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- Bombardier Aviation has announced around 2,500 job losses due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The majority of the lay-offs are expected to be at Bombardier’s manufacturing operations in Canada. In addition, Bombardier is cutting 600 jobs at its Northern Ireland operations.
- Japan’s Mitsubishi Aircraft has suspended all work on its SpaceJet regional jet programme, including flight testing and production. Six prototype aircraft have been built with two to be completed.
- Airbus has officially opened its US A220 final assembly line (FAL) in Mobile, Alabama. The company began producing A220s at Mobile in 2019 in an A320 FAL hangar but the new assembly facility is dedicated to the A220. The Mobile site becomes the second assembly site for the A220 with primary production located in Mirabel, Canada, where the original Bombardier CSeries was produced.
- Boeing has resumed production of the 737 MAX passenger jet at its plant in Renton, Washington, following suspension of production in January. The aircraft was grounded in March 2019 in response to two fatal crashes that occurred in close succession. Production has been resumed at a low rate and regulatory approval for the aircraft to resume flying is not expected until August at the earliest.
- Brazilian company DESAER will partner with the Portuguese centre of engineering and product development to jointly develop, manufacture and market the ATL-100 twin-turboprop multirole aircraft. Both civil and military variants of the aircraft will be available.
- A report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has predicted that airlines will post a collective net loss of $84.3bn in 2020, the largest loss ever. IATA estimates that global passenger traffic this year will be around half of 2019 levels and that losses will continue into 2021.
- Amazon Air has leased 12 Boeing 767-300 Converted Cargo aircraft from Air Transport Services Group (ATSG). The first aircraft will enter service with Amazon’s air cargo operations in May, followed by the remaining 11 in 2021.
- Congo Airways has converted an order made in December 2019 for two Embraer E175 regional jets into an order for two re-engined E190E2s. Two purchase rights for additional E175s have also been converted into purchase rights for E190e2s.
- The Lufthansa Group has announced plans to cut 22,000 jobs, half of which will be in Germany. The airline is in negotiation with trade unions to have the plan finalised by 22 June. The carrier will also operate 100 fewer aircraft. Lufthansa agreed a €9bn ($10.2bn) financial support package with the German Government in May.
- Australia’s second-largest airline, Virgin Australia, has filed for bankruptcy in an effort to secure protection as the Coronavirus crisis pushed the flailing airline into insolvency. Administrators will now undertake a process of restructuring and refinancing.
- In May GE Aviation delivered the first F414-GE-400K engine for Korea Aerospace Industries’ (KAI) new KF-X fifth-generation fighter. Intended to replace South Korean air force’s aging F-4D/E Phantom IIs and F-5E/F Tiger IIs, flight tests on the KF-X are scheduled to begin in 2023.
- Bell Boeing has delivered the 400th V-22 tilt-rotor, a CV-22 for US Air Force Special Operations Command. Variants of the V-22 have been ordered for the US Marines, Air Force and Navy, as well as Japan. The first production V-22 was delivered in 1999 and the aircraft type has now accumulated more than 500,000 flight hours.
- The US Air Force Materiel Command released a Request for Information on 3 June 2020 indicating that the USAF has begun its search for the next medium-altitude UAV to replace the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9 Reaper.
- The use of low-flying US Army helicopters to attempt to disperse crowds of protestors in Washington DC has drawn widespread criticism. US Army UH-72 Lakota and UH-60 Black Hawks were used in low-level ‘shows of force’ over the nation’s capital to try and disperse crowds protesting about the killing of George Floyd by Missouri Police.
- Bankrupt satellite constellation developer OneWeb has applied to regulators for permission to increase the number of satellites in its planned network from 650 to 48,000. The company, which entered Chapter 11 protection earlier this year, has applied to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to modify the licence to expand its mega constellation from the original goal of 900 satellites to 48,000.
- China launched a civilian operated oceanography satellite on 10 June from the Taiyuan space centre, Shanxi Province. Designed to monitor ocean colour and water temperatures, the Haiyang 1D satellite was carried into orbit aboard a Long March 2C rocket.
- Astrobotic of Pittsburgh has won a $199.5m contract to deliver NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) to the Moon’s South Pole at the end of 2023. Part of NASA’s Artemis programme to develop a sustainable, long-term presence on the Moon, the VIPER rover will have a 100day mission to sample various soil environments, including three waterhunting instruments.
- Following two weeks of weather delays, SpaceX has launched 60 Starlink satellites into orbit onboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The launch took place from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida on 3 June. The new satellites will form part of SpaceX’s mega constellation.
- Struggling Italian manufacturer, Piaggio Aerospace, has drawn expressions of interest from 19 international bidders, according to a statement made by the company’s special administrator, Vincenzo Nicastro. The company has an order book worth €640m and is seeking new ownership by the end of 2020.
- The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has granted commercial pilot operation approval to Chinese eVTOL manufacturer EHang to use its passenger-carrying EHang 216 aerial vehicle for cargo transport. EHang is to conduct air logistics trial services using the EHang 216 to transport freight between ground and hilltop and shore to islands at a customer site in Taizhou.
- The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has certificated its first all-electric aircraft, the two-seater Pipistrel Velis Electro trainer. The aircraft is powered by the first certified electrical engine, the E-811-268MVLC.
- The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has reported an incident which occurred in February in which an AS350 B3 helicopter collided with a RCMP SkyRanger R60 surveillance drone during a joint mission over a rural area of British Columbia. The drone was destroyed while the helicopter experienced damage to its main rotor blades and was forced to make an emergency landing.
- The US Senate has confirmed that General Charles Q Brown is to be the next US Air Force Chief of Staff.
- The new CEO and President of Lockheed Martin is Jim Taiclet. He succeeds Marillyn Hewson.
- Former CE of Embraer Commercial Aviation, John Slattery is to replace David Joyce as CEO of GE Aviation in mid-July. Meanwhile, Arjan Meijer, CCO at Embraer Commercial succeeds Slattery as CEO.
- Anand Stanley is to succeed Patrick de Castelbajac as President of Airbus’ Asia-Pacific operations.
- Pete Ring has been named as the new VP of Sales and Marketing for Flight Data Systems.