By Garth Calitz A rocket-assisted combat drone, artificial intelligence and an ambitious 2029 operational deadline are bringing Europe closer to a new era of air warfare, in which uncrewed aircraft could fly alongside conventional fighters, undertake high-risk missions and provide additional combat capability without placing another pilot in harm’s way. The future of air combat is increasingly looking like a team effort in which one pilot may command several aircraft, some of

By Garth Calitz A 3,199-mile autonomous flight raises an uncomfortable question for the aviation industry: if computers can fly aircraft from take-off to landing, how long before airlines decide they no longer need pilots in the cockpit? For more than a century, pilots have occupied a privileged position in aviation. They have trained for years, accumulated thousands of flying hours and accepted responsibility for the lives of everyone aboard their aircraft. Now, increasingly

By Garth Calitz Aviation has produced plenty of aircraft that found themselves doing jobs they were never originally designed for. Agricultural aircraft became fire bombers, military transports became firefighting tankers and even airliners have occasionally found themselves converted into rather enormous flying buckets. Now, Game Aerospace is trying something different: build an aircraft specifically for fighting fires from the drawing board. The company's GB2 Stormbird comp

By Garth Calitz Swedish company unveils 36-seat hybrid-electric regional aircraft as JSX commits to up to 100 aircraft. The regional airliner may be about to get an electrical makeover. Swedish aerospace company Heart Aerospace has unveiled its new ES-36, a 36-seat hybrid-electric regional aircraft that represents a substantial redesign of the company's earlier ES-30 concept. At the same time, US regional carrier JSX has signed a deposit-backed agreement for 50 aircraft, with

South Korea has taken a major step into the increasingly crowded world of indigenous fighter-aircraft development, with the Republic of Korea Air Force formally receiving its first production KF-21 Boramae on 22 September. The aircraft, serial 26-001, was accepted from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) at its Sacheon facility before being flown to Yecheon Air Base, marking the beginning of a new chapter for a programme that has taken more than a decade to reach this point. The

By Garth Calitz Textron Aviation has marked the rollout of the 500th Cessna Citation Latitude, just over a decade after the midsize business jet entered service. The milestone was celebrated by production employees at Textron Aviation’s Wichita facility, highlighting the aircraft’s sustained position within the company’s business jet portfolio. The Citation Latitude entered service in August 2015 and quickly became one of Textron Aviation’s best-selling business jets. The air

South Africa’s aerospace industry has taken another step towards expanding its local design and certification capability with the unveiling of Peregrine Aerospace, a new partnership between Henley Air, Jonker Sailplanes and On Track Technologies. The initiative was announced at the Aerospace Industry Support Initiative (AISI) 20-Year Commemoration at Waterkloof Air Force Base, bringing together Henley Air’s rotorcraft operations and maintenance expertise, Jonker Sailplanes’ a

By Garth Calitz AAD 2026 has put the Centurion Aerospace Village (CAV) firmly back in the spotlight and potentially provided the catalyst for turning a long-standing industrial concept into a significant aerospace and defence manufacturing cluster. CAV is now seeking a strategic partner to accelerate the expansion of the development, located alongside Waterkloof Air Force Base in Centurion. The timing could hardly be more appropriate. Across the AAD exhibition, South African

By Garth Calitz After years of talking about building a twin, Sling Aircraft is finally turning the dream into aluminium — with the prototype now taking shape in Cape Town and a maiden flight planned for June 2027. South Africa's Sling Aircraft is taking a major step beyond its successful single-engine aircraft with the development of an entirely new twin-engine Sling, a project that the company says has been made possible by a fundamental shift in the regulatory environment.

General Atomics AeroTec Systems (GA-ATS) has brought the iconic twin-turboprop back into production in Germany with the Do228 NXT, an extensively modernised evolution of an aircraft whose combination of STOL performance, ruggedness and versatility has made it a familiar sight in remote and demanding operations around the world. The programme reached a major milestone on 2 May 2026, when the Do228 NXT demonstrator completed its first flight from Oberpfaffenhofen. The flight ca