Defense News reports, “The Air Force’s first F-47 fighter is now being built by Boeing, and the advanced jet is expected to have its initial flight in 2028, Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said Monday. Allvin, speaking at the Air and Space Forces’ Air, Space and Cyber Conference, said that Boeing’s team worked quickly to start manufacturing the sixth-generation fighter after their selection was announced in March.”
Full Story (Defense News)
Tag: Aeronautics
Lockheed’s Skunk Works Unveils Vectis Stealth Drone
Breaking Defense reports, “Lockheed Martin’s secretive Skunk Works advanced development arm has unveiled a new project — a stealthy autonomous drone it calls Vectis that Lockheed intends to fly by the end of 2027. The first Vectis prototype is currently ‘in progress,’ but is envisioned as a large ‘Category 5’ reusable drone designed to be customizable to match shifts in the threat environment, said OJ Sanchez, Skunk Works’s vice president and general manager.”
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NASA Invites Students to Submit Proposals to Fix Aviation Maintenance
Flying Magazine reports, “U.S. college students have the opportunity to score NASA internships by sharing ideas for aviation maintenance technologies. The space agency on Friday announced the theme for its 2026 Gateways to Blue Skies competition—“RepAir: Advancing Aviation Maintenance” for commercial passenger and cargo operations. Teams of collegiate students are invited to submit proposals that incorporate automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other technologies. Their objective is to devise a solution that could improve maintenance efficiency, safety, or costs and be implemented within the next decade.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
DoD Validates Kraus Hamdani Aerospace’s K1000ULE UAS for Defense and Commercial Use
Unmanned Systems Technology reports, “Kraus Hamdani Aerospace’s fully electric, long-endurance K1000ULE UAS has been added to the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) Defense Innovation Unit Blue UAS Cleared and Select Lists, confirming it as a trusted, secure, NDAA-compliant drone ready for immediate procurement.”
Full Story (Unmanned Systems Technology)
Videos
K1000ULE VTOL Landing
(Stefan Kraus; YouTube)
NASA’s X-59 Demonstrator Gearing Up for Flight-Test Phase
Aerotime reports, “NASA says the futuristic-looking X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft is closing in on its first flight, with engineers conducting final checks of safety systems as the program moves from ground testing toward the all-important flight-test phase.”
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GA-ASI and Aerovironment Validate Large UAS as Motherships with Switchblade 600 Test
Unmanned Systems Technology reports GA-ASI and AeroVironment completed a milestone test by launching a Switchblade 600 from an MQ-9A, demonstrating “large UAS capability as motherships.”
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First Jetson One Delivered to Tech Founder, Achieving Milestone for Personal Aviation
Aerotime reports, “The Jetson One, a single-seat electric quadcopter, has been delivered to Oculus and Anduril founder Palmer Luckey in California, marking the company’s first customer handover and a milestone in personal aviation.”
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Video
Jetson ONE
Jetson; YouTube
Second B-21 Flies for First Time as Air Force Looks to Expand Testing
Defense News reports the service hopes having two B-21s at Edwards Air Force Base will allow it to begin testing the bomber’s “weapons integration and critical mission systems.”
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Air Taxis at Major Airports a Step Closer to Reality
Aviation Week reports, “The prospect of flying premium passengers direct to airport terminals in clean, quiet electric air taxis has moved a step closer, but significant progress must still be made if it is to become a reality. In early August, Joby Aviation agreed to acquire the passenger business of urban helicopter service provider Blade Air Mobility.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
First US Navy E-130J Phoenix II Command Aircraft Rolls Out
FlightGlobal reports the first airframe for the US Navy’s new E-130J Phoenix II strategic airborne command post “has rolled off the production line,” marking a milestone in “the $3.5 billion TACAMO modernisation … programme.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)