MilitaryUSAF To Pursue Degraded Visual Environment System For HH-60W Without Helmet Mounted Display To save funds, the U.S. Air Force plans to pursue a Degraded Visual Environment System (DVES) without a helmet mounted display (HMD) for the Lockheed Martin [LMT] Sikorsky HH-60W Jolly Green II combat rescue…
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…
Electrification and SustainabilityAFWERX Agility Prime to Take Hit in FY 2026 Budget In the upcoming fiscal 2026 budget request, the U.S. Air Force is to request a winding down of the Agility Prime electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) project by the service’s AFWERX…
Aircraft MaintenanceUSAF Considers FY 2027 EMD for Wedgetail Upgrades, Including MESA Replacement The U.S. Air Force is considering starting engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) in fiscal 2027 for upgrades to the Boeing E-7A Wedgetail, including a replacement of the Northrop Grumman Multi-Role Electronically Scanned…
AI & AutonomyGambit and Fury CCA Offerings Get USAF Designations; Flights on Track for This Summer The U.S. Air Force has bestowed “mission design series” (MDS) designations on its two Increment 1 Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) prototypes. The General Atomics Gambit offering is the YFQ-42A and Anduril Industries‘…
MilitaryCollins Aerospace: Proposed EPACS System for F-35 Achieves Technology Readiness Level 6 RTX‘s Collins Aerospace said on Feb. 18 that its Enhanced Power and Cooling System (EPACS)–the company’s proposed replacement for the F-35 fighter’s current Power and Thermal Management System (PTMS)–has achieved Technology Readiness…
AI & AutonomyMerlin Labs Says $105 Million C-130J Advanced Automation Contract Stepping Stone for Other SOF Aircraft Boston’s Merlin Labs, Inc. said on June 12 that it has received a $105 million contract from U.S. Special Operations Command to provide advanced automation for the Air Force C-130J airlifter by…
AI & AutonomyUSAF and Merlin Labs Explore Autonomous Options for KC-135 Boston-based Merlin Labs, Inc. said on May 30 that it is using data from flights of a KC-135 at MacDill AFB, Fla., “to better understand crew workload drivers and gather data to…
Editor's NoteGE Continues Work on XA100 for Future Combat Aircraft - May 8 GE Aerospace has finished a fourth round of testing on the XA100 adaptive cycle engine “to gather additional data and advance this next-generation technology for future combat aircraft.” the company said on…
AI & AutonomyCollaborative Autonomy Tested in EpiSci/USAF Autonomy Prime Flights - May 2 California-based EpiSci said this week that the company finished multiple collaborative autonomy tests last month under the U.S. Air Force’s Autonomy Prime program to train operators on the company’s Starling Tactical Artificial…