Tag: March 2025

Israeli and U.S. Companies Collaborating on Military Hydrogen-Cell Drones

Defense One reports “As drones continue to reshape the nature of warfare, the limitations on range and power are becoming the difference between success and defeat on the battlefield. Now, an Israel-based drone company and U.S. manufacturing company Mach Industries are working together to co-produce hydrogen fuel cell powered drones, which offer big advantages in range but have previously faced challenges that have kept them from the battlefield.”
Full Story (Defense One)

NASA to Continue Pursuit of Boeing Starliner Certification

Aviation Week reports, “NASA says it wants to stick with the Boeing CST-100 Starliner to give the space agency options in case the SpaceX Dragon system encounters problems. NASA last year had to lean on the SpaceX system when it experienced technical issues with Starliner during a Crew Flight Test (CFT) that turned a days-long mission into a months-long saga. The propulsion issues drove NASA to return the Boeing capsule to Earth uncrewed and make astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams part of the International Space Station (ISS) crew. They returned to Earth March 18along with NASA’s Crew-9 Dragon commander Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Boeing Awarded Air Force’s Next-Gen Fighter Contract

Defense One reports, “Boeing will develop and build a sixth-generation fighter jet for the Air Force, President Donald Trump announced Friday, ending months of deliberation about whether to proceed with the effort and how much it might cost.  ‘After a rigorous and thorough competition between some of America’s top aerospace companies, the Air Force is going to be awarding the contract for the Next Generation Air Dominance platform to Boeing,’ Trump said. Boeing beat out Lockheed Martin, its only rival for the NGAD contract after Northrop Grumman dropped out last year.”
Full Story (Defense One)

Beta Unveils Second Alia CX300 Electric Aircraft Bound for Flight Tests in Norway

Aviation International reports, “Beta Technologies has rolled out the second Alia CX300 electric aircraft from its scaled manufacturing facility in Burlington, Vermont, the company announced on March 4. Later this year, Beta will ship that aircraft off to Norway for a series of flight demonstrations to be conducted by helicopter operator Bristow Norway, a subsidiary of its partner and customer Bristow Group.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)

H2Hub Summit 2025 Offer for AIAA Members

The H2Hub Summit 2025 explores cutting-edge hydrogen innovations, including H2 eVTOLs, H2 Out of Thin Air, H2 Wing-in-Ground (WIG) Vessels, and H2 Drones. Join us on March 19, 2025, for expert insights, networking, and discussions on advancing hydrogen production, infrastructure, and applications in aviation, maritime, and beyond. 
Get your $20 ticket with code AIAA

 

Airbus Debuts New Light Twin-Engined H140 Helicopter

Aerotime reports, “Airbus Helicopters has introduced its H140 rotorcraft which is expected to enter service in 2028 for emergency medical services.  The multi-mission helicopter was unveiled during the vertical lift industry show VERTICON in Dallas, Texas, Airbus announced on March 11, 2025. The company said that the helicopter “raises the bar” in the light twin-engined category, for “performance, cost-effectiveness, and passenger and crew comfort.”
Full Story (Aerotime)

 

 

Video

Airbus Introduces the Light Twin-Engined H140
(Vision Effect TV; YouTube)

SpaceX Launches its 450th Falcon 9, Sets New Record for Booster Turnaround Time

Spaceflight Now reports, “The National Reconnaissance Office launched its eighth batch of satellites to support its proliferated architecture constellation. The mission includes a number of notable milestones for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket program, including a record-fast turnaround time for its booster. The rocket carried an unspecified number of satellites that are believed to be Starshield, a government variant of the Starlink satellites that are built by SpaceX in partnership with Northrop Grumman. This was SpaceX’s 450th Falcon 9 launch to date.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)



Video

SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 for 450th time (Launch occurs at 32:38)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)

Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum Launcher Set to Overtake V-2 as Germany’s Largest Rocket

Ars Technica reports, “Seven years ago, three classmates at the Technical University of Munich believed their student engineering project might hold some promise in the private sector. At the time, one of the co-founders, Daniel Metzler, led a team of 40 students working on rocket engines and launching sounding rockets. Josef Fleischmann was on the team that won the first SpaceX Hyperloop competition. Together with another classmate, Markus Brandl, they crafted rocket parts in a campus workshop before taking the leap and establishing Isar Aerospace, named for the river running through the Bavarian capital.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover Discovers Large Organic Molecules

Aviation Week reports, “Samples of pulverized rock from the Martian surface gathered and analyzed by NASA’s Curiosity rover have found the largest collection of organic samples to date on the red planet. Findings published March 24 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences identifies the organics as molecular compounds of decane, undecane and dodecane, which are respectively comprised of 10, 11 and 12 carbon.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Airbus Expects Next Jet Will Be ‘Evolutionary Not Revolutionary’

Reuters reports, “Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said on Tuesday the planemaker’s next single-aisle jet would be ‘evolutionary rather than revolutionary’, but that this could include an open-rotor engine such as one being studied by supplier CFM. The head of the world’s largest planemaker was speaking at the start of an event aimed at focusing attention on ongoing innovation following the company’s decision last month to delay development of a radical hydrogen-powered regional aircraft.”
Full Story (Reuters)

Boeing to Test MQ-28 Ghost Bat Missile in Late 2025 or Early 2026

Aviation Week reports, “Boeing plans to fire an air-to-air missile from its MQ-28 Ghost Bat uncrewed combat aircraft demonstrator late this year or early next, as part of an effort to accelerate the system’s development, says Steve Parker, acting head of BoeingDefense, Space and Security. Boeing has now flown 102 missions with the system it has designed and built in Australia. The system ‘is really maturing,’ Parker told reporters here at the Avalon Australian International Airshow.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

NASA Completes SLS Core Stage Stacking for Next Year’s Artemis 2 Moon Mission

SPACE reports, “NASA’s next moon rocket is coming together, piece by piece. The core stage of NASA’s next Space Launch System (SLS) rocket recently completed integration with the vehicle’s side boosters inside the agency’s Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida. SLS will launch NASA’s Artemis 2 mission to fly four astronauts aboard an Orion spacecraft around the moon and back sometime next year.”
Full Story (SPACE)

ULA Vulcan Receives Certification for US National Security Missions

Via Satellite reports, “The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket is now certified for U.S. national security missions after receiving certification from the U.S. Space Force. Space Systems Command’s (SSC) Assured Access to Space organization announced the certification on Wednesday for National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions. ULA is now eligible to launch NSSL missions as one of two certified providers, the other being SpaceX.”
Full Story (Via Satellite)

Korean Air, Boeing Finally Sign Off on Order for 50 New Jets

Aerotime reports that Korean Air and Boeing have finally signed off on a long-anticipated order for up to 50 brand-new widebody jets worth $24.9 billion. “The finalized order, announced on March 26, 2025, includes 20 Boeing 777-9s and 20 787-10s, with options for 10 additional 787 Dreamliners in the future.”
Full Story (Aerotime)

NASA, Boeing to Begin Testing Starliner for Next Flight Targeted for Early 2026

Reuters reports, “NASA said on Thursday it was moving toward certifying Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner for crewed flights later this year or by early 2026 after its inaugural mission to the International Space Station was marred by a system fault, forcing an extended stay. The agency is working with Boeing to resolve the Starliner’s faulty propulsion system, which caused its debut eight-day crewed mission to stretch into a nine-month stay in space for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.”
Full Story (Retuers)

FlightSafety International Partners with ZeroAvia to Train Pilots on Hydrogen-Electric Aircraft

Flying Magazine reports, “FlightSafety International is preparing aspiring aces for a hydrogen-powered future. The company on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ZeroAvia, a hybrid-electric engine developer, to build flight simulators, ‘digital learning platforms,’ and other training materials geared toward the introduction of hydrogen fuel cell electric aircraft. The partners said they will work with regulators to ‘explore future governance of training for new, clean alternative propulsion technologies’ for pilots and maintenance technicians.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

NASA Opts for SpaceX Dragon for Starliner Crew as Testing Continues on Boeing Capsule

Spaceflight Now reports, “The makeup of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station was announced publicly Thursday evening and it includes three astronauts who were previously assigned to other missions. Leading the flight, scheduled for no earlier than July 2025, is NASA astronaut Zena Cardman. She will be joined by fellow NASA astronaut and pilot Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

Belgium’s First MQ-9B SkyGuardian Performs Maiden Flight

Unmanned Systems Technology reports, “General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and the Belgian Ministry of Defence have marked a significant milestone with the successful first flight of Belgium’s new MQ-9B SkyGuardian® Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). This aircraft is the first of four MQ-9Bs ordered by Belgium and took to the skies on February 20, 2025, from GA-ASI’s Desert Horizon Flight Operations Facility in El Mirage, California.”
Full Story (Unmanned Systems Technology)