Thursday, October 8, 2026

Canada begins flights with new Grob G120TP trainer

Instructor pilots have begun flying the CT-102B Astra II turboprop at Canada’s 15 Wing Moose Jaw flight training base in Saskatchewan. The Royal Canadian Air Force has begun operations with its first Grob G120TP turboprop, which will serve as the new basic training aircraft for Canadian military pilots. Painted in the service’s distinctive yellow-and-blue trainer…

P&W spent $100 million to boost geared turbofan maintenance output

The investments targeted P&W maintenance and aftermarket operations in Arkansas, Florida and Texas. Pratt & Whitney (P&W) in the last year spent some $100 million to expand its PW1000G geared turbofan (GTF) maintenance and aftermarket capabilities, saying the investments are speeding up its repair processes. The investments come at a time of heightened demand for…

Ethiopian exercises options for six more 787-9s

Ethiopian Airlines has ordered six more Boeing 787-9 aircraft, exercising the last of its options from a 2023 order. The new aircraft will be used to expand the Star Alliance operator’s intercontinental network from its Addis Ababa hub, amid expectations that long-haul travel demand will continue to rise. The options were taken from an order…

FAA and Brazil’s ANAC order ’emergency’ inspections of Legacy and Praetor trim actuators

The orders also require operators to report findings to regulators for the purpose of better understanding the problem. Brazilian and US aviation authorities have issued emergency airworthiness directives (ADs) to address a potential problem affecting pitch trim actuators on Embraer’s family of Legacy and Praetor midsize business jets. The regulators are requiring operators to quickly…

German navy P-8A Poseidons undergo first maintenance checks by Lufthansa Technik Defense
Aviation

German navy P-8A Poseidons undergo first maintenance checks by Lufthansa Technik Defense

The German’s navy’s first two Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft have undergone initial maintenance work at in-country partner Lufthansa Technik Defense’s Hamburg site. “Currently, the navy’s first aircraft (63+01) is undergoing its first 180-day check,” the German company says. It describes the activity as involving “relatively minor maintenance tasks”, including “visual inspections, the lubrication…

US Marines conduct helicopter air assault onto Iranian cargo ship

Launching from the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, a strike force fast-roped from Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopters to seize the Iranian-flagged vessel. Commandos from the US Marine Corps have seized an Iranian-flagged container ship in the Arabian Sea. US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the operation, saying the Marines flew from the amphibious assault ship USS…

China’s AEW&C fleet is growing, but can it survive modern warfare?
Aviation

China’s AEW&C fleet is growing, but can it survive modern warfare?

Beijing is making significant progress with new airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, even as doubts grow about the survivability of such platforms in modern warfare. No platform exemplifies China’s AEW&C efforts more than the two prototypes of the Xian KJ-3000 AEW&C aircraft. Both have made frequent appearances in the skies above Xian, suggesting…

‘Severe prejudice’: United blasted FAA’s proposal of now-mandated O’Hare flight cap

United fiercely pushed back on the FAA for unfairly picking “winners and losers” at Chicago O’Hare before the agency mandated a capacity-limitation aimed at easing congestion.  United Airlines decried the Federal Aviation Administration’s proposal to cap the number of daily flights at Chicago O’Hare International airport this summer as “severe prejudice” that would result in…