A350F timeline in ‘right place’ for single-pilot operations

Airbus is not specifically linking its new A350F to single-pilot operations, but it acknowledges that the entry-into-service schedule coincides with the timeline for testing initial concepts - and that it could serve as a platform. US lessor Air Lease has become the launch custom … | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 2 years ago

Why aviation’s compass is shifting towards True navigation

The aviation sector's increasingly outdated use of magnetic navigation could be heading for the exit, with Canada championing a Mag2True adjustment, targeted for 2030 | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 2 years ago

Norwegian signals end of face mask requirement on Scandinavian flights

Norwegian has announced that travellers on its domestic operations and on services between Norway, Sweden and Denmark will no longer be required to wear face masks, with reports suggesting other airlines in the region are set to follow suit. | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 2 years ago

US Air Force detonates warhead for ARRW hypersonic missile for first time

The US Air Force (USAF) has detonated an AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) warhead for the first time. | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 2 years ago

US Air Force gets serious about delivering military cargo via space rocket

The US Air Force has named "Rocket Cargo" as its fourth "Vanguard" programme, meaning the concept is a top science and technology development priority for the service. | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 2 years ago

Australia launches AI military drone designed to compliment combat situations

Boeing Australia and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) have conducted the maiden flight of the Airpower Teaming System (ATS) loyal wingman aircraft. | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 3 years ago

A321XLR's rear fuel tank demands special fire-protection conditions

Airbus's A321XLR will be subject to special conditions proposed for the aircraft's integrated rear centre tank, intended to ensure adequate protection from fire. The large 12,900-litre centre tank, located in the aft hold of the twinjet, will contain the fuel necessary for the ai … | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 3 years ago

US Army see self-adjusting turbine blades powering new supersonic VTOLs

US Army researchers believe they have found a novel way to articulate the position of turbine blades in the hot section of jet engines. They say the innovation could significantly improve efficiency and power of jet engines - and also enable a new, wider range of performance need … | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 3 years ago

Odin: «Cloud-based» replacement for troubled F-35s software

For the first time, Lockheed Martin F-35s were loaded with Operational Data Integrated Network (ODIN) hardware, an initial step in replacing the stealth fighter's troubled support system. A squadron of F-35Bs based at US Marine Corps (USMC) Air Station Yuma in Arizona received th … | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 3 years ago

General Atomics flies MQ-9 Reaper with AI pod that chooses targets autonomously

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has integrated and flown the MQ-9 Reaper with the Agile Condor Pod, an on-board artificially intelligent computer that promises to autonomously find, track and propose targets to human commanders. | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 3 years ago

'Flying-V' model embarks on first test flight with Airbus support

A scaled model of the 'Flying-V' blended wing aircraft concept - first unveiled by Dutch researchers last year - has completed its first test flight in Germany. Airbus also emerged as the latest partner in the project, after Dutch flag carrier KLM threw its weight behind the proj … | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 3 years ago

Unstable approach rate rose sharply as air transport crisis unfolded

Analysis of flight operations data during the downturn in air transport activity has revealed a sharp increase in the proportion of unstable approaches. The number of unstable approaches per 1,000 operations increased to around 28 in April and 37 in May, two months in which air t … | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 3 years ago

SkyDrive readies eVTOL ‘flying car’ for its first public sortie

Japanese start-up SkyDrive is preparing to fly its electric vertical take-off-and landing (eVTOL) test aircraft in public for the first time in August, as it sets its sights on building a thriving air taxi and urban air mobility market in the country on the back the developmental … | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 3 years ago

All-electric Cessna Grand Caravan makes maiden flight

An electric-powered Cessna 208B Grand Caravan lifted off a Moses Lake runway on 28 May, marking another milestone in a project that aims to bring all-electric flight to consumer air travel. | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 3 years ago

Emirates A380 dipped below 400ft as crew mistakenly chased glideslope

Investigators have determined that an Emirates Airbus A380 descended far below the glideslope at Moscow Domodedovo after its crew entered a rapid descent, erroneously believing the jet was too high for the correct approach path. It descended to 504ft above ground - with a rate of … | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 4 years ago

Rocket Lab catches piece of falling rocket in mid-air with helicopter

As part of the demonstration, Rocket Lab dropped the test stage from a light helicopter over the ocean. The stage's fall was slowed by a parachute. A second helicopter swooped in and snagged the parachute's drogue line with a specially designed grappling hook at about 5,000ft. | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 4 years ago

Japan AirLines to test drone flights for medical supply delivery

Japan Airlines has signed a cooperation agreement with the Japanese city of Yabu to launch unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) test flights to transport medical supplies. JAL is hoping to conduct the maiden sortie this spring. The expected route will span about 25km, from a hospital to … | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 4 years ago

Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider first flight route announced

The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider stealth bomber’s first flight will be a short hop, about 22mi (35km) north across the Mojave Desert, from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California where it is being built to its testing site at Edwards Air Force Base. | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 4 years ago

Aurora hypersonic sucessor to SR-71 'revealed' in UK defence ministry report

By Justin Wastnage in LondonFollowers of the much-speculated US Aurora hypersonic military jet received a boost today thanks to closer reading of a recently declassified UK defence ministry report into unidentified flying objects (UFOs). UK broadcaster BBC picked through the Unid … | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 4 years ago

GPS outage grounds regional flights

Collins Aerospace is coordinating with safety regulators and its equipment clients after a GPS connection outage on its parts resulted in the cancellation of hundreds of flights, especially flights on aircraft operated by US regional carriers. | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 4 years ago

China 'rapidly closing' gap with Western air forces: Pentagon

Beijing continues to make strides in developing modern airpower capabilities across the full spectrum of platforms, from strategic bombers to armed UAVs. | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 5 years ago

Hydrogen fuel cells could star in long-endurance UAVs

Federal Aviation Administration approval of beyond visual line of sight unmanned air vehicle (UAV) operations could spur drone makers and operators to adopt hydrogen fuel cell powerplants. | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 5 years ago

Boeing launches group focused on quantum and neuromorphic computing

Boeing launched a new organisation dedicated to developing innovative computing and communications technology for use by commercial companies and military customers. | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 5 years ago

FAA pushes back on Boeing exemption for 787 safety flaw

The US Federal Aviation Administration is pushing back on a request by Boeing for a temporary exemption from a safety regulation to allow the GE Aviation-powered version version of the 787-10 to enter service on schedule in August. | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 5 years ago

USAF prepares for rapid demo of high-energy laser weapon

The US Air Force has started preparing to rapidly stage a demonstration of a highly mature laser weapon system (LWS) for an unspecified “airborne vehicle”, with the potential for a follow-on production programme. | Continue reading


@flightglobal.com | 6 years ago