Aerospace

Unmanned aircraft guides firefighting robot; carrier landings made easier; a simpler approach to thrust vectoring; unmanned helicopter competes on cost with cargo trucks; Europe steps up work on reusable spaceflight.

Low-cost X-planes, electric propulsion and autonomous vehicles to get a boost under NASA’s aeronautics research plans for 2015 and 2016.

From X-planes to the “black budget” to where the U.S. is placing its technology bets for the future, our editors discuss what’s buried in President Obama’s fiscal 2016 budget request to Congress.

The time is right to consider the propensity of the A&D industry to innovate and the aimpoints on which its response to the Pentagon’s call should be targeted.

On the 100th anniversary of NACA, NASA rededicates itself to pursuing the fundamental technologies that made its predecessor so successful.

Flying in the dark when manned aircraft are grounded for safety, Lockheed Martin’s Indago small quadcopter provides fire intelligence.

Any budget-driven delay in the Future Vertical Lift program would put at risk industry’s ability to develop an advanced rotorcraft, warns the U.S. Army.

JAXA flight-tests electric propulsion; laser images airflow over A320 in flight; 3-D printing an engine combustor casing; small UAS takes water samples; Bicycle Shop, a nod to the past with an eye on the future.

Students of post-Cold War aerospace are intimately familiar with the Last Supper.

GE makes strides in lightweight ceramic matrix composite blade technology.

U.S. Air Force makes an effort to regain its technical understanding of complex systems during acquisition as a way to reduce program costs and risks.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is crafting a strategy to leverage the influx of imagery available from the many new information services providers working today.

NASA is taking no chances with flight tests of a full-scale flexible flap designed to demonstrate the potential noise and drag benefits of a seamless, morphing structure.

This week is all about unmanned aircraft: using quadcopters on construction sites; 3-D cameras help avoid collisions; UAS get MAD for ASW; “micro” unmanned aircraft certification category proposed; UAS air-dropping UAS.

The Gen-3 helmet display for the F-35 builds on data from flight testing and pilot training to fix shortcomings of the Gen-2 version.

One of the key features of the A&D industry is its close link to international politics.

Efficient aerodynamics and engines keep unmanned aircraft demonstrator aloft for 80 hr. and could slash operating costs for medium-altitude UAS.

Single-pilot commercial operations coming; advanced composites institute formed; unmanned news-gathering moves closer; agile manufacturing for ISR; near-zero-power sensors.

Work on air-launch space access projects hits all-time high as test flights loom.

New design tools are intended to help suppliers work with multiple manufacturers in a globalized aerospace industry.

In 2014, no other person has had a more sweeping impact on aerospace and aviation—for better or worse—than Russian President Vladimir Putin. And for all but the most cynical of observers, Putin’s far-reaching impact has definitely been for the worse. Because of this, he is Aviation Week's 2014 Person of the Year.

Green Rotorcraft program is testing fuel-saving diesel-cycle engine, advanced blades and electric tailrotor.

Like most abrupt macroeconomic changes, there are mixed implications for the defense sector from the recent drop in oil prices.

Senior Avionics & Safety Editor John Croft looks at the airliner flight deck of the future, which might feature one seat in the cockpit for a captain and one on the ground, occupied by a “super dispatcher” or first officer.

Reduced uncertainty about weight keeps long-span, low-drag wing in the running for fuel-saving airliner designs.