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Application Briefs
Design

Advanced Air Mobility Digital Operations Center

AFWERX is partnering with NASA to develop a digital operations center for future Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) efforts through the Civilian Commercialization Readiness Pilot Program, or CCRPP, awardee, ResilienX.

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Application Briefs
Propulsion

Hybrid Electric Aircraft Demonstrator

After several years of travelling between Tarbes and Toulouse on a regular basis to oversee EcoPulse’s development, Airbus Project Leader William Llobregat found himself back onsite in November 2023 with his team, and those of Daher and Safran. The occasion? The first EcoPulse test flight.

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Briefs
Electronics & Computers

Report on Human Factors Issues Likely to Affect Air-Launched Effects

Air-Launched Effects (ALEs) are a concept for operating small, inexpensive, attritable, and highly autonomous unmanned aerial systems that can be tube launched from aircraft.

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Regulations/Standards

FAA Expands Boeing 737 Investigation to Manufacturing and Production Lines

The Federal Aviation Administration is expanding its investigation into what caused the recent Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 incident to Boeing's manufacturing...

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Weapons Systems

Army Launches $50 Million Advanced Manufacturing Initiative for Aviation and Weapon Systems

The U.S. Army has awarded a $50 million three-year research project to Auburn University to understand how new manufacturing materials and methods...

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Materials

How the US Navy Uses Organic Manufacturing to Combat Supply Chain Constraints

When supply chain constraints make it challenging to source parts for aircraft maintained at Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE), the depot’s organic...

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Application Briefs
Materials

Cold Spray Technology

Naval Air Systems CommandNaval Air Station North Island, CA(619) 545-3415www.navair.navy.mil In the realm of naval aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul, a transformative technology is taking flight. At the heart...

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Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Peregrine Spacecraft Suffers Propellant Leak After Successful Rocket Launch

Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander suffered a failure within its propulsion system after deploying from the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket on...

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RF & Microwave Electronics

Bombardier to Start Building New Army HADES Prototype Spy Plane

Bombardier Defense has received a new contract award to develop a prototype spy plane for the Army’s High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) program. Under...

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Aerospace

New DARPA X-Plane Will Have No Moving Control Surfaces

Aurora Flight Sciences has begun manufacturing work on a new X-plane for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors...

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Regulations/Standards

Boeing 737 MAX 9 Fleet Grounded Following In-Flight Loss of Cabin Door Plug

The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded 171 in-service Boeing 737 MAX 9s following an Alaska Airlines flight involving the aircraft type last week....

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Power

DoD Starts Prototyping Commercial Lithium Batteries for Aviation, Ground Vehicle and Soldier Power

Under the new Family of Advanced Standard Batteries (FAStBat) project, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and several other agencies are funding...

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Articles
Electronics & Computers

How Business Networks Can Help Stabilize the A&D Supply Chain

If the disruptions of the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that supply chain issues can’t be solved in a vacuum by an individual company, however much leverage that company may wield in the marketplace. These days, it takes a village to keep supply chains humming along.

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Articles
Weapons Systems

Key Measurements to Maintain Performance of Critical Electronic Systems on Military Aircraft and Warships

Wireless technology is a critical element of the modern battlefield, making accurate and consistent transmissions of high-speed data essential for mission success. Ensuring wireless system performance has additional challenges when implemented on warships and aircraft.

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Briefs
Materials

Composite Repair Engineering Case Studies for U.S. Army Aerostructures

As technologies develop, aircraft mature, and strides are made in advanced materials development and analysis, aircraft have increased use of advanced composites within the aerostructure. These advanced materials are now being used in highly loaded structures, including aerodynamic profiles.

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Briefs
Manned Systems

Assessment of Noncommercial Icing Prediction Capabilities for Army Applications

Historically, smaller Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), such as Class 2 RQ-1B Raven and Class 3 RQ-7Bv2 Shadow, have been restricted to not be approved to fly in icing conditions under the assumption that any ice accretion would cause an unacceptable risk of loss of the aircraft.

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Application Briefs
Power

New CFM56 High Pressure Turbine Blades

CFM International has introduced a new design for High-Pressure Turbine blades featured on the CFM56 engine, one of the most widely used engines on thousands of in-service commercial and military aircraft, including the Airbus A320 and the Next Generation Boeing 737.

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Application Briefs
Manned Systems

Air Force Receives First Joby eVTOL

The U.S. Air Force received its first electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft from Joby Aviation six months ahead of the expected 2024 delivery date. The delivery was completed during a September ceremony at Edwards Air Force Base.

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Application Briefs
Manned Systems

Quantum Sensing Atomic Gyroscope

The Defense Science Board identified three areas of quantum technology that will be most relevant to the DoD's technological superiority: sensing, encryption, and communications.

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Aerospace

Virgin Atlantic Completes Transatlantic Flight Using Only Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Virgin Atlantic completed the first ever transatlantic flight of a large commercial airliner powered with 100 percent of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on...

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Manufacturing & Prototyping

These Four Companies Will Build DARPA High-Speed VTOL X-Plane Prototypes

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected four companies to compete for its Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) X-Plane...

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Software

The B-21 Raider Starts Flight Testing

The U.S. Air Force has begun flight testing Northrop Grumman's sixth generation B-21 stealth bomber. Matt Hartman, a freelance photojournalist captured the first flight of the B-21 on Nov. 10 with...

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RF & Microwave Electronics

European KC-135s Get Real Time Cockpit System Upgrades

Aircraft assigned to the 100th Air Refueling Wing are the first tankers in U.S. Air Forces in Europe to be equipped with a new data link system, allowing them to communicate and share...

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Design

Airbus Starts Testing Airplane Wing That Changes Shape In-Flight

UpNext, an Airbus subsidiary "technology incubator," has completed the first flight of a modified Cessna Citation VII business jet that is flight testing components and...

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Podcasts
Manned Systems

How AI is Changing Military Aircraft Maintenance and More

David Mazar, Vice President of Strategy and Growth, Spark Cognition Government Systems, is the guest on this episode of Here’s an Idea. He explains how his company’s AI-enabled digital maintenance tool is changing the way military aircraft are serviced.

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Aerospace

GAO Report: Maintenance and Supply Delays Continue to Impact F-35 Readiness

Maintenance challenges negatively affect F-35 aircraft readiness. The F-35 fleet mission capable rate—the percentage of time the aircraft can perform one of its...

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Aerospace

New 'Motherlode' Tool is Revolutionizing UK Navy Helicopter Maintenance

The U.K.'s Royal Navy is rolling out the use of a new artificial intelligence (AI) software tool called "Motherlode" that is poised to revolutionize the way military...

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Defense

Army Delivers First T901 ITEP Engines for FARA Prototype Helicopters

Both companies that are competing for the U.S. Army's new Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program have received the General Electric T901 Improved Turbine...

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Energy

Archer Achieves First Untethered Flight with Midnight eVTOL

On Oct. 24, Santa Clara, California-based electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) manufacturer Archer Aviation completed the first flight of its five-seat Midnight prototype...

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