Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

The U.S. task force responsible for countering small, unmanned aircraft chose five military installations to partake in an upcoming anti-drone pilot program.The U.S. Army-led Joint Interagency Task Force 401, which was stood up in August 2025 and included in the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, selected two southern border installations to join and assist the program in advanced directed energy capabilities, according to a May 6 Department of Defense release.“Countering unlawful and adversarial drone activity is a homeland defense imperative,” Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, JITF 401 director, said in the release.“There is no ‘silver bullet’ to address this challenge,…

American Airlines is gearing up for what it expects to be its biggest summer ever, with plans to carry 75 million passengers across 750,000 flights during its 2026 travel season. The airline announced on May 10, 2026, that the upcoming summer period, running from May 21 through September 8, 2026, is set to break its previous passenger record from 2019.The milestone comes during American’s centennial year, marking 100 years since its origins as an air mail carrier in the Midwest. Memorial Day sets the pace The summer kicks off with Memorial Day weekend, when American expects to welcome more than…

The remains of a U.S. Army soldier who was reported missing in Southern Morocco last week have been recovered, the Army said in a statement Sunday. First Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., of Richmond, Virginia, was found Saturday, one week after he and another soldier were reported missing. The two soldiers entered the ocean on May 2 near the Cap Draa Training Area during a joint military exercise. The Moroccan Army said the soldiers went missing near a cliff. The second service member, whose name has not been released, remained missing Monday. Key, 27, was involved in African Lion 26,…

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Solar Impulse 2, the experimental solar-powered aircraft which became famous in 2016 after completing a global circumnavigation, has crashed into the sea off the coast of Mississippi on May 4, 2026.  The experimental aircraft was operating for Skydweller Aero, a company developing long-endurance, solar-powered platforms for surveillance and reconnaissance missions. This US-Spanish company acquired Solar Impulse 2 in 2019 and converted it to an unmanned aircraft for use in its own development programs.  On the day of the crash, Solar Impulse 2 had taken off from nearby Stennis International Airport (HSA), Mississippi, and was performing a flight test when it…

Russia and Ukraine on Monday reported fighting along their long front line despite a U.S.-mediated ceasefire, and each accused the other of launching drone and artillery strikes.Ukraine and Russia agreed on Friday to a ceasefire from May 9 to May 11 as part of a U.S.-led push for peace under President Donald Trump after more than four years of war following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.Trump said on Friday he hoped the ceasefire would be extended, but it was already showing signs of strain on Sunday, when each side accused the other of violating it.RELATEDUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on…

Subscription Required By the Leeham News Team Part 3 in a Series examining one of Boeing’s steps toward recovery. May 11, 2026, © Leeham News: The Boeing 747-400, which rolled out of Everett in January 1988 and earned its type certificate in January 1989. This latest derivative of the Queen of the Skies was a substantial aircraft in its own right. New wings with six-foot winglets, a glass cockpit designed for two pilots in place of the classic three-crew analog flight deck, new engine options, tail fuel tanks, a new interior, and dramatically extended range made it, in certification terms,…

Collins Aerospace is investing millions of dollars in its Largo, Florida facility, in part to help support the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) efforts to modernize the US National Airspace System. On May 11, 2025, Collins Aerospace’s owner RTX announced that $26.5 million would be used to accelerate the production of its commercial aviation radars and multi-domain defense security solutions. This will include production of the Condor Mk3, a cooperative surveillance radar capable of communicating directly with aircraft transponders, and the ASR-XM, a non-cooperative radar that detects aircraft using reflected signals. Both radar systems form part of the FAA’s Radar System…

ISTANBUL — Canada is seeking a rapid expansion of defense and industrial ties with Turkey as Ottawa looks for trusted middle-power partners amid shifting global security dynamics, Canadian Secretary of State for Defense Procurement Stephen Fuhr said during SAHA Expo 2026.Speaking to Defense News during his first visit to Turkey, Fuhr described Ankara as a “trusted partner” and “valuable ally,” highlighting Turkish advances in drones, counter-drone systems, ammunition production and autonomous technologies as potential areas for future cooperation.“The middle powers have to come together in a way they didn’t before,” said Fuhr, reflecting the Canadian political drive to establish new…

Dassault Aviation and German space prime OHB announced on May 11, 2026, that they will jointly propose the VORTEX-S reusable spaceplane to the European Space Agency (ESA), formalizing an industrial team for a Franco-German entry into Europe’s emerging low Earth orbit cargo competition. Under the partnership, Dassault Aviation will act as prime architect and global integrator of the spaceplane, while OHB will architect and integrate the service module. Both companies said discussions are underway with other European space companies to expand the consortium. A second-stage entry in the VORTEX roadmap The Dassault VORTEX-S reusable spaceplane with the OHB service module…