of transferring former Israeli F-16s back to the U.S. to provide adversary air services for the U.S. Air Force.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Tactical air services provider Draken has established a Europe-based business following its takeover of Cobham Aviation Services last September.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
Annual revenue reported by the Aeronautics Systems division in 2020 was higher, and, notably, included what Northrop’s filing described only as a “$444 million sale of equipment to a restricted customer.”
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Germany is restarting its heavy transport helicopter program and looking to solicit bids for competing platforms through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales process.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne, Thierry Dubois
Greece is investing in defense again and new combat aircraft top the list of priorities.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Thierry Dubois
Greece’s recent order for 18 Dassault Rafale fighters will comprise a mix of six new single and two seaters, while France’s order for 12 new Rafales—replacements for the secondhand ones it is selling to Greece—is imminent.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
Boeing blamed the latest quarterly charge on “production inefficiencies, including impacts of COVID-19 disruption.”
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
The first of 27 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters ordered by Denmark has been rolled out of Lockheed Martin’s plant in Fort Worth.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
The Eurofighter, Gripen and Rafale compete fiercely but will benefit from one another’s technology as Europe develops replacements.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
Sikorsky-Boeing Takes Wraps Off Defiant X Design For U.S. Army’s FLRAA
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
Three F/A-18E/Fs have already been delivered from an SLM line in St. Louis, Missouri. But the fourth SLM-updated F/A-18E/F delivered to the Navy emerged from Boeing’s facility at Kelly Field.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
AFWERX has launched a six-week market research phase to understand the bourgeoning field of startup companies seeking to build supersonic and hypersonic transports.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Thierry Dubois
The Greek government on Jan. 25 formally ordered 18 Rafale fighters from Dassault Aviation after an agreement was reached with the French Ministry of Armed Forces.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
A team headed by Spirit Aerosystems will lead the development and demonstration of a low-cost unmanned combat aircraft that could go on to operate as a loyal wingman for the UK’s Typhoon, F-35, and later Tempest manned fighters.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Thierry Dubois
Feedback from Operation Barkhane in Africa has helped confirm the relevance of keeping the Mirage 2000D in service.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
The pilot of a Pilatus PC-12 who made an illegal landing at a military airfield in Wales last year to visit a nearby beach has been fined £3,400 ($4,650) following court hearings.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
Sikorsky and Boeing have taken the wraps off their Defiant X offering for the U.S. Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft requirement, and the design differs only in detail externally from the SB-1 Defiant technology demonstrator now in flight test.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Airbus Helicopter is proposing its H175 twin-engine super-medium rotorcraft as a potential replacement for the UK Royal Air Force’s (RAF) aging fleet of Airbus Puma medium-lift platforms.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Airbus Helicopters officials say they have secured backing from the French, Germany and Spanish governments to bid for funding from the European Defense Fund for initial studies for a future European military rotorcraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
On the heels of receiving fiscal 2021 funding, the U.S. Air Force has moved to purchase 15 KC-46 aircraft from Boeing for $2.1 billion.
Aircraft & Propulsion