BOEING

Boeing is setting an ambitious target to advance the longterm sustainability of commercial aviation, committing that its commercial airplanes are capable and certified to fly on 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuels by 2030. Boeing has previously conducted successful test flights replacing petroleum jet fuel with 100 per cent sustainable fuels to address the urgent challenge of climate change.

Boeing and BBAM Limited Partnership have announced that the lessor is expanding its 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter fleet with six firm orders and six options. The agreement brings BBAM’s 737-800BCF orders and commitments to 15 and highlights the continued strength of the e-commerce and express cargo market.

The US Air Force has awarded Boeing a $2.1 billion contract for 15 KC-46A tankers, expanding its fleet of aircraft that will not only set the standard for aerial refuelling, but will also help enable the integrated digital battlespace. The KC-46 is a widebody, multirole tanker designed for state-of-the-art air refuelling, cargo and medical transport. Boeing now has a contract for 94 KC-46A tankers.

NORTHROP GRUMMAN

Northrop Grumman Corporation successfully completed the first flight for the Global Hawk Ground Station Modernisation Programme (GSMP) at Edwards Air Force Base. Leveraging agile development and an open architecture design, the GSMP team transformed both the human-machine interface and the underlying software, paving the way for interoperability with other Air Force systems.

SpaceX

US’ SpaceX is all set to launch the very first of its dedicated rideshare missions, which allows small satellite operators to book a portion of a payload on the company’s Falcon 9 launch. The cargo capsule on top of the Falcon 9 launch on January 24,2021 held a total of 143 satellites according to SpaceX, which is a new record for the highest number of satellites being launched on a single rocket - beating out a payload of 104 spacecraft delivered by Indian Space Research Organisation.