In depth

High-pressure turbine updates will address a heat-induced durability problem affecting best-selling CFM International engines.

The squadron that qualifies new A-10 pilots for combat duty graduated its last class of students in April, as the US Air Force moves haltingly toward retiring the venerable ground attack fighter.

The latest order for L3Harris’ Global 6500-based Aeris X platform follows a competitive win in South Korea last year.

Draken is advancing its ‘Red Force’ adversary training model, with additional aircraft brought into use and plans in place to build a new Electronic Warfare (EW) Academy in the UK.

The reborn Zeppelin airship is a familiar sight over Friedrichshafen for much of the year and once again is turning heads during this week’s Aero event in the town as it ascends gracefully from its giant hangar by the show site, carrying sightseers over Lake Constance.

The army is weighing wether it should add both an air-to-air refuelling probe for the rotorcraft and an organic tanker platform to the service’s aviation inventory.

Dubbed the S-4T, the new design is based on Joby’s all-electric S-4 passenger aircraft, modified with a hybrid-electric propulsion system and an autonomous flight control system.

Some 155 aircraft were involved in the recovery mission, including bombers, fighters, tankers, rescue helicopters and special operations transports, with one fighter shot down and two rescue transports abandoned on the ground.

No deal for JetBlue to be acquired by a rival airline appears imminent, but industry observers are watching for the next big US airline tie-up. 

The 737-700 passenger jet that will become the first Boeing E-7A Wedgetail prototype for the US Air Force was spotted in transit to Birmingham in the UK, where standard 737s are converted into the specialised military aircraft used to detect airborne threats and manage friendly activity.

US defence officials have declared stockpiles of precision munitions sufficient for sustained operations against Iran, contradicting years of warnings from military officers and industry executives about the imbalance between production capacity and battlefield demand.

Shanghai-based MizarVision has been publicly posting satellite imagery of American military movements throughout Operation Epic Fury, including locations of F-22 fighters, command and control aircraft, and aircraft carrier strike groups – with some sites subsequently targeted by Iranian retaliation.