Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

Even as the Army abruptly cancelled a planned deployment to Poland earlier this year, the service is continuing to expand military cooperation with the country through the Pentagon’s counter-drone initiative, the Army announced on Wednesday. The service touts the program as a way to help Washington and its allies purchase defense technology faster, as the U.S.-managed marketplace connects partner nations with emerging technology in an attempt to speed up slow procurement systems that have often lagged behind ever-changing threats.Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on Thursday posted a photo on social media with Poland’s Deputy Minister of National Defense, Paweł Zalewski, as…

Have you ever had an “SSSS” on your boarding pass when taking a flight with an airline? In this post, I want to take a detailed look at the significance of that. In some cases, this isn’t a big deal at all, while in other cases, you may have landed on some sort of a list, and get it on every flight, until you get it resolved (as happened to me back in 2017). What does “SSSS” on a boarding pass stand for? “SSSS” stands for secondary security screening selection. I’m not sure if the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) came up…

The US Missile Defense Agency conducted a hypersonic flight test from Mojave Air and Space Port using Stratolaunch’s Talon-A3 vehicle and a modified Boeing 747-400 carrier aircraft. Stratolaunch disclosed the March 6, 2026, mission in a May 21, 2026, announcement, saying the flight supported MDA’s Flight Test Experiment Other-04, or FEX-04. The company said its Spirit of Mojave 747 carried the Talon-A3 vehicle aloft, allowing the hypersonic aircraft to begin its flight profile at high altitude. The announcement did not disclose the vehicle’s speed, flight duration, test location after release, or specific MDA test objectives. Stratolaunch described the mission as…

A year after the announcement of the collaboration, GA-ASI has flown an MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft with LoyalEye Airborne Early Warning (AEW) pods designed by Saab. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Saab announced the first flight of the MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) equipped with the new Airborne Early Warning (AEW) pods. The milestone follows the announcement last year between the two companies to jointly develop an unmanned, persistent and cost-effective air surveillance capability. The test flight was conducted on May 19, 2026, from GA-ASI’s Desert Horizon flight operations facility in Southern California. The image accompanying the press release shows…

Alaska Airlines is currently undergoing a global expansion, as the airline is increasingly operating long haul service out of Seattle-Tacoma Airport (SEA), with the plan being to operate 12 long haul routes by 2030. With Alaska Air Group now also owning Hawaiian Airlines, we’ve known that the company is investing in its lounge network, including opening a new lounge in Seattle that’s intended to up the bar. We’ve now learned more details about what we can expect from the lounge, and it’s pretty exciting. New two-part Alaska Lounge Seattle will be 41,000 square feetAlaska Airlines plans to open a new…

Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on Laser Wars, a newsletter about military laser weapons and other futuristic defense technology. Subscribe here.Operation Epic Fury may have strengthened the case for directed energy weapons, but the U.S. Navy’s dream of putting “a laser on every ship” may take significantly longer than expected to realize.In a posture statement delivered to the House Armed Services Committee on May 14, Chief of Naval Operations (and noted directed energy champion) Adm. Daryl Caudle delivered a forceful argument for why high-energy laser weapons are a necessity for the sea service — namely, to take over missile…

Shield AI has been selected to integrate Hivemind on the LUCAS drones, enabling them to coordinate and operate intelligently in a swarm. Shield AI’s Hivemind autonomous flight software will be integrated onto the U.S.-made Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) One-Way Attack (OWA) drone, the company announced on May 19, 2026. Shield AI was selected by the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (OUSW R&E) ahead of an operational demonstration this fall. With Hivemind, LUCAS, a reverse engineered version of the Iranian Shahed-136 OWA, would be able to operate intelligently in coordinated swarms in degraded…

Subscription Required Open to All Readers By Scott Hamilton Background May 21, 2026, © Leeham News: We completed a multi-part series last month on Boeing’s 30-Year March to a New Airplane. Now, it’s Airbus’s turn. It will be around 27 years between new airplane program launches, based on some moving targets. The A350 was Airbus’ last all-new airplane design. (The A220 doesn’t count; this program was purchased from Bombardier.) Figure 1. There is a plethora of new aircraft concepts and derivatives being discussed by various companies over the coming decade. Airbus has key decisions to make. Source: Leeham News. In…

The remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper was the workhorse in the U.S. air campaign against Iran, Air Force leaders told Congress on May 20, even as the service’s fiscal 2027 budget request still pours the bulk of aircraft dollars into crewed fighters.Having repeatedly proven their worth, unmanned aircraft will “play an increasingly important role as we build out into the future across the board,” Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink told the House Armed Services Committee. When Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., asked whether manned and unmanned systems represent the future of the Air Force, Meink answered, “Absolutely.”Air Force Chief of…

GE Aerospace developed a foam engine wash that is more efficient and thorough than the standard all-water wash used to clean the engine, restore efficiency, and reduce fuel consumption. Credit: GE Aerospace. By Scott Hamilton May 21, 2026, © Leeham News: Jet engines degrade in normal operating conditions compared with new deliveries. Challenging environments, like the harsh Middle East, accelerate the degradation of parts and, with this, fuel efficiency. In the Middle East, fine dust particles are especially hard on engines. But degradation also occurs in “normal” environments, as well as super-cold ones. Volcanic ash can cause catastrophic failure. Note…