FlightGlobal Focus

This week, FlightGlobal's aerospace team breaks down developments from the recent NBAA business-aviation exhibition in Las Vegas, where Pratt & Whitney Canada revealed a clean-sheet surprise, SyberJet returned to the spotlight and Beta talked eVTOL market-survey flights – while FAA officials downplayed the likelihood of pre-certification air taxi revenue flights. Plus, Gulfstream pushes forward with G300 and G400 certification.

American AI and defence technology start-up Shield AI is developing one of the most unique military aircraft of the modern era. 
The X-Bat is an unmanned fighter jet that takes off and lands vertically from a set of mobile rails. It has no landing gear and no remote pilot, instead flying autonomously under the control of Shield AI’s Hivemind software.
Its designer cut his teeth designing reusable rockets at orbital launch provider SpaceX and is now bringing that technology to the world of fighter jets.
In this episode, FlightGlobal's Ryan Finnerty speaks with X-Bat designer and Shield AI senior vice-president Armor Harris.

FlightGlobal's Airlines team looks back on a busy week, which saw Lufthansa Group emerge as the winning bidder for TAP Air Portugal, as well as lots of debate at two IATA events in Brussels on the EU emissions trading system and sustainable aviation fuel mandates.
We also discuss how the recent Houthi attacks on Riyadh and other Saudi Arabian airports are affecting airline plans to fly to the kingdom.

The latest from Toulouse, where Airbus is weighing the option of stretching out its A350 and A220. Plus, we visited turbofan blade maker Chromalloy in Tampa to explore a supply crunch that has the industry tied in knots, and we watched Regent’s all-electric seagliders take flight over Narragansett Bay.

In something of an industrial coup, Boeing has secured government contracts to build both the US Air Force F-47 and US Navy F/A-XX sixth-generation fighters.

It's a stunning reversal for a company whose fighter manufacturing business seemed to be on shaky footing just a few short years ago. What does the dual win mean for Boeing's industrial rivals? And does one company designing both fighters mean the two jets will share a high level of commonality?

FlightGlobal's Americas defence reporter Ryan Finnerty speaks with aerospace analysts Richard Aboulafia of AeroDynamic Advisory and Tony Bancroft of Gabelli Funds to find out.