FlightGlobal
• Jon Hemmerdinger
Textron Aviation’s CEO outlined a plan to ramp jet production by tackling longstanding factory issues, alongside a significant workforce refresh. The company said half its employees joined in the past five years, underscoring the scale of its post-pandemic staffing and capability reset.
Textron
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Textron Aviation’s CEO outlined a plan to ramp jet production by tackling longstanding factory issues, alongside a significant workforce refresh. The company said half its employees joined in the past five years, underscoring the scale of its post-pandemic staffing and capability reset.
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Textron Aviation’s Cessna Citation CJ3 Gen3 prototype flew for the first time in Wichita as the light-jet program moves further along the FAA certification path. The CJ3 Gen3 joins the CJ4 Gen3 and M2 Gen3 in flight testing, with Garmin Emergency Autoland and customer-driven enhancements included.
Bell has secured a $300 million contract to apply its SPINE (Structural and Power Improvements for NextGen Effects) modernization to up to 49 US Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom helicopters. Deliveries are scheduled for 2028, with the upgrades aimed at enabling more advanced operational capabilities.
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Bell says it’s entering a “big year” for the MV-75, with construction under way on the first six test aircraft. The company’s milestone indicates a transition from development toward a broader test campaign ahead of future flight and certification activity.
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Textron Aviation said it expects to finish Beechcraft Denali flight testing in October 2026, with FAA certification to follow and service entry moving to Q1 2027. The program has accumulated more than 4,000 flight hours, marking “significant” progress after years of development delays and branding changes.
Bell Textron delivered the 700th Bell 505 at the Farnborough International Airshow to a corporate customer, highlighting the type’s adoption in the corporate helicopter segment. The manufacturer says the aircraft has logged more than 390,000 flight hours, underscoring sustained operational demand.
Textron Aviation has supplied a factory-new Beechcraft King Air 360ER to the Armed Forces of Malta to expand the country’s King Air fleet and increase capacity for maritime patrol missions in the central Mediterranean. The aircraft will be configured with mission systems to support surveillance operations while maintaining fleet commonality.
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