Mahmooda Sultana recently won funding to advance a potentially revolutionary, nanomaterial-based detector platform. The technology is capable of sensing everything from minute concentrations of gases and vapor, atmospheric pressure and temperature, and then transmitting that data via a wireless antenna — all from the same self-contained platform that measures just two-by-three-inches in size.

herone GmbH, (Dresden, Germany) recently won the prestigious 2019 JEC Innovation Awards, in the Aerospace application category. The winning application was the company's all-thermoplastic drive-shaft system overmolded with an integral gear, designed for use in aerospace applications.

Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company, recently announced a teaming agreement with Rolls-Royce for the development of an optimized propulsion system and continued risk reduction efforts aimed at the V-280 Valor and V-247 advanced vertical lift platforms. The collaboration will focus on the integration of Rolls-Royce’s proven low-risk and advanced propulsion systems into future Bell aircraft.

NASA built and tested a radically new kind of airplane wing assembled from hundreds of tiny identical pieces. It could provide a significant boost in aircraft production, flight, and maintenance efficiency. The flexible wing uses carbon fiber composite units arranged in a lattice pattern.

NASA awarded a $5.2 million contract to Auburn University’s National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence to develop additive manufacturing processes and techniques for improving the performance of liquid rocket engines.

Boeing has introduced its newest unmanned platform, the Boeing Airpower Teaming System. Designed for global defense customers by Boeing Australia, it is the company’s largest investment in a new unmanned aircraft program outside the United States. The aircraft will complement and extend airborne missions through smart teaming with existing military aircraft.

In a series of live-fire tests, systems equipped with MAPS-enabled countermeasures defeated 15 out of 15 anti-tank guided missiles by jamming their signals, causing them to fly off-target.

Northrop Grumman Corporation has successfully integrated the advanced AN/APG-83 SABR system onto multiple configurations of F-16 aircraft and is now taking the next step in expanding to additional platforms, including the U.S. Air Force (USAF) B-52H Stratofortress and B-1B Lancer bombers as well as the U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C/D Hornet strike fighter.

The sudden flash of a laser beam can incapacitate a pilot, risking the lives of passengers and crew. But because attacks can happen with different colored lasers – such as red, green, or even blue – scientists have had a difficult time developing a single method to impede all wavelengths of laser light.

Joining forces with various universities, the Air Force Research Lab has demonstrated additively manufactured epoxy/carbon fiber composites used in many structural parts on aircraft and spacecraft. The materials have higher thermal and environmental durability and are extremely strong and lightweight.