BREAKTHROUGH : Non-Fading Structural Color For Airplane Paint With 10% of the Weight

A new way of creating color uses the scattering of light of specific wavelengths around tiny, almost perfectly round silicon crystals. This Kobe University development enables non-fading structural colors that do not depend on the viewing angle and can be printed. The material has a low environmental and biological impact and can be applied extremely …

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DARPA and Aurora Flight Sciences Building Full Scale X-65 Plane With No Moving Control

DARPA has selected Aurora Flight Sciences to build a full-scale X-plane to demonstrate the viability of using active flow control (AFC) actuators for primary flight control. The award is Phase 3 of the Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors (CRANE) program. The X-65 flight is controlled by using jets of air from a pressurized …

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Breakthroughs for Hydrogen Powered Passenger Planes

Rolls-Royce has identified three technology challenges to enable hydrogen for use in aviation: fuel combustion, fuel delivery and fuel systems integration with an engine. All elements must be confirmed to operate safely. Rolls-Royce’s facility at Solihull, UK is started tests to prove aerospace cryogenic liquid hydrogen pump systems. These will address a key engineering challenge …

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US Marines Have Lost a F-35B, F-18D and MV-22B in Separate Crashes in Less Than 30 Days

The US marines have lost two fighter jets and an expensive military transport helicopter in less than 30 days. This is without any combat operations. The F-35B costs over $100 million, the F-18D costs $50 million and the MV-22B Osprey costs $84 million. The US military lost over $234 million of combat air vehicles in …

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Pentagon Eyes JetZero Blended Wing for Next Generation Air Refueling System

Jet Zero won the US Air Force $235 million blended wing demonstrator contract. Jet Zero will build a full scale demonstrator by the first quarter of 2027. The prototype will be aimed at demonstrating at least a 30%-plus improvement in fuel efficiency compared to the Pratt & Whitney PW4000-powered Boeing KC-46, and a 30% increase …

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30% Less Fuel Consumption from New NASA Truss X-Plane

The new X-plane seeks to enable a potential new generation of more sustainable single-aisle aircraft – the workhorse of passenger airlines around the world. Working with NASA, Boeing will build, test, and fly a full-scale demonstrator aircraft with extra-long, thin wings stabilized by diagonal struts, known as a Transonic Truss-Braced Wing concept. The X-66A will …

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DARPA Funded Two Wing in Ground Effect Transport Planes

Two teams — General Atomics working with Maritime Applied Physics Corporation and Aurora Flight Sciences working with Gibbs & Cox and ReconCraft — will develop designs for DARPA’s Liberty Lifter Seaplane Wing-in-Ground Effect full-scale demonstrator. The Liberty Lifter program aims to demonstrate a leap-ahead in operational capability by designing, building, floating, and flying a long-range, …

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USA Flip Flopping on Fighter Planes for Ukraine

The USA is reported to be working to assist Poland in sending fighter planes to Ukraine. Poland has Mig 29 planes which are ones used in the Ukrainian Air Force. The USA would resupply Poland with F16 planes. US Secretary of State Blinken says NATO countries have the greenlight to send fighter planes to Ukraine. …

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United Pre-Orders a Hundred 19-Seat Electric Airplanes for 2026

Heart Aerospace, a company building a 19-seater electric airplane, has raised a $35M Series A round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, United Airlines Ventures and Mesa Air Group Inc. In addition, Heart’s seed investors EQT Ventures and Lowercarbon Capital, have participated in the round. As part of the agreement, United and Mesa have together placed …

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Multibillion Race for Commercial VTOL Air Taxis

eHang, Volocopter and Archer Aviation are each billion-dollar or multi-billion valuation companies that are racing to establish the commercial VTOL air taxi industry in the 2021-2024 timeframes. Flying super-sized drone taxis are using electric engines and should become lower cost than helicopters. Multiple engines should be safer as one or two engines could fail and …

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