Manufacturer news

Latest Manufacturer news

USAF SOC wants 3 more CV-22s before the product line ceases

Building Airplane Toilets Isn’t Cutting It Anymore for Zodiac Aerospace

Budget airline Ryanair caused an outcry five years ago when it cheekily suggested its airplanes might forgo seats to cut costs, obliging weary passengers to stand instead. In the wake of the troubles at Zodiac Aerospace, a French supplier of aircraft seats, airlines and aircraft manufacturers must b...

Bell take seven helicopters to Heli-Expo

Bell have provided details on the helicopters they will be showing at Heli-Expo 2016, which runs next week in Louisville, Kentucky. As usual, the major OEMs will each take huge amounts of floor space, and are spaced out to encourage Expo visitors to walk throughout the massive halls. Bell is in t...

France stuck between export and import selections

France’s DGA defence procurement agency predicts that the nation’s military exports will have nearly doubled in 2015, thanks in no small part to its first international orders for the Dassault Rafale. Although exact figures for export sales will not be confirmed until May, the DGA estimates that some €16 billion ($17.8 billion) will have been made in 2015, which would almost do...

Marenco Swisshelicopter Flies Second SKYe Prototype

Marenco Swisshelicopter’s second flight-test SKYe SH09 prototype, dubbed P2, made its maiden flight today from the company’s headquarters at Mollis Airport in Switzerland. The helicopter took off at 5:24 p.m. local time with chief test pilot Richard Trueman at the controls and flight-test engineer Peter Wittwer analyzing real-time data. “This first fli...

Boeing plans layoffs for airplane engineers

Boeing Co said on Friday that it is considering layoffs of airplane engineers, a plan that it said may cause it to reorganize or consolidate its engineering teams, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. Boeing said in a memo to employees that the company is deciding whether to make voluntary layoffs available to those workers, according to the document. The company also said it does...

Air Force Unveils Design for New Long Range Bomber

Meet the newest plane in the United States Air Force, the B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber. It's so new that it exists only as an artist's rendering; a prototype has yet to be built. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James unveiled the highly anticipated design today at the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Florida. The plane is designated right now as the &q...

ATR performs Clean Sky’s ‘All Electrical Aircraft’ flight test campaign

An ATR 72 prototype has taken to the skies to launch the second flying demonstration campaign as part of the EU’s Clean Sky Joint Undertaking (CS JU) program. The aim of this flight trial is to test an all electrical energymanagement system, optimizing the electrical power distributi...

Pratt & Whitney A320neo engine suffers new test snag

UTC's Pratt & Whitney has suffered a fresh problem during testing of new aircraft engines for the Airbus A320neo, but flight trials of the latest version of Europe's best-selling airliner are continuing, people familiar with the matter said. The problem occurred when an oil pump failed after an engine had been deliberately shut down in flight and left to turn with the natural airflo...

Alenia Aermacchi unveils first Polish M-346s

Final assembly work has begun on the first two Alenia Aermacchi M-346 advanced jet trainers destined for the Polish air force. Revealed during a 24 February ceremony at the manufacturer’s factory in Venegono Superiore, Italy first flight of the initial Honeywell F124-engined jet is due in May. Warsaw has ordered eight aircraft under a €280 million ($308 million) dea...

Safran Takes Writedown for Snecma Silvercrest Delay

Safran will take a €654 million ($720 million) one-off, non-cash charge to cover what it called “the depreciation of program-related tangible and intangible assets” associated with its delayed Silvercrest engine. Announcing otherwise very positive 2015 financial results in Paris today, the French engine maker confirmed that it has agreed to a revised schedule for certifying the en...

This glider will fly 90,000 feet higher than most aircraft

This summer, two pilots sandwiched in a 36-inch-wide cabin could take the Perlan 2 glider to 90,000 feet, higher than most aircraft have flown. To reach such heights, the glider will ride stratospheric waves—powerful and little-understood currents that flow over mountain ranges. It will be flying in uncharted and unstable aeronautic territory, and between the rigors of thin air and bliste...

E190-E2 heralds a new era in the 130-seat jet segment

Embraer, the world's leading manufacturer of commercial jets up to 130 seats, today took a step in the consolidation of its leadership by presenting the E190-E2, the first E2 jet – Embraer´s second generation of the E-Jets family of commercial aircraft. The aircraft´s maiden flight is scheduled for the second half of 2016, with entry into service scheduled for 2018. The cerem...

Embraer close to Iran jet breakthrough

Brazilian manufacturer Embraer is on the verge of signing a deal for 50 of its regional jets with Iran. Sources involved with the Iran-Brazil talks suggest that these will be part of a lease deal. The civil aviation authority director Ali Abedzadeh said that regional aircraft would be in great demand in the country as it emerges from trade sanctions. He estimated that Iranian carriers would...

Algeria Orders More Russian Mi-26T2 Helicopters

Having taken delivery of six Mil Mi-26T2 helicopters in 2015-16, Algeria has firmed up an option for eight more, for delivery in 2017-18. The North African country was effectively the launch customer for the upgraded version of the heavy-lift machine. Russian arms vendor Rosoboronexport was the intermediary between the customer, the Russian Helicopters holding company, and its subsidiary Rost...

Upcoming events

SAF Global Summit 2026

Running now
United Kingdom, London

NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition 2026

20/10/2026 - 22/10/2026
United States, Las Vegas

Top of the week

Ten years of growth, expertise and excellence at Dassault Falcon Service Mérignac

Located alongside Dassault Aviation’s flagship manufacturing facility, Dassault Falcon Service Mérignac is celebrating a decade of dedicated support to Falcon operators around the world....

Electra demonstrates revolutionary airport operations with Ultra-Short Takeoff aircraft using helicopter-style procedures

Electra announced the successful completion of first-of-its-kind flight operations from a heliport located on the commercial airport ramp at Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport. The demonstration high...