Tag: Aviation

Airbus Completes Loading of Autonomous Helicopter in First Demo

Defense News reports, “Airbus U.S. Space and Defense has conducted its first demonstration as part of a program to build an autonomous, uncrewed version of the UH-72 Lakota transportation helicopter for the U.S. Marine Corps. The Lakota variant, which Airbus calls the UH-72 Logistics Connector, is the company’s bid for the Marines’ Aerial Logistics Connector program, senior manager for business development Carl Forsling said Monday at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exhibition in Washington.”
Full Story (Defense News)

DARPA Funds Sikorsky to Convert Black Hawk Into Drone

Aerotime reports, “American aircraft manufacturer Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, will convert a United States Army UH-60M Black Hawk into a drone. The company received a $6 million award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to install the company’s ALIAS/MATRIX flight autonomy system onto the helicopter, essentially converting it into a drone.”
Full Story (Aerotime)

Rolls-Royce Completes Pearl 10X Test Flights

Flight Global reports, “Rolls-Royce has completed flight testing of the Pearl 10X engine it is developing for the Dassault Aviation Falcon 10X business jet after a six-month campaign. Installed on the propulsion specialist’s Boeing 747-200 testbed – contributing to the jet’s unique five-engine configuration – the powerplant has been in flight test since 29 March.”
Full Story (Flight Global)

Video

Rolls-Royce’s Most Powerful Pearl 10X Engine Getting Ready for First Flight
(Global Update; YouTube)

Most Florida Airports Back in Service Post-Milton

Aviation International News reports, “Airports across Florida are shrugging off the results of Hurricane Milton today. The storm came ashore as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday evening just south of Sarasota on the state’s Gulf Coast. Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport (KSRQ) will remain shuttered until at least tomorrow as workers continue to clean up and assess damage to the airport’s infrastructure.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)

Embraer E190F Freighter Variant Earns FAA Certification

Simple Flying reports, “Embraer has announced that its E190F passenger-to-freighter (P2F) has been fully certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Brazilian planemaker launched its P2F program – which also includes the E195 – in May 2022, with the E190F completing its first flight in April of this year. The company revealed that the E190F received full FAA certification last month following its certification by the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC) in July.”
Full Story (Simple Flying)

Aviation Industry Coalition Calls for Measures to Prevent Use of Unapproved Plane Parts

CNBC reports, “A report issued by an aviation industry coalition on Wednesday called for new steps to help prevent future unapproved parts from entering the aviation supply chain. The report from the Aviation Supply Chain Integrity Coalition that was created in February called for strengthening vendor accreditation, digitizing documents and improving part traceability. It also proposed adopting best practices for receiving and inspecting parts and scrapping and destroying non-usable material.”
Full Story (CNBC)

Aurora Unveils High-Speed VTOL X-Plane Concept Design

Aviation Week reports, “Aurora Flight Sciences on Oct. 8 unveiled new details of a notional operational variant of the fan-in-wing concept it is proposing for a high-speed, vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) X-Plane. The operational version of the Boeing-owned company’s candidate for a DARPA demonstrator program would boast nearly the same wingspan and payload weight of a Lockheed Martin C-130J, yet fly up to 90 kt. faster and be able to take off and land vertically like a helicopter.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Small, Autonomous Airlifters Becoming Top Priority for US Air Force

Aviation Week reports, “A new type of military airlifter is rising to the top of the U.S. Air Force’s list of modernization priorities: small, autonomous, electric-powered aircraft capable of short takeoffs and landings—and numbering in the hundreds. Air Force Material Command (AFMC) is in the market research phase for the Next-Generation Intratheater Airlift (NGIA) concept. A five-year prototyping program could begin as early as fiscal 2026, leading to the start in the early 2030s.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Airbus Sets New Speed Target for Next Compound Rotorcraft Demo

Aviation Week reports, “Airbus Helicopters has set a new speed target of 240 kt. (276.1 mph) for the next round of flight testing of its Racer compound high-speed rotorcraft. The Racer is currently in maintenance after its first 8 hr. of flight testing, during which it achieved speeds of 227 kt. in June after just seven flights.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)