Aircraft & Propulsion

New problems have been identified during CH-53K King Stallion development testing.

The U.S. Air Force is proposing the retirement of 13 KC-135s and 16 KC-10s in fiscal 2021, while the successor Boeing KC-46A Pegasus is not considered operationally viable.

The U.S. Army is seeking $513.5 million in fiscal 2021 for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, up from $398.3 in fiscal 2020, the first year of the program

The service’s fiscal 2021 budget request once again attempts to defer Block II upgrades for conventional forces Chinooks, but includes money to upgrade special operations forces MH-47Gs.

The U.S. Air Force must decide how to fill an aerial refueling shortfall exacerbated by KC-46 delays and an aging KC-10 fleet.

It was a lackluster 2019 for Dassault Aviation’s civil business, but military orders helped balance the books.

The Trump administration’s fiscal 2021 defense budget request is “flat” for the Pentagon but doubles down on space, hypersonic and cyber capabilities against China, Russia and others and would make recent changes to the national security structure “irreversible,” officials said Feb 10.

The U.S. Marine Corps is halving its planned 2021 buy of F-35Bs to 10 jets, while the Navy is purchasing three fewer F-35Cs than in the previous year’s budget projection.

Boeing's jet-powered MQ-25 will embark on aircraft carriers “to conduct aerial refueling as a primary mission and provide some ISR capability as a secondary mission,” according to fiscal 2021 Navy budget documents.

Austria has stepped into the controversy surrounding the Airbus bribery case after documents confirmed unfair conduct in the sale of Eurofighter jets there.

The biggest change is in procurement of the Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk, which is reduced as planned to 36 aircraft from 74 in 2020.

Croatia hopes to make a decision on the procurement of a new fighter aircraft before year’s end, defense officials say.

Boeing plans for the Airpower Teaming System drone to fly for the first time this year, aiming at the global defense market, with Australia as the potential launch customer.

U.S. funds electric propulsion; Wisk to carry passengers; Gremlins mission demo; HAPS payload developed; Astra Space emerges.

ST Engineering is in the final stages of developing a new family of Veloce unmanned air systems.

The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency envisions using MALE UAVs to support search, rescue and anti-pollution missions.

The British Maritime and Coastguard Agency has inducted a pair of Beechcraft King Air 200 turboprop aircraft to support its search-and-rescue, fisheries and pollution detection missions.

Airbus has been awarded additional study contracts to support the militarization of the company’s H160 twin-engine medium helicopter to meet the needs of the French military.

The first modernized Tupolev Tu-160M, the latest variant of the Cold War-era Tu-160 Blackjack heavy strategic bomber, made its first flight on Feb. 2..

General Atomics is expanding its ambitions across the Asia-Pacific area.

Russian Helicopters announced on Feb. 6 a “road map” that establishes a fixed schedule for localizing assembly tasks for the Ka-226T helicopter in India.

Standardization, an improved gearbox and cockpit automation have been confirmed for S-92 upgrade kits and a new production version.

UK gains P-8 maritime patroller; L3Harris spacecraft clears design hurdle; IAI makes deals in India; Germany scraps UAV purchase plan.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office should rule on the protest by mid-May.

Although Dynetics has yet to accomplish the airborne recovery of an air-launched unmanned aircraft, DARPA has announced plans to award the company a sole-source follow-on contract for a mission demonstration under its Gremlins program.