News in brief

Radome

• New German OEM Deutsche Aircraft has launched a new version of the Dornier 328 regional turboprop to run on sustainable aviation fuel. To be built in Leipzig, the D328eco aircraft will have a slightly longer fuselage than the original 328, seat 43 passengers and will be powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW127S engines. The introduction of the D328eco is scheduled for 2025.
• Canadian simulation and training specialists CAE is to expand its civil training offerings with the acquisition of TRU Simulation and Training Canada. The deal, worth $40m, will see CAE expand its installed base of commercial flight simulation devices, as well as increase its offering for simulator support.
• Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft developer XTI Aircraft Company has partnered with engine manufacturer VerdeGo Aero to work together on XTI’s TriFan 200 programme. The project will involve using VerdeGo Aero diesel hybrid powertrain to power the autonomous TriFan 200 VTOL UAV which is designed to carry up to 500lb of cargo over distances over 200nm. 
• On 18 November, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that the Boeing 737 MAX was now cleared to return to flight after being grounded for 20 months following the deaths of 346 people in two separate accidents. Commercial 737 MAX flights are set to begin in the US, with American Airlines expected to be the first airline to resume flights. Approval from foreign regulators in Brazil, Canada and Europe is also expected to follow within days, according to the FAA. 

• Israel’s El Al and UAE’s Etihad Airways have signed a MoU to explore co-operation and closer ties. The agreement could include codesharing between the two airlines, as well as co-operation on MRO and cargo. Etihad is set to open a regular service from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv in March 2020.
• Manchester Airport Group (MAG) has announced a new contest to promote the adoption of sustainable aviation. The group is offering five-years of free landing fees (worth approximately £1m) to the first airline to make a zero-emission landing at one of its airports. 
• Boeing has released a new 20-year forecast for the global air cargo fleet. Dedicated freighter operations are already running at 120% of normal levels due to Covid-19 demand, with the company predicting 60% growth in the cargo fleet to 2039, with 930 new freighters needed, along with 1,500 conversions.
• On 26 November, cargo airline Volga-Dnepr grounded its entire fleet of Antonov An-124 outsize freighters. The decision to ground its eight An124s was taken after an incident on 13 November at Novosibirsk, Russia, where an An-124 made an emergency landing and overran the runway after an uncontained engine failure.

• The German Bundeswehr has placed an order for 31 NH90 Sea Tigers as its next shipborne helicopter. The Sea Tiger, an evolution of the land-based NH90 Sea Lion, already in service with the German Navy, will replace shipborne Sea Lynx Mk88s.
• Embraer and the Brazilian Air Force have reveal a concept for a hybrid-electric light military transporter. The product of a joint MoU from December 2019, the STOUT (Short TakeOff Utility Transport) would feature two turboprop engines and two electric motors on the wingtips. It would carry 30 soldiers over 2,425km. 
• The US has officially withdrawn from the international Open Skies Treaty, which allows for unarmed authorised aerial spy flights to verify arms control agreements. First signed in 1992, the US used OC-135B fleet as its designated Open Skies aircraft, which are equipped with cameras and other sensors. However, in recent years, both the US and Russia have accused each other of violating the treaty, leading to the US deciding to leave the agreement.
• The UK Army Air Corps took delivery of its first two Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters at its base in Wattisham on 26 November. The latest Block 6 variant features Link 16 datalinks, extended range fire control radar and manned-unmanned teaming. The UK is set to receive 50 AH-64Es, which will replace the current WAH64 AH1 Apaches. 

• Japan has completed its six-year Hayabusa 2 space mission to collect rocks from the Ryugu asteroid. A re-entry capsule containing the rock samples returned to Earth by a parachute to land near Woomera in Australia on 5 December.
• Arianespace has launched a UAE military observation satellite from the Guiana Space Center on 1 December. The launch of the French-built Falcon Eye 2 aboard a Soyuz rocket and Fregat upper stage had been delayed many times due to problems with launch vehicle issues and the coronavirus pandemic. A previous mission to launch the Falcon Eye 1 in July 2019 was unsuccessful after the Vega rocket failed. 
• NASA has revealed the names of 18 astronauts, nine men and nine women, who will travel to the Moon as part of the Agency’s Artemis programme. The selection of the Artemis cadre splits 50/50 between experienced astronauts and new recruits that have yet to fly into space. Artemis aims to land a human on the Moon in 2024. 
• Satellite operator Inmarsat has announced it has carried out the very first GEO to LEO commercial satellite data transmission, linking one of its communication satellites in GEO with a Capella Space SAR satellite in lower orbit. This opens up the potential of faster realtime transmission of data and imagery from satellites in LEO, without having to wait to overfly ground stations to transmit data to Earth. 

• EVTOL developer Joby Aviation is to acquire Uber’s loss-making air taxi division Uber Elevate. The deal will see Uber invest $75m into Joby as well as expand its partnership with the Urban Air Mobility company, which aims to start air taxi services in 2023.
• Pratt & Whitney has produced its 50,000th PT6 turboprop engine for GA and business aircraft. Originally launched over 50 year ago, the engine has gone through a series of progressive upgrades and currently powers over 25,000 aircraft with 410m flight hours.
• The first flight of a racing aircraft designed to break the electric speed record has been delayed to 2021. Rolls-Royce, presenting at the RAeS Light Aircraft Design Conference in November, revealed that its ACCEL project will now fly in early 2021, rather than as originally planned before the end of 2020. It had already been delayed from the summer, due to the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.