Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Drones are profoundly changing the Army’s approach to aviation and combined arms training, Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill, commanding general of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, told Military Times in an interview.During the Army’s first annual Best Drone Warfighter Competition in Huntsville, Alabama, the Fort Rucker-based aviation chief shared his insights about the impact of drones on military doctrine.“The application of drone technology is only limited by your creativity,” he said. “It’s this constantly evolving game of technology and craftsmanship to create the desired effect that you want on the other end.”While Army aviators are…
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The GBU-53/B SDB II, also known as StormBreaker, has reached the Initial Operational Capability on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, following its first operational use in 2025. The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and RTX announced that the U.S. Navy has reached the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the GBU-53 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) II, also known as StormBreaker, on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The service has already used the weapon operationally in 2025, as we previously reported. The employment in combat was part a limited Early Operational Capability (EOC), which was declared in October 2023. The service says this provided…
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Soldiers of the Army National Guard’s 28th Infantry Division snagged the award for Best Innovation at the U.S. Army’s inaugural Best Drone Warfighter Competition in Huntsville, Alabama, this week for inventing a drone that uses a claw to retrieve downed drones. Project RED, which stands for Recovery Exploitation Drone, is built to fly over and inspect downed unmanned aircraft systems. The system uses artificial intelligence software to discern the difference between friendly and enemy drones. Using a robotic arm with a claw, it can pick up a fallen drone and transport it to troops for evaluation or…
A US federal watchdog issued a report saying the Federal Aviation Administration does not have the proper staffing, planning, and data access it needs to effectively oversee United Airlines’ maintenance practices, raising fresh questions about how the agency monitors large carriers when inspector teams run thin. The US Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General said the FAA’s oversight was “insufficient to oversee safety risks,” and found that the FAA has sometimes conducted inspections virtually instead of delaying them because it did not have enough inspectors available. The audit traces back to early 2024, when the FAA increased scrutiny of United after a…
The United States continues to shift hundreds of combat aircraft and support assets into the Middle East as tensions with Iran increase and nuclear talks hang in the balance. According to information gleaned from flight tracking sites, European plane-spotter reports, and defense coverage, fighter squadrons have been transiting en masse from US and European bases toward the US Central Command’s area of responsibility in the Middle East. The deployments include F-35 and F-16 fighters, along with a contingent of F-22s that have operated in and out of the region in recent years. Some aircraft were already in the region while others began moving in recent days. The fighters represent the visible edge of a buildup that gives US President Donald Trump a wide…
Pilot Reported That He Landed In A Harvested Soybean Field And Tapped The Breaks “A Little Too Hard.” Analysis: The pilot reported that he landed in a harvested soybean field and tapped the breaks “a little too hard.” The airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, right wing strut, rudder, and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
From 2022 (YouTube Edition): Before They’re All Gone… Humankind has been messing about in airplanes for almost 120-years. In that time, thousands of aircraft representing innumerable technologies, design philosophies, and aspirations both noble and contemptible have been built and flown. Airshows—the good ones—are lenses into aviation’s past. Events like AirVenture, Sun ‘n Fun, and Frontiers in Flight afford modern audiences glimpses of aircraft that shaped the world in war, and brought it together in peace.
“Innovative aircraft like eVTOLs promise to revolutionize America’s aviation system, but the certification process for new entrants to our airspace lacks clarity and efficiency, delaying next-generation advanced air mobility development…” Source: Senator Tedd Budd, one of a bipartisan group of senators and representatives that has introduced the Aviation Innovation and Global Competitiveness Act, taking clear aim at the FAA’s below-par aircraft type certification process. This is a long-standing problem that has stirred legislative efforts before to no avail, but lawmakers seem to think this time is different, thanks to Advanced Air Mobility.
Back-Taxi A term used by air traffic controllers to taxi an aircraft on the runway opposite to the traffic flow. The aircraft may be instructed to back?taxi to the beginning of the runway or at some point before reaching the runway end for the purpose of departure or to exit the runway.