Manufacturer news - essential news in manufacturer aviation

Latest Manufacturer news

Blue Skies and Stars Part of the Future Airplane Cabin

Airbus Beluga XL production starts

The first cut of the Beluga XL MSN001 rear fuselage has been successfully achieved in Spain, paving the way for the final assembly to begin in early 2017. MSN001 will be the first Beluga XL to fly. The rear fuselage, produced by Aernnova, will be the first part to be delivered to the Beluga Final...

China-Russia Heavy Lift Helicopter Contract Deferred To Mid-2016

A contract to develop the Advanced Heavy Lift (AHL) helicopter should be signed between China's Avicopter and Russia's Rostec in mid-2016 instead of end-2015, Dmitry Shugaev, Deputy CEO of Rostec has said. "We can say that both sides have a desire to come together and finalize their...

RAAF KC-30 completes F-16 refuelling trials

A RAAF KC-30A tanker transport has completed inflight refuelling trials with a US Air Force F-16. The seven flights from Edwards Air Force Base, between December 3 and 15, saw the KC-30A conduct 444 ‘contacts’ with the F-16, offloading over 25 tonnes of fuel, and are a key element in achieving conditional clearance for the tanker transport to refuel the F-16. &ldqu...

Lockheed to reveal 'ultimate offering' for T-X next year

Lockheed Martin has yet to reveal its “ultimate offering” for the US Air Force's hotly contested advanced pilot training competition despite joining Korea Aerospace Industries in the unveiling of its possible T-50 Golden Eagle-based T-X proposal in South Korea this week. Earlier this year, the company disclosed that its Skunk Works advanced design and development division had al...

Boeing raises protest of ‘irreparably flawed’ bomber selection

Boeing protests ‘irreparably flawed’ bomber selection Boeing and Lockheed Martin have reaffirmed their objection to the US Air Force’s October award of the next-generation bomber development contract to Northrop Grumman, dismissing the lengthy source-selection process as “irreparably flawed”. The losing industry team on 17 December submitted a “133-page br...

Qatar initiates Rafale contract

The contract for the purchase of 24 Rafale aircraft by Qatar from Dassault Aviation came into force. © Dassault Aviation Signed in Doha on 4th May 2015, in the company of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, and Mr. François Hollande, President of the French Republic, the contract represents a new milestone in the strategic partnership bet...

Royal Saudi Air Force to acquire 30 An-178 transports

Saudi Arabia has tentatively signed for 30 examples of the developmental Antonov An-178 tactical transport, in a deal that could eventually see the Kingdom producing the aircraft locally. Detailed in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Antonov and Saudi company Taqnia Aeronautics, the deal will see the partners deliver the aircraft to the Royal Saudi Air Force. It further builds on t...

Second Bell 525 joins test campaign with three following in 2016

Bell Helicopter’s first 525 “Relentless” commercial helicopter now has a companion on the test and certification campaignwith Flight Test Vehicle-2 (FTV-2) joining the programme last week, the company confirms. The company says it remains on track to achieve certification of the 9.1t super-medium-class helicopter in 2017, with three more developmental 525s coming online i...

Boeing Delivers SF Airlines' First 767-300 Boeing Converted Freighter

Boeing and SF Airlines yesterday celebrated the delivery of the airline’s first 767-300 Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF), which is also the first owned by an airline in China. The delivery took place at Boeing supplier ST Aerospace Services Co. in Singapore, where the conversion work was performed. It is the first of five 767BCFs the airline will receive during the next year. &ldq...

Turkish Airlines Signs Agreement for Pratt & Whitney's Geared Turbofan™ Engines to Power 92 Firm A321neo Aircraft

Turkish Airlines has signed a Definitive Agreement for Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1100G-JM engines to power its order of 92 firm A321neo aircraft, the largest engine order in Turkish Airlines’ history. The order was originally announced during the 2015 Paris Air Show as a Memorandum of Understanding with 72 firm and 20 option aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2018....

TAM Airlines’ first Airbus A350 XWB lands in Brazil

The first A350 XWB in the Americas, owned by TAM Airlines, landed in Brazil in the early hours of today (18). The aircraft left the headquarters of Airbus in Toulouse (France) yesterday (17) and flew directly to Belo Horizonte/Confins in Brazil to obtain its Brazilian registration. It is expected to arrive at the São Paulo/Guarulhos airport on December 19. The inaugur...

Pratt & Whitney Celebrates Bombardier’s Aircraft Certification

Transport Canada has announced the aircraft certification for Bombardier’s C Series, marking a significant milestone for the company and for Pratt & Whitney. “As the sole source engine provider for their C Series aircraft, Pratt & Whitney sends its congratulations to Bombardier on this historic milestone,” said Greg Gernhardt, president, Pratt & Whitney Commercial...

Bombardier C Series Wins Transport Canada Certification

The Bombardier C Series CS100 won type certification from Transport Canada on Friday, clearing the way for its entry into service with Swiss International Airlines during the second quarter of next year. The approval comes more than two years after first flight and follows more than 3,000 hours of flight testing, validation of thousands of test results and authentication of design and pe...

Bell Helicopter Announces Chongqing General Aviation Group as New Bell Authorized Customer Service Facility in China

Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company, yesterday announced Chongqing General Aviation (CQGA), located in China’s Chongqing Provence, as Bell Helicopter’s newest authorized Customer Service Facility (CSF). CQGA has a 43,700 sq. ft. Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) part 145 certified maintenance facility and offers non-specialized maintenance capabilities for Bell...

Upcoming events

LABACE 2026

Running now
Brazil, SANTANA

The Air Charter Expo – ACE’26

08/09/2026
United Kingdom, London

Essential news

Honda Aircraft Company celebrates type validation of HondaJet Elite II in Brazil at LABACE 2026

Honda Aircraft Company announced first delivery of HondaJet Elite II in Brazil, marking a significant milestone in the company’s continued commitment to general aviation in South America. The de...

U.S. FAA certifies new Boeing 737-7 airplane

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has granted Boeing an amended type certificate for the new 737-7 airplane, clearing it for commercial service. The smallest...

Eve Air Mobility achieves first transition flight milestone, advancing eVTOL program toward wing-borne flight

Eve Air Mobility completed its first partial transition flight, marking an important milestone in the development and testing of the company' eVTOL aircraft. The flight involved the acti...

Introducing latest-generation TBM to a major business aviation market - Daher Aircraft delivers the first TBM 980 in Brazil

The first TBM 980 for a Brazilian customer delivered by Daher Aircraft, marking the introduction of this newest fast and efficient turboprop-powered airplane in a market where the TBM family continues...

Air India, SkyDrive and Suzuki sign MoU for feasibility study of medical air logistics in India

Air India, SkyDrive and Suzuki Motor Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding to conduct a joint feasibility study on the use of eVTOL aircraft for medical air logistics in India. In...

Cessna Citation CJ3 Gen3 achieves first flight, advancing next-generation light jet toward certification

Textron Aviation achieved a key milestone as the Cessna Citation CJ3 Gen3 prototype aircraft completed its first flight, advancing the next-generation light jet toward certification. With th...

The Arriel 2K, the engine powering the Leonardo AW09 helicopter, has received its EASA certification

The Arriel 2K engine that powers Leonardo’s AW09 helicopter, has received its type certificate from EASA. This marks an important milestone towards the entry into service of the AW09, Leonardo&r...

Daher Aircraft delivers the 400th Kodiak, underscoring this airplane family's expanding global reach and mission versatility

Daher Aircraft has delivered the 400th Kodiak, marking a significant achievement for the multi-role airplane family as its customer base continues to expand across government, commercial, business and...

Bombardier celebrates 200th delivery of its Challenger 3500 jet to Mr. Piero Ferrari

Bombardier delivered its 200th Challenger 3500 jet to Mr. Piero Ferrari, Vice Chairman of Ferrari. The aircraft will support Mr. Ferrari’s travel to Formula One races and other bu...

Top of the week

Bell's first 505 for aerial policing work in Asia Pacific commences operations

Bell Textron announced the Aichi Prefectural Police have officially commenced aerial policing operations utilizing the Bell 505, marking a landmark moment for aviation in the Asia-Pacific region. A ce...

Atoms and Joby Aviation form strategic partnership to build America's vertiport network

Atoms and Joby Aviation announced a strategic partnership to acquire and develop vertiport sites in the United States. The companies will initially focus on Florida, New York, and Texas, the markets w...

Volatus Aerospace partners with Singular Aircraft to introduce FlyOx 1 heavy-lift autonomous aircraft for Canadian wildfire response

Volatus Aerospace announced the next phase of its national wildfire response initiative through a strategic partnership with Singular Aircraft, developer of the FlyOx 1 multi-mission heavy-lift autono...

Bombardier to showcase its exquisite Challenger 3500 at LABACE 2026 as part of extensive multi-city Latin American tour

Bombardier Challenger 3500 will be on display at LABACE 2026 at Campo de Marte Airport in São Paulo, revealing its impressive design and performance attributes for clients in region.&...

Introducing latest-generation TBM to a major business aviation market - Daher Aircraft delivers the first TBM 980 in Brazil

Eve Air Mobility achieves first transition flight milestone, advancing eVTOL program toward wing-borne flight

Eve Air Mobility completed its first partial transition flight, marking an important milestone in the development and testing of the company' eVTOL aircraft. The flight involved the acti...

Daher Aircraft expands its authorized service center Network in Brazil, reinforcing support for the country's growing TBM fleet

Daher Aircraft has strengthened its customer support coverage for Brazilian owners and operators of the fast, efficient TBM airplane family with the addition of two authorized service centers to the c...