DARPA program plans to field navigation-grade MEMS IMU by 2020 as a drop-in replacement for today’s tactical-grade sensors to extend the time for which precision weapons can fly without GPS.
Probably the biggest industrial advantage in setting up 737 completion and delivery centers in China will be freeing up space at Renton and Boeing Field. These sites face a rise in production rates to 57 a month by 2019, compared with 42 now.
From design tools to flexible electronics, advances that proliferate sensing and communications throughout aircraft, engines and the factories where they are made will result in profound design and engineering changes.
The newly revealed Avic Cloud Shadow appears to have a span of around 20 m (66 ft.), like the General Atomics Avenger used by the U.S. Air Force, though the Chinese aircraft is less bulky and probably lighter.
Accident investigators are puzzling over the causes of the first-ever failure of a second-stage high-pressure turbine stage on a General Electric CF6-80C2 engine that suffered an uncontained release of debris during the Oct. 28 takeoff run of an American Airlines Boeing 767-300ER from Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
After the U.S. presidential election, almost everyone will want to repatriate overseas money for use in rebuilding America’s infrastructure, including aviation.
In this week’s roundup: Turkey adds to F-35 fighter request; U.S. black budget ticks up; IAI wins key Asian cyber security contract; and UK extends its Sentinel ISTAR aircraft life.
Nuclear weapons captured the interest of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and the issue of how to counter Russian and Chinese weapons will be at the forefront of the whoever wins the presidency. Aviation Week & Space Technology editors discuss some of those pending issues: programs to upgrade nuclear ICBMS, cruise missiles and bomber aircraft—and how to afford it all.
Virgin Galactic test pilots have developed procedures that greatly improve takeoff and balanced field length performance of the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft.
Too many airlines have a vested interest in keeping current ownership and control regulations in place. If they succeed, it will mark a major missed opportunity.
Rolls-Royce’s power gearbox and ceramic matrix composites work are part of a plan that will culminate in the UltraFan, an engine aimed at future airliners for 2025 onward.
Air Force Materiel Command still has concerns about the quality of Northrop’s maintenance work on the aging J-Stars jets and may need to expand safety inspections to the entire fleet.
Aviation Week editors recently saw a demonstration of the folding wingtip at Boeing’s plant in Everett, Washington. The target time for extending and/or retracting the wingtip is 20 sec. Watch and listen closely when it reaches the selected position to hear the locking mechanisms engage.
