Aviation Week
• Molly McMillin
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.
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Azul Conecta plans to introduce Textron Aviation’s SkyCourier into commercial operations in early fourth quarter 2026, marking a future fleet expansion for Azul’s regional subsidiary. The announcement provides a defined target for the aircraft’s entry into the Brazilian regional market.
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.
A new supplemental type certificate gives owners of Textron Aviation’s earliest CitationJet aircraft a path to modernize their cockpits with an all-Garmin avionics suite. The approval expands upgrade options for operators seeking to bring legacy business jets’ avionics systems up to current standards.
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The U.S. Navy is moving multiple uncrewed and advanced-weapon concepts toward operational use: Boeing received a $562 million contract for three MQ-25A Stingrays, Castelion secured a potential $200 million Blackbeard production order, and Textron Aviation and Merlin unveiled a pilotless SkyCourier military resupply concept.
Textron Aviation is studying an autonomous military-cargo version of the Cessna SkyCourier that removes the conventional cockpit and creates space for a new forward-loading arrangement. The concept explores how distributed autonomy and revised fuselage access could support future unmanned logistics missions.
Brian Rohloff has become president and CEO of Textron Aviation, succeeding longtime chief Ron Draper. Rohloff has spent 29 years at the Wichita-based aircraft manufacturer and most recently led customer support, bringing deep operational and customer-facing experience to the company’s top role.
Michael Graham, a former F/A-18 pilot and Textron Aviation safety chief who has served on the National Transportation Safety Board since 2020, is retiring from the agency. His departure will create a leadership transition at the federal body responsible for investigating aviation accidents and issuing safety recommendations.
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Brian Rohloff will succeed Ron Draper as Textron Aviation president and CEO on Aug. 31, 2026. Draper, who has led the Cessna and Beechcraft maker for eight years and spent more than 27 years at Textron, will remain through year-end to support the transition as Textron pursues a pure-play aerospace and defense structure.
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