After a year of testing, BETA Technologies‘ electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, ALIA, has received the first airworthiness approval for manned flight in an electric aircraft from the Air Force, the Air Force announced on May 5. BETA and the Air Force will sign a contract ...

The Defense Department’s Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO) tested counter-small unmanned aircraft systems (C-sUAS) from Aurora Flight Sciences, ELTA North America, and XTEND during its first semi-annual demonstration at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, the JCO ...

The Air Force is flying the Boeing [BA] KC-46 tanker and conducting fueling in exercises for some aircraft to build crew capability while awaiting remaining fixes to several key deficiencies, a top official said March 31. In 2020, the Air Force identified six Category I, or critical, deficiencies ...

The Air Force is investing in LiquidPiston’s X-Engine technology to create a hybrid-electric propulsion system to power emerging technologies like unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and orbs, the company said on March 4.  The Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contract worth $150,000 was ...

Military aircraft spanning all branches failed to meet mission capable rates according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that analyzed 46 types of aircraft from fiscal year 2011 through 2019. The GAO found that out of 46 aircraft, only three met annual mission capable ...

The Air Force’s B-1B bombers have an all-new Integrated Battle Station (IBS) equipped with a fully-integrated data link (FIDL), vertical situational display upgrade (VSDU), and improved central integrated test system (CITS).  The IBS modification, which started in 2012, was announced as ...