Flight Tests

The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has released new regulations streamlining the path to supersonic flight testing over US soil, giving a new generation of super-fast aircraft a chance to prove their "boomless cruise" capabilities over land.

Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet has made its first launch from a "ski jump" ramp. No, it's not a dare or some weird new winter sport but a demonstration to show the Indian Navy that the fighter jet can safely operate from its aircraft carriers.

A US Air Force U-2 Dragon Lady high-altitude reconnaissance jet has become the first military aircraft to have an artificial intelligence algorithm called ARTUµ serve as the co-pilot, providing assistance during the flight.

Virgin Galactic has hit a small speed bump as it continues testing of its spaceplane at its Spaceport America base in New Mexico, with the latest outing for SpaceShipTwo Unity brought to a premature end due to rocket failure.

The US Missile Defense Agency and the US Navy have successfully destroyed a mock ICBM missile on the edge of space using a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA missile launched from the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS John Finn.

Richard Browning's Jet Suit may have a lock on cool, but now it's looking for practical applications. GNAAS has collaborated with Gravity Industries on a test flight in the Lake District to see if the flight system could be used by paramedics.

ZeroAvia says it completed the world's first hydrogen-fuel-cell powered flight of a commercial-grade aircraft when a modified Piper M-class six-seater plane took off from its facility in England, and completed a full-pattern circuit before landing.

Two variants of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) being developed for DARPA and the US Air Force have completed their final captive carry flight tests and are now cleared for their first free-flight tests within the next year.

DARPA has announced that its unmanned Gremlins X-61A air vehicle has completed a second round of aerial tests at the US Army’s Dugway Proving Ground, a step closer to the program's goal of air-launching and air-recovering up to four unmanned drones.

Lockheed Martin and the US Air Force have completed the first flight test of a tactical version of the hypersonic AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW, which was strapped beneath the wing of a B-52 Stratofortress bomber.

Virgin Galactic today completed the second successful glide test of its VSS Unity spaceplane since relocating there earlier in the year. It saw the spacecraft hit new speeds as the company presses ahead with its testing program at Spaceport America.

ZeroAvia says it has successfully completed the first-ever flight of a commercial-scale electric-powered aircraft in the UK. On June 22, the company's HyFlyer aircraft with a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain took off from Cranfield Airport, Bedfordshire.