Military Aviation

The Air Force is planning to churn out better new pilots faster using virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) in a simulator-intensive program that also prepares them for a new readiness posture. An extensive analysis in military.com says commanders want to get away from the traditional classroom, trainer and operational training progression in favor […]

Boeing is preparing its St. Louis F-15 factory for an order of 80 of the almost-50-year-old-design jets from the U.S. Air Force. The order is tucked into the Defense Department’s most recent appropriations request and Boeing says it wants to be ready if the Air Force needs the big twin fighters sooner rather than later. […]

SpaceX suffered a setback in its manned program when one of its Crew Dragon capsules experienced “an anomaly” on a test stand at Cape Canaveral on Saturday. The nature of the incident was not immediately released but a cloud of orange smoke was reported rising over the SpaceX facilities at the Cape. There were no […]

I’ve actually never bought a brand-new vehicle and my long-suffering wife will attest to the occasional discomfort and inconvenience that has resulted. Nevertheless, we’ve mostly been able to get where we wanted to go, do what we needed to do and do it safely and mostly reliably without ever having a car payment. Among the […]

The world’s largest airplane took its first flight early Saturday. The Stratolaunch, a six-engine, twin-fuselage behemoth with a 385-foot wingspan, took off from Mojave after years in development. The aircraft was conceived by Paul Allen and Scaled Composites founder Burt Rutan as an aerial launch platform for low Earth orbit satellites that will reduce launch […]

One of Scaled Composites’ (formerly) most secretive projects was on full display at a Kentucky FBO over the weekend, on its way to NAS Paxutent River from Mojave. The stealthy model 401, one of two that are flying, stopped for fuel at Bowling Green in the middle of a clear day and the pilot wasn’t […]

The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) has announced that the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS) team has been named the recipient of the 2018 Robert J. Collier Trophy for “successfully completing a rapid design, integration, and flight test of critical, lifesaving technology for the worldwide F-35 fleet.” Auto GCAS was developed by Lockheed Martin, […]

The final price tag for two new almost-new VC-25B executive transport aircraft for the Air Force is now pegged at $5.3 billion. Defense One is reporting the Pentagon has asked for $4.68 billion for the conversion of two mothballed Boeing 747-8i airliners in its 2020 budget request and full implementation of the program will add […]

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) has announced that a wide array of military aircraft ranging from historic World War II warbirds to currently active fighters will be on display for the “Year of the Fighter” at AirVenture 2019 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Special programs and activities highlighting military aircraft will take place throughout the week. Events […]

The Sikorsky-Boeing SB>1 Defiant helicopter successfully completed its first flight on Thursday. The aircraft was developed by Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky in partnership with Boeing to be part of the U.S. Army’s Future Vertical Lift program. It was designed using technology developed from Sikorsky’s X2 Technology Demonstrator, which won the Collier Trophy in 2010. Features […]