BY : U.S. Air Force Test Pilot Schoo

The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School class 07B graduated in a ceremony here June 7.

The school's 148th class is the first to receive a Master of Science in Flight Engineering degree upon completion of this course.

Class 07B consisted of eight flight test pilots, eight flight test engineers and t

BY : Flightglobal.com

Boeing will re-launch on Friday the next major upgrade for the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor aboard the programme’s previously retired flying testbed.

The heavily modified 757, featuring a canard-mounted wing and the F-22’s nose radome, has been returned from “warm storage” to test a package of upgrades called increment 3.1.

Scheduled to be delivered in fiscal 2010, the US Air Force’s second major round of F-22 upgrades add an electronic attack function and integrates the Boeing GBU-39

BY : Reuters

Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer (ERJ.N: Quote, Profile, Research)(EMBR3.SA: Quote, Profile, Research) confirmed on Friday it had sold a fighter plane to Blackwater Worldwide, the controversial private defence firm that guards U.S. personnel in Iraq. The sale of the Super Tucano was cleared by both the Brazilian and U.S. governments, but the plane will not be used in any combat zones, said Fernando Ikedo, vice-president of market intelligence for defence and government markets.

"We sold a Super Tucano to (Blackwater subsidiary) EP Aviation but for use as training in the U.S. only," he told a news briefing at Embraer's European headquarters.

"There is no link to Iraq," he added.

BY : JANES

Although now notionally Boeing aircraft, both the F-15E Strike Eagle and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet have their roots in McDonnell Douglas, before its amalgamation into Boeing in 1997.

Both will remain in production for at least another four years but, given the pre-eminence of Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor in the fighter market and with the company's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) primed to fill multiple roles in the future, Eagle and Hornet are set to be the company's final manned fighters. Meanwhile, Boeing is keen to plug gaps caused by JSF delays and its two fighters come loaded

BY : Boeing PR




The Boeing Company delivered the first fleet EA-18G Growler airborne electronic attack (AEA) aircraft to the U.S. Navy's Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 129 on Tuesday at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash., ahead of schedule and within budget.

Boeing previously delivered five EA-18G aircraft to the Navy's flight test community.

BY: Boeing

The Boeing Company last week began using a moving assembly line for final assembly of the P-8A Poseidon in Renton, Wash. This military derivative of the Next-Generation 737-800 is expected to move through the final assembly process at a continuous pace similar to commercial 737s.

"This is another important step toward delivering the first P-8A to the U.S. Navy on schedule," said Bob Feldmann, Boeing vice president and P-8 program manager for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. "The entire team is working extremely hard to meet our commitment to the customer."

BY : Flightglobal.com

A Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon has been damaged during a wheels-up landing incident at the US Navy’s China Lake weapons test range in California, the UK service has confirmed.

Assigned to the RAF’s Coningsby-based 17 Sqn Operational Evaluation Unit, the aircraft sustained the damage when it landed at the end of what an RAF source describes as "routine trials work dropping laser-guided bombs." The pilot did not eject from the aircraft, which came to rest on the runway, and was not injured in the mishap, which took place on or around 25 April.

BY : The Associated Press


Brazil and Russia signed an agreement on Tuesday to jointly develop top-line jet fighters and satellite launch vehicles.

Brazil's Strategic Affairs Minister Roberto Mangabeira Unger told reporters the agreement will lead to the development of fifth-generation jet fighters that are built using sophisticated engineering, such as composite materials, stealth technology and advanced radar.

The agreement signed by Unger and the deputy secretary of Russia's Security

BY : Army Times Publishing



The Air Force will likely transition during the next few years from its MQ-1B Predator unmanned aerial vehicle to the Army’s MQ-1C Sky Warrior, the Air Force’s top uniformed acquisition officer said Wednesday.

Lt. Gen. Donald J. Hoffman, military deputy to the office of the assistant secretary of

BY : The Seattle Times



Some of the U.S. Air Force's new F-22 Raptor fighter jets are flying with a manufacturing defect in crucial titanium supports in a section built by Boeing.

The Air Force agreed to allow the defect to stay because of the cost and delay to fix it. But the jets will require more frequent inspections because of the potential for a catastrophic failure in flight.