All posts in 'Factory Fresh'

In partnership with Scaled Composites, Stratolaunch successfully completed the first flight of the Stratolaunch aircraft. As part of this initial flight of the world’s largest aircraft, the pilots evaluated aircraft performance and handling qualities of the all-composite, duel-fuselage design. The airplane took off at 0658 PDT on April 13, 2019,..
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Meet the Lockheed Martin F-21. Specifically configured for the Indian Air Force, the F-21 provides unmatched ‘Make in India’ opportunities and strengthens India’s path to an advanced airpower future. The F-21 addresses the Indian Air Force’s unique requirements and integrates India into the world’s largest fighter aircraft ecosystem with the..
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Ten days after the official presentation, the BelugaXL completed its four-hour maiden flight at Blagnac in Toulouse, France. The BelugaXL will now undergo some 600 hours of flight test over the next 10 months to achieve Type Certification and entry into service later in 2019. The aircraft is the first..
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The first Boeing KC-46A tanker that will be delivered to the U.S. Air Force next year successfully completed its first flight and airborne tests, taking off from Paine Field at 10:32 a.m. PST, December 8, 2017 and landing approximately three-and-one-half hours later. “Today’s flight is another milestone for the Air..
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Russia’s new A-100 Premier airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft completed its first flight on November 18 from the Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex (TANTK), located near the Sea of Azov in the far west of the country. According to prime contractor Vega, the first A-100 prototype tested..
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Russia has rolled out the latest upgrade of the world’s largest supersonic strategic bomber, the Tupolev Tu-160M2 “White Swan” NATO codename “Blackjack. While the original version of the Tu-160 first flew in December of 1981, the program was halted with collapse of the Soviet Union. Ukraine acquired several of the..
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Northrop Grumman subsidiary Scaled Composites debuted a new experimental aircraft, the Model 401, in an October 11, 2017 announcement of the prototype’s recent first flight. The company has built two Model 401 prototypes in service of an undisclosed customer “to demonstrate advanced, low-cost manufacturing techniques and to provide aircraft for..
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Stratolaunch is the world’s largest aircraft by wingspan and is the largest all-composite plane ever built. Utilizing six Boeing 747 engines for a payload capacity of over 500,000 lbs. and an operational range of approximately 2,000 nautical miles, Stratolaunch is capable of delivering payloads to multiple orbits and inclinations in..
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China’s domestically developed AG600, the world’s largest amphibious aircraft, took its maiden flight ahead of schedule on Saturday from the southern city of Zhuhai, according to the official Xinhua news agency. The AG600 will be suitable for aerial firefighting dropping 12 tonnes of water, and search and rescue operations for..
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