Know What's Happening in Aerospace
Know What's Happening in Aerospace
China tests 7.5‑tonne hydrogen‑turboprop cargo plane
China’s Aero Engine Corporation flew a 7.5‑tonne unmanned cargo aircraft powered by a 1‑megawatt hydrogen turboprop for 16 minutes, covering 36 km at 220 km/h and 300 m altitude. The test demonstrates the engine’s reliability and the country’s claim of a fully domestic hydrogen‑engine supply chain.
Indian startup GalaxEye Space Solutions is preparing to launch the world’s first privately built OptoSAR satellite, a 190 kg platform powered by electric propulsion, aboard a SpaceX Falcon rocket within the next two to two‑and‑a‑half months. The Gen‑1 satellite, part of the Drishti constellation, will deliver 1‑1.5 m resolution SAR imagery with a 7‑10 day global revisit and all‑weather, day‑night coverage. GalaxEye aims to have ten such satellites operational by 2029, with Gen‑2 models weighing 300 kg and offering 0.5 m resolution. The company has raised $14.5 million to date and plans a U.S. subsidiary while continuing production in India.
The Indian Air Force lost a Su-30MKI on March 5 after it vanished from radar during a training sortie from Jorhat, killing both pilots. This marks the third Su-30MKI crash in as many years, yet the fleet’s attrition rate stays...
China’s reusable Shenlong space plane lifted off from Jiuquan on February 6 and is now on its fourth orbital mission, cruising at a 594 km circular orbit after thruster firings on February 9 and 12. The vehicle shows no evidence of deploying small...
A creator funded by Patreon patrons purchased a large 90" × 48" blueprint of the Lockheed F-94C from eBay. The original drawing will be scanned and offered as a monthly reward to subscribers. The post links to the monthly‑reward page and showcases...
🚨BOOSTER 19 RAPTOR 3 ENGINES SpaceX just lifted Booster 19 (first V3 Super Heavy) onto the new Pad 2. With only 10 Raptor 3 engines installed. Why only so few engines? Smart risk reduction: New booster design + debut Raptor 3 engines +...
GMTI and what is actually providing it (use your imagination) is the real technological star of this war nobody is talking about.
SBG Systems has launched Firmware 6.0 (v6.0.5585‑stable) for its Ekinox, Apogee, Quanta and Navsight navigation suites. The update adds a fixed‑wing UAV motion profile with full air‑data support, and opens integration to external cameras, LiDAR or radar for position and...
10 out of the 33 Raptor 3's in this first test. Let's see how she all goes with this shall we!? 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Airlines are grappling with record passenger demand while aircraft deliveries stall because of a severe engine production bottleneck, especially Pratt & Whitney’s GTF units. Boeing briefly reclaimed the lead in 2026, delivering 46 737 MAX jets in January, surpassing Airbus’s 19 A320neo...
Since people are rediscovering "clobbering" of cruise missiles, let me explain: Tomahawks use "terrain contour matching" (TERCOM) to find their way to targets. For reasons, about 1-2% of Tomahawks "clobber" -- get lost and fly into the ground --...
Sweden’s archipelagos and severe winter weather make helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) exceptionally challenging, requiring pilots to navigate low clouds, ice, and sudden wind shifts. Avincis Sweden operates 13 H145 helicopters from ten bases, handling 124 missions over a three‑day...
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During the March 8 Defense & Aerospace Report podcast, analysts examined a surge in geopolitical tension and market volatility shaping defense spending. The Trump administration is expected to request $50 billion in supplemental funding as the US‑Israel conflict with Iran intensifies, while...
Virgin Atlantic announced it will suspend its London‑Heathrow to Dubai service until the end of March due to escalating Middle East conflict and persistent airspace closures. The decision follows a forced U‑turn of flight VS400, which diverted to Budapest after...
Etihad's A321LR has one of the most unusual first class products out there, as it's more of a "business class plus." What makes it so great is that the soft product is excellent, and it's actually priced more affordably than the...
🚨BOOSTER 19 LIFT IN PROGRESS: It is missing quite a few engines... What for? Will we just see a static fire of the center engines? Everything else would be an asymmetric thrust. 🤷♂️ Watch LIVE with me: https://t.co/9fNjC5XZZs https://t.co/jlcIaSmTgj
A decommissioned United Boeing 747‑400 has been disassembled into 39 sections and is being reassembled between two high‑rise towers of the WB 1200 mixed‑use project in Seattle’s Denny Triangle. The aircraft, tail‑number N178UA, retired in 2017, will become a public workspace suspended...
Saxon Air, a Norwich Airport‑based private charter operator, has bolstered its fleet with a brand‑new 2025 Agusta AW139 helicopter (registration G‑MCFC). The medium‑twin aircraft will serve executive charter flights across the UK and key European destinations such as Paris, as...
SpaceX successfully launched 25 additional Starlink satellites aboard a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The rocket’s first stage marked its seventh flight, achieving a precise drone‑ship landing in the Pacific. With this mission, SpaceX’s 2026 launch tally of 29...
NASA’s Artemis program is reshaping its roadmap to echo Apollo, scheduling a crewed lunar flyby in 2026, a low‑Earth‑orbit rendezvous in 2027, and a south‑pole landing originally slated for 2028. The timeline now drifts toward 2029 as hardware setbacks, SLS...
The UK Ministry of Defence has launched Project OLCHAR, a preliminary market engagement to develop a sovereign electronic fuze system for armed uncrewed platforms. The design will be "safe‑by‑design" with an Electronic Safe and Arm Device (ESAD) and will be platform‑agnostic,...
Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Air Force are speeding up production of the B‑21 Raider stealth bomber as testing progresses. The company has poured more than $5 billion into digital engineering and manufacturing infrastructure to support the ramp‑up. Final assembly continues...
On March 5, 2026, a.i. solutions entered a CRADA partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey to embed artificial‑intelligence and machine‑learning tools into Landsat’s flight operations. The collaboration will automate anomaly triage, telemetry trending, and orbital mechanics analysis for the sun‑synchronous Landsat constellation....
The U.S. Department of Defense awarded BlackSky Geospatial Solutions a $99 million SBIR Phase III contract to build an advanced optical imaging testbed for the Air Force Research Laboratory. Simultaneously, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control received a $53.1 million contract modification to...
The Airbus A350‑1000 adopts a six‑wheel main‑gear bogie, while Boeing’s larger 787‑10 retains the four‑wheel configuration used on earlier Dreamliners. The difference stems from the A350‑1000’s higher maximum take‑off weight and passenger capacity, which require lower pavement‑loading per wheel. Boeing...
Airbus has dominated thin transatlantic routes with the A321LR/XLR, but Boeing’s 737 MAX is now making a serious push across the pond. Icelandair already flies more than 3,500 MAX flights to Europe and is phasing out wide‑bodies, while WestJet is adding...
Air traffic controllers in Barbados staged an unsanctioned walkout on March 7, shutting the island’s airspace for roughly 7.5 hours. The strike forced several carriers—including Air Canada, WestJet, United, JetBlue, and Delta—to turn back, divert, or cancel flights destined for the Caribbean....
NASA announced 16 finalists for Phase 2 of the LunaRecycle Challenge, a $3 million competition aimed at creating waste‑recycling technologies for lunar missions. The teams, drawn from 11 U.S. states, will spend the next six months refining prototypes or digital‑twin systems before...
The U.S. Navy has awarded a $347,318 contract to Rockwell Collins to repair and reconfigure TacNet 1.0 datalink radios used on the Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) and Harpoon Block II+ missiles. The sole‑source award, issued by the Naval Air Systems Command’s Precision...
Turkish Airlines posted a solid 2025 financial year, with revenue rising 6.3% to $24.1 billion and passenger revenues climbing 7.4% to $19.8 billion on 92 million travelers. The fourth quarter was especially strong, delivering a 12.7% year‑over‑year revenue increase to $5.1 billion. Cargo earnings...
Aircraft leasing activity in India's International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City surged from 63 units in December 2024 to 196 units by December 2025, a 211% increase. The leased fleet, now valued at $6.886 billion, attracted $615 million of financing...
The Tennessee Army National Guard has issued solicitations to purchase small unmanned aerial systems, including the Neros Archer, FlightWave Edge 130, and ModalAI Stinger Vision FPV drones, for use by the 117th Regiment Regional Training Institute. Each solicitation calls for two...
Japan is set to field domestically developed long‑range missiles, including the Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectile (HVGP) and an upgraded Type‑12, between fiscal years 2025 and 2027. The rollout will be complemented by U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles and a new ISR...
On March 8 1986, Japan’s Suisei probe became the second spacecraft to fly past Halley’s Comet, part of an international “Halley Armada” that also included two Soviet Vega probes, Japan’s Sakigake, and ESA’s Giotto. The comet’s perihelion occurred on February 9, placing it...
On October 13, 1973, SR‑71 pilots Jim Shelton and Gary Coleman completed an 11.13‑hour sortie from Griffiss AFB, flying over five hours above Mach 3.0 and refueling six times to gather critical photo intelligence over the Yom Kippur War theater. The...
French space‑tech firm Aldoria has signed a contract with Indian engineering company AXISCADES to deliver optical stations for Space Situational Awareness (SSA) in India. The first station will be deployed in 2026, with a phased rollout targeting more than a...
NASA has granted HEBI Robotics an $850,000 Phase II SBIR contract to develop and test space‑rated actuation hardware. The two‑year effort will produce modular actuators and compatible avionics for low‑Earth‑orbit and geosynchronous missions. HEBI’s technology aims to survive ionizing radiation and...
Low Earth Orbit is on track to host up to half a million satellites by 2040, driven by aggressive mega‑constellation plans from both commercial firms and nation‑states. Existing licensing relies on UN notifications and national approvals, with little cross‑agency coordination,...
Malaysia Airlines announced supplemental Kuala Lumpur‑London Heathrow and Kuala Lumpur‑Paris Charles de Gaulle flights from 6‑8 March 2026, adding capacity amid widespread travel disruptions. The airline will operate the extra services with A350‑900 aircraft alongside its daily schedule, using alternative routes that...
J. Todd Inman, one of five members of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, has abruptly left the agency, according to sources. His departure follows the Senate’s Feb. 25 confirmation of John Deleeuw, former American Airlines safety chief, which restored the...
Israeli startup Remondo unveiled its Partial Aperture Imaging System (PAIS), a novel approach that replaces costly large mirrors and sensors with rings of smaller mirrors, a light modulator and coding to achieve 30‑cm resolution imagery. The design cuts satellite development...
NASA announced a sole‑source contract awarding United Launch Alliance (ULA) the Centaur‑5 upper stage for future Space Launch System (SLS) flights after Artemis‑3. The decision leverages the proven RL10 engine heritage, compatibility with Mobile Launcher 1, and ULA’s existing work with...
Belgium just airlifted 198 of their own + 39 citizens from other member states out of the UAE using the A330 MRTT via Muscat and Hurghada. This is why the Civil Protection Mechanism exists and it actually worked.
Royal Navy Merlin HM2 helicopters fitted with the Crowsnest airborne surveillance and control system have departed RNAS Culdrose for a self‑deployed deployment to Cyprus. The Thales Searchwater pulse‑Doppler radar can detect low‑flying UAVs such as Shahed drones at ranges up...
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman answered a public query on Twitter in real time, rejecting the notion that the agency faces a budget shortfall. He highlighted that NASA receives roughly $25 billion annually, plus an additional $10 billion from the recent bipartisan funding...
American Airlines will launch four new winter transatlantic routes to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Edinburgh and Lisbon using its Airbus A321XLR. The narrow‑body jet, capable of carrying 155 passengers, will operate from Philadelphia between late January and late March, filling seasonal demand that...
The Boeing 737‑700 remains a linchpin of low‑cost carrier strategy in 2026, offering a rare blend of range, speed, and operational simplicity. Its high‑performance wing, CFM56‑7B engines, and 41,000‑ft service ceiling deliver fuel‑efficient, high‑altitude cruising that outperforms many newer narrowbodies....
Overture cabin: - Entry door is 6’ 3”, 1” taller than 737, 10” taller than Concorde - Forward aisle height peaks at over eight feet, with a minimum of 6’ 8” - Last row aisle is 6’2”, about the same as a...
From 8 March Qatar Airways will operate limited flights to London Heathrow, Paris CDG, Madrid, Rome, Frankfurt and Bangkok. These flights are ONLY for passengers whose final destination is Doha, the airline said in a statement.
The US is planning to build up a fleet of 2400 F-35s, which would make it the 4th largest global air force alone. https://t.co/YAnXK2vCUQ
Iranian Attacks On Critical Missile Defense Radars Are A Wake-Up Call Iran's successful targeting of prized missile defense radars in the Middle East highlights global vulnerabilities. Feature: https://t.co/vGqhORYAMn
