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Aviation Today

Army Accepts First Optionally‑Piloted Black Hawk; Will Test Autonomy to Inform Fleet Scaling

The U.S. Army has formally accepted its first optionally‑piloted Black Hawk helicopter and will subject the aircraft to a rigorous test campaign. Data from the evaluations will be used to inform decisions on scaling autonomous and optionally‑piloted capabilities across the UH‑60 fleet.

2026-04-02T09:38:59.528988-07:00

Aviation Today

Army scales SkyFoundry, brings in commercial partners to hit one‑million drones by 2028

2026-04-02T09:38:58.208150-07:00

Air Data News

Embraer to field KC-390 Millennium demonstrator and A-29 Super Tucano at FIDAE 2026

2026-04-02T08:39:10.098579-07:00

FlightGlobal

Edgewing wins £686m GCAP joint design contract as programme moves to next phase

2026-04-02T04:20:53.455568-07:00

News Timeline

Aviation Today

Army Accepts First Optionally‑Piloted Black Hawk; Will Test Autonomy to Inform Fleet Scaling The U.S. Army has formally accepted its first optionally‑piloted Black Hawk helicopter and will subject the aircraft to a rigorous test campaign. Data from the evaluations will be used to inform decisions on scaling autonomous and optionally‑piloted capabilities across the UH‑60 fleet.

2026-04-02T09:38:59.528988-07:00

Army Accepts First Optionally‑Piloted Black Hawk; Will Test Autonomy to Inform Fleet Scaling

Aviation Today

Army scales SkyFoundry, brings in commercial partners to hit one‑million drones by 2028 The U.S. Army's SkyFoundry drone initiative has "evolved" to bring in commercial partners and scale U.S. production toward a goal of one million low‑cost systems by 2028. The shift signals a move from experimental buys to monthly mass manufacture and expanded counter‑drone capability.

2026-04-02T09:38:58.208150-07:00

Army scales SkyFoundry, brings in commercial partners to hit one‑million drones by 2028

Aviation Today

Scaled Composites' Talon IQ Model 437 flies Prism and Shield AI Hivemind mission-autonomy test ahead of CCA Increment 2 Northrop Grumman’s Scaled Composites flew a Talon IQ Model 437 on a mission-autonomy test that integrated Northrop’s Prism autonomy software with Shield AI’s Hivemind. The sortie demonstrates multi-vendor autonomy interoperability on the Talon IQ platform as work ramps toward the Collaborative Combat Aircraft Increment 2 effort.

2026-04-02T09:38:57.955217-07:00

Scaled Composites' Talon IQ Model 437 flies Prism and Shield AI Hivemind mission-autonomy test ahead of CCA Increment 2

Air Data News

Embraer to field KC-390 Millennium demonstrator and A-29 Super Tucano at FIDAE 2026 Embraer will present its KC-390 Millennium demonstration aircraft — in a new livery — alongside the A-29 Super Tucano at FIDAE 2026 in Santiago, April 7–12. The appearance is the KC-390’s first showing in Latin America and is framed as a push to revive regional sales.

2026-04-02T08:39:10.098579-07:00

Embraer to field KC-390 Millennium demonstrator and A-29 Super Tucano at FIDAE 2026

Vertical Mag

Hydroplane wins Phase 2 SBIR to develop hydrogen fuel-cell electric propulsion for Army helicopters and cargo drones Hydroplane has been awarded a Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research contract by the U.S. Army to advance development of a hydrogen fuel-cell electric propulsion system for helicopters and cargo drones. The award supports maturation of fuel-cell powertrain hardware and integration for military rotorcraft and unmanned logistics platforms.

2026-04-02T05:41:56.482655-07:00

Hydroplane wins Phase 2 SBIR to develop hydrogen fuel-cell electric propulsion for Army helicopters and cargo drones

FlightGlobal

Edgewing wins £686m GCAP joint design contract as programme moves to next phase The three-nation Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) has awarded a £686 million ($904 million) joint design contract to design-and-development authority Edgewing, announced 2 April. The award funds core design and engineering activities to move the UK–Japan–Italy partnership into its next programme phase and build industrial momentum.

2026-04-02T04:20:53.455568-07:00

Edgewing wins £686m GCAP joint design contract as programme moves to next phase

FlightGlobal

UK and France launch 12-month joint study for a successor to MBDA's Meteor BVR missile The UK and France have signed a memorandum of understanding to begin a 12-month joint study into a successor to MBDA's Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile. The study will assess future threat scenarios and technical options to arm Typhoon and Rafale fleets with a next-generation BVR weapon.

2026-04-02T03:21:24.464331-07:00

UK and France launch 12-month joint study for a successor to MBDA's Meteor BVR missile

AeroTime

France to self‑fund Rafale F5 after UAE pulls out of €3.5bn deal over tech‑transfer row France will fund the Rafale F5 development alone after the UAE walked away from a proposed €3.5 billion contribution, La Tribune reports. Abu Dhabi quit negotiations when Paris refused to provide what the UAE described as "meaningful" technology transfers, stalling a potential export partnership.

2026-04-02T02:25:47.387168-07:00

France to self‑fund Rafale F5 after UAE pulls out of €3.5bn deal over tech‑transfer row

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Military Aircraft Procurement News

Army Accepts First Optionally‑Piloted Black Hawk; Will Test Autonomy to Inform Fleet Scaling

Army scales SkyFoundry, brings in commercial partners to hit one‑million drones by 2028

Embraer to field KC-390 Millennium demonstrator and A-29 Super Tucano at FIDAE 2026

Edgewing wins £686m GCAP joint design contract as programme moves to next phase

News Timeline