Aviation Week reports that the USAF Compass Call eavesdropping and electronic attack suite has been successfully moved from the retired legacy EC-130H aircraft into the EC-37B. The new EC-37B Compass Call, a modified Gulfstream G550 business jet, recently conducted its first four-hour flight.
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Tag: Debut
NASA Tests Mars Crash Landing
CNET News reported that NASA JPL is testing Simplified High Impact Energy Landing Device (SHIELD), which uses a crumple cone to lessen the effect of impact on future Mars landing craft. “JPL shared a video on Thursday showing SHIELD in action during a drop test from a 90-foot-tall (27-meter-tall) tower. The device takes a hard landing at 110 mph (177 kph) into a thick steel plate to mimic the worst conditions it might experience during a Mars arrival.” A SHIELD system could be an improvement on the current parachute and thruster to slow landing designs used in Mars landing craft. “If the lander ends up working under Mars conditions, it could potentially be used for other interesting places in the solar system, including moons.”
Full Story (CNET News)
B-21 Debut Set for December 2
FlightGlobal reported that Northrop Grumman said it would debut its B-21 Raider on December 2. “Northrop won the $21.4 billion engineering and design contract for the new strategic bomber in 2015.” Currently, there are six B-21s in testing and final assembly.
Full Story (Flight Global)