Space News
Space News
SpaceX Starship Updates, Falcon Heavy / Ariane 6 updates, Crew 3/2 delays Please Click Here to Donate and Help Keep us Pop-up Ad Free Return to The Florida Pilot
Year: 2021
Lockheed F-22 Raptor
Lockheed wins $10.9B contract to modernize F-22
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Senators
Good Morning Senators
Good morning, United States Senators. First, let me thank you for your community service. Without your dedication to the successful continuance of these united states, the United States of America would not be what it […]
Lockheed Spice 250 F-16
Lockheed Martin, Rafael Partner To Develop Spice-250 Weapon System For Us Military
ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 2, 2021 – Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., of Israel, signed an expanded teaming agreement, allowing the team to jointly develop, market, manufacture and support Rafael’s Smart, Precise Impact […]
Albatros D.III
Eduard 1/48 Scale Albatros D.III (Oeffag) series 253 built by master modeler Michał Wołowczyk
The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service (Luftstreitkräfte) during World War I. A modified license model was built by Oeffag for the Austro-Hungarian Air Service (Luftfahrtruppen). […]
The FAA and 5G
The FAA has ‘deep concern’ about 5G networks and their potentially serious effects on aviation safety
Very big heads are butting over this issue as Radar Altimeters aren’t going away any time soon and neither is 5G The following was quoted in a letter drafted by Kelley Drye & Warren LLP […]
Ju 52/3-M
1/72 Scale Italeri Ju 52/3m “Tante Ju” Built by Master Modeler Steve Evans
The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed Tante Ju (“Aunt Ju”) and Iron Annie) is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed […]
GE F-15EX Eagle II
General Electric Awarded $1.5 Billion Contract to Power Full U.S. Air Force F-15EX Eagle II Fleet
General Electric, October 29, 2021: The U.S. Air Force has awarded GE a $1.58 billion firm-fixed-price contract to supply F110 engines for the Boeing F-15EX Eagle II. This selection makes GE the sole propulsion provider […]
China J-XY/J-35
China’s J-XY/J-35 Carrier-borne Stealth Fighter Flies
On the heels of the image(s) of the new two-seat Chinese (J-20?) stealth fighter, images are emerging of what has been alleged to be China’s carrier-borne stealth fighter (J-XY/J-35?). Below are the latest Tweets that […]
Uncategorized
1:32 Hasegawa Curtis P-40K
1:32 Hasegawa Curtis P-40K: The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk […]
Lockheed Greenville
Lockheed Martin’s Greenville Site To Add More Than 300 New Jobs By End Of 2022
Lockheed Martin will add more than 300 new jobs for F-16 production and sustainment to its Greenville, South Carolina site by the end of 2022. The company is actively hiring today, and interested candidates can […]
NASA Artemis
NASA sets an ambitious new date for Artemis I moon mission launch
The Orion spacecraft and mega-powerful Space Launch System are almost ready for their first big test. NASA will launch its Artemis missions using the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System, seen together in this […]
NASA Artemis
NASA Fully Stacked for Moon Mission, Readies for Artemis I
October 22, 2021, Kathryn Hambleton, NASA: NASA’s Orion spacecraft is secured atop the agency’s powerful Space Launch System rocket, and the integrated system is entering the final phase of preparations for an upcoming uncrewed flight […]
Space Adventures
Space Adventures no Longer Planning Crew Dragon Flight
Space Adventures had planned a Crew Dragon mission that would fly higher than the ISS and without professional astronauts on board, a concept similar to the Inspiration4 mission in September. Space Adventures: No SpaceX Mission: […]
Blue Origin Lunar Lander Legal Battle
Lunar Lander Update: Senate Directs NASA to Choose Another Company to Build a Lunar Lander
It comes as no surprise to this writer that the squeaking wheel got the grease, yet again, from a special interest-riddled government whose promise is only as good as the dollars that are thrown at […]
Boeing E-7A Wedgetail
US Air Force evaluates possible purchase of Boeing E-7A Wedgetails to Replace E-3B Sentry
Boeing E-7A Wedgetail: The Boeing 737 AEW&C is a twin-engine airborne early warning and control aircraft based on the Boeing 737 Next Generation design. It is lighter than the 707-based Boeing E-3 Sentry and has […]
NASA Orion/Artemis
NASA moves Orion spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building
Space Flight Now: Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center moved the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 1 moon mission into the Vehicle Assembly Building Tuesday for stacking on top of the Space Launch System. The […]
McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II
McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II from VF-111 Sundowners
Beautiful 1:48 scale Sundowners F-4B Phantom II by Andrew Perry Sundowners McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II: The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally […]
Lockheed Martin Terrestrial Layer System (TLS)
U.S. Army Awarded Lockheed Martin a Project Agreement for Their Terrestrial Layer System (TLS)
Lockheed Martin, Syracuse, N.Y., Oct. 18, 2021 – The U.S. Army through the Consortium Management Group (CMG)/ Consortium for Command, Control, and Communications in Cyberspace (C5), awarded Lockheed Martin [NYSE:LMT] a Project Agreement to continue development […]
Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4
Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4
Beautiful 1:48 scale model by Michał Wołowczyk Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4: The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe’s […]
Bell APT
Bell’s Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) Demonstrates Claimed “Game-Changing” Aerial Resupply Feature
Adding to its various cargo-carrying capabilities, the Bell Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) demonstrated its ability to airdrop supplies, a major milestone that will eventually lead to quicker resupply missions for troops in challenging locations or out in […]
Spitfire Mk.Vb
Airfix Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb
Beautiful 1:24 Scale Spitfire Model by Steve Evans The British Supermarine Spitfire was the only Allied fighter aircraft of the Second World War to fight in front line service from the beginnings of the conflict, […]
NASA Lucy
NASA Invites Public to Share Excitement of the Lucy Launch
Click Here to Register for Lucy’s Launch NASA is inviting the public to take part in virtual activities and events ahead of the launch of Lucy, the first space mission to study the Trojan asteroids, […]
Lockheed Martin Sentinal
U.S. Army Accelerates Delivery Of Sentinel A4 Missile Defense Radar
First Sentinel A4 Radar Comes Off the Line & Achieves Major Milestones While Remaining Ahead of Schedule Sentinel A4 Radar: On Oct. 11, 2021, Lockheed Martin announced that the U.S. Army Sentinel A4 Program Office […]
Colonial Viper
Revell Colonial Viper Mk.II
Beautiful Sci-Fi “what-if” Scale Model Viper by Steve Evans Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore and […]
★ Exclusive
Lockheed Martin Defiant X™, A Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) Contender Achieves 247 Knots
On October 12, 2021, Lockheed Martin’ announced that its Defiant X™/FLRAA Achieved 247 knots (284 mph/457 km/h). The Defiant uses a pusher prop with a clutch, a coaxial rotor system, and retractable landing gear to […]
Fokker Dr.1 Triplane
Fokker Dr.I Triplane
Guy Kieckens’ 1:24 Scale Meng Model Fokker Dr.I Triplane The Fokker Dr.I (Dreidecker, “triplane” in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I […]
Wildcatfish
Grumman F4F-3S Wildcatfish
Kenny Chan Kin Tong’s 1:48 Scale Hobby Boss F4F-3S Wildcatfish Grumman F4F-3S Wildcatfish: The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that began service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the […]
F-4EJ Phantom
JASDF McDonnell Douglas F-4EJ Phantom II
Beautiful 1:48 Scale JASDF Phantom II by Steve Evans JASDF Phantom II: From 1968, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) purchased a total of 140 F-4EJ Phantom IIs without aerial refueling, AGM-12 Bullpup missile system, […]
Hawker Tempest Mk.II
Hawker Tempest Mk.II
Beautiful 1:48 scale model by Michał Wołowczyk The Hawker Tempest was a British fighter aircraft primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest, originally known as the Typhoon […]
Yak-28P
Yak-28P NATO Code Name “Firebar”
Beautiful 1:48 scale model by Steve Evans The Yakovlev Yak-28 is a swept wing, turbojet-powered combat aircraft used by the Soviet Union. Produced initially as a tactical bomber, it was also manufactured in reconnaissance, electronic […]
Blue Origin with William Shatner
Open Letter Quote: “Blue Origin has been lucky that nothing has happened so far”
A quote from an anonymous Blue Origin engineer In an open letter to the whistleblower website The Lioness, a letter that brings into question the safety of 90-year old William Shatner. Are we risking a […]
US Army Hypersonics
U.S. Army Delivers First Hypersonics Ground Equipment: “Dark Eagle” Missile Launchers
The delivery of the first prototype hypersonic hardware to Soldiers of the 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Field Artillery Brigade Hypersonics Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA, Friday, October 8, 2021: The U.S. Army equipped […]
Next Generation Interceptor
Next Generation Interceptor Program Achieves Critical System Requirements Review
Lockheed Martin Awarded $3.7 Billion To Modernize Key Missile Defense Mission with the Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) Next Generation Interceptor (NGI): Lockheed Martin, on Oct. 5, 2021, from Huntsville, AL, announced that the U.S. Missile […]
Lockheed Hypersonic
Lockheed Martin Opens Intelligent, Advanced Hypersonic Strike Production Facility
Newest Alabama Facility Includes Advanced Production Tools and Intelligent Factory Solutions for Hypersonic Weapons Production Lockheed Martin Hypersonic: Lockheed Martin, Courtland, Ala., Oct. 4, 2021. Lockheed Martin is breaking barriers in hypersonic technology, adding to its […]
Taiwan Airspace Incursion
The Taiwanese Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) Has Been Massively Trespassed by the Chinese Air Force (PLAAF) Over the Past Week
China encroaches Taiwanese airspace: Record-breaking numbers of Chinese military planes probed Taiwan’s protected airspace over this weekend, prompting Taiwanese fighter jets to scramble and reinvigorating fears that China could ultimately use force to take possession of the […]
Tropical Outlook
Greek Alphabet No Longer Tapped For Hurricane Names
With named storms coming earlier and more often in warmer waters, the Atlantic hurricane season is going through some changes with meteorologists ditching the Greek alphabet during busy years. But the Atlantic hurricane season will […]
DARPA
DARPA: Raytheon Missiles & Defense, Northrop Grumman Successfully Test Fire Hypersonic Weapon
Hypersonic Scramjet-powered missile flies faster than Mach 5 DARPA, in partnership with the U.S. Air Force, completed a free flight test of its Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) last week. The missile, built by Raytheon Technologies, was […]
Stratolaunch
Autonomous High-Speed Test Vehicle Gearing up to Revolutionize Hypersonic Flight
Supersonic and hypersonic aircraft are slowly but surely coming back to the forefront of aviation. NASA is in the last development stages of its supersonic research aircraft, X-59, and Stratolaunch is getting ready to operate […]
Saildrone
Sailed Ocean Drone Captures a First: Video from Inside a Category 4 Hurricane, Sam
Saildrone Inc. and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have released the first video footage gathered by an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) from inside a major hurricane barreling across the Atlantic Ocean, the company said […]
North Korea
North Korea’s Capabilities for Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack
An Unedited, Unredacted Report by Former CIA Operative Dr. Peter Vincent Pry, Executive Director EMP Task Force on National and Homeland Security EMP Attack: There has been a lot of propaganda and fear tactics published […]
China Zhuhai
2021 Zhuhai Air Show J-20, FC-31, Y-20, Z-20 Pavilion Video
The China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, also known as Airshow China, or Zhuhai Airshow, is the largest airshow in mainland China. It has been held in even years in Zhuhai, Guangdong since 1996. We’ll […]
F-35 News
Pentagon And Lockheed Martin Agree To F-35 Production Rebaseline
The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) and the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) industry team have agreed on an F-35 production rebaseline that ensures predictability and stability in the production process while recovering the aircraft shortfall realized […]
China CH-6
First Look at China’s Substantial New Twin-Engined Long-Endurance Armed Combat Drone the CH-6
China CH-6: From September 28 to October 3, during China’s big international airshow in Zhuhai city, south China’s Guangdong Province, the developers will display plenty of exciting aircraft models. One of them is China Aerospace […]
SpaceX Falcon Heavy
SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch internet satellite to serve Alaska in 2022
SpaceX: internet for Alaska! SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket just got another passenger. The powerful Falcon Heavy is now scheduled to loft Astranis’ first commercial communications satellite to orbit next spring, Astranis representatives announced Thursday (Sept. 23). The […]
Blue Origin Lunar Lander Legal Battle
Court Filing Outlines Blue Origin’s Case Against NASA SpaceX Lunar Lander Award
The lunar lander saga continues. In our previous two articles addressing Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin (“A lead engineer at Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has left to join Elon Musk’s SpaceX” and “Blue Origin lost […]
Boeing Australia
Boeing Selects Australia for Company’s First Final Assembly Facility Outside North America
In partnership with @QldGov, we've selected Toowoomba in regional Queensland as the preferred site to produce and assemble the Boeing Airpower Teaming System by 2025. Release: https://t.co/X5YILI2HF2 pic.twitter.com/EKwMPDmsIk — Boeing Australia (@BoeingAustralia) September 22, 2021 […]
NASA News
X-59 Nose Makes an Appearance
NASA: The X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft is taking shape at the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. The team positioned the X-59 QueSST’s nose at the front of the aircraft. As […]
★ Exclusive
Five B-21 Raider Stealth Bombers Reported to be in Different Stages of Completion at Palmdale Air Force Plant 42
Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider Stealth Bomber: In 2015, Northrup Grumman was awarded the B-21 Engineering and Manufacturing Development contract for the B-21 Raider advanced strategic bomber. The Air Force has publicly reported it intends to […]
SpaceX at KSC
The Kennedy Space Center is Finally Getting its own SpaceX Falcon 9 Booster to Display
Starting next year, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex guests will be able to explore the nine Merlin main engines, re-entry scorch marks, grid fins used for in-flight steering, and massive landing legs attached to the […]
Special Ops
U.S. Operated Russian-made Mil Mi-17 Helicopter Lands In North Carolina Farmer’s Field
Earlier this year, Dan Moore, who owns a farm in North Carolina, had unusual visits by not one, but two secretive aircraft. After a Russian-made Mi-17 Hip-type helicopter made an emergency landing, a dark gray […]
Science
A New Magnet Powerful Enough to Lift an Aircraft Carrier
BIG Magnet: Teams working on two continents have marked similar milestones in their respective efforts to tap an energy source key to the fight against climate change: They’ve each produced very impressive magnets. Scientists at […]
MHD/ESG
Those Sharp Looking Red-tailed P-3C Orions You See Flying Around the Skies: MHD Rockland and ESG Aerosystems Inc. Training Platforms
MHD/ESG Orions: I’ve lived in Florida for over twenty years. I’ve been from corner to corner, edge-to-edge. I once counted 168 alligators along the side of the Tamiami Trail in the Everglades – mere feet […]
Navy News
USN/Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Block III Launches Into the Skies of St. Louis
The most advanced Super Hornet in history has completed its first flight, Boeing News Now said Sept. 10. Boeing test pilots Ty “Grouch” Frautschi and Sam “Splat” Platt last week lifted off from Boeing’s St. […]
China Warships
Chinese Warships Sailing Near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands Shadowed By U.S. Coast Guard
Chinese Warships: The U.S. Coast Guard recently released a set of pictures of the Legend class cutter USCGC Bertholf shadowing a group of four Chinese warships sailing in America’s Exclusive Economic Zone near Alaska’s Aleutian […]
SpaceX Heavy
NASA picks SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy to launch GOES-U weather satellite
GOES-U: NASA has picked Falcon Heavy to launch the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-U (GOES-U), with a planned liftoff in April 2024 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, agency officials announced on Friday (Sept. 10). The […]
★ Exclusive
Those Sharp Looking Red-tailed P-3C Orions You See Flying Around the Skies: MHD Rockland and ESG Aerosystems Inc. Training Platforms
MHD/ESG Orions: I’ve lived in Florida for over twenty years. I’ve been from corner to corner, edge-to-edge. I once counted 168 alligators along the side of the Tamiami Trail in the Everglades – mere feet […]
9/11
The Initial Military Response to the Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, and Protecting Air Force One in those Initial Hours
An Interview with Major General Larry K. Arnold, Commander, 1st Air Force, Tyndall AFB, Florida regarding the September 11, 2001 Attacks as it appeared in Lockheed Martin’s CodeOne Magazine in their January 2002 Issue, Vol. […]
Canada
Will Canada ever get its new fighter jets?
The Canadian government has been on the hunt for a next-generation plane for its military. Six years on, there is no clear choice ahead. Canada Fighter Jets: Six years ago, Justin Trudeau promised to find […]
SpaceX Starship
SpaceX’s First Orbital-class Super Heavy Booster Rejoins Starship at the Launchpad
SpaceX Starship: For the second time in five weeks, SpaceX has rolled Starship’s first orbital-class Super Heavy booster from its Starbase factory to the launchpad ahead of a challenging and multifaceted test campaign. Deemed Super […]
USS Doris Miller
Construction on the USS Doris Miller (CVN-81), the Fourth Gerald R. Ford-class Aircraft Carrier, has Begun.
It will likely be more than a decade until the USS Doris Miller (CVN-81), the fourth Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier is commissioned into the US Navy, but recently the first significant milestone occurred when the First Cut […]
★ Exclusive
The Global Data Monster and the Replacement of the F-22 Raptor
Global Data: An Exclusive Article by The Florida Pilot There has been a lot of talk in the past few years about the future of strategy in global battles. Although over the past ten centuries, […]
Afghan Aircraft Movement
China Space
China Grows: China Launches 4 Satellites on 2 Rockets Within Hours of Each Other and Type 003 Carrier Update
China launched four new communications satellites this week in two launches from different launch sites, within hours of each other, as the country’s intense launch activity continues. First up, a Long March 2C lifted off […]
Quantum China
Chinese Team Says Quantum Physics Project Moves Radar Closer to Detecting Stealth Aircraft
Chinese Quantum Radar: Reports in leading scientific and security journals reveal the level of research and funding going into quantum technology for military applications. Beijing and Washington have been in the middle of a quantum […]
Gulfstream Aerospace
The World’s Largest Business Jet Just Set Two Transatlantic Speed Records
Gulfstream G700: Announcing an air-speed record from Savannah, Georgia, to Doha, Qatar, might sound trivial or even a little absurd. Until you consider the context: This was the world’s largest business jet flying 6,711 nautical […]
NASA/Joby Aviation
NASA Begins Electric Air Taxi Flight Testing with Joby Aviation
NASA has begun flight testing with Joby Aviation’s all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, more commonly known as air taxis. The flight testing is part of the agency’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) National Campaign […]
NASA SLS
NASA’s Big Rocket Misses Another Deadline, Now Won’t Fly Until 2022
NASA SLS: Publicly, NASA is still holding on to the possibility of a 2021 launch date for the debut flight of its Space Launch System rocket. This week, an agency spokesperson told Ars that “NASA […]
Afghanistan C-17
Air Force C-17 Crews Exhausted but Proud after Largest Airlift in US Military History
However you feel about the end of the war in Afghanistan, one thing is certain: the U.S. Air Force airlifted a hell of a lot of people and supplies in and out of Kabul since […]
Afghanistan
Everything We Know That The U.S. Military Left Behind At Kabul
Kabul Afghanistan Withdraw: The U.S. military has now withdrawn entirely from Afghanistan after nearly 20 years of operations in the country. As expected, at the very end, the U.S. military ensured that a variety of […]
Astra Space
Astra rocket fails to reach space during test launch for US military
Astra Launch: The California Bay Area startup attempted its third orbital test flight today (Aug. 28), sending its two-stage Launch Vehicle 0006 skyward from the Pacific Spaceport Complex on Alaska’s Kodiak Island at 6:35 p.m. […]
China
Japanese Fighters Intercept Three Chinese Drones In Three Days
Chinese Drones: For the third time in as many days, the Japan Air Self Defense Force has sent fighter jets out to monitor drones belonging to China’s People’s Liberation Army flying in the East China […]
Eglin AFB
Second Stealth F-35 ‘Gorilla’ Squadron Activated At Eglin Air Force Base
Eglin Air Force Base is in the western Florida Panhandle, located about three miles (5 km) southwest of ValparaisoFL. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). […]
Navy News
Navy Captain Makes History as First Woman to Command an Aircraft Carrier
Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt, USN, became the first woman to take command of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Aug. 19 at a change-of-command ceremony for USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in San Diego. Bauernschmidt, who was tapped for […]
Taliban Takeover
Video appears to show Taliban taking joyride in US Built/Supplied Afghan Black Hawk helicopter
A video has emerged that appears to show Taliban fighters taking a Black Hawk helicopter on a joyride at an Afghan airport — the latest example of how the insurgents are flaunting their newly acquired […]
Intel Russia
Russia Orders Tsirkon Missiles As Putin Vows to Put Weapons on ‘Combat Alert’
Russia’s Defense Ministry has signed a deal with a contractor to deliver the Mach 9 Tsirkon hypersonic missiles to Russian troops by 2025, as President Vladimir Putin has vowed to put the weapons on “combat […]
Tropical Impact
Saharan dust has arrived over Florida with another batch in the Atlantic; What it means for hurricane season
Saharan dust: This dust has spread our way thanks to a strong area of high pressure across the Atlantic and there is another batch currently moving off the west coast of Africa. While this is […]
SpaceX Infrastructure
SpaceX Starship factory breaks ground on an even bigger ‘high bay’
SpaceX Starship Factory: Barely one year ago, SpaceX erected the first prefabricated steel sections of what eventually become its Starship factory ‘high bay’ – a spartan 81m (~265 ft) tall designed at the most basic level to […]
SpaceX Starlink
Starlink Study Reveals Mind-Boggling Facts About Service Outages
Starlink Service Outages: Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s (SpaceX) Starlink satellite internet constellation was the center of a detailed study last month, conducted by the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences in Vienna. The study covers several […]
Blue Origin
Blue Origin lost at least 17 top staffers weeks after SpaceX was awarded the $2.9 billion NASA moon-lander contract, reports say
At least 17 top staffers at Blue Origin left the company this year, with many departing in the weeks after founder Jeff Bezos flew into space, CNBC reported. The news follows a report by Insider’s Kate Duffy on Tuesday, […]
Japan
The Extraordinary (Potential) Power of Japan’s Sixth-Gen F-X Fighter Jet
Back in December last year, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper unveiled tantalizing details of what could potentially become Japan’s 6th-generation fighter. The aircraft will be domestically developed and is currently penciled in to cost around 5 trillion […]
SpaceX
A lead engineer at Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has left to join Elon Musk’s SpaceX
SpaceX news: It follows Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space company, losing out to Elon Musk’s SpaceX on a $2.9 billion NASA contract to take humans to the moon. Nitin Arora on Monday announced in a […]
Tropical Impact
Massive Saharan Dust plume coming to Florida. Here’s what it means for hurricane season
Saharan Dust Plume: The tropics remain active with Grace and Henri churning in the Caribbean and Atlantic respectively. A late-season ejection of dust from the Sahara Desert, however, could help to calm the tropics down […]
Afghanistan
The State Department Has Abandoned Its CH-46 Helicopters In Afghanistan
CH-46s: The U.S. State Department has confirmed that seven CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters, also colloquially known as “Phrogs,” belonging to its Air Wing have been rendered inoperable and abandoned in Afghanistan as part of the […]
V-22 News
First Operational Deployment For Us Navy’s Cmv-22B And F-35C
CMV-22B Osprey: Deploying ships and aircraft of the strike group include: USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70); nine squadrons of CVW-2; staffs of CSG 1 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 1; Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain […]
Future USAF
F-36 Kingsnake: Could it be the USAF’s Next Fighter?
F-36 Kingsnake: U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown caused a stir recently when he announced the service was looking into buying a brand-new fighter jet to help replace the F-16 Viper. Such […]
Historic NASA
F-16XL (SCAMP): WHY AMERICA DIDN’T GET THE BEST F-16
F-16XL SCAMP: For more than forty years, the F-16 Fighting Falcon has served as the backbone of the U.S. Air Force’s fighter fleet, but one year before the first F-16 entered service, the team behind […]
Cutting Edge
Our Top Government Officials May Soon Fly in This Plush Exosonic Supersonic Jet (SST)
Exosonic low boom SST: Jet maker Exosonic has released the first renderings of an interior designed for top-level government officials, all the way up to the office of the vice president. The California firm said […]
Afghanistan
Apache Helicopters Chase Afghans Swarming C-17 On Kabul Airport’s Runway
Apache Helicopters: Any security perimeter or containment measures aimed at keeping U.S. aircraft and personnel safe at Kabul International appear to have failed. As thousands of Afghans flocked to the airport in a desperate attempt […]
F-35 Development
Future Vertical Lift
Northrop Grumman: Future Vertical Lift
Northrop Grumman positions itself as being uniquely positioned as a provider of proven integrated, open, multi-domain capabilities. As a current provider for MDO-capable systems, they are investing in reduced size weight and power (SWaP) and […]
GoPro Space
Company Straps GoPro To A Rocket And The Video Is Remarkable
GoPros have become one of the most popular forms of technology in recent years. People can film anything from just a daily walk on the beach to skiing off a massive mountain. There are uses […]
Amazon
Amazon To Open Delivery Station In Pinellas Park In 2022
The new Pinellas Park Amazon robotics fulfillment center and five new delivery stations are expected to create more than 2,000 full-time jobs in the Sunshine State. As Amazon continues to invest, the company has created […]
USAF
AMC Blocks Tail Flashes for Boeing KC-46, Pushing Heritage Aside to Better Manage the Fleet
Boeing KC-46: For decades, the Air Force gray-tailed aircraft have displayed their home base and heritage with a small graphic on the plane’s tail, but that tradition will come to an end for much of […]
Airlines
A Spirit pilot and flight attendant describe flying empty planes around the country and being stranded for days last week amid the airline’s meltdown: ‘It was like being lost in space’
Spirit Airlines canceled over 2,000 flights last week because of a poorly timed combination of bad weather, system outages, and staffing issues. The cancellations caused some pilots to fly empty planes across the country while flight attendants […]
Aerobatics
The Yak 110: Two Planes and a Spare Jet Engine
The Yakovlev Yak 55, first built by the Soviets back in the 1980s, has competition in its very DNA. In its first year on the circuit, the Soviet teams for both men and women flew […]
F-35 Development
An F-35 pilot’s helmet costs more than a Ferrari and takes two days to get fitted
If you’re looking for a helmet for the advanced F-35 Lightning II, then get ready to put down enough money to buy a Ferrari sports car, undergo a two-day fitting process, keep your hair generally in the […]
SpaceX
2021-v-1932: With a single photo, SpaceX sent a not-so-subtle message to FAA regulators
SpaceX Starship towers over South Texas as the tallest, most powerful rocket ever.
General Aviation
First Diamond DA50 RG Sold at EAA AirVenture
The first Diamond DA50 RG to be delivered in the U.S. will go to a buyer based in New England, Premier Aircraft Sales announced on Monday. The single-engine retract was put under contract as one of 10 Diamond aircraft […]
BAE Systems
BAE Systems’ advanced APKWS guidance kits improve rocket range and impact
The British aerospace company, BAE Systems, has developed an improved version of its Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) laser guidance kit that converts dumb rockets into precision-guided munitions. The combat-proven APKWS guidance kit offers enhanced […]