Burkhard Domke

Report to Congress on Ford-class Aircraft Carrier Program - USNI News The following is the August 1, 2025, Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress.  From the Report Introduction This report provides background information an...

Report to Congress on Ford-class Aircraft Carrier Program — USNI News
news.usni.org/2025/08/05/r...

A color photograph of two B-29 bombers in flight over dry, hilly terrain, one very large in the foreground and one much smaller in the background.

OTD 75 years ago, a B-29 ferrying an unarmed Mark-4 atomic bomb (without its plutonium capsule) to Guam for potential use in the Korean War crashed and burned attempting an emergency landing 5 minutes after takeoff from Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base, CA, killing 12 crew/passengers and injuring 8.

Yes, that‘s it.

Not a WW2 Wunderwaffe, it‘s late 1960s corps-level reconnaissance drone. There is a bit more on it in the Secret Projects Forum.

I think it was supposed to be launched from a short ramp with a solid rocket booster.

"This has become the typical result at BCA, where expenses are understated on the income statement, with a sizable portion capitalized and stored in Inventory."

I think LN1723 WH286 is the 28th 777-9 built and the 24th production airplane after the four flight test aircraft. 🤓

AI-generated summary?

Second prototype Airbus H140 completes maiden flight Second prototype Airbus H140 completes maiden flight On 4 August 2025, the second prototype of the new Airbus H140 twin-engine helicopter successfully completed its maiden flight f...

Second prototype Airbus H140 completes maiden flight

www.scramble.nl/civil-news/s...

Credit photo: Airbus Helicopters

#avgeek #avgeeks #militaryaviation #ICYMI #AirbusHelicopters #H140 #prototype #testflights

Boeing as early as Aug. 5 is expected to make its first maiden flight of a 777-9 in nearly five years, according to two people familiar with the company’s planning. Painted white but earmarked for eventual use by Singapore Airlines, the new fifth test aircraft, registered N2007L, is being tasked with high intensity radiated field (HIRF) testing to evaluate how systems respond to electromagnetic interference. No fewer than 20 production 777-9s sit between this test aircraft and WH004, Boeing’s fourth dedicated test aircraft. WH004 first flew in September 2020 and was placed into extended storage when Boeing returned the aircraft to flying status in May to conduct cabin and environmental control systems testing. The Air Current on July 28 reported Boeing had received clearance from the FAA the previous week to begin the fourth phase of its certification campaign that will focus on systems demonstrations.

NEWS: Boeing nears first new 777-9 flight in five years

(Screenshot from @theaircurrent.com's upcoming iOS app and the launch of our new TAC/Intel platform)

Good question - IDK

IDK, that was 45 years ago! 😂

I had a schoolmate who made a VHS cut of The Final Countdown that was exclusively made up of scenes starring aircraft. 😂

I‘d guess the least thing airlines are interested in is „advanced technology“.

Oh, come on. 😂

You failed to even mention the true star of the movie - the Grumman F-14 Tomcat. 🤓

2025-08-03: Iberia Airbus A321XLR (EC-OOJ, *MAY 2025, 1st XLR built) was substantially damaged when it experienced a birdstrike on climb-out runway 36L at Madrid-Intl AP(LEMD), Spain. Flight #IB579 to Paris-ORY safely returned to land 20 minutes later.
x.com/ivancp25

NASA Space Shuttle 36% wind tunnel model tested in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex at Ames Research Center (Home to the largest wind tunnel in the world), Moffett Field, now a gate guard #NASA #NASAAmes #Moffett #SpaceShuttle #WindTunnel #space #testing

The high level view in #NAMHangar2 seems to have been quite popular; here are some more from back in 2018/19
All #DTEParchive
#DiverseAviation
www.newarkairmuseum.org/on-the-radar...

F-4E-39-MC s/n 68-0442 Greek Air Force, ILA Berlin, May 1998

F-4E-39-MC s/n 68-0442,
Greek Air Force, at ILA Berlin Airshow in May 1998.
#avgeek #aircraftindetail

US defense industry vulnerable to China, government watchdog warns Many components used in key weapon systems are being manufactured by China and other countries with adversarial aims to the U.S., GAO warned in a report.

Many components used in key weapon systems are being manufactured by China and other countries with adversarial aims to the U.S., GAO warned in a report.

Northrop YC-125A Raider - s/n XB-GEY (48-0636) - Pima Air & Space Museum - 18 November 2004

Northrop YC-125A Raider - s/n XB-GEY (48-0636) at Pima Air & Space Museum in November 2004.
#avgeek #aircraftindetail

Joby and L3Harris partner on hybrid VTOL for counter-UAS, electronic warfare Contested logistics another main focus for optionally piloted aircraft

I spoke with Joby executive chairman Paul Sciarra about the company's new partnership with L3Harris to develop a gas turbine hybrid VTOL for defense missions, including the implications for its partnership with Toyota: theaircurrent.com/feed/dispatc...

New free Journal Of Aeronautical History paper! 'Goose Didn’t Have to Die: The Evolution of Lateral/Directional Departure Metrics and the Design of the F-14A' #avgeek #TopGun www.aerosociety.com/publications...

NASA Drops Air Taxi Mockup to Study Materials Testing is one of several space agency air taxi projects designed to study safety, operations, comfort, and more.

Chrashworthiness - NASA testing under the Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology (RVLT) „could help developers identify any weaknesses in their designs“.
www.flyingmag.com/nasa-drops-a...

🧵 "The small numbers on the nose of this F-18 aircraft at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, show the locations of 11 tiny holes which are an integral part of a new air data system installed on the aircraft. …" 1997

📷📑 www.dvidshub.net/image/705796...

Cumbria report highlights wider impacts of submarine industry A new social impact report by BAE Systems Submarines has highlighted the growing educational and community outreach associated with the UK's nuclear submarine construction programme in Barrow-in-Furness.

A new social impact report by BAE Systems Submarines has highlighted the growing educational and community outreach associated with the UK's nuclear submarine construction programme in Barrow-in-Furness.
ukdefencejournal.org.uk/?p=61118

Hear, hear. That should be common sense, but common sense is not so common.

10GW is the equivalent of five nuclear power plants. WTF

For landing, the tail of the KAD would start to spin, with rotorblades deployed from within the fins by centrifugal force. The vehicle was then to land nose-first suspended beneath the spinning rotor.

www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/dorn...

Dornier System Korps-Aufklärungs-Drohne (KAD)

Dornier System Korps-Aufklärungs-Drohne (KAD)

Dornier System Korps-Aufklärungs-Drohne (KAD)

Dornier System Korps-Aufklärungs-Drohne (KAD)

What we are looking at is the little-known Dornier System Korps-Aufklärungs-Drohne (KAD), referred to by some sources as Dornier Do33. 🤓

Desktop model courtesy of my colleague next door.

#avgeek #aviationquiz