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• Leslie Josephs
Boeing said it plans to reduce its commercial airplane workforce by 5%, citing a production ramp-up that is progressing more slowly than expected. The move ties staffing levels to a slower recovery in output, with implications for the company’s manufacturing capacity and efforts to increase aircraft production.
Boeing
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Blue Origin has shifted New Glenn’s planned return to flight from December 2026 to January 2027 while rebuilding Launch Complex 36 after a ground-testing accident. Separately, Boeing has moved NASA’s Artemis III core stage into Kennedy Space Center’s High Bay 3 for final stacking, integration and testing ahead of the mission’s planned 2027 launch.
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Boeing said it plans to reduce its commercial airplane workforce by 5%, citing a production ramp-up that is progressing more slowly than expected. The move ties staffing levels to a slower recovery in output, with implications for the company’s manufacturing capacity and efforts to increase aircraft production.
Air Force leaders say C-17 and C-130 transport aircraft will soon launch cruise missiles from standard airdrop pallets, turning mobility aircraft into missile carriers. The capability, now known as Dragon Cart, is planned for fielding in 2027, though leaders describe deployment as possible in the “very near future.”
The U.S. Air Force did not originally plan for the air-to-air combat-focused F-15EX to carry conformal fuel tanks (CFTs), but operational aircraft have now begun flying with them. The change reflects evolving mission demands, though the reports provide no further detail on the tanks’ operational role or fleetwide plans.
Boeing’s victory in the Navy’s F/A-XX competition, alongside its earlier selection for the Air Force’s F-47, gives the company a central position in both U.S. sixth-generation fighter programs. The awards mark a major shift in the defense contracting landscape and put a premium on Boeing’s ability to execute across both programs.
A Southwest 737 Max was released to service after an operational test failed to identify impairment to its fin and rudder unit. The case highlights a maintenance-procedure lapse that left gust damage undetected.
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