Sikorsky’s next commercial product will likely feature fly-by-wire and a high degree of automation, but it is undecided whether such a platform will benefit from the company’s X2 high-speed technologies
Russia’s Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft descended onto the subfreezing plains of Central Kazakhstan late March 1, delivering NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko safely to Earth after their 340-day mission to the International Space Station.
Finmeccanica Helicopters is negotiating with the FAA to restart flight tests of the AW609 commercial tiltrotor, following the loss of the second prototype last October.
Aerojet Rocketdyne plans to use its new partnership with the U.S. Air Force and United Launch Alliance to complete the AR1 engine for a kerosene-fueled version of ULA’s planned Vulcan launcher.
Honeywell International said early March 1 it would no longer pursue a merger with United Technologies under the terms the companies discussed last month.
Solar Impulse 2 (Si2) has completed its first test flight following a battery system upgrade and ahead of restarting its solar-powered round-the-world flight attempt in April from Hawaii.
Airbus Helicopters is planning to demonstrate its H215 – the modernized variant of the Super Puma twin-engine heavy helicopter – to several U.S. government agencies.
The U.S. Navy is worried about the number of missiles it has in its collective quiver, Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, told the House Appropriations Committee.
After years of western rotary wing dominance, Russian helicopter manufacturers will take over the top slot as the single largest force in global sales over the next five years, the American Helicopter Society (AHS) predicts.
Bell Helicopter is believed to have attached the wings to the fuselage of its V-280 Valor tiltrotor, marking a key step toward completion of the company’s advanced-rotorcraft technology demonstrator for the U.S. Army’s Joint Multi-Role (JMR) program.
United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) is due to begin deliveries of Sukhoi Su-35 fighters to China this year, with engineers of the Chinese aeronautics industry possibly looking forward to the arrival of the aircraft just as much as the air force is.
While the debate continues to simmer about the cost and need for maintaining the nation’s aircraft fleet, the U.S Navy is moving ahead with the refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) of CVN 73 USS George Washington.
EUROPEAN COMMISSION will speed up deployment of Galileo satellites by adding an Arianespace Soyuz launch carrying two satellites in May 2016, in addition to four already scheduled on Ariane 5 ES during 4Q 2016. NASA licensed UAV comms technology to VIGILANT AEROSPACE SYSTEMS, OK. Integrated C2 system is capable of collision warnings, real-time traffic/weather updates.
Weapons exports have increased by 14% in the last five years compared with the 2006-10 timeframe, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The U.S. and Russia made up the largest share of sales – 58% between them. The third largest exporter, China, saw its exports grow by 88%, though its share of the market of international weapons sales is still just 5.9%. And more than two-thirds of Chinese weapons are being exported to neighbors of India – Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. For a complete list of Aviation Week Network’s upcoming events, and to register, visit www.aviationweek.com/events (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Mar. 3—Laureate Awards, The National Building Museum, Washington, D.C. For more information go to www.awin.aviationweek.com/events
Almost two years after the Swiss populace voted down proposals to replace the country’s F-5 Tiger fighters with the Saab JAS-39 Gripen, Switzerland’s government has restarted evaluations for a future fighter.
NASA is funding Lockheed Martin to complete preliminary design of an X-plane demonstrator to show whether the shock-wave signature of a 100-120-seat low-boom supersonic airliner would be acceptable to the public, clearing the way for supersonic flight over land.
