Israeli Military Hits Sana’a Airport, Destroying Two Airbus A320s and One A330

The Houthi rebels recently lost three out of their four aircraft, including two Airbus A320s and one A330, due to Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s primary airport. All airline and airport employees had been evacuated before the strikes, leaving no human fatalities.

Centerpiece Q-12 Vehicle Delivers Improved Endurance, Range SiFly, a startup based in Santa Clara, California, came out of stealth mode and unveiled its next-generation all-electric, autonomous drone platforms that provide improved limits of range and endurance at prices competitive with current products currently on the market.

3-Blade Prop Provides 15% Shorter Takeoff Roll, 20% Increased Climb Rate

Hartzell Propeller announced it has received the STC (Supplemental Type Certificate) for its Pathfinder 3-blade carbon fiber propeller for the Aviat Husky aircraft. The new propeller is available as a Top Prop STC upgrade for existing aircraft and as an STC option for new production models through Aviat.

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ANN’s Jim Campbell got an hour in the SLEEK Blackshape Prime last week along with a chance to wring it out a bit in order to investigate its performance and capabilities. The current generation of tandem hotrods are getting a lot of attention... but the Prime appears to deserve it. Our low-wing composite test bird was powered by a Rotax 915 and an MT prop, retractable gear and a lavish bubble canopy that makes one feel like they are flying a goldfish bowl... The Porto Aviation Risen has gotten a LOT of attention for a non-stop Trans-Atlantic run to oshkosh last year, distinctive looks and some impressive cruise speeds... but now, Porto reports that they have conducted necessary flutter analysis to make sure that the bird can handle the speeds demonstrated to this point. DirectFly USA brought several of its best-sellers, the Alto NG, to this year’s SUN ‘

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Stratolaunch conducted the second successful launch and recovery of its Talon-A2 autonomous vehicle in a flight that exceeded its previous speed beyond Mach 5, also for the second time. Stratolaunch is focused on expanding its hypersonic flight testing to support US defense objectives in its return to hypersonic flight since the end of the X-15 program in 1968. FIFI, one of only two flying B-29 Superfortresses, will be grounded for the next month or so for intensive repairs to two of its engines. Unfortunately, this timing means that the Commemorative Air Force will be forced to push back its 2025 AirPower History Tour. Spirit AeroSystems is temporarily laying off between 250 and 350 employees at its Wichita facility, citing an overproduction of parts for the Boeing 737. The furloughs, which begin May 12 and are expected to last about 30 days. They will affect

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The Air Force has begun ground testing a future uncrewed jet design in a milestone towards pilotless dogfighting. The YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A will be used to evaluate proposed focusing on propulsion systems, avionics, autonomy integration and ground control interfaces, helping to validate the performance of things as they are now while the USAF plans for future developments. A recent analysis claims that drones are responsible for up to two-thirds of near-misses with commercial aircraft at America’s busiest airports. The FAA has taken steps to avoid these events, but the spike in unauthorized drone flights certainly is not aiding their cause. Joby Aviation has reason to celebrate, recently completing its first full transition from vertical to horizontal flight with a pilot on board. This puts the aircraft one step closer to achieving commercial operation

Threats Had No Effect On Target Acquisition During PC-C5 Event

The U.S. Army evaluated an MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended Range (GE-ER) UAS in its Project Convergence Capstone 5 (PC-C5) exercise during March to test the utility and capabilities of the vehicle in threat environments. The vehicle successfully demonstrated the ability to generate targets of interest while being unaffected by electronic countermeasures.

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An NTSB Preliminary report is shedding some light on the Rob Holland tragedy. And there now seems to be a mechanical element as a prime suspect. The flight was destined for LFI, where the airplane made a normal approach to the runway and when it was over the end of the runway, it leveled off about 50 ft above the runway and flew straight down the runway for several hundred feet. ‘The airplane then “porpoised” twice, pitched “straight up,” rolled 90° to the left and descended to ground impact.’ Airbus is resurrecting a former trade war tactic by redirecting aircraft deliveries to US airlines through other countries to avoid President Trump’s tariff chaos. The move is part of a broader effort to minimize the financial impact of proposed import duties on civil aircraft. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will be throwing so

Reduced Space Budget Isn’t the Freebie You’d Expect for Commercial Spacing

The Commercial Space Federation has responded to a recently released NASA press release, commenting on the agency’s direction under a new budget–the message? “Thanks for the layup, but no thanks.” “The commercial space industry stands ready to enable NASA missions and activities that are less expensive, faster, and more innovative in a number of critical areas—including launch, science, and human exploration in low Earth orbit and deep space,” they open, before asking that NASA be given a “A thoughtful transition”.

“Affordable” Fighter Has a Rough Go Taking on American Fighter Sales

Colombia formally announced its intent to procure the Saab Gripen E/F in April, after a very long will-they-won’t-they process. Colombia’s been debating a Gripen buy since 2011, drawn out by threats of American vetos over the use of the GE F414G engine, among other issues. The deal is great news for the Gripen program, which has apparently been trundling along without a foreign sale for more than a decade, despite Sweden’s eagerness and support to move some metal abroad.