Toughened resins and simpler composite damage-detection technology have scant applicability to most aircraft

Speeding the use of small unmanned systems operating under 400 feet.

Propelled by the introduction of the 787 into service, Boeing's overall Airplane Health Monitoring (AHM) capabilities are expanding rapidly. AHM is poised to deliver distinctly predictive inflight data to engineers and maintainers that will allow them to interdict incipient problems before they fully manifest themselves—and the airframer is introducing the approach across its product line.

With their Boeing 787-8 fleets building up nicely, Japan's two major airlines are looking to increase the long-haul routes where the new aircraft will be used. All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) were the first two carriers to receive the 787. Although two others have now joined the club, the Japanese carriers still account for almost all 787-8s in scheduled service.

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Russia's United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) plans for its 130-140-seat commercial narrowbody jet to enter the market in 2016-20, said its head, Mikhail Pogosyan, last week at the International Air Transport Forum in Ulyanovsk. The aircraft is intended as a link between the future stretched Sukhoi Superjet 100 version with 110-115 seats and the smallest, 150-passenger version of the MS-21.

With markets in Europe imploding and the U.S. economy looking shaky, Singapore Airlines (SIA) is expanding its business by focusing on Asian markets and in particular growing its short-haul narrowbody operation, SilkAir.

OEM supply chain oversight has been increasing during the past 6-7 years, a period that coincides with the well-publicized problems Boeing had with its supply chain for the 787 program. But in the broader context, OEMs have responded to a steady—and often remarkable—increase in aircraft orders since 2005 that slowed for most airframers only briefly in the 2008-09 global recession.