FlightGlobal
• Greg Waldron
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems says its FQ-42 Vengeance has reached a new milestone, taking up residence at Creech Air Force Base as the U.S. Air Force accelerates work on its Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. The move marks continued progress from aircraft delivery into operational development.
UAV Development & Drone Programs
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General Atomics Aeronautical Systems says its FQ-42 Vengeance has reached a new milestone, taking up residence at Creech Air Force Base as the U.S. Air Force accelerates work on its Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. The move marks continued progress from aircraft delivery into operational development.
Boeing subsidiary Insitu and Gogo Special Missions have completed testing of a Group 3 uncrewed aerial system fitted with Gogo’s Galileo HDX antenna and connected to Eutelsat’s OneWeb satellite network. The effort gives military operators another high-speed connectivity option beyond SpaceX’s Starlink.
Textron Aviation has completed assembly of the 500th Cessna Citation Latitude at its Wichita facilities, marking a decade of deliveries for the midsize business jet. The Latitude entered service in 2015, offers a 2,700-nautical-mile range and seats up to nine passengers.
Boeing Defence Australia selected Lite Coms to supply tactical satellite terminals for the Australian Defence Force’s beyond-line-of-sight communications program, while Boeing subsidiary Insitu and Gogo Special Missions completed testing of a lightweight Galileo HDX solution integrated onto a Group 3 uncrewed aircraft.
A think tank is advocating specialized, missile-carrying collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) to protect airborne support assets from China’s growing long-range air-to-air missile capability. The concept would use uncrewed aircraft as escorts to counter threats against tankers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, and other high-value enablers.
Helicopter operator Bristow has reserved 15 early-delivery Chaparral hybrid-electric cargo drones, tripling its initial reservation commitment. The move provides an early commercial signal for cargo-drone demand and positions Bristow to expand beyond conventional rotorcraft operations as the aircraft becomes available.
High activity
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has delivered an FQ-42A Vengeance to Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, where the aircraft will continue regular test and evaluation operations. The handover marks the latest step in advancing the platform’s operational assessment with the U.S. Air Force.
Bristow Group has reserved 10 additional early delivery positions for Elroy Air’s Chaparral autonomous cargo aircraft, bringing its total reservation to 15. The expanded commitment strengthens Bristow’s planned role in deploying uncrewed electric cargo aircraft for logistics operations as Elroy advances the Chaparral program.
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