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After more than five decades, aircraft manufacturer Boeing hit a bitter-sweet milestone on the evening of December 6th as the last Boeing 747 rolled out of its production line at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. The 1574th Boeing 747 will go through test flights before being delivered to Atlas Air early next January. Having been in production since September 1968, the Boeing 747, often dubbed the 'Jumbo Jet' or the 'Queen of the Skies,' was designed by engineer Joe Sutter. With the ability to carry up to 524 passengers, the semi-double-deck quad-engined aircraft was twice the size of the Boeing...

After a thoroughly strenuous and lengthy period of flight tests spread over several years, the Army has chosen Bell’s V-280 Valor advanced tiltrotor to replace the venerable UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.Dubbed the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, or FLRAA, Valor is set to enter service in the mid-2030s and eventually will supplant the Sikorsky-built helicopter that has served as the Army’s workhorse utility rotorcraft for more than four decades.The initial contract award is $232 million and includes no actual aircraft – the initial contract covers Valor's final digital design that Bell has generated as a result of the aircraft's five-year-long flight...

We have extensively discussed China’s fifth-generation fighter – the J-20 Mighty Dragon, which is now based at all regional theater commands in China to deploy in times of war quickly. It has radar-evading characteristics allowing it to join the exclusive club of stealth fighters to challenge F-22s and F-35s. China seems to be pumping out more J-20 models each month. Now Beijing’s air force is raising the stakes with its sixth-generation fighter on display at the Zhuhai Airshow. This is again to match the planned American Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter. When it looks like the United States Air Force...

The H-20 Stealth Bomber: An Ominous Sign of Chinese Airpower Projection? – As if it weren’t bad enough that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) continues to make strides with its 5th Generation Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter – and flaunts that J-20 via intimidation exercises against Taiwan — the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) is evidently also making strides in the arena of next-generation strategic stealth bombers. So then, what exactly do we know about China’s prospective H-20 bomber?

The agency said the double crater might indicate that the rocket had a large mass on each end of it. A rocket that has used up its fuel usually will just have its mass on the end with the motor, with the other side being an empty fuel tank. The rocket’s origin is uncertain, but the double crater that it produced might reveal its identity, according to the release. A rocket body hitting the moon has not created a double crater before, the release states.

Having successfully launched a satellite delivery vehicle earlier last week, South Korea’s indigenous aerospace and arms industry is on a surge. Next on the runway: The KF-21 Boramae (”Falcon”) 4.5-generation fighter is gearing up for take-off. According to Asia Military Review, citing Kookang Ilbo, the official newspaper of South Korea’s Ministry of Defense, the jet has completed 50% of its overall test program and 95% of all ground testing requirements ahead of its maiden flight, scheduled for July. The US government defines 4.5-generation aircraft as having advanced capabilities, including active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, high-capacity data links, enhanced avionics...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration proposed Wednesday that future planes produce lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions before they can be certified by federal regulators. The Federal Aviation Administration proposal would increase fuel-efficiency standards for jets and large turboprop and propeller-driven planes that it has not yet certified, and for planes built after Jan. 1, 2028. The FAA will develop means to determine the relationship between fuel efficiency and reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. The FAA said the rule would bring the United States in line with carbon dioxide emission standards set by the United Nation’s aviation organization. Planes...

The James Webb Space Telescope continues to cool down out at its location at Lagrange Point 2, about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. Since JWST is an infrared telescope, it needs to operate at extremely low temperatures, less than 40 K (-223 degrees Celsius, -369.4 degrees Fahrenheit). But one instrument needs to be even colder. To operate at peak efficiency, Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) must be cooled to a chilly 7 K (-266 C, -447 F). And it will need a little help to reach those frigid temps.Most of the telescope and its instruments rely on JWST’s massive sunshield as...

SpaceX Crew Dragon Spacecraft Approaches International Space Station In this illustration, a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft approaches the International Space Station for docking. Credit: NASA/SpaceX NASA and Axiom Space will provide coverage of launch and select mission activities for Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1), the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff is scheduled at 11:17 a.m. EDT Friday, April 8, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Coverage begins on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website beginning at 10:15 a.m. EDT Friday, April 8. Coverage will join the Axiom Space...

In almost every field of science, and technology, US and Russia have always been competitors. Occasionally, though, stuff gets a little crazy.Well, no don’t have to worry because there are no hostilities between them.But the vibes are not calm. It is no secret that Elon Musk is famous for his technological abilities.Therefore, Russia is getting a little jealous of his success and is trying to make things less exciting, and Musk is threatening them in response.The Russian space chief watched in awe as billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson took off into space in vehicles they helped fund - and...

The world's largest aircraft, the Antonov AN-225, has been destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials, generating alarm and sadness among the aviation world... There has been no independent confirmation of the aircraft's destruction. A tweet from the Antonov Company said it could not verify the "technical condition" of the aircraft until it had been inspected by experts. Ukrainian state defense company Ukroboronprom, which manages Antonov, on Sunday issued a statement saying the aircraft had been destroyed... If confirmed, the attack would mark a shocking end to an aircraft that has seen more than 30 years...

On Thursday, February 10 SpaceX CEO Elon Musk will provide an update on the design, development, and testing of Starship.Starship Update | Streamed live 4 hours ago | SpaceX

The PLAT footage on Jul. 20, 1993, shows “Lion 111”, piloted by Lt. Matthew T. Claar “Planet” with RIO Lt. Dean A. Fuller, first aircraft in the recovery cycle, dropping below the approach slope just before reaching fantail. The aircraft strikes the rear of the aircraft carrier (“ramp strike”) at 21:04:33: the rear fuselage explodes in a fireball and the forward section starts skidding along the flight deck trailing burning fuel. Both crew ejected: the RIO survived as he was ejected into the water off the angle and recovered in a matter of a few minutes by a SAR helicopter....

When Lt. Kara Hultgreen died while trying to land on the USS Abraham Lincoln, the event touched off a national debate about women in combat roles and the military pushing women who weren’t ready into active service. Except Hultgreen was more than qualified to be a naval aviator – she was just a victim of a well-known deficiency in the F-14’s Pratt & Whitney engine. On Oct. 25, 1994, she was attempting to land her F-14 aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. She overshot the landing area’s centerline and attempted to correct the mistake. Her correction disrupted the airflow into her...

The U.S. Navy has confirmed the authenticity of a video showing the final moments leading up to one of its F-35C stealth fighters being involved in a mishap while landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, while operating in the South China Sea. https://youtu.be/bkXiHD9qKzk

An F-35C Lightning II fighter suffered "a landing mishap" on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson in the South China Sea on Monday. It left seven sailors injured while the pilot safely ejected and was later recovered, the Navy confirmed, marking the fifth major mishap aboard the deployed carrier since late November. Between Nov. 22 and Tuesday, Carrier Air Wing 2 reported four other major incidents involving aircraft. Naval Safety Center data shows that the first incident, which occurred Nov. 22, was an in-flight engine fire aboard an F/A-18E Super Hornet that was able to land successfully. Two days...

The U.S. Navy has begun to make plans to recover the F-35C fighter jet that crashed Monday after striking the deck of an aircraft carrier in the South China Sea. The jet is the most advanced stealth fighter jet in the world and would have made an enticing target for China if it had attempted to recover it from the depths of the Pacific Ocean. The crash of one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world into international waters had fueled speculation that the U.S. Navy might quickly launch a salvage operation to prevent other foreign powers, especially...

An F-35C Joint Strike Fighter was involved in a mishap today while landing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, which is currently operating in the South China Sea. The pilot ejected from the aircraft and is in a stable condition, while seven other sailors aboard the ship were injured as a result of the accident. The fate of the aircraft is uncertain.USNI News was the first to report on this incident, citing a U.S. Navy release. That release also said that of the seven injured sailors, four received treatment aboard the Carl Vinson, while three were evacuated to a...

Santa Clara County officials and advocates are rejoicing as the federal government agrees to reassess the use of leaded aviation gasoline nationwide. During a news conference Wednesday, County Counsel James Williams announced the Environmental Protection Agency approved a petition from the county and several environmental organizations to evaluate whether leaded fuel used by airplanes is a threat to public health and welfare. Leaded fuel for cars was banned in the U.S. more than two decades ago, but it is still used by some airplanes, including those at the Reid-Hillview and San Martin airports in Santa Clara County. "Today is a...

The carrier variant of the stealthy Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35C, has deployed onboard an aircraft carrier for the first time in U.S. Marine Corps hands. While the Marines also operate the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B version, the service is procuring the C-model to ensure it can continue with the long-established TACAIR Integration agreement under which it provides squadrons to go aboard the Navy’s big-deck carriers. The addition of the carrier-going F-35C to the Marine Corps inventory also signals a significant boost to the service’s ability to confront high-end adversaries, especially in the Asia Pacific theater.The Marine...