COMMERCIAL NEWS - Boeing’s 777X encounters more delays, Norwegian Air permanently ends all long-haul flying, JetBlue unveils its transatlantic Mint cabin, and Australian flag carrier Qantas outlines a new timeframe for ‘Project Sunrise’.
MILITARY NEWS - US State Department approval has been granted for the sale of 24 AH-64E Apache Guardians to Kuwait, Greece has finally agreed to purchase 18 Dassault Rafales from France, and the Battlefield Airborne Communication Node fleet in Massachusetts aims to secure six additional Bombardier E-11A aircraft.
UAV FOCUS - An Unmanned Lightweight Affordable Novel Combat Aircraft (LANCA) is being studied as part of the UK’s Team MOSQUITO scheme, a four-nation programme to produce a European Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (MALE RPAS) is on track for an early 2021 deal, and Nordic Unmanned is poised to receive a second Schiebel Camcopter S-100.
ROTARY FOCUS - The US Navy is studying replacement options for its Sikorsky MH-60R/S Sea Hawks, Airbus Helicopters uses its H130 testbed to assess new technologies including an image-detection solution for low-flight navigation, and a combined Sikorsky-Boeing team reveals its Defiant X offering for the US Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) programme.
BUSINESS FOCUS - Switzerland-based Pilatus achieves a 100th delivery of its popular PC-24 ‘super versatile jet’, the Federal Air Transport Agency of Russia permits type certification for the HondaJet, and Bombardier officially emerges as a ‘pure-play business aviation company’.
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - The US Naval Aviation Training System and Ranges programme completes the first flight test of its Tactical Combat Training System Increment II, while the UK Ministry of Defence confirms MBDA will produce the SPEAR missile system.
RUSSIAN REVIEW - Russia’s announcement of its intention to leave the Open Skies Treaty may have been met with dismay, but as Piotr Butowski reports, the official statement by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs signifies a relatively 'soft' exit.
NAVIGATING THROUGH ONGOING TURBULENCE - Chris Sloan chats with the chief commercial officer at Southwest Airlines, Andrew Watterson, to find out how the Dallas-based carrier is mitigating the effects of the gravest crisis in aviation history.
FROM GOLDEN GOOSE TO BLACK SWAN - It has been two years since the 737 MAX was initially grounded. Tom Batchelor considers the type’s history and examines how Boeing came to convince regulators it was safe to fly again and what the future might hold for the tarnished jet.
PERSIAN CATS OF WAR - As tensions rise in the volatile region surrounding northwest Iran, the Iranian Air Force (IRIAF) has been placing its fleet of Grumman F-14A Tomcat fighter interceptors on a war footing. Babak Taghvaee reports on Iran’s fleet of airworthy fighters.
ANAKONDA SNAKES INTO SERVICE - All eight upgraded W-3WARM Anakonda search and rescue helicopters have now been delivered to the Polish Navy, as Michal Fiszer and Jerzy Gruszczynski find out.
CZECH FALCON - Alan Warnes takes a snapshot look at the PZL W-3A Sokol (‘Falcon’) helicopter, another Polish-built multipurpose helicopter currently being used by the Czech Air Force.
to the flight deck, highlighting prevalent issues, their hopes and how they are inspiring others.
ADIEU TO FRENCH STRATOTANKERS - After more than 50 years supporting the French Air and Space Force, including active service in the Middle East and North Africa, France’s C-135 air-to-air refuelling fleet is finally flying into the sunset, with gradual withdrawals from service taking place over the next decade. Babak Taghvaee reports.
PRIDE OF PAKISTAN - Alan Warnes talks to Air Marshal Syed Noman Ali, former F-16 Viper pilot and chairman of Kamra-based Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC), about the work the facility undertakes and the specific challenges PAC has faced during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
CONCEPT INSIGHT - AERAUS seeks to revolutionise fixed-wing training across the world's military air arms through its family of low-cost, next-generation customisable jet trainers, as Khalem Chapman reports.
BREXIT CRISIS AVERTED? - Keith Nuthall wades through the 1,200-page Brexit deal for AIR International to establish the key aviation impact within the UK/EU divorce papers.
FROM DREAMS TO REALITY - The African aviation industry still falls far behind in terms of female pilots, airport infrastructure and regional air connectivity in comparison with other parts of the world. Wilbur Satgunaraj talks to a trio of female pilots from the continent to discuss their route
TOGETHER IN ELECTRIC DREAMS - ZeroAvia is preparing for more test flights of its hydrogen powertrain, including testing the technology on larger aircraft. Mark Broadbent reports.
WAR GAMES IN THE ALPS - The annual edition of Exercise Baccarat, organised since 2017 by the 4th Air Combat Brigade, took place in the second and third weeks of September last year in the French Alps. We report on this high-intensity combat exercise up in the mountains.
THE EAGLES HAVE LANDED - David Weinrich walks us around Tel Nof AFB, one of Israel Air Force’s principal airbases and the home of its prime aerial defender, the F-15 Eagle ‘Baz’, which has kept Israeli skies free of enemy aircraft since 1976.
TURN OF THE TURBOPROP - FedEx Express Airlines has received the production ATR 72-600 Freighter. Mark Broadbent examines the new variant and considers the long-term prospects for the manufacturer’s aircraft and the wider turboprops market.
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