Author: Lawrence Garrett

GA-ASI YFQ-42A CCA Prototype Crashes During California Test Flight

Aerotime reports, “A General Atomics YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft prototype crashed shortly after takeoff in the California desert on April 6, 2026, dealing the US Air Force’s flagship drone-wingman program its first known flight mishap. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) said the incident occurred at approximately 13:00 Pacific time at a company-owned airport. No one was injured. The company has temporarily paused flight test operations while it investigates the root cause.”
Full Story (Aerotime)

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YFQ-42A CCA Flight Testing | Credit: General Atomics; YouTube

Ohio Symposium Celebrates Over Half a Century and Looks Toward the Future of Aerospace

FROM THE INSTITUTE
On 10 March, the AIAA Dayton-Cincinnati Section held the Dayton-Cincinnati Aerospace Sciences Symposium (DCASS). Christopher Ruscher and Joseph Miller (the executive chair and co-chair of the symposium) told the audience, “Today, we hope you attend the diverse technical presentations submitted by our region’s aerospace professionals, students, and academics, highlighting scientific research and engineering innovations, get a chance to catch up with some old colleagues and meet new collaborators, and help promote STEM in the region.”

Autonomous Air Taxi Certification Emerges as New Regulatory Frontier

Flying Magazine reports, “Owing to the novelty of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) technology, the FAA is requiring air taxi developers such as Archer Aviation, Joby Aviation, and Beta Technologies to complete a gauntlet of testing. One of them, Boeing’s Wisk Aero, is building an aircraft that incorporates not just VTOL but another emerging technology—autonomy. Unlike Archer’s Midnight, Joby’s S4, or Beta’s Alia, Wisk’s Generation 6 is designed to fly autonomously from the jump.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

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Wisk Aero’s Generation 6 aircraft
Wisk Aero | YouTube

Fast and Furious: Aerospace Firms Reduce Hypersonic Design to Months, Not Years

FROM THE INSTITUTE
Used to be, designing hypersonic aircraft, a complex and lengthy process, presented a choice: One could choose low-fidelity and have it quickly, or high-fidelity and it would take seemingly forever. Those days may be gone if aerospace firms Specter Aerospace and nTop have their way. Now, hypersonic aircraft can be designed quickly, with high fidelity, at scale, reducing time from development requirements to validated design in days instead of weeks or months, said presenters on the HUB stage at AIAA SciTech Forum on 13 January.

Artemis II Crew Nears Moon as Spacecraft Enters Lunar Orbit Phase

The New York Times reports, “Early on Monday morning Eastern time, the astronauts of Artemis II will enter the lunar sphere of influence, when the pull of the moon’s gravity becomes stronger than Earth’s. That is when their spacecraft will start speeding up for the main event of the 10-day mission, swinging around the moon for a first close-up look by astronauts in more than 53 years.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)

NAVAIR Seeks Industry Input on CV-22 Osprey JTT-NG Integration

Military Aerospace reports, “The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is conducting market research to identify companies capable of integrating the Joint Tactical Terminal – Next Generation (JTT-NG) system onto the CV-22 Osprey aircraft, according to a sources sought notice issued on behalf of the V-22 Joint Program Office under the Program Executive Office for Air Anti-Submarine Warfare, Assault & Special Mission Programs.”
Full Story (Military Aerospace)

Nominations Open for Member Advancement

FROM THE INSTITUTE
Do you know an AIAA member who has made outstanding contributions to the aerospace industry? Help us shine a spotlight on their stellar leadership and contributions by nominating them for member advancement, and elevate them to an elite class of AIAA members. Full nomination criteria can be found on the AIAA Honors homepage.

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