New research considers 'growing' drones - BBC News [feedly]

BBC News

New research considers 'growing' drones BBC News With industrial advice from BAE Systems he is developing something called a "Chemputer" which, in theory, would be able to "grow" small scale unmanned aircraft, or drones in a laboratory. While a 3D printer physically makes the parts for a machine, the ...

Boeing Opens Collaborative Autonomous Systems Laboratory in Missouri [feedly]

Researchers will develop and validate systems that enable teamwork between autonomous vehicles

http://boeing.mediaroom.com/2016-06-30-Boeing-Opens-Collaborative-Autonomous-Systems-Laboratory-in-Missouri

Can UAV Designers Learn From Soaring Birds? - Air & Space Magazine [feedly]

Can UAV Designers Learn From Soaring Birds? Air & Space Magazine This could be of interest to UAV builders, if they can apply lessons from the birds' flight to their designs. The team studied frigate birds on Europa Island in the Mozambique Channel between 2011 and 2015, equipping nearly 50 of them with solar ...

Airbus proposes denser A380 premium economy cabin to airlines [feedly]

Airbus proposes denser A380 premium economy cabin to airlines
https://www.runwaygirlnetwork.com/2016/07/02/airbus-proposes-denser-a380-premium-economy-cabin-to-airlines/

Adaptive cycle engine enters final phase of development

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/adaptive-cycle-engine-enters-final-phase-of-developm-426886/

The US Air Force has awarded two five-year development contracts to GE Aviation and Pratt & Whitney worth up to $1 billion each to continue development of a next-generation military jet engine and prepare for an anticipated competition in the early 2020s for the chance to power a new combat aircraft and possibly re-engine the Lockheed Martin F-35.

First USAF F-35A takes overseas flight to England

PR

ROYAL AIR FORCE FAIRFORD, England (AFNS) -- The Air Combat Command F-35A Heritage Flight team accomplished America’s first transatlantic flight in an F-35A Lightning II, with refueling support from a KC-10 Extender, when it touched down here June 30.

This historic flight, which brought the team to England from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, was a first for not only the F-35A; it was also the KC-10’s first time refueling the fighter jet transcontinentally.

“Any time there is a first in the United States Air Force and you get to be a part of it, is a real honor,” said Capt. Daniel DeRusha, a 9th Air Refueling Wing KC-10 aircraft commander. “Our crew is just like any other KC-10 crew; they are all more than capable of performing this mission.”

The fifth-generation fighter traveled to England in support of the Royal International Air Tattoo, the world’s largest military air show, which takes place July 14-16 at Royal Air Force Fairford. The event features joint, coalition and civilian flight teams, aerial acts and static displays.

While the KC-10 is not staying for RIAT, the F-35 will join a P-51 Mustang and F-22 Raptor in a heritage pass showcasing the past, present and future of airpower. The heritage team will also be on the ground before and after the pass to answer attendees’ questions about the U.S. Air Force’s newest fighter jet.

“(When) we can be a part of something that promotes the capabilities of the Air Force as well as the capabilities of our integration with our foreign allies, is a wonderful opportunity,” DeRusha said. “Everyone on the crew understood the importance of that, and we’re very thankful that we got to be a part of it.”

For the lead F-35A pilot, this historic flight and opportunity at RIAT not only showed the jet’s airpower but also the strength of the Air Force.

“It really shows the teamwork that went into it; not only the logistics support, but the maintainers to the tanker units -- it really was a team effort,” said Maj. Will Andreotta, the ACC F-35A Heritage Flight team commander. “Being able to go international with the F-35 is a huge honor. It’s something that we can now bring out to people and say, ‘This is what the Air Force in the United States is going to offer in the future and this is what your country is going to offer as well."

Norway investigators blame Airbus helicopter crash on gearbox failure

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-norway-crash-airbus-group-idUSKCN0ZE2NQ

Airbus to test automatic boom mode for A330 MRTT [feedly]

Airbus to test automatic boom mode for A330 MRTT
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/airbus-to-test-automatic-boom-mode-for-a330-mrtt-426852/

With its advanced boom refuelling system for the A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) having achieved full operational capability, Airbus Defence & Space has turned its attention to trialling an automatic mode for the fly-by-wire controlled structure.

Black Hawks Being Converted to Pave Hawks | MBDA Italia Will Supply $1.1B in Missiles to Qatar| Japan: mid-July Tender for $40B Fighter Acquisition Program [feedly]

Black Hawks Being Converted to Pave Hawks | MBDA Italia Will Supply $1.1B in Missiles to Qatar| Japan: mid-July Tender for $40B Fighter Acquisition Program
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/black-hawks-being-converted-to-pave-hawks-mbda-italia-will-supply-1-1b-in-missiles-to-qatar-japan-mid-july-tender-for-40b-fighter-acquisition-program-034174/

 -- via my feedly newsfeed

US DARPA to develop new aircraft propulsion system for hypersonic speeds [feedly]

US DARPA to develop new aircraft propulsion system for hypersonic speeds
http://www.airforce-technology.com/news/newsus-darpa-to-develop-new-aircraft-propulsion-system-for-hypersonic-speeds-4936319

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is seeking to develop a new aircraft propulsion system that could operate at subsonic through hypersonic speeds.

Rockwell Collins' connects simulators and live aircraft in France, UK and US during LVC exercise [feedly]

Rockwell Collins' connects simulators and live aircraft in France, UK and US during LVC exercise
http://www.airforce-technology.com/news/newsrockwell-collins-connects-simulators-live-aircraft-france-uk-us-during-lvc-exercise-4938808

Rockwell Collins has successfully connected simulators and live aircraft in France, the UK and the US during live, virtual and constructive (LVC) training exercise.

USAF introduces first HH-60G OLR helicopter for combat SAR operations [feedly]

USAF introduces first HH-60G OLR helicopter for combat SAR operations
http://www.airforce-technology.com/news/newsusaf-introduces-first-hh-60g-olr-helicopter-combat-sar-operations-4937210

The US Air Force (USAF) has introduced its first fully built HH-60G Pave Hawk Operational Loss Replacement (OLR) helicopter.



PR

WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- The Air Force introduced the first of 21 fully built HH-60G Pave Hawk Operational Loss Replacement (OLR) helicopters June 28 at a ceremony in Huntsville, Alabama.

The HH-60G is used to conduct combat search and rescue operations. The OLR program will restore the service’s HH-60G fleet to its authorized size, replacing aircraft lost in nearly 15 years of deployed combat operations since 9/11.

The Air Force acquired 21 UH-60Ls and added a comprehensive kit of modifications and additional equipment to convert them into HH-60Gs. The service ensured the baseline helicopters they received from the Army were well-maintained, structurally sound aircraft with no systemic maintenance problems.

“The criteria we set for the helicopters we received was comprehensive and thorough,” said Brig. Gen. Eric Fick, the director of Global Reach Programs with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition. “The result is the HH-60G OLR, a completely re-missionized helicopter that is fully capable of successfully executing the combat rescue mission.”

The Air Force worked with the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command to contract Science and Engineering Services LLC (SES) to modify the initial UH-60L aircraft. This effort began in October 2012 and required the program office and SES to integrate all of the modifications implemented on the HH-60G fleet throughout its more than 30-year history into a single technical data package. As a result, the aircraft introduced June 28 will have several systems upgrades that are only now beginning to reach the rest of the HH-60G fleet.

Units scheduled to receive the re-missionized helicopters will see a marked improvement in sustainability from the aircraft they’re currently flying, as numerous aging and obsolescent systems were modernized to match today’s state-of-the-art capabilities. These include color weather radar, a digital symbol generator, improved tactical air navigation, new radar warning receivers, an automatic direction finder, and a digital intercommunication system.

The Air Force will use the OLR program as part of an overall fleet management strategy. Air National Guard rescue units in California, Alaska, and New York will receive OLR aircraft in fiscal year 2018 after initial testing, while former Guard aircraft will re-flow to active units with the highest number of flight hours. The OLR aircraft will cut the Guard’s average fleet age in half.

The Air National Guard units receiving the OLR aircraft are the 210th Rescue Squadron at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; the 101st RQS at Gabreski Field, New York; and the 129th RQS at Moffett Federal Airfield, California.

Augmenting the fleet with the OLR helicopters ensures the service is ready to conduct personnel recovery and combat search and rescue missions until the modernized combat rescue helicopter enters service after 2020.

Boeing Considers Super-Sized 777 [feedly]

Boeing Considers Super-Sized 777
http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=072ea176-9daf-464e-ac2b-0f0da081d0ee

Would Take Aim At Market Share Of Airbus' Struggling A380 Boeing may produce a super-sized version of its 777 airliner in hopes of knocking out the Airbus A380, which has seen sagging sales in recent years, according to people with knowledge of the plans.

Tata, Bell Partner For Indian Defense Contract [feedly]

Tata, Bell Partner For Indian Defense Contract
http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=38d64e11-fd79-4d59-8028-d8c8f007bd8a

Prize Is A $2 Billion Deal For 100 Utility Helicopters Tata Industries and Bell Helicopter have partnered to bid on a potential $2 billion contract to build 100 utility helicopters for the Indian Ministry of Defense.

New material switches from water-repelling to water-loving with electric current [feedly]

Generally, water repellent objects and those that attract or absorb water have very different microscopic-level attributes that endow them with their behavior. For example, the myriad tiny hairs on a gecko's body help it to efficiently repel water, whilst specially treated cotton designed for harvesting water from the air contains millions of tiny pores that draw in liquid. Now researchers have discovered a way to use a single type of material to perform both functions, switching between liquid attraction and liquid repulsion, simply through the application of an electric voltage.

.. Continue Reading New material switches from water-repelling to water-loving with electric current

NASA's Super Pressure Balloon glides past flight duration record [feedly]

For decades NASA has been sending big balloons to high-altitudes as a low-cost way of gathering atmospheric data, but in their current form they do have their limitations. One of which is sustaining long duration flights at certain latitudes. NASA is trying to overcome this with its Super Pressure Balloon (SPB) designed to eventually remain airborne for more than 100 days at a time. The floating observatory is edging closer to this goal, coming down to land on Saturday after 46 days in the air to set a new mid-latitude flight duration record for a balloon of its type.

.. Continue Reading NASA's Super Pressure Balloon glides past flight duration record