Blog

US commercial aviation is booming, with operating margins in double-digit territory since 2014. But is there room for another airline to come in and take a slice of the pie for itself? One entrepreneur certainly thinks so. And that entrepreneur isn’t just anyone. The chap in question is David Neeleman, Founder of low-cost airlines JetBlue and Azul. He has the stellar pedigre...

BAE Systems has been awarded a £20bn contract to equip the Australian Navy with a new fleet of Type 26 Global Combat frigates as part of the SEA 5000 programme. The Global Combat Ship - Australia is based on Type 26 Frigates from BAE Systems which specialise in anti-submarine combat. Although this is big news for a UK company, the UK workforce is unlikely to directly benefit...

Facebook has formally ended its Aquila solar-powered drone design and manufacture project that aimed to bring internet connectivity to the developing world. The programme was developing a high altitude platform station (HAPS) that could stay in the air for months at a time and beam signals to users on the ground. However, Facebook is still committed to the vision to bring th...

Oxford Space Systems (OSS) has raised £6.7m to continue its mission to capture a sizeable part of the growing UK space industry with its innovative satellite antennas and structures. OSS plans to use the money to open a new HQ at the Harwell Space Cluster near Oxford as well as further develop the company’s technology. The company has now raised a total of £10m. The company’...

Airbus has put the final touches to its deal to acquire a majority stake in the Bombardier C Series through the C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership (CSALP). All regulatory approvals have now been obtained and the the transaction will officially complete on 1 July. As always with cross-border transactions involving national champions, political concerns were a potential sti...

The UK’s new supersonic jets have finally landed on UK soil after flying from their former South Carolina home. The four F-35 Lightning aircraft landed at their new home, RAF Marham in Norfolk, ready to begin preparation for operational service at the end of the year. The jets will be jointly operated by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy. The Lightning is the first to m...

The ESA’s wind-sensing satellite, built by Airbus, is now ready for launch. Named Aeolus, it will provide measurements on a daily basis in near real-time to improve the accuracy of weather forecasts. The satellite will be equipped with a Lidar-based instrument named Aladin which works by firing ultraviolet laser pulses towards Earth. This light bounces off air molecules and ...

Rolls-Royce has announced the launch of the Pearl engine family which is designed for business aviation. The Pearl will go into service as the sole engine for Bombardier’s Global 5500 and Global 6500 business jets. By combining innovative technologies from the company’s Advances2 demonstrator programme with proven features from the BR700, the Pearl 15 will deliver up to 15,1...

Airbus has created a new Urban Air Mobility Business Unit that will be led by Eduardo Dominguez Puerta, formerly COO of the company’s US-based Innovation Centre in Silicon Valley. With this appointment, Airbus is integrating all its UAM activities – except its current air vehicle projects – through the set-up of a new unit to foster coordination both internally and with exte...

BAE Systems has been awarded a five-year contract by Lockheed Martin. The contract will see BAE Systems manage the supply chain and put in place the necessary infrastructure to ensure that electronic warfare capabilities for F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft are mission capable and available to warfighters. BAE Systems has a range of electronic warfare capabilities that wil...