COMMERCIAL NEWS - JetBlue Airways’ plans to fly from London to New York JFK Airport win UK Civil Aviation Authority approval, Lilium announces that it will be developing a regional air mobility network in Bavaria, and Strato launch’s ‘Roc’ reaches 14,000ft over the Mojave Desert.
MILITARY NEWS - Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration signs a contract with Germany’s Grob Aircraft SE for a new training system, while the US Air Force Special Operations Command’s 551st Squadron completes training on the AC-130W Stinger II.
UAV FOCUS - Skydweller Aero repurposes Solar Impulse 2 as a HALE unmanned system, the DLR develops a high-altitude platform that will ultimately be capable of reaching 65,000ft, and German developer Wingcopter unveils a UAV that can deliver to three locations during one flight.
ROTARY FOCUS - Hill Helicopters blends cutting-edge avionics and display technologies in its new digital cockpit, three new Leonardo helicopters are heading to the Empire Test Pilots School at MOD Boscombe Down, and Airbus announces trials of new onboard equipment including a two-axis camera.
BUSINESS FOCUS - Textron hands over its 1,000th Cessna 560XL Citation airframe, Gulfstream flies the first G700 large business jet outfitted with representative production cabin furnishings, while VistaJet Malta takes delivery of its first pair of Bombardier Global 7500s.
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - L3Harris Technologies and Bye Aerospace have signed an agreement to develop an all-electric multi-mission aircraft. Meanwhile, UK-based ZeroAvia suffers a setback in its hydrogen fuel cell-powered aircraft development programme.
RUSSIAN REVIEW - In March, the 11-112V light military transport aircraft under the command of Nikolai Kuimov made its second test flight in Voronezh, which lasted about 30 minutes and was deemed a success - with reservations - as Piotr Butowski reports.
SERVING SAUDI AMBITIONS - As Saudi Arabia reorganises its industries in a bid to increase local business, Alan Warnes talks to Saudi Arabia Military Industries (SAMI) CEO Walid Abukhaled and His Excellency Ahmed Al-Ohali, the governor of General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), about their work to date.
THE FLYING FORTRESS - It may be the world’s most famous aircraft, but how much do we really know about Air Force One? Tom Batchelor reveals some of the finer details.
DUTCH MRTT - Sven van Roij speaks to the Netherlands’ Col Jurgen van der Biezen, multinational MRTT unit commander, about its three new A330 MRTT aircraft, two of which are practicing from its forward operating base in Germany.
PHOENIXES OF ESTEREL - Babak Taghvaee reports on the recent changes for the Armee de I ’Air et de I'Espace’s Transport Squadron 3/60 ‘Esterel’ and its plans to convert three A330s into Phoenix type multi-role tanker transports by 2023.
SERBIAN FIRES - Igor Salinger recently braved guns as well as the weather to report on Exercise Response 2021, Serbia’s largest military exercise this year, involving both troops and aviation assets going into ‘battle’.
ORANGE ORIGINS - A subscription to AIR International offers great savings on the cover price convert their redundant passenger aircraft for use as freighters.
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS - Italy’s 4th Army Aviation Regiment flies AB-205 helicopters for mountain missions. Daniele Faccioli and Giovanni Colla report on the regiment that also forms part of the Joint Rapid Reaction Force and the European Battle Group.
ORANGE ORIGINS - Joining any start-up is a leap of faith, not least a new airline. Tony Anderson tells Thomas Haynes about his days as the fledgling easyJet’s third employee.
CONCEPT INSIGHT: KAI KF-21 BORAMAE - Khalem Chapman explores Korea Aerospace Industries’ KF-21 Boramae, an indigenously developed multi-role fighter that will transform the Republic of Korea Air Force by the end of this decade.
MIDDLE EAST MAJORS COVER STORY - ark Broadbent takes an in-depth look at how the Middle East ‘big three’ - Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways - are proposing to weather the COVID-19 storm.
UNRESERVED REBIRTH - The Ilyushin II-76 has become an iconic aircraft after half a century of Russian transport aviation history. Piotr Butowski reveals the story of the famous aircraft’s renaissance in the 2000s after its apparent death in the 1990s.
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE - Nigel Pittaway looks into the growing trend for airlines to convert their redundant passenger aircraft for use as freighters
DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY - Human rights infringement or a fast route back to fiying? Tom Batchelor reports on the latest digital passports on the market and asks whether they will gain widespread approval for a potential role in post-pandemic aviation.
BOUNCING BACK - The mainstream media would have us believe that there is scarcely a plane in the sky at the present time. Not so, says Mark Broadbent, who looks at some of the lesser-reported news stories in commercial aviation.
ONWARDS AND UPWARDS - It will take more than a pandemic to stop work on Western Sydney International Airport. CEO Simon Hickey updates Tara Craig on progress, route opportunities and the wider economic importance of the new airport.
MIXING IT UP IN MARINER - A major exercise held in the Mediterranean last year, Dynamic Mariner helped prepare the French Aero-Naval Rapid Reaction Force for command of NATO’s Maritime Component for 2021, as Babak Taghvaee reports.