Tag: Aeronautics

DoD Selects Five Companies in Small Drone ‘Lethality Prize Challenge’

Breaking Defense reports, “As part of its Drone Dominance initiative, the Pentagon has named five winners of a ‘lethality’ challenge, a title that could place them ahead of other vendors in the race to snag deals to arm small drones. On the competition’s website, the Pentagon announced that Bravo Ordnance, Kela Defense, Kraken Kinetics, Mountain Horse and Northrop Grumman have all been named winners of the recent Lethality Prize Challenge.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)

Region V Student Conference Brings Together a Community to Share Ideas and Celebrate Innovation

From the Institute
From 26 to 27 March, the AIAA Region V Student Conference was held at Iowa State University. The conference included everything from engaging technical presentations to conversations with passionate high school and college students, and it was clear the future of aerospace is in incredibly capable hands. What stood out most was the community of students, faculty, and professionals all coming together to support one another, share ideas, and celebrate innovation.

NASA Accelerates X-59 Flight Campaign Ahead of First Supersonic Test

Aviation Week reports, “NASA is continuing to speed up the rate of X-59 flight tests as the Quesst low-boom supersonic demonstrator program builds up to its first Mach 1 faster-than-sound milestone flight. The needle nose Lockheed Martin Skunk Works-built aircraft has so far accumulated around 19.6 flight hours on 16 flights, eight of which were completed in April.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Virgin Galactic Nears Operational Return With Upgraded Spaceplane Fleet

Space News reports, “Virgin Galactic said May 14 it remains on track, technically and financially, to start commercial flights of its next-generation suborbital spaceplane before the end of the year. In a first-quarter earnings call, company executives said work on its first SpaceShip vehicle is on schedule, with the completed airframe recently moving from its assembly hangar to a testing hangar at its production facility near Phoenix.”
Full Story (Space News)

Digital Engineering Helps Restore B-1B Bomber in Record Time

Air Force Times reports that the US Air Force “finished retiring 17 B-1B Lancer bombers this week, its first step toward divesting the entire fleet within the next two decades.” The US Air Force announced Friday that the 17 bombers left Edwards Air Force Base on Thursday for the aviation graveyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Of the original 100 B-1Bs, 45 are still operational “and are housed at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, and Dyess AFB, Texas.
Full Story (Air Force Times)

MQ-9 Reaper Demonstrates Precision Rocket Strike Capability

Aviation Week reports, “MQ-9 Reapers fired BAE Systems precision-guided rockets during a recent demonstration by General Atomics Aeronautics Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) and the U.S. Air Force. The medium-altitude, long-endurance uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) launched several Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) II rockets at ground and aerial targets on the Nevada Test and Training Range, the MQ-9 manufacturer said.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

NFL Veteran Joshua Dobbs Pursues Aviation Dreams in a Cirrus SR22

Flying Magazine reports, “Most professional athletes talk about life after football in vague, distant terms, something they’ll figure out when the time comes. Joshua Dobbs is unlike most professional athletes. The 31-year-old NFL quarterback, now entering his 10th professional season, holds an aerospace engineering degree from the University of Tennessee, has interned at NASA, runs a STEM-focused charitable foundation, and recently completed his private pilot license in a Cirrus SR22. He’s now weeks away from his IFR check ride.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

Solar Impulse 2, Famous for Around-the-World Flight, Crashes Into Gulf Waters

Aerotime reports, “Solar Impulse 2, the experimental solar-powered aircraft which became famous in 2016 after completing a global circumnavigation, has crashed into the sea off the coast of Mississippi on May 4, 2026.  The experimental aircraft was operating for Skydweller Aero, a company developing long-endurance, solar-powered platforms for surveillance and reconnaissance missions. This US-Spanish company acquired Solar Impulse 2 in 2019 and converted it to an unmanned aircraft for use in its own development programs.”
Full Story (Aerotime)

 

 

 Video

The Skydweller aircraft
(New Scientist; YouTube)