P-8 Poseidon Competes for Multi-Mission Aircraft, Anti-Sub, Intel Mission

Boeing has announced its entry into the running for the Canadian Multi-Mission Aircraft  project to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force fleet of CP-140 Aurora aircraft and enhance its anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. It's horse in the race is the venerable P-8 Poseidon, a common selection for long-range maritime patrol aircraft. The P-8 has logged nearly half a million mishap free flight-hours over its service life so far, flying for the U.S., the Commonwealth, India, Norway, South Korea, and Germany. Its development on the Boeing 737NG platform brings superb parts commonality with a widespread, rel

Program Seeks High-Speed VTOL Concept Development to Guide Future USAF Aircraft Design 

Jaunt Air Mobility is one of 11 companies that won a United States Air Force and Special Operations Command investment that hopes to crowdsource development of high-speed, vertical takeoff vehicles for use in austere, rugged environments often encountered by the branches. The high-speed VTOL, or HSVTOL challenge, is hoped to provide a range of demonstrations to help the Air Force Research Laboratory to "understand how to build a new class of air vehicles." The contract with jaunt will see 2 concepts of the initial proposed aircraft which will evolve into the Multi-Mission Air Vehicle MAV 55. The aircraft is said to combine the speed and lifting capabi

Black Eagle 50H Combines Elements of Gas and Battery Powered UAVs

Singapore UAV manufacturer Steadicopter has released the specifications of its Black Eagle 50H, the first of its Rotary UAS family. The helicopter is designed for the usual range of missions, capable of anything from law enforcement, maritime surveillance, civilian survey, and special low profile missions. The Black Eagle is a hybrid featuring elements of the company's all-electric 50E and its gas-powered 50, resulting in a cost-effective, long-legged platform. Steadicopter says the Black Eagle can fly up to 5 hours at a time, far in excess of the standard for rotary VTOL platforms.