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AeroTime • Stephen Pope

USAF uses EA-37B Compass Call in operations against Iran before formal IOC

The U.S. Air Force has deployed the EA-37B Compass Call electronic-attack jet in operations against Iran in the Middle East, marking the platform's first known combat employment. The sorties took place before the aircraft was formally declared operational, demonstrating early operational use of the new EW asset.

2026-04-02T11:22:02.543836-07:00

Aviation Today

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

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 brings KC-390 Millennium demo and A-29 Super Tucano to FIDAE 2026 in Chile

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

News Timeline

AeroTime

USAF uses EA-37B Compass Call in operations against Iran before formal IOC The U.S. Air Force has deployed the EA-37B Compass Call electronic-attack jet in operations against Iran in the Middle East, marking the platform's first known combat employment. The sorties took place before the aircraft was formally declared operational, demonstrating early operational use of the new EW asset.

2026-04-02T11:22:02.543836-07:00

USAF uses EA-37B Compass Call in operations against Iran before formal IOC

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 brings KC-390 Millennium demo and A-29 Super Tucano to FIDAE 2026 in Chile Embraer will display a KC-390 Millennium demonstration aircraft—its first Latin America appearance with a new livery—alongside the A-29 Super Tucano at FIDAE 2026 in Santiago (April 7–12). The OEM is using the show to highlight operational capabilities and revive KC-390 sales in the region.

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

Embraer brings KC-390 Millennium demo and A-29 Super Tucano to FIDAE 2026 in Chile

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

GCAP awards £686m joint design contract to Edgewing JV for next‑generation fighter On 2 April the Global Combat Air Programme Agency awarded its first trilateral contract — £686 million (≈$904 million) — to Edgewing JV to fund key design and engineering work on the UK–Japan–Italy next‑generation combat aircraft, moving GCAP into an active development phase.

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

GCAP awards £686m joint design contract to Edgewing JV for next‑generation fighter

FlightGlobal

UK and France launch 12‑month study for joint successor to MBDA’s Meteor The UK and France have signed a memorandum of understanding to launch 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, technology options and requirements for a next‑generation BVR weapon for Rafale and Typhoon.

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

UK and France launch 12‑month study for joint successor to MBDA’s Meteor

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Military Aircraft Procurement News

USAF uses EA-37B Compass Call in operations against Iran before formal IOC

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 brings KC-390 Millennium demo and A-29 Super Tucano to FIDAE 2026 in Chile

News Timeline