Flight Tests

Rolls-Royce's high-speed, all-electric Spirit of Innovation aircraft has flown for the first time. On September 15, the speedster prop plane took off from the UK Ministry of Defence’s Boscombe Down site fora 15-minute flight.

Boeing's MQ-25 T1 Stingray drone has successfully aerially refueled a US Navy F-35C Lightning II fighter jet for the first time, demonstrating that the robotic aircraft can support the 5th-generation fighter during carrier operations.

At the Langley Research Center in Virginia, NASA has completed testing of the eXternal Vision System (XVS) 4K video screen that will take the place of the forward flight deck window for its X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft.

Northrop Grumman and Martin UAV have completed flight tests of an enhanced V-BAT unmanned aircraft system as part of the US Army's competition to replace the aging RQ-7B Shadow drone for Army Brigade Combat Teams, Special Forces, and Ranger battalions.

Dawn Aerospace has announced that it has successfully completed five test flights of its uncrewed Mk-II Aurora suborbital spaceplane in the skies over Glentanner Aerodrome on New Zealand’s South Island using surrogate jet engines instead of a rocket.

Boeing's MQ-25 T1 Stingray jet-propelled air tanker drone has refueled a US Navy E-2D Hawkeye command and control aircraft in mid-air, providing data that will be used to upgrade digital models of the MQ-25 and help improve the first production models.

The US Air Force has awarded US$60 million to aerospace startup Hermeus for flight testing of its hypersonic aircraft for military and commercial applications. Capable of flying at Mach 5, the Quarterhorse will be the world's fastest reusable aircraft.

The US Air Force has flight tested the Skyborg combat drone's Autonomy Core System for the first time. The "brain" of the autonomous Skyborg was installed in a Kratos UTAP-22 tactical uncrewed vehicle, and carried out a two-hour-and-10-minute flight.

Saab has flown a 3D-printed replacement part on the exterior of a Gripen fighter jet for the first time on a test flight at Linköping, Sweden, potentially paving the way for printed parts to be used to make battlefield repairs.

The latest variant of the F-15 fighter jet has taken to the skies for the first time. The F-15EX completed its maiden test flight earlier this week, as Boeing prepares to fulfill an initial order of eight of the advanced fighters for the US Air Force.

SpaceX has again blasted off from the launchpad with a prototype of its massive Starship vehicle designed for deep space exploration, and again brought it back to Earth in explosive style as another landing attempt had a fiery finale.

Virgin Galactic is looking to shrug off a failed flight in mid-December, with plans for another attempt to reach space using its SpaceShipTwo spacecraft in around a fortnight’s time as it pursues its vision of carrying private passengers into space.