Installed Aboard A Tactical Air Support F-5 Fighter

Garmin recently celebrated the maiden flight of a Garmin integrated flight deck in a supersonic F-5 fighter aircraft. In just under six months, Tactical Air Support, Inc. (Tactical Air) completed the engineering design, installation and first flight with the G3000 integrated flight deck and dual Garmin touchscreen controllers (GTCs). The G3000 in the F-5 is expected to be ready to perform adversary training for the U.S. Navy in Q2 2019.

F-16 Block 70 Production To Begin Later This Year

Lockheed Martin hosted a ceremony recently to celebrate its new F-16 production line in Greenville, South Carolina. F-16 tooling and equipment previously in Fort Worth, Texas, has since been installed in a newly-refurbished hangar in Greenville, where the company will begin manufacturing F-16 Block 70 aircraft later this year.

Sandia To Lead Academic Coalition To Develop Autonomy For Aerospace

A test launch for a hypersonic weapon — a long-range missile that flies a mile per second and faster — takes weeks of planning. So, while the U.S. and other states are racing to deploy hypersonic technologies, it remains uncertain how useful the systems will be against urgent, mobile or evolving threats.

Training Covered New Maintenance Procedures, Manuals And Ground Support Equipment

The U.S. Army has completed its New Equipment Training (NET) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky for the MQ-1C ER Gray Eagle Extended Range. The training covered new maintenance procedures, manuals and ground support equipment associated with the MQ-1C ER, which is a new Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) produced by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI).

Inspected And Approved The Steel Tower Structures For Aids To Navigation With The Aircraft

U.S. Coast Guard Civil Engineering Unit Providence, Rhode Island, piloted a short range Unmanned Aerial System to inspect the construction of new Aids to Navigation (ATON) structures.

PDAS System Enhances Situational Awareness For Pilots

Lockheed Martin's Pilotage Distributed Aperture Sensor (PDAS) system took flight for the first time aboard the V-280 Valor, Bell Helicopter's next-generation tiltrotor aircraft in a series of flights over Fort Worth, Texas, in March. PDAS is a multi-functional sensor system that generates high-resolution, 360-degree imagery around the aircraft to enhance situational awareness for pilots and other users.

Navy Seeks To Acquire 130 New Training Helicopters

Should the Bell 407GXi be selected for the US Navy Advanced Helicopter Trainer program, the company plans to conduct final assembly of the aircraft in Ozark, Alabama, the company announced last week. Bell submitted its proposal to the Navy on April 2. The Navy is seeking to acquire 130 aircraft.

Last Remaining N-9M Appears Lost, According to FAA Report

While details are sparse, the last remaining Northrop N-9M, restored and flown by the Planes of Fame Museum, appears to have been lost in an accident in Norco, CA. The aircraft appears to have impacted, after witness reports of some kind of power outage, in nearby prison yard, where the debris and fire damage seems to have all but consumed the aircraft. There is no word, yet, on the fate of the pilot, but the damage profile looks worrisome in terms of survivability.