Aviation Week & Space Technology

Congress must act by June 30 or many U.S. companies will be hurt, says the president of a minority-owned Texas company.

Once a monopoly, ULA is countering a two-front attack from SpaceX and, now, Aerojet Rocketdyne.

Safety trumps medical privacy; mission adaptive wing (MAW) pioneer; keep A-10s, swap out F-16s; A-10 ISR capabilities lauded; observations on U.S. mine-clearing program

Two Western fighter houses are in the best position to challenge the F-35 in the 2020s. Can their rivals hang in there too?

NASA engineers think they can put four humans in orbit around Mars during the 2033 launch window— without increasing the space agency’s budget.

A key NASA technology goal poses problems in the construction of lightweight propellant tanks.

NASA division issues draft RFP for U.S. launch companies interested in inaugurating the Venture Class Launch Services dedicated to cubesat missions.

Despite some recent improvement, IATA says air cargo needs structural changes to become a sustainable business.

Many industries use data to cater to individual customers, but airlines have barely begun.

Curved approaches with a range of glidepath angles are among the benefits of ground-based satellite landing systems on display in China.

The legacy portion of the airline industry claims it is favoring further liberalization, but its actions indicate the opposite.

U.K.-based Hybrid Air Vehicles taps Internet crowdfunding to move forward with development of Airlander 10 airship.

Airbus is evaluating composite wing sections to improve drag-reducing natural laminar flow for future aircraft models.

Tailsitting vertical-takeoff flying wing; tethered UAV follows truck; morphing flaps on the move; Navy lab’s unusual designs; Roomba inventor’s drone for everyone.

Aviation Week defense editors on the recent success of Dassault’s Rafale and Saab’s Gripen fighters and what that means for the rest of the market. Will it spell doom for the Eurofighter Typhoon? Does Boeing’s F-18 have a shot at more orders in Kuwait. And a peek at the upcoming competition for a Turkish fighter.

Sen. Feinstein opposes Air Force’s long-range missile; lawmaker aims to take politics out of NASA policy; the end of the Jim Wright era.

First officer of Germanwings Flight 9525 acted suspiciously on earlier flight, BEA report finds.

Starting next year, airline and business jet pilots in the European Union will be required to complete a comprehensive upset prevention and recovery course every three years, but without full stall training.

Better pay for regional pilots would help, but it is unlikely to be a panacea.

Think the KC-X tanker program was messy? The forthcoming EELV procurement could make it look like a walk in the park.

Emirates, undeterred from competitor claims, continues growth as new aircraft arrive and airport expands.

DEFENSE Dassault has secured its third Rafale export customer in as many months with Qatar placing a €6.3 billion ($7 billion) order for 24 fighters, plus 12 options, on May 4. Qatar Airways reportedly secured additional traffic rights to France as part of the deal. In February, Egypt signed for 24 Rafales, and India committed in April to purchase 36. The U.S. Air Force is shuttering a program designed to identify sources of interference to satellite communications due to cost and performance issues.

U.S. newsgathering, precision agriculture and railroad companies take the lead in pushing small UAS use beyond the initial tight limits outlined by the FAA.

June 17—Commercial Aerospace Manufacturing Briefing, Paris. Oct. 13-15—MRO Europe, London. Nov. 3-5—MRO Asia, Singapore. Nov. 3-5—Aerospace Defense Chain, Scottsdale, Arizona.

June 7-9—ASA-Aviation Suppliers 2015. Scottsdale, Arizona. See aviationsuppliers.org/ASA-2015-Hotel June 7-9—71st IATA AGM and World Air Transport Summit. Miami. See iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2014-06-03-2.aspx June 15-21—Paris Air Show. Le Bourget, France. See siae.fr/EN