AVWEB reports, “The U.S. Army announced Friday that it has taken delivery of an H-60 Black Hawk helicopter configured for both autonomous and piloted flight, beginning a new phase of testing focused on optionally piloted aircraft. The platform incorporates autonomy technology developed through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program, which has been under development for more than a decade. According to the Army, the system is designed as a retrofit kit that can be installed on existing aircraft to automate flight functions and reduce pilot workload.”
Full Story (AVWEB)
Tag: march 2026
Predicting Hypersonic Boundary-Layer Transition on Complex Geometries Virtual Collection Published
FROM THE INSTITUTE
Reliable prediction and control of boundary-layer transition are crucial to the design and safe operation of hypersonic vehicles, such as reusable launch and re-entry vehicles, missile interceptors, and missiles for time-critical strike. This virtual collection comprises experimental and numerical research on hypersonic laminar-turbulent transition among different research groups as part of a coordinated international effort.
ESA Plans Dedicated Crew Dragon Mission to ISS in 2028
Space News reports, “The European Space Agency plans to charter a SpaceX Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station to give more flight opportunities for its astronauts. At the conclusion of a meeting of the ESA Council on March 19, the agency said member states endorsed a project called ESA Provided Institutional Crew, or EPIC, to send a European crew to the ISS on a Crew Dragon in early 2028.”
Full Story (Space News)
Northrop’s Talon IQ Flies First Mission With Shield AI’s Hivemind Autonomy
The Defense Post reports, “Northrop Grumman’s Talon IQ modular testbed, equipped with Shield AI’s Hivemind as its digital brain, has completed its first partner mission autonomy flight in Mojave, California. Following its single‑day hardware‑in‑the‑loop test, Hivemind successfully directed Talon IQ to execute combat air patrol and target engagement in the flight before the aircraft swapped back to Northrop’s Prism autonomy software.”
Full Story (The Defense Post)
Advancing the Field: Luminary Cloud Announced New Physics AI Models at AIAA SciTech Forum
FROM THE INSTITUTE
Luminary Cloud, an AIAA Corporate Member, announced the release of three new physics AI defense models designed to dramatically expedite U.S. defense technology development while at AIAA SciTech Forum 2026. “The new physics AI models are intended to complement simulation technology, and instead of giving execution times in hours, they will provide answers in less than a second,” said Juan Alonso, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder, Luminary Cloud. “This is a significant acceleration of engineering workflows, which is made possible by the very large data sets we are able to create with GPU-native physics solvers and by the revolution in Physics AI methods.”
NASA Seeks SmallSat Mission Concepts Using Adaptive Sensing and Edge AI
Military Aerospace reports NASA’s “Earth Science Technology Office is seeking submissions for the agency’s Space to Soil Challenge, an initiative focused on advancing adaptive sensing and onboard processing technologies for small satellite (SmallSat) missions supporting land resilience applications.”
Full Story (Military Aerospace)
U.S. Army Demonstrates Counter-UAS Capability Using AH-64E Apache
Aerotime reports, “The US Army’s 12th Combat Aviation Brigade (12th CAB) has used the AH-64E Apache in a counter-drone role during an exercise in Germany, in what the unit described as a first for the European theater. In a release published on March 19, 2026, the brigade said that soldiers from the 2-159th Attack Battalion had used the helicopter’s existing weapons to engage and destroy drones in air-to-air engagements during Operation Skyfall at the Grafenwoehr Training Area.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
Japan Conducts First Flight of New EC-2 Electronic Attack Platform
Aviation News Daily reports, “Japan has officially commenced flight testing for its new EC-2 Stand-Off Jammer aircraft, a specialized electronic warfare platform designed to neutralize enemy sensors from a distance. The aircraft successfully completed its first flight on March 17, 2026, marking a critical milestone in the modernization of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s electronic combat capabilities.”
Full Story (Aviation News Daily)
SpaceX Tests V3 Starship Booster in Key Pre-Launch Milestone
SPACE reports SpaceX “conducted a static fire test” with the first stage of its V3 Starship on Monday (March 16), a milestone moment for this bigger, more powerful megarocket. “It was the first-ever static fire for a Version 3 (V3) vehicle — the latest iteration of Starship, which SpaceX is developing to help humanity put boots on the moon and Mars.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Wisk Aero Unveils Second Gen 6 Autonomous eVTOL Prototype
Aviation International News reports, “Wisk Aero has rolled out the second flight-test example of its sixth-generation autonomous eVTOL aircraft. The full-scale prototype, registered as N607WA, is expected to make its first flight in the coming weeks. The Boeing subsidiary said it remains on track to bring the pilotless, four-passenger electric air taxi into commercial service by 2030.”
Full Story (Aviation International)