All Programmes news – Page 3
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NewsAirbus formally inaugurates new Toulouse A320neo-family assembly line
Airbus has formally inaugurated a new A320neo-family final assembly line at its Toulouse manufacturing facility, which will support the airframer’s single-aisle ramp-up strategy. The assembly line will be capable of producing variants including the A321neo, which has recently become the most-ordered aircraft variant in Airbus’s range. It has already commenced ...
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NewsA350 orders edge into four figures a decade after maiden flight
Orders for Airbus A350s have passed 1,000 for the first time, after nearly 60 of the twinjets were added to the backlog during the Paris air show. Airbus unveiled the aircraft as the A350 XWB in July 2006, and formally launched the programme in December, replacing an earlier concept which ...
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NewsA321neo overtakes original A320 as Airbus’s most-ordered model
Thirty years after the Airbus A321’s maiden flight, the A321neo has just taken over as the airframer’s most popular individual model across its aircraft range. Airbus’s half-year backlog figures show the A321neo has accumulated orders for 5,163 aircraft – overtaking the 4,763 for the original A320. The A321neo had already ...
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NewsHuge Indian orders take Airbus half-year net total into four digits
Airbus’s large orders from Indian carriers have taken the airframer’s net orders into four figures for the first half of this year. IndiGo’s agreement for 500 aircraft – unveiled at the Paris air show – currently comprises 375 A321neos and 125 A320neos, according to Airbus’s backlog data to the end ...
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NewsAirbus's second 'Wing of Tomorrow' to undergo structural tests at new Filton facility
Airbus is preparing to conduct a destructive test of an experimental wing as part of a technologies initiative, as it opens a new facility at its UK site in Filton dedicated to future wing research. The facility – known as the Wing Technology Development Centre – will focus on constructing ...
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NewsAirbus rolls out sixth and final BelugaXL transport
Airbus has rolled out the sixth and final example of its BelugaXL high-capacity transport, designed to fly aerostructures between the airframer’s manufacturing facilities. The BelugaXL – formally designated the A330-700L – is a heavily-modified A330, developed to replace the older A300-600ST Beluga fleet. Airbus operated five Belugas and originally intended ...
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In depthFive years an Airbus: How the ‘little’ A220 transitioned to the big league
For an aircraft originally dismissed by Airbus as having no business case, the A220 has defied sceptics not only by settling snugly into the airframer’s line-up but also by emerging as a potential successor to the ubiquitous A320.
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NewsRussian-built composite-laying robot developed to produce MC-21 wings
Russian aerospace firm AeroKompozit is introducing a domestically-built robot designed to lay composite fibres for the Irkut MC-21 twinjet’s wings. The machine – created in co-operation with the South-Russian Platov state polytechnic university in Novocherkassk – is intended to replace foreign-built equipment, unavailable owing to sanctions imposed over the Ukrainian ...
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NewsRussian civil aviation regulator grants life extension to An-148
Russia’s federal air transport regulator has granted life-extension approval for the Antonov An-148 regional twinjet, increasing it from 10 to 30 years. Rosaviatsia says the work to extend the type’s life has been conducted in “strict accordance” with regulations and international practice. The An-148 was originally developed by Ukrainian design ...
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NewsGerman laboratory to convert Dornier 328 into hydrogen-fuel testbed
German aerospace research laboratory DLR is to convert a Dornier 328 turboprop into a hydrogen fuel and propulsion testbed. The aircraft will be stationed at the research centre in Braunschweig. DLR says it will be used to explore “disruptive” hydrogen technologies under a decarbonisation programme known as UpLift. Deutsche Aircraft ...
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NewsSiberia’s Yakutia could turn to Tu-214s for fleet modernisation
Siberian carrier Yakutia could introduce Tupolev Tu-214s as part of its fleet modernisation programme, under a governmental agreement. The government of the Sakha republic has formally expressed interest – through an agreement at an international economic forum in St Petersburg – in acquiring the type for Yakutia. Yakutia has indicated ...
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NewsNASA to end all-electric X-57 programme without flying prototype
NASA is to end its experimental X-57 all-electric aircraft project without flying the prototype airframe, citing a shortage of time to address technical issues. But the US aeronautics agency insists the project – which will begin closing at the end of September – has provided valuable research findings on electric ...
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NewsStart of new ERA for Safran Helicopter Engines with Aura Aero agreement
Safran Helicopter Engines is to collaborate on the development of the hybrid-electric propulsion system for Aura Aero’s Electric Regional Aircraft (ERA).
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NewsAustralian start-up Dovetail taps Hyundai unit HTWO for fuel cell systems
Dovetail Electric Aviation has picked Hyundai for fuel cell systems to be used in electric powertrain trials.
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NewsAirbus-Safran venture demonstrates proof-of-concept for hydrogen aircraft fuel system
Airbus-Safran space launch venture ArianeGroup has conducted a proof-of-concept test of hydrogen conditioning which would be suitable for feeding an aircraft engine. The test, carried out on 12 May at the Vernon facility northwest of Paris, marks the conclusion to a project named Hyperion which looked at hydrogen propulsion options ...
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NewsFirst metal cut for new D328eco with supply chain now 90% ‘locked down’
Deutsche Aircraft has begun cutting metal for the first parts to equip its initial D328eco prototype as it works towards a first flight of the turboprop in mid-2025. Dave Jackson, managing director of the German airframer, says 90% of the aircraft’s supply chain has now been “locked down”. ...
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NewsAirbus commercial chief predicts ‘violent’ swing to undersupply in widebody sector
Airbus chief commercial officer Christian Scherer foresees a swing in the supply-demand balance in the widebody sector which, he believes, could be sharper than that affecting the single-aisle market. The widebody sector has lagged the single-aisle recovery and Airbus’s production rates on the A330neo and A350 are still low compared ...
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NewsEviation still progressing even as Alice remains earthbound
Electric aircraft developer Eviation is unlikely to be flying its current Alice prototype again before the arrival of a certification test article in 2025 – almost three years after the battery-powered aircraft’s first flight.
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NewsMaeve takes wraps off revamped all-electric Maeve 01
Dutch start-up Maeve Aerospace has taken the wraps off the latest iteration of its Maeve 01 all-electric regional airliner, having radically slimmed down the developmental type.
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NewsModified A330 to explore hydrogen fuel-cells’ potential as APU replacement
Airbus is to modify an A330-200 to explore the potential for hydrogen fuel cells to power systems other than those directly related to the main engines. Lighting, avionics and air conditioning are driven by the auxiliary power unit. But Airbus chief technical officer Sabine Klauke believes 5% of the fuel ...