MilitaryUSAF To Award Pratt & Whitney Engine Performance Restoration Contract For C-17 By End Of FY 2027 The Air Force plans to award a 10-year firm fixed price contract at the end of fiscal 2027 to RTX‘s Pratt & Whitney for the restoration of the company’s F117 engines for…
AI & AutonomyElectronic Warfare and Air-to-Ground Missions Focus of GA-ASI Gambit 6 Design General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) said on Nov. 4 that it is developing the Gambit 6–the company’s latest version of the Gambit series drones–for electronic warfare and air-to-ground operations. The latest…
MilitaryGE Aerospace’s F110-GE-129 Engine To Power Shield AI X-BAT GE Aerospace‘s F110-GE-129 engine with the Axisymmetric Vectoring Exhaust Nozzle (AVEN) is to power Shield AI‘s future X-BAT drone fighter jet, according to a Memorandum of Understanding between the companies. U.S. Air…
MilitaryOfficial: T901 Engine Testing On Black Hawk ‘Very Successful,’ Program’s Future Still TBD A lead Army official said testing to date of the GE Aerospace-built T901 engine on a Black Hawk helicopter has been “very successful,” while the engine program’s future is still to be…
AI & AutonomyFlight Debut for Shield AI X-BAT Could Come Next Fall Shield AI plans to conduct initial vertical takeoff and landing demonstrations of its X-BAT drone fighter jet “as early as fall 2026, followed by all-up flight testing and operational validation in 2028,”…
MilitaryGeneral Atomics YFQ-42A First CCA Forerunner to Fly A General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) YFQ-42A Gambit prototype for the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program flew for the first time in California on Wednesday ahead of what…
MilitaryUSAF Expects to Field BTAR Fix for KC-46A Late in Fiscal 2027 The U.S. Air Force expects to field a fix for the stiff aerial refueling boom (ARB) on the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker late in fiscal 2027. “The stiff boom deficiency is being…
MilitaryDoD, Partners Demonstrate Beyond Line-Of-Sight Drone Cargo Flights In National Airspace A Defense Department development program to demonstrate uncrewed aerial logistics beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) in the national airspace has resulted in a series of successful flights, an important milestone for potentially making…
UnmannedHegseth Directs Widespread Use Of Expendable Drones By End Of 2026 Responding to a recent presidential directive to bolster American drone capabilities, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the military services to take a more aggressive role in quickly purchasing small drones and…
MilitaryUSAF Says Wind Tunnel Testing Validated F130 Engine Inlet Redesign, As B-52 CERP Looks to Enter Development This Summer The U.S. Air Force said that wind tunnel testing that finished in early June validated inlet redesign of the Rolls-Royce F130 engine for the U.S. Air Force’s Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP)…