Embraer handed over 44 aircraft in the first quarter of 2026, a 47% year-on-year increase driven by gains across commercial, executive and defense segments. Aerotime reports, “The Brazilian manufacturer disclosed these figures in a securities filing on April 2, 2026, with growth recorded across all three business segments.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
Tag: Aviation
RTX’s Pratt & Whitney Lands $3.8B F135 Production Contract
Airforce Technology reports, “Pratt & Whitney, part of RTX, has received a contract modification worth $3.8bn for the production of lots 18 and 19 of the F135 engine. The engine powers all three models of the F-35 Lightning II, which recently exceeded one million engine flight hours.”
Full Story (Airforce Technology)
Navy Issues Final RFP for T-45 Goshawk Trainer Replacement
Defense Daily reports, “The Navy issued its final Request for Proposals (RFP) on March 26 for its Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) that aims to succeed the current T-45 Goshawk trainer aircraft. The requirement for UJTS is to provide intermediate and advanced training for undergraduate U.S. Navy and Marine Corps jet aviators and flight officers.”
Full Story (Defense Daily)
NASA Advances X-59 Testing After Resolving Cockpit Alert Issue
Aviation Week reports, “The cockpit warning light that cut short the second flight of NASA’s X-59 low-boom supersonic flight demonstrator on March 20 proved to be a false positive and the aircraft resumed envelope expansion testing with back-to-back flights on March 26 and 27. The Lockheed Martin Skunk Works-built X-59 was forced to return to base at Edwards AFB, California, after only 9 min. of a planned hour-long flight on March 20 when NASA Test Pilot Jim Less saw a vehicle system warning in the cockpit.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
NetJets Receives First Ultra-Long-Range Global 8000 Jet
Flying Magazine reports, “The world’s largest private jet operator this week added the world’s fastest business jet to its fleet as premium travel inches toward a return to supersonic speeds. NetJets on Thursday took delivery of its first ultra-long-range Bombardier Global 8000 at the manufacturer’s Laurent Beaudoin Completion Centre in Dorval, Quebec. NetJets plans to build a 24-strong fleet of the aircraft, which received Transport Canada and FAA certification in late 2025. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) followed suit in January.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)
U.S. Navy Finalizes Requirements for T-45 Replacement Trainer
Aviation Week reports, “The U.S. Navy has set an aggressive timeline and cost goal for its next-generation trainer, and will keep its plan to no longer require carrier-representative unflared landings to meet it. The service on March 26 released its final request for proposals (RFP) for the Undergraduate Jet Training System to replace its aging T-45 Goshawk fleet.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
U.S. House Advances Legislation to Lift Ban on Supersonic Travel Over Land
Aerotime reports, “The US House of Representatives passed legislation aimed at opening the skies to civil supersonic flight over land, a step supporters say could usher in a new era of air travel in the United States. The bill would require the FAA to revise its rules within a year to allow civil aircraft to fly faster than Mach 1 over land without special authorization, provided no sonic boom reaches the ground. The measure, H.R. 3410, targets a long-standing FAA ban dating to 1973, when regulators barred overland civil supersonic flight because of noise concerns tied to sonic booms.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
Skyfall Mission Targets 2028 to Bring Aerial Exploration to Mars
SPACE reports, “Skyfall is happening, and it will get to Mars in a totally new way. Last summer, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Virginia company AeroVironment unveiled their Skyfall mission concept, which would send a fleet of tiny helicopters to explore the skies of Mars.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Video
Skyfall – Future Mission Concept for Next-gen Mars Helicopters and Exploration
(Aerovironment; YouTube)
Army Unveils ‘Amazon-Like’ Hub for Rapid Drone Procurement
Defense Daily reports, “The Army on Tuesday launched its new ‘Amazon-like’ UAS Marketplace, which a lead official said will be the service’s primary method moving forward for procuring Group 1-3 drones.”
Full Story (Defense Daily)
