Tag: Aeronautics

Supersonic Flight Has Potential to Reshape the NFL

Flying Magazine reports, “In December, Congress is expected to review legislation that would end the FAA’s 52-year restriction on commercial supersonic flight over land. A reversal of the ban could have big implications for America’s most watched professional sports league. This month, the Wall Street Journal reported that the supersonic test campaign of Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 demonstrator was “of particular interest” to the leadership of the NFL. The league has quietly kept a “close eye” on the progress of Boom and other supersonic developers for years, sources said.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

Navy and Marines Corps Set to Install Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance Systems in Boeing F/A-18s

Aviation Week reports, “The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, along with two partner operators, are set to install automatic ground collision avoidance systems in Boeing F/A-18 fleets—admitting that the technology could have prevented several fatal crashes. Both the legacy F/A-18 Hornet fleet in the U.S. Marine Corps and Royal Canadian Air Force and the F/A-18E/Fs and EA-18G Growlers in the U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Air Force passed major milestones in the process in November.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

DARPA X-plane Steered by Air Bursts to Make First Flight in 2027

Defense News reports, “An experimental DARPA plane that would steer using bursts of air is expected to have its first flight in late 2027, more than two years later than originally planned, after the program was paused and restructured. The unmanned X-65, being built by Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences as part of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program, is designed to test a concept called ‘active flow control’ to steer an aircraft.”
Full Story (Defense News)

U.S. Army Apache Pilots to Train with Augmented Reality for First Time

Flying Magazine reports, “For the first time, U.S. military helicopter pilots will train using augmented reality (AR) technology that can recreate real-world scenarios within a digital space. On Monday, augmented reality flight training systems developer Red 6 said it has integrated its Advanced Tactical Augmented Reality Systems (ATARS) on Boeing’s AH64E Apache Crewstation Advanced Technology Testbed (CATT). That marks the company’s first integration with a U.S. Army platform and the first-ever integration of such a system on a rotorcraft platform, Red 6 said.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

Archer Partners with Two Saudi Companies to Develop and Test Air Taxi Services

Reuters reports, “Archer Aviation said on Wednesday it has signed a deal with The Helicopter Company and luxury developer Red Sea Global, both owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, to develop, test and potentially deploy electric aircraft in the Kingdom. Western air taxi makers have been stepping up efforts to expand beyond their home markets, with the Middle East emerging as a key target thanks to its fast-growing tourism sector, supportive regulators and willingness to invest early in next-generation transport technologies.”
Full Story (Reuters)

Boeing KC-46 Performs First Flight Test Using New Vision System

Breaking Defense reports, “Boeing has flown a new vision system on the company’s troubled KC-46 Pegasus air refueler for the first time, the firm’s defense chief revealed today, a key step toward resolving an issue that has plagued the platform for years. Speaking during a roundtable with reporters ahead of the Dubai Airshow, Steve Parker also disputed that cost increases influenced the US Air Force’s decision to ditch Boeing’s E-7 Wedgetail.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)