Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

PARIS – BAE Systems said the production pipeline for the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet is filled until the start of final assembly of the sixth-generation stealth aircraft being developed through the Global Combat Air Programme, or GCAP.“The good news is that we now have production requirements all the way through to when we start doing final assembly of a GCAP capability, which is important,” BAE Chief Executive Officer Charles Woodburn told financial analysts in a call on Wednesday following the London-based company’s full-year earnings report.Spain and Italy placed additional orders for the Eurofighter at the end of 2024, followed by…

We know that if regulatory approval weren’t an issue, United would’ve already bought JetBlue, given the Chicago-based carrier’s desperation to get onto Delta’s level financially, and to return to New York Kennedy (JFK). For the time being, JetBlue and United have a partnership that’s growing over time, though it’s pretty clear to most people that the long term hope is to actually buy JetBlue. Along those lines, we haven’t heard much commentary from United executives lately about possible mergers, though here’s an interesting update… United CFO thinks industry would benefit from mergers Live and Let’s Fly flags how United Airlines…

Airbus is aiming for pre-pandemic delivery levels in 2026, as the European aircraft manufacturer looks to ramp up production levels over the next 10 months. On February 19, 2026, Airbus announced that it was looking to achieve “around 870” commercial aircraft deliveries an increase from the company’s initial ambition of 820 aircraft in 2025. Before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, Airbus delivered 863 aircraft but suffered a significant drop the following year with only 566 deliveries. Despite the record high prediction for deliveries in 2026, Airbus suggested that the figure was negatively impacted by engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney. “On…

Germany is considering a follow-on purchase of more than 35 additional F-35 stealth fighters, a move that would take Berlin’s planned fleet to more than 70 aircraft and further anchor the Luftwaffe’s modernization to US technology. The potential acquisition, reported by Reuters sources, comes as the Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS) remains mired in disputes over the core sixth-generation fighter. A second tranche would further bolster near-term capacity and hedge against additional FCAS slippage or a failure to unlock the next phase. In October 2025, the German magazine Spiegel already reported, citing parliamentary sources, that a confidential submission had been…

Subscription Required By Bjorn Fehrm and Scott Hamilton Feb. 19, 2026, © Leeham News: Airbus appears likely to launch the long-discussed stretched version of the A220-300, nominally called the -500, as early as the Farnborough Air Show in July. Figure 1. This illustration, created years ago by Leeham News, shows the concept of a “simple stretch” for the “A220-500.” This illustration does not include some aerodynamic improvements LNA believes are necessary. Airbus is already planning a high-density version of the A220-300. Credit: Leeham News. Lars Wagner, the new CEO of Airbus Commercial Airplanes, told Reuters in January that he favors the…

2025 was an eventful year for TAAG Angola Airlines.   AeroTime readers already got a glimpse of the projects underway at the Angolan flag carrier, and the strategic vision underpinning them, in an in-depth Executive Spotlight interview with the carrier’s Chief Commercial Officer, Miguel Carneiro. On that occasion, speaking with AeroTime during the Annual General Meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in June 2025, Carneiro shared insights about the carrier’s growing hub-and-spoke network and fleet renewal program.  However, a number of developments have taken place at the African carrier in the six months that followed that conversation.   During the…

Editor’s note: This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here. The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.The latest rounds of nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran are going well enough for now, according to the steady drip of public statements from the main parties involved.“I think they want to make a deal,” said U.S. President Donald Trump on the eve of the latest round of discussions held in Geneva on Feb. 17, 2026. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, noted progress over…

A red, white and blue color scheme championed by President Donald Trump will become the new look for Air Force One, the U.S. military said Thursday.The Air Force said a “red, white, gold and dark blue paint scheme” will be used for the updated jet that is slated to serve as Air Force One as well as other, smaller jets that routinely fly other top government officials.The military released a rendering of the new look that matches an airplane model that has been seen in the Oval Office for meetings with foreign leaders.The Air Force said a “red, white, gold…

The U.S. Air Force’s troubled Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program faces significant risks from software delays and an extended reliance on the aging Minuteman III system. However, a January 2024 Nunn-McCurdy breach has opened a window to address longstanding issues and potentially improve outcomes, according to a Government Accountability Office snapshot released Feb. 18. The report highlights the challenges in replacing the 50-year-old Minuteman III, a cornerstone of the land-based leg of the U.S. nuclear triad, with the more advanced Sentinel system. The program, led by Northrop Grumman, is described as the Air Force’s most complex infrastructure endeavor ever, involving…

Despite being posted on Feb. 18 after news broke about the reversal to Trump’s preferred VIP livery design, the rendering is in fact identical to one that has been used by Boeing for some time.   After a U.S. Air Force C-32A broke cover with a fresh paint scheme, replacing the traditional egg-blue and white livery, sources from the U.S. Government soon confirmed that the design – based on one first proposed by President Donald Trump in 2019 – would now become the fleet standard for U.S. VIP aircraft, including those used as Air Force One.  Now, on Feb. 18, 2026,…