All Analysis articles – Page 4
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AnalysisTaxi light: German company aims to become Europe’s first AOC-holding on-demand charter service operating twin pistons
Peter Knappertsbusch is determined not to repeat mistakes of the past with his planned European venture, Air Taxi Express. A host of other charter start-ups – going back to the very light jet bubble two decades ago – have foundered because they have opted for platforms that are too expensive, he believes.
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AnalysisTowards a new ERA: Why Aura has taken a staged approach to bringing its electric aircraft to market
French advanced air mobility start-up Aura, which is exhibiting at Aero Friedrichshafen this week, has taken a rather different route to market to many of its competitors. The Toulouse-based company’s flagship in-gestation product is the 19-seat hybrid Electric Regional Aircraft, or ERA, which it hopes to fly by early 2027. In the meantime, it has been developing rather more conventional aircraft.
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AnalysisRecaro on a roll as it targets business class leadership, but sluggish supply chain slows revenue recovery
As Recaro Aircraft Seating arrives at AIX, its financial performance reflects the almost contradictory challenges facing leading interiors suppliers three years after the pandemic ended. On the one hand, the German manufacturer’s latest results show a record orderbook worth more than €2 billion ($2.19 billion). Sales in 2024 saw double-digit growth.
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AnalysisLeonardo pitches M-346 as GCAP trainer, as Block 20 update advances
Leonardo has outlined its ambition for the M-346 to evolve into a common training platform for Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) partners Italy, Japan and the UK, as it advances work on a major Block 20 upgrade for the in-service type.
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AnalysisUSAF need fuels Embraer’s ambition with KC-390 Agile Tanker
Embraer believes its KC-390 is well positioned to enter the US Air Force’s (USAF’s) future inventory in a proposed “Agile Tanker” guise, despite walking away from a partnership with a US-based potential prime.
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AnalysisRAAF to deliver options for fielding uncrewed fighters by year’s end
The service’s head of capabilities says that by the end of 2025 the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aims to provide the Australian government with options for procuring a future fleet of uncrewed fighter aircraft, with the indigenously developed Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat being a strong contender.
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AnalysisWashington moves to deepen industrial ties with Australia amid regional tensions
Under an initiative dubbed the Regional Sustainment Framework, the Pentagon aims to push certain maintenance, repair and overhaul functions forward to overseas partners around the Indo-Pacific, with Australia as the initial target.
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AnalysisAllies suggest passing on F-35 acquisitions amid questions of US reliability
Defence ministers from Portugal and Canada now say they must consider alternatives to the US-made Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter for their fleet modernisation efforts, in light of recent comments from Washington about support for NATO and rhetoric toward allies.
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AnalysisAustralia’s AAM adventure: how the nation is leading the way in disruptive air travel
Australia’s unique geography of sprawling coastal cities and remote outback communities make it an ideal testbed for advanced air mobility (AAM).
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AnalysisUS airlines and aerospace groups push back against tariffs, brace for impact
A broad coalition of US aviation groups are urging the Trump administration to exempt the aerospace industry from stiff new import tariffs.
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AnalysisOrtberg’s engineering focus shows signs of shifting Boeing
On 20 February, Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg told investors and the company’s vast network of suppliers exactly what they wanted to hear: “Supply chain on the 737 is in good shape… I feel like we are headed in the right direction.”
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AnalysisWhy airlines are revising green transition plans as SAF production fails to take off
New mandates on sustainable aviation fuel use are adding time – and cost – pressure for airlines to decarbonise, even as their ability to operate the most efficient aircraft available is challenged.
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AnalysisEmbraer touts Middle East’s potential for expanding C-390 customer list
Embraer is confident of adding to its already 10-strong customer list for the C-390 Millennium tactical transport and KC-390 tanker this year, with the Middle East and Latin American markets each holding potential.
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AnalysisHow year-end losses skewed our review of airline safety performance in 2024
An otherwise solid set of airline safety statistics through much of 2024 was transformed by two deadly losses, while pilot action elsewhere kept the final figures from being much worse.
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AnalysisHow strike impact slowed Boeing’s defence output in 2024
An almost two-month-long strike by aerospace workers contributed to Boeing’s defence unit delivering a reduced total of 110 aircraft last year: down from 157 in 2023.
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AnalysisUK defence committee decries BAE’s lack of Hawk successor programme
Ten years ahead of the planned entry into service of the UK’s Tempest fighter, a cross-party parliamentary committee has raised questions over the nation’s ability to train new pilots to operate the stealthy type.
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AnalysisStrong GCAP commitment and more Typhoon exports vital for UK industry, defence committee argues
The UK aerospace industry faces a major challenge in preventing a skills gap between production of the Eurofighter Typhoon and a future manned type via the trinational Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a cross-party parliamentary group has warned.
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AnalysisHow did airline safety rank in 2024, after high-profile December losses?
Last year saw more airline fatal accidents and fatalities worldwide than any 12-month period since 2018, raising the question as to whether a decade or so of safety performance improvement has begun to reverse.
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AnalysisBeijing ups AEW&C game with emergence of KJ-3000
Beijing is taking steps to advance its airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) capabilities, with the emergence of the long-rumoured Xian KJ-3000.
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AnalysisChina celebrates Mao’s birthday with new combat jets
Beijing has staged a late-year aerospace coup by showing off not one, but two developmental stealth aircraft.