Business & Military

Austrian Airlines is testing out a new system that uses autonomous drones to inspect its aircraft for paintwork and structural damage. The company says it has been using the drones—supervised by an aircraft technician—to inspect its 36 Airbuses since the middle of the year. It plans to continue the tests until the end of 2019 […]

Airbus announced the delivery of its 1,000th Super Puma twin-engine utility helicopter on Friday. The aircraft, an H215 model, went to Germany’s Federal Police (Bundespolizei) for use by the agency’s maritime emergency management command. The delivery brings the Bundespolizei’s Super Puma fleet up to 23. According to Airbus, Super Puma helicopters are operated by nearly […]

Embraer delivered its first KC-390 multi-mission military jet to the Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB/Brazilian Air Force) at Brazil’s Anápolis Air Base on Wednesday. Embraer says it has already been conducting training with Air Force teams in preparation for the aircraft’s entry into service with FAB’s First Troop Transport Group. FAB placed an order for 28 […]

French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation announced the appointment of Thierry Betbeze as CEO of its subsidiary, Dassault Falcon Jet (DFJ), on Wednesday. DFJ, which is headquartered in Teterboro, New Jersey, oversees the marketing, sales and support of Falcon business jets in the Americas. Betbeze is replacing DFJ CEO Jean Rosanvallon, who is stepping down after […]

The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence (U.K. MoD) and Airbus Defence and Space officially withdrew their Eurofighter Typhoon from Canada’s Future Fighter Capability Project (FFCP) last Friday. In the wake of the decision, both U.K. MoD and Airbus emphasized their continued commitment to Canada’s government, armed forces and aerospace sector. Airbus complimented the FFCP team’s […]

The Clermont Group announced that it completed its acquisition of Israel-based electric aircraft company Eviation Aircraft, developer of the all-electric, nine-passenger Alice commuter aircraft, on Thursday. As previously reported by AVweb, Eviation displayed the first “fully operational” Alice at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, France, last June, where company also announced U.S. airline […]

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded contracts for the purchase of two new aircraft on Monday. One will be a modified Gulfstream G550, which NOAA says will be used for missions including hurricane and tropical storm forecasts and atmospheric research. The second addition will be a Beechcraft King Air 350 CER turboprop. […]

Sierra Nevada Corporation subsidiary 328 Support Services GmbH (328SSG) announced on Wednesday that it has formed new aircraft original equipment manufacturer (OEM) DRA GmbH to build an upgraded version of the Dornier 328 twin-engine turboprop, called the D328NEU. To that end, 328SSG and U.S.-based Sierra Nevada Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding with German federal […]

Australian airline Qantas has announced that it will be conducting three research flights to study the effects of ultra-long-haul routes on passengers and flight crew. The flights will make use of planned deliveries of three new Boeing 787-9s, which would typically be flown empty from Boeing’s facility in Seattle, Washington, to Australia. Instead of going […]

Embraer has announced that it will be building new facilities at its Eugênio de Melo unit in São José dos Campos, Brazil. The company plans to invest approximately $30 million in the project, which will include the construction of four new buildings along with the expansion and improvement of existing facilities. According to Embraer, the […]