Tag: USAF

Overair Working to Complete First Air Taxi Prototype

An article in Aerospace America describes Overair’s facility and examines the eVTOL aircraft the company is producing and the differences from its competitors. Company Co-Founder and CEO Ben Tigner believes the company’s rotor design and proprietary technology will be what drives Overair’s success in a competitive market. Overair’s aircraft will use large rotors, and therefore require less than competitors like Joby, Archer, and Volocopter – using only four rotors while others use as many as 18. The rotors are large, but lightweight due to their utilization of carbon fiber composite.
Full Story (Aerospace America)

USAF Begins Testing of Joby Electric Air Taxi

Aerospace America reports that on Monday, the US Air Force (USAF) held a ceremony to formally introduce personnel “to the first electric air taxi to be stationed at an American military base: a Joby Aviation S4 tiltrotor.” The S4 will be operated at Edwards Air Force Base by the USAF, Joby, and NASA in order to test its ability to carry personnel and supplies. Edwards Air Force Base 412th Test Wing Commander Col. Douglas Wickert said, “We’re literally standing on the threshold here of a new era in aviation. There’s no doubt that the electrification of aviation is going to be a critical piece in the broader energy transition toward a sustainable future for humanity, and I’m proud that we get to the opportunity to contribute to that. There’s a transformative vertical lift industry that’s emerging, and we need to be partners in it.” The S4 at the ceremony is the first one delivered to the USAF under a $131 million contract between Joby and the Air Force Research Laboratory’s innovation arm AFWERX. The USAF will not officially own the aircraft, but the contract allows the USAF and partners to fly it.
Full Story (Aerospace America)

USAF Receives First Electric Passenger Aircraft Capable of Taking Off, Landing Vertically

The New York Times reports the US Air Force announced Monday that it had “received its first electric passenger aircraft capable of taking off and landing vertically, a milestone for the companies that hope to one day sell thousands of such vehicles to serve as air taxis. Joby Aviation, an air taxi start-up, delivered the aircraft to Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California … , Air taxis are typically powered by batteries and designed to lift off and land like helicopters, but include wings to fly like airplanes.” Joby “said that its electric aircraft is substantially quieter than helicopters or planes. Each can carry one pilot and four passengers and travel as fast as 200 miles per hour and as far as 100 miles, according to the company.”
Full Story (New York Times)

L3Harris, BAE Systems Deliver First EC-37B Compass Call to US Air Force

FlightGlobal reports L3Harris and BAE Systems have delivered the first EC-37B Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft to the US Air Force. The article mentions that while the previous EC-130H Compass Call “was based on the Lockheed Martin turboprop transport,” the EC-37B is built on the Gulfstream G550 platform. BAE Systems “oversaw the production of the electronic attack package, while L3Harris was the prime contractor for integrating those mission systems into the Gulfstream jet.” BAE Systems “says the new aircraft will deliver much needed electronic attack capability to the USAF, which is in the process of reorienting its forces to survive in well-defended airspace contested by a modern adversary.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)

USAF to Audition $11 Billion B-52 Makeover for Airborne Electronic Attack Platform

Aviation Week reports that as “an $11 billion makeover of Boeing B-52 engines, sensors and electronics continues, the Stratofortress has won a chance to audition for a role as an airborne electronic attack platform.” Next year’s planned demonstration “of an RTX ALQ-249 midband jammer pod proposes a new – albeit slightly familiar – mission for the 71-year-old fleet.” Originally fielded “during the early years of the Cold War as a penetrating strategic bomber, the rechristened B-52J is being upgraded by the Air Force to serve for several more decades as an airborne launcher for dozens of long-range missiles, including the nuclear-tipped RTX AGM-181 Long-Range Standoff Weapon and conventional hypersonic cruise missiles in development.” Now the Air Force “is considering other supporting roles for a 75-strong fleet of eight-engine bombers that can carry up to 70,000-lb. each.” The Air Force “abandoned two attempts to convert B-52s into standoff jammers 15-20 years ago, but it plans to revisit the idea for a third time next year with several new twists.”

Full Story (Aviation Week)

USAF Completes First Uncrewed Test Flight Utilizing AI

Bloomberg Government reported that the US Air Force “has completed its first flight with an uncrewed combat aircraft using artificial intelligence, according to the Department of Defense.” The XQ-58A Valkyrie combat aircraft by Kratos Defense and Security Solutions “led a three-hour simulated combat mission at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio on July 25.” The AI-led flight “was a product of an Air Force Research Laboratory effort, the Skyborg Vanguard program, which uses an autonomous aircraft teaming architecture and integrates multiple technology components.” Skyborg is “building a system that is portable and modular – fitting into multiple aircraft platforms.”
Full Story (Bloomberg Government)

EC-37B Compass Call Makes Debut Flight

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)