U.S. military planners have now broadly accepted that the only way to meet the advanced performance needs of “sixth-generation” combat aircraft, barring changes to the laws of physics, will be the adoption of variable-cycle, or adaptive engine technology.
KAL appears to be proposing a design based on the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, which should be developmentally cheaper than KAI’s KF-X proposal. However, Boeing reportedly has given up supporting KAL’s bid because of a serious image problem suffered by the South Korean company.
Noting that the 747-8 is the only platform "manufactured in the United States [that] when fully missionized meets the necessary capabilities established to execute the presidential support mission," Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said competition will be sought at the subsystem level for the program.
An “advanced aeronautics” prototyping project, including airframes and propulsion, is one of a number of new and accelerated technology projects in the fiscal 2016 defense budget, according to Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work.
The Pentagon has finished a secret analysis of alternatives (AoA) for the Long Range Standoff (LRSO) project, a cruise missile to replace today’s AGM-86 Air-Launched Cruise Missile
The competition to build South Korea’s proposed KF-X indigenous fighter will probably come down to price, putting Korean Airlines at an advantage, according to a government official.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is crafting a strategy to leverage the influx of imagery available from the many new information services providers working today.
This week is all about unmanned aircraft: using quadcopters on construction sites; 3-D cameras help avoid collisions; UAS get MAD for ASW; “micro” unmanned aircraft certification category proposed; UAS air-dropping UAS.
SpaceX has agreed to drop its lawsuit against the U.S. Air Force. In return, the service is vowing to increase the number of launches it plans to compete.
Critical independent testing report looks at F-35 test priorities and notes that its focus on the Marine Corps’ first operational squadron has a price.
A major operational test series planned for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been abandoned in an attempt to protect the schedule for delivering a fully operational aircraft, according to the just-released fiscal 2014 report on the program from the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test & Evaluation.
