The United States Navy has been working in collaboration with Northrop Grumman under a three-year deal in order to design and develop a ship board laser weapon. This weapon will be engineered to promptly incinerate enemy aircrafts, drones, small boats, ships, as well as missiles. Read more >>

CityJet, the Irish regional airline which is headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, has recently taken delivery of the very first Sukhoi SSJ100 aircraft in Western Europe during a ceremony which was held in Venice, Italy. This ceremony was held at the SuperJet International, which is the headquarters for the program’s Western aftermarket support and sales partner. The Irish regional airline currently holds a delivery option for 16 SSJ100s and has also agreed to lease 15 SSJ100s. including all of the aftersales services and options, this deal is estimated to be valued at more than $1 billion. Read more >>

The Federal Aviation Administration will begin to expand the Pathfinder Program which focuses on detecting identifying unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) flying too close to airports. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) just recently signed the Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRDAs) with Gryphon Sensors, Liteye Systems Inc. and Sensofusion with the intention to evaluate procedures and technologies designed to identify unauthorized UAS operations in and around airports. This is all part of the FAA’s Pathfinder Initiative research effort aimed to address one of the significant challenges to safe integration of UAS into our nation’s airspace. Marke “Hoot” Gibson, FAA Senior Advisor on UAS Integration believes that the Government and industry share responsibility for keeping the skies safe because people sometime fly drones in unsafe manners. Read more >>

Airbus, the European aerospace agency unveiled the world’s first 3D printed aircraft at the Berlin air show early in June of this year. The small plane Thor, which is short for “test of High-tech Objectives in Reality” resembles a model plane, with its windowless frame, white walls, and light weight. With this aircraft, Airbus has opened a door to a new realm to 3D printing that is cost effective as it requires no tools and yields close to nothing in manufacturing waste. 3D printing is also time and fuel efficient as parts can be made quickly and lighter than ever before. Gunnar Haase, the chief engineer for this project stated that Thor is stable when it flies. The only parts of the plane that are not printed are its electrical components. Read more >>

The special office in charge of procuring new aircrafts for The Danish Defense Ministry has comprised and delivered a final and comprehensive analysis which approves of the recent purchase by the United States for a batch of Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth multi-role fighters. The ministry office which has spent the last nine years studying and analyzing Denmark’s options in regards to renewals of its aging F-16 fight jets fleet, has deduced and concluded that the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics-manufactured aircraft is superior to the Boeing’s Super Hornet fighters. This report was leaked by Radio24syv public broadcaster who has assured that the findings come from multiple reputable aviation sources. Sources at the Ministry of Defense has estimated that Denmark needs at least 28 new jets in order to keep an operational air force. Read more >>