Aircraft
News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.
Aircraft
Embraer sets its sights on new military jet transport
Embraer has received a $1.3 billion contract to design and deliver a new military transport, called the KC-390.
Aircraft
King Air still in high demand for hot-and-high recon missions
How much more performance can be extracted from the King Air twin turboprop to satisfy surveillance requirements? The latest Model 350ER offers almost doub
Aircraft
CFM bets on composites for future turbofan blades
CFM International (Hall 2 Stand B149) is studying a next generation of turbofans to power single-aisle commercial aircraft, hoping to secure a role in
Aircraft
Navy sets stiff test for UCAV carrier ops
We all know that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) present operational challenges, and making them into stealthy, tailless jets and asking them to do combat
Aircraft
The Black and White of Stealthy UAVs
The X-47B is the only stealthy UAV under development that is currently acknowledged by the Pentagon–unless you count the recently revealed Predator-C, whic
Aircraft
Sandblaster and LVL ‘clear the air’
Extended rotary-wing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have brought the problems of “brown-out” sharply into focus.
Aircraft
Airbus expects minor mods to keep A320 flying for years
Despite the fact that final assembly of the 4,000th example is now under way, the A320 single-aisle twinjet may be only at the midpoint of its production l
Aircraft
LHT undertakes restoration of Super Star Constellation
The Lockheed L-1649A Super Star was the queen of the skies in the late 1950s and it might again become a familiar sight aloft, according to Lufthansa Techn
Aircraft
Airbus engages all of Europe in A350 project
To the casual observer, it looked like just another chunk of concrete apron on Airbus’s sprawling production complex at Blagnac Airport outside Toulouse.
Aircraft
Bombardier considers stretch variant for Q400
Bombardier Aerospace is continuing to define a further stretch of its 78-passenger Dash 8 Q-400 regional turboprop to create a possible 90-seat variant tha
Aircraft
Thales helps extend Rafale reach
Thales is engineering a series of upgrades to the sensor systems aboard France’s Rafale that will be incorporated in the next batch of aircraft for the Fre
Aircraft
Firm order vindicates Bombardier’s C series
The firm order placed by Deutsche Lufthansa late this past winter for 30 Bombardier CS100 airliners not only gave the much-maligned C Series its first conf
Aircraft
Airbus, Boeing mull options for next narrowbody models
Bombardier has already thrown its hat into the more-than-100-seats jetliner ring with its C Series design and Embraer is considering its response to percei
Aircraft
Raven radar equipped Gripen to fly by year-end
In late March Saab announced a teaming agreement with Selex Galileo to develop the ES-05 Raven active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for the Gri
Aircraft
Baltic Air Policing
On May 1 the JAS 39C/D Gripens of the Czech air force’s 211.tl took over NATO’s Baltic Air Policing detachment, which provides a two-aircraft, 24-hour, 15-
Aircraft
ATC integration poses challenge for Euro Hawk
If all goes well, the German air force could be the first air arm to routinely operate a military unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in European airspace.
Aircraft
More and More Global Hawks
Versions of the Global Hawk are proliferating, with five now in service or development for the U.S., as well as the Euro Hawk for Germany and another for t
Aircraft
LM Defends F-35 JSF Agility Against Critics
Is LM’s Joint Strike Fighter a “bomb truck” optimized for the stealthy attack of ground targets but of limited value as a defender of airspace?
Aircraft
Airbus ramps up work on A350 family
With the A380 very-large airliner firmly established in production and airline operation, Airbus is now hard at work on its next project: the three-model A
Aircraft
RAC MiG looks to future as it fills Indian order
Indian navy pilots and support crew have started training on the MiG-29K/KUB fighters with RAC MiG in Russia.
Aircraft
A380 ‘delivers’ on promises
After little more than 18 months’ service, the Airbus A380 very large airliner is delivering on the manufacturer’s commitments, including lowest fuel burn
Aircraft
Joint venture BrahMos to arm India’s Flankers
India’s air force is planning to arm its growing fleet of Sukhoi Su-30MKI Flanker-H fighters with anti-ship missiles developed by the Russian-Indian joint
Aircraft
Boeing dismisses doubt over 787 approval target
If Boeing manages to get the 787 certified in eight to nine months as planned, it will doubtless enjoy proving the long line of skeptics wrong.
Aircraft
French President Sarkozy to get A330
French President Nicolas Sarkozy will be flying in a style more becoming the nation’s leader with a recent government decision to acquire an Airbus A330-20
Engines
ACARS Signals from Doomed Air France Jet Point to Catastrophic Break-Up
Brazilian search teams found more wreckage from Air Fra
Aircraft
Brazilian Startup Company To Enter VLJ Crowd
GP Aerospace, a startup company formed in São José dos Campos, Brazil, by former Embraer technical director Guido Pessotti, has unveiled to AIN
Aircraft
In the works: Embraer – Phenom 300
Embraer’s Phenom 300 midsize jet is proceeding toward FAA and Brazilian approval on schedule by year-end.
Aircraft
In the works: Epic Aircraft – Escape
Epic Aircraft’s Escape all-composite turboprop single flew for the first time on April 9.
Aircraft
In the works: Daher-Socata – NTx
Sometime in the next year or so, Daher-Socata is expected to announce the formal launch of a new eight- to 10-seat twin-engine turboprop or jet.
