Military Aviation

While much of the attention was on other matters last week, one of the world’s aerospace companies was quietly created with the finalization of the merger of Raytheon and United Technologies. The result is Raytheon Technologies Corporation and with its broad scope of products and services and revenues of $74 billion a year, it will […]

The U.S. Army has selected Bell Textron and Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky to build prototypes for the second phase of its Future Attack and Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program. Other companies with FARA design entries included Boeing, Karem Aircraft and an AVX Aircraft-L3 Technologies team. Phase two will end with a flight test evaluation, which the […]

Textron Aviation’s defense arm will be supplying the U.S. Air Force with two Beechcraft AT-6 Wolverine turboprops, the company announced on Monday. Along with the aircraft, the $70.2 million contract will cover pilot training, engineering services and up to four years of contractor support. According to Textron, the AT-6 costs less than $1,000 per flight […]

Boeing unveiled its single-engine helicopter design for the U.S. Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) prototype competition on Tuesday. The unnamed thrust compounded single-main rotor helicopter features fly-by-wire controls, tandem seating, a six-bladed rotor system, a modular cockpit with a reconfigurable display and autonomous capabilities. Boeing has not announced expected performance numbers for the aircraft. […]

Russia is accusing Israel of using civilian airliners as shields to launch air strikes in Syria. The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday that Israeli air force F-16s intentionally put an A320 with 172 passengers on board between themselves and Syrian anti-aircraft missiles as they launched eight air-to-ground missiles on positions held by pro-Iranian forces near […]

A U.S. Air Force Bombardier E-11A crashed in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, on Monday, killing both service members on board. A spokesperson for the U.S. Forces-Afghanistan said that the remains of the victims were recovered on Tuesday along with the aircraft’s flight data recorder. The remnants of the aircraft were then destroyed by U.S. troops. As […]

The Air Force’s chief of staff warned new CEO David Calhoun that the 737 MAX isn’t the only item on Boeing’s to-do list. The U.S. Air Force is far less than happy with the KC-46, a 767-based tanker that, almost a decade in development, still isn’t mission ready. “We require your attention and improved focus […]

The CMV-22B, a variant of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor built by Boeing and Bell Textron, successfully completed its first flight in Amarillo, Texas, this week. The aircraft is intended to replace the U.S. Navy’s C-2A Greyhound fleet, providing personnel and cargo transport from shore bases to aircraft carriers at sea. The CMV-22B is powered by […]

The U.S. Air Force announced on Monday that the Fourteenth Air Force has officially been redesignated as Space Operations Command (SPOC). With the redesignation, all military and civilian personnel previously assigned to the Fourteenth Air Force are now assigned to SPOC. According to the Air Force, SPOC will support the United States Space Force’s (USSF) […]

Lockheed Martin delivered 47 percent more F-35 fighters this year than last, beating its goal for delivering 131 F-35 fighters in by three aircraft. That number is double its production from 2016. The fleet size is now 490 aircraft, with another 141 planned to be active by the end of 2020. “This achievement is a […]