News in brief

Radome

• European aviation industry giants have signed the Toulouse Declaration, reaffirming a joint commitment to zero-carbon aviation. The declaration, signed by Airbus, Air-France-KLM, ATR, Dassault Aviation, Group ADP, Safran and Thales seeks to formally align the industry goals with governments and the European Commission’s aim to reach net zero emissions by 2050. 
• GE Aviation, Boeing and NASA are to convert a Saab 340 turboprop into a hybrid-electric demonstrator. The project, under NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration, will see engine maker GE work with Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences on the EFTD nacelles, systems integration and flight testing services.  Meanwhile, electric motor developer MagniX wll also work with GE to develop and flight-test a megawatt-class hybrid-electric propulsion system for EFTD. 
• Stratolaunch’s dual fuselage, six-engine ‘Roc’ carrier aircraft made its third test flight on 16 January. Designed as an aerial launch pad for hypersonic and aerospace vehicles, the Roc reached an altitude of 23,500ft and a speed of 180kt. 
• Brazilian manufacturer DESAR has partnered with electric motor developer Magnix to develop a hybrid-electric 19-seat commuter aircraft – the ATL-100H. The ATL-100H will follow the original turboprop version of the aircraft, the ATL-100, which is expected to fly in 2023. Using two turboprops and two electric motors, the ATL100H is expected to save between 25-40% in fuel – depending on the route. 
• Lockheed Martin has scrapped a $4.4bn acquisition of rocket maker Aerojet Rocketdyne.

• European low-cost carrier easyJet has launched a recruitment campaign for over 1,000 new pilots over the next five years. The new campaign is encouraging people ‘from all walks of life’ to consider a career as an airline pilot with a strong emphasis on recruiting women. 
• Florida-based lessor Azorra Aviation has placed an order for 20 new Embraer E2 jets in a deal worth $3.9bn. The order also includes purchase rights for a further 30 E2s with deliveries to begin in 2023.
• On 1 February, Ethiopian Airlines flew the first passengers on a Boeing 737 MAX since the fatal crash of a MAX in March 2019 which killed all 157 passengers and crew. The flight carried journalists, diplomats and officials.
• New Canadian low-cost carrier Jetlines has signed a five-year pilot training agreement with CAE. The training will be conducted using CAE’s 7000 XR Airbus A320 full-flight simulator in Montreal. 

• Japan and the UK are to partner on developing a new ESM (electronic support measures) sensor for future combat aircraft. The game-changing universal radio frequency sensor technology, known as ‘JAGUAR’, could allow fighters to instantly detect emissions over a far wider area than current systems. 
• Spain formally joined the Eurodrone UAV project with France, Germany and Italy on 25 January. The Eurodrone project is also known as the European MediumAltitude Long-Endurance (MALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) or the EuroMALE. 
• On 24 January, a US Navy fighter pilot ejected after their Lockheed Martin F-35C was involved in a crash on recovery to the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier in the South China Sea. However, while the pilot was recovered by helicopter, seven other sailors on the carrier were injured in the incident – with three needing medical evacuation to Manila. This was the first operational deployment of the USN F-35C variant. 
• The UK MoD has confirmed that it is to acquire two new-build Dassault Falcon 900LX business jets for the VIP transport role. Used for the RAF Command Support Air Transport (CSAT) mission, the Falcons will replace BAe146s that were retired in January. 

• SpaceX has lost the majority of a newly launched batch of Starlink internet satellites after they deorbited following a solar storm. A total of 40 out of 49 satellites have now re-entered the atmosphere and burned up or are about to, according to the company. 
• Thales Alenia Space has won a contract from the CNES French Space Agency to develop a new dual-frequency multi-constellation satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS). The platform will be compatible with existing SBAS, as well as future upgrades. SBAS improves the accuracy, reliability and performance of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) information by correcting signal measurement errors. 
• On 26 January, space debris clean-up company Astroscale reported an anomaly with its ELSA-d debris removal demonstrator mission. The servicer spacecraft had released the target spacecraft on 25 January with the intent to recapture it. However, after detecting ‘anomalous spacecraft conditions’, the company decided not to proceed until the issue is resolved. Both spacecraft are operational and safely separated, according to a statement by the company. 
• ​ABL Space Systems has confirmed that the second stage of its small rocket was destroyed in a ground test on 19 January at Mojave Air and Space Port, California. There were no reports of any injuries caused by the incident. RS1 is being developed as a small satellite launcher and has been selected by Lockheed Martin to perform its ‘UK Pathfinder’ launch from the UK. 

• Textron Aviation has rolled out the first production example of its Cessna SkyCourier utility aircraft at the company’s manufacturing site in Wichita, Kansas. Certification is expected in the first half of 2022, followed by delivery to launch customer FedEx, which has placed an order for up to 100 aircraft. 
• Italy’s Leonardo is to design and build the composite fuselages for the UK’s Vertical Aerospace VX4 eVTOL. The deal covers the first six test airframes for certification, with the fuselages to be produced at Leonardo’s facility that makes fuselage barrels for the 787. However, at full production, this is expected to scale up to 2,000 VX4s a year, according to Vertical. 
• Boeing has announced that it is to invest $450m in US-based eVTOL developer Wisk to help bring its autonomous passenger air taxi to market. Wisk, which has already flown smaller prototypes of eVTOLs, is currently working on a ‘sixth-gen’ eVTOL design. The company is aiming to go directly to fully autonomous air vehicles and says it expects that it will have 2,000 aircraft flying five years after it enters service. 
• US light helicopter manufacturer Robinson Helicopter has announced its highest number of orders since 2011. The manufacturer, which produces the R66 and R44 Raven II, reported that it had received 450 confirmed orders in 2021.