Aviation Week & Space Technology

The near-term focus for the program is to get the Space Launch System off the ground—without and with humans on top.
Space

NASA is using a massive friction-stir welding tool at the Michoud Assembly Facility to build its first flight structure for the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS).
Space

By Tony Osborne
European countries have until January 2018 to enter multinational tanker force. NATO will own the aircraft.
Defense and Space

By Adrian Schofield
Strong financial results support the two airlines’ fleet and cabin upgrade initiatives.
Air Transport

By Graham Warwick
Finland’s Sharper Shape is bringing its experience with beyond-visual-line-of-sight drone operations to the U.S. and India.
Aerospace

Jim Adams
Low attrition is driving a growing retirement bubble in aerospace and defense. Companies must plan carefully to balance current and future staffing needs.
Workforce

By Joe Anselmo, Carole Rickard Hedden, Michael Bruno
Brain drain to Silicon Valley? A wave of retirements? Offshoring mania? The results of Aviation Week’s 2016 Workforce Study say otherwise.
Check 6

By Graham Warwick
Stronger nanotube-stitched carbon fiber; disintegrating parachute for vanishing delivery drone; Leonardo to fly active rotors; Flirtey to deliver Domino’s pizza; the FLYP UAV, Russia’s flying tractor?
Aerospace

By Graham Warwick
The Small UAS Rule, aka Part 107­—the FAA’s first regulation allowing routine use of unmanned aircraft—has taken effect, with signs that demand for operating approvals and UAS operator licenses will be high.
Aerospace

MD Helicopters rounds out Afghan air force's light attack capability by delivering the final batch of new MD-530F helicopter gunships to Kabul Airport.
Defense and Space

By Joe Anselmo, Graham Warwick
What are the nuances in the fierce competition for the lucrative U.S. Air Force trainer replacement jet? Listen in as our editors discuss.
Defense and Space

By Michael Bruno
In this week’s Washington Outlook column: the GAO dings the Air Force on A-10 retirement plans, and Maryland Space Business Roundtable attendees weigh in on the U.S. presidential election.
Defense and Space

Boeing’s goal was to maintain maximum commonality between the 737NG and the 737 MAX, in part to retain common type ratings between the two and minimal “differences training” for pilots.
Air Transport

U.S. Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel has been promoted to four-star general and will oversee the National Guard Bureau. He also becomes a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Washington-based National Aeronautic Association has named Greg Principato (see photo) president/CEO. He had held executive positions at the National Association of State Aviation Officials and Airports Council International.

Debate over climate change and how it affects A&D marketplace; F-35 sales to Turkey, foul or fair?; choosing between safety and cost concerns
Feedback

By Guy Norris
The board is set for the U.S. Air Force’s T-X next-generation trainer competition, with new peeks at Boeing and Northrop Grumman’s clean-sheet designs.
Defense and Space

A full stall in a commercial jetliner is an encounter few pilots have had the pleasure or pain of experiencing, but one that all U.S. airline pilots will come to know in a few short years.
Air Transport

Aerospace Calendar Sept. 3-5—2016 Cleveland National Air Show. Burke Lakefront Airport. Cleveland. See clevelandairshow.com Sept. 5-7—Advanced Satellite Multimedia Systems Conference. Caixa Forum Palma. Palma de Mallorca, Spain. See asmsconference.org/

By Graham Warwick
Aviation Week presents presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump with a list of aerospace technologies they should champion if elected, to keep the U.S. ahead of its adversaries and competitors.
Aerospace

By Steven Grundman
Sen. John McCain’s proposed National Defense Authorization Act for 2017 would make more sweeping changes to the Pentagon than any since the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act.
Defense and Space

By Michael Bruno
Digitization of the aerospace and defense industry could be one of the biggest changes in the next five years.
Connected Aerospace

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.
First Take

America’s ballistic missile defenses will struggle to keep pace with new Iranian and North Korean rockets, while Russia and China continue to modernize and upgrade their nuclear delivery vehicles.
Defense and Space

On the heels of the U.S. Air Force’s milestone decision to declare the F-35A ready for battle, the Pentagon’s DOT&E is raising new concerns about Lockheed Martin’s fifth-generation fighter.
Defense and Space

By Bradley Perrett
A program begun in 2008 results in testing of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.’s fattest solid-propellant motor so far.
Space