June 18, 2025 - No. 25 In This Issue : Spirit Gets Compensation for Engine Recall : GE and P&W Working on Engines for New Narrowbody Planes : Hey, FAA … How About Some AoA Money? : U.S. Navy Doubts About Industry Triggered F/A-XX Hold : GE, Kratos broaden engine partnership, targeting ‘lower end’ CCA : FAA Renews Boeing’s Self-Certification Powers Despite Fraud Confession : RTX Hybrid-Electric Flight Demonstrator program achieves full power test milestone for propulsion system and batteries : Pratt & Whitney announces A320neo engine upgrade option, extends wing time : Ursa Major secures $32.9 million contract to supply engines for U.S. military hypersonic tests : Open Fan Would Be Suboptimal On Narrowbody, RTX Chief Scientist Says : Hybrid Power Available For Homebuilts Spirit Gets Compensation for Engine Recall The low-cost airline will get monthly credits as repayment for aircraft grounded by defective engines. [ Planes ]June 9, 2025 1:00 pm ET By Zach Vasile Ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit is getting compensation for a manufacturing issue that has forced the grounding of some of its aircraft. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Florida-based airline said it entered an agreement with International Aero Engines, which will provide a monthly credit to Spirit through the end of this year “as compensation for each Spirit aircraft unavailable for operational service due to GTF engine issues.” IAE is an affiliate of aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney, which builds the geared turbofan powerplant that has caused complications for Spirit and numerous other airlines. In 2023, Pratt issued a recall for the engines over defects that could cause cracking. Thousands of airplanes were grounded as a result. The company is inspecting and repairing the engines, and carriers like Spirit are facing long waits to get their GTF-powered aircraft back in service. Spirit told the SEC that the deal’s impact on liquidity will be between $150 million and $195 million. As part of the arrangement, the airline has agreed to release all claims for compensation for the recall that accrue between March 26, 2024, and Dec. 31, 2025. Road to Recovery Spirit emerged from bankruptcy protection in March after four months of financial restructuring designed to alleviate its debt load. The carrier has struggled in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly due to increased operating expenses. In 2024, it reported a net loss of over $1 billion. The airline has recently sought to roll back its no-frills reputation with new premium seating offerings, expanded benefits from its customer loyalty program, and a Spirit-branded debit card. GE and P&W Working on Engines for New Narrowbody Planes Airbus has committed to flight testing CFM’s RISE demonstrator, and Boeing is backing GE’s hybrid-electric testing. By Kevin Der byJune 12, 20254 Mins Read ShareFollow Us Google News Note: See photos in the original article. CINCINNATI- As competition intensifies for future narrowbody aircraft engines, GE Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney are pursuing sharply different approaches to meet the evolving needs of Airbus and Boeing. At the center of this divergence is the next generation of single-aisle jets expected in the 2030s, with Airbus and Boeing seeking engines offering up to 25% better fuel efficiency. These manufacturers, headquartered in Toulouse (TLS) and Seattle (SEA) respectively, are closely observing engine makers as they outline competing visions for future propulsion technologies, FlightGlobal reported. GE Aerospace vs Pratt & Whitney GE Aerospace, co-owner of CFM International alongside Safran, is doubling down on its Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) programme, a bold attempt to commercialize an open-fan architecture promising 20% greater efficiency than current turbofans. This effort, described by GE’s engineering lead as its largest demonstrator program ever, aims to leverage new materials and hybrid-electric technologies, with early flight tests supported by Airbus. In contrast, Pratt & Whitney, a division of RTX, is refining its existing PW1000G geared turbofan. Its strategy centers on improving durability and thermal performance through ceramic-matrix composites (CMCs), hybrid-electric options, and redesigned hot-section components. P&W sees this as a more reliable and lower-risk path to meeting airline demands, especially in light of current reliability concerns affecting both GTF and Leap engine models. Manufacturing, Maintenance, and Market Readiness Pratt & Whitney’s $1 billion investment in its Asheville, North Carolina plant, featuring a future casting foundry and digital tracking, underscores its focus on production scalability and part longevity. The facility will serve as a cornerstone for increasing GTF Advantage output, a newly certified upgrade offering up to 8% more thrust and significantly improved maintenance intervals. To support this, P&W has launched in-service upgrade programs, targeting enhanced durability through hot-section retrofits. These improvements respond to ongoing challenges with existing GTF units powering aircraft like the A320neo and A220, many of which are grounded due to part recalls. Meanwhile, GE’s New York Research Center continues to drive innovation. With over 1,000 engineers and researchers, it serves as the hub for technologies such as CMCs and 3D-printed fuel nozzles, components now common in CFM’s Leap and GE9X engines. GE executives highlight their historical ability to push advanced designs through the “Valley of Death”, the gap between concept validation and mass production, citing success stories like the GE90 and GEnx composite fan blades. Photo: GE Aerospace Industry Perspectives According to Flight Global, Airbus has committed to flight testing CFM’s RISE demonstrator, and Boeing is backing GE’s hybrid-electric testing. While some Boeing leaders are cautiously optimistic about the open-fan concept, others question whether the promised 20% efficiency gain justifies the technical and operational risks. Analysts note that airlines might be wary of unproven architectures following recent maintenance issues. Both GTFs and Leaps have struggled with hot-weather durability, wear from increased pressure ratios, and extended supply chain disruptions, leaving fleets grounded and airlines frustrated. Despite skepticism, both GE and P&W remain steadfast. GE believes its open-fan solution will reshape propulsion efficiency standards, while P&W contends its gen-two GTF will dominate with reduced operational risk and incremental innovation grounded in real-world experience. Photo- GE Aerospace Future Outlook As aircraft manufacturers prepare for program launches by the mid-2030s, engine makers are aligning their technologies to match expected performance, cost, and durability metrics. P&W believes its path, built on the foundation of over 300 million flight hours and reliability focused upgrades, offers a lower-risk route to next-gen performance. GE, meanwhile, is positioning itself as the innovator ready to leapfrog convention. With technologies matured through decades of research, including silicon-carbide CMCs and composite fan blades, it is betting on future airframes embracing a bolder engine solution, especially as global sustainability goals loom. Ultimately, the decision may rest with the airframers and their customers, whose tolerance for risk will shape the future of single-aisle propulsion. Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates. Join us on Telegram Group for the Latest Aviation Updates. Subsequently, follow us on Google News Hey, FAA … How About Some AoA Money? First Word. Larry Anglisano · Tuesday, June 10, 2025 Hats off to the FAA for finally suggesting that all airplanes be equipped with angle of attack systems. The agency recently published a special airworthiness information bulletin (SAIB) recommending that AoA systems become standard equipment in new airplanes and retrofitted in existing ones. As background in the bulletin, the FAA calls attention to the 2009 Colgan Air Dash 8 airliner crash in New York, and the flying pilot’s “inappropriate response to the airplane’s stick shaker” and the resulting low speed and eventual stall. But you don’t have to look far beyond the highly publicized Colgan wreck to find plenty of other ones where the pilot simply didn’t recognize a slow-speed condition by referencing the standard airspeed indicator alone. Never flown with an AoA? I hadn’t, either, until I had a crack at Safe Flight Instrument Corporation’s wing leading-edge speed indexer in the company’s Beech Baron in the mid-2000s. I’ve been a believer ever since. Since Safe Flight invented the stall warning system lift detection system in the 1940s, its AoA tech leverages a similar wing leading-edge sensor for AoA and speed indexing. That’s a photo I captured of Safe Flight’s second-gen system from a demo flight on approach to Waterbury Oxford Airport in Connecticut in the company’s Cessna. The theory in which Safe Flight’s system measures AoA boils down to the very basic fundamentals of wing lift. Plus, I think a leading-edge lift transducer is one of the most accurate ways of measuring AoA because the system is accurate regardless of aircraft weight, wing loading, turbulence or wing flap configuration. As the aircraft wing moves through the air it divides the air mass. At the center of this divided airflow is a narrow region known as the stagnation point. The location of the stagnation point uniquely represents the wing’s AoA. The system’s lift transducer—installed on the leading edge of the wing—senses the location of the stagnation point by means of a spring-loaded vane. The sensor isn’t a replacement for the aircraft’s stall warning system but is installed in the opposite wing. For an OEM standard, I think the system can work well. The system I flew with used an indexer mounted on the glareshield as you see in the photo, but it’s easy to interface with a primary flight display in both new and retrofit avionics. Of course, AoA systems have been standard in higher-end avionics for a while now but there are plenty of federated panels that can benefit from aftermarket systems, and while there have been lots of retrofits—and integrated AoA features in Aspen Evolution flight displays and others—I think there can be lots of prevented wrecks with more installations. And now with the FAA advocating AoA equipage for all aircraft, why not sweeten the deal much like it did during the ADS-B Out equipage mandate rush? At the time, the FAA was handing out rebates for qualified installations and it was successful. And now that we have an approved high-octane unleaded avgas that’s being distributed and pumped, perhaps the FAA can focus its efforts and dollars to equip the fleet with AoA systems, while also working on a training initiative so pilots can use them safely. We’ll look at available system options in an upcoming issue of Aviation Consumer. This story originally appeared in Aviation Consumer Magazine in January 2025 U.S. Navy Doubts About Industry Triggered F/A-XX Hold Share Steve Trimble June 11, 2025 F/A-XX fighter A carrier-based, sixth-generation fighter is on hold because the U.S. Navy’s top civilian official lost confidence in the defense industry’s ability to take on a new program amidst serial delays and cost overruns on other naval projects. “I do not have a lot of confidence. All of our programs are in trouble. We have a number of companies that are not performing. We’ve got to get those done,” Navy Secretary John Phelan told the lawmakers on June 11. A planned contract award is now on hold, postponing the once-imminent launch of the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the F/A-XX fighter, with Boeing and Northrop Grumman as the finalists. Phelan expressed his concerns about the defense industry’s ability to deliver on F/A-XX in the context of his recent tour of the Navy’s shipbuilding yards, which revealed systemic problems with government management and contractor performance. “All of our programs are a mess, to be honest. My best performing program is six months late and 67% over budget,” Phelan told the House Armed Services Committee during a hearing on the still-pending fiscal 2026 budget. The Navy is now reviewing the requirements for the F/A-XX program as part of a wider look at the vision for the “air wing of the future.” “We’re looking at the full composition of the air wing of the future and so we have to focus on the capabilities and the technologies that are going to win. And that includes manned and unmanned platforms that we have to look at,” Phelan said. The Navy had been expected to award the F/A-XX contract shortly after President Donald Trump announced on March 21 that Boeing won the contract to develop and build the F-47 for the U.S Air Force. But although the Navy’s civilian leader is skeptical about the feasibility of F/A-XX, the service’s top military officer has no doubts about the need for a new fighter. “In my opinion, I believe the sixth-[generation] fighter is necessary for the Navy just as it is for the Air Force. The thing that drives that necessity is the threat,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. James Kilby said at the same hearing. “It’s important to continue onwards here because China isn’t slowing down, and we aren’t slowing down either.” In December, images appeared in China of two new tailless, stealthy combat aircraft, which are widely identified as the AVIC J-36 and the AVIC Shenyang J-50. Navy officials previously outlined a need for a multirole, carrier-based fighter with 25% more range than the 635-nm mission radius of the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the fighter it is expected to replace starting in the 2030s. U.S. Navy Doubts About Industry Triggered F/A-XX HoldPhelan did not complain about Kilby’s assessment of the Navy’s need for the F/A-XX aircraft. “Sixth-[generation technology] is important. And I know it’s important to the admiral. And he should always give you his best military advice,” Phelan said. “I think we’re looking at the whole panacea of what we’ve got and … what makes the most sense to use in the future.” To proceed with F/A-XX, Phelan also wants to be confident that the selected contractor can deliver the aircraft on time and on budget. I’m “trying to make sure we’re not back here in two years saying we told you it was going to cost ‘X,’ but it’s actually going to be ‘X plus 50,’ and, by the way, it’s going to be late,” Phelan said. “So that’s really what we’re trying to do.” GE, Kratos broaden engine partnership, targeting ‘lower end’ CCA The duo's new GEK1500 engine is set to offer 1,500 pounds of thrust and is expected to be demonstrated next year. By Michael Marrow on June 03, 2025 at 1:48 PM A rendering of the GEK1500. (GE and Kratos image) EVENDALE, Ohio — GE Aerospace and Kratos are kicking off development of a new engine to power “lower end” designs of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drone wingmen, the two companies revealed today, expanding their existing partnership for producing a family of more affordable engines. The new engine, dubbed the GEK1500, offers 1,500 pounds of thrust, and a prototype is expected to be demonstrated in 2026, GE and Kratos officials told reporters here during a visit to GE’s facilities on Monday. The engine scales up the architecture of an 800 pound thrust design unveiled by the two companies last year at the Farnborough air show. According to GE Aerospace Edison Works Vice President and General Manager Steve Russell, the GEK1500 is aimed at the “lower end of the CCA market.” Whereas the GEK800 is an expendable engine meant to power platforms like cruise missiles, GE and Kratos modified the GEK1500 to include changes to materials, cooling and other features, but will still be in line with the Air Force’s expectations that CCA drones have limited lifespans and minimal maintenance, explained Craig Young, GE’s executive engineering director for hypersonic propulsion and small UAV engines. “The key thing here, though, is the architecture for these small engines typically has been very cheap and straightforward, because they’ve been turbojets, and the turbojets just don’t give us the fuel burn and the efficiencies we need for the extended range in today’s fight,” Young said. As a result, the GE-Kratos team-up “fit[s] a turbofan in a turbojet-size envelope” that enables the engine to remain affordable while offering better performance than comparable turbojets. (Like other media, Breaking Defense accepted accommodations from GE for the visit.) The Air Force has previously stated interest in a range between 3,000 to 8,000 pounds of thrust for CCA wingmen. However, a top Air Force official recently predicted that future CCA may in fact come broadly in at the “low end,” capability wise. GE and Kratos also anticipate the service and others like the Navy and Marine Corps will “look at a range of sizes of aircraft,” said Mark Rettig, vice president and general manager of advanced programs at GE’s Edison Works. “There are opportunities in a variety of spaces for a 1,500 pound-thrust class engine, whether it’s somewhat reusable or expendable,” Rettig said. (Beyond the US, other countries will have their own drone wingmen and other unmanned requirements that the team could vie for.) The engine design draws from work Kratos previously performed for the Air Force, which provided the company initial funding to develop a lower thrust engine design. Kratos later engaged GE in 2023 to scale up the engine to achieve 800 pounds of thrust. As part of the announcement of the GEK1500, the two companies said they are expanding upon a memorandum of understanding signed at last year’s Farnborough air show to formalize a framework for producing the GEK800, as well as scaling beyond it. “Taking a large engine and scaling down is very difficult because of the design, the tolerances, the manufacturing,” said Stacey Rock, president of Kratos’s turbine technologies division. Describing the relatively inferior performance of turbojets as equally problematic, Rock said that “there’s challenges, so I think this team’s really hit a sweet spot where we balance each other, and that’s even without the affordability piece.” Inside GE’s manufacturing facilities, GE and Kratos officials allowed reporters to view a version of the GEK800 under testing, which roughly appeared three feet long and about a foot in diameter. The first “product engine” should be complete and start testing by January, Young said. According to Russell, the engine will have a cost somewhere in the range of roughly a couple hundred thousand dollars per unit. FAA Renews Boeing’s Self-Certification Powers Despite Fraud Confession By Bhavya Velani June 2, 20253 Mins Read Google News Note: See photos in the original article. SEATTLE- American Aerospace Giant Boeing has regained its authority to self-certify aircraft under the FAA’s Organization Designation Authorization (ODA), just weeks after admitting to criminal fraud. This decision affects aircraft certified for operations out of key hubs like Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) extended Boeing’s ODA for three more years, allowing the company’s internal engineers to approve design and production changes on the FAA’s behalf—despite recent scrutiny over safety lapses and legal violations, flagged ViewfromtheWing. Representative Photo: NTSB FAA Renews Boeing ODA The FAA’s renewal of Boeing’s self-certification privileges comes with heightened oversight, but critics argue it contradicts the company’s recent legal troubles. The ODA program, established in 1956, enables companies to carry out certain regulatory functions internally to streamline the certification of aircraft and components. Boeing has been a key participant due to its scale and engineering capabilities. The agency stated that Boeing’s renewed privileges are subject to “strict conditions and increased oversight,” including embedded FAA inspectors, rigorous staff training, and enhanced auditing of delegated functions. These measures are intended to mitigate risks while maintaining efficiency in certifying aircraft such as the 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner. Boeing employs roughly 40,000 engineers, compared to the FAA’s 400, making complete federal oversight logistically impossible. This disparity is one reason the ODA system persists, even as its effectiveness is debated in light of past incidents. Photo: Rawpixel A Legacy of Culture Shift and Controversy Boeing’s shift from an engineering-driven firm to a business-first entity began with its 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas. Former CEO Harry Stonecipher, originally from McDonnell Douglas, once stated that transforming Boeing’s culture into a financially focused enterprise was intentional. This transformation created distance between leadership and manufacturing operations. Boeing moved its headquarters from Seattle to Chicago in pursuit of tax incentives, and later to Arlington, Virginia, closer to federal regulators and lawmakers. Critics argue this detachment contributed to product quality issues and a weakening of the company’s engineering integrity. Despite significant government contracts and subsidies, particularly via the Export-Import Bank, Boeing’s financial performance has not improved proportionally. Its stock price remains at 2017 levels, trailing inflation and broader market growth. Photo: Boeing Economic and Regulatory Interdependence Boeing’s reliance on government relationships extends beyond regulatory approvals. Its largest customer is the U.S. government, and many of its foreign sales are underwritten by taxpayer-backed financing. These dynamics reinforce the company’s political importance, complicating efforts to impose harsher penalties or revoke privileges like the ODA. The FAA’s decision reflects the agency’s limited resources and the practical need to leverage Boeing’s internal expertise. But it also highlights the challenges in ensuring accountability from a company with a mixed recent history on safety and compliance. Quality Challenges Undermine Long-Term Value Boeing’s ongoing quality issues have forced the company to offer steep discounts to attract airline orders. Production slowdowns, FAA investigations, and airline complaints have further strained its commercial aircraft division. Market performance reflects these operational struggles. Boeing has failed to generate the premium pricing or market loyalty that higher-quality products typically command. In the long term, delivering safe, reliable, and innovative aircraft, not regulatory leeway, will be critical to restoring its reputation and shareholder value. Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates. Join us on Telegram Group for the Latest Aviation Updates. Subsequently, follow us on Google News RTX Hybrid-Electric Flight Demonstrator program achieves full power test milestone for propulsion system and batteries June 16, 2025 • Future flight-testing targets 30% improved fuel efficiency for regional turboprops PARIS, June 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Pratt & Whitney Canada announces a new milestone in the RTX Hybrid-Electric Flight Demonstrator project, by testing the integrated propulsion system and batteries t o full power. While ground testing of the hybrid-electric propulsion system continues in Longueuil, Quebec, Pratt & Whitney Canada has selected AeroTEC to support future flight testing of the De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 experimental aircraft. Pratt & Whitney is an RTX (NYSE: RTX) business. The new end-to-end test marks the first battery-powered operation of the propulsion system, which combines a highly efficient Pratt & Whitney Canada thermal engine with a 1 megawatt (MW) electric motor developed by RTX business, Collins Aerospace. The 200 kilowatt-hour (kWh) batteries, supplied by H55 S.A., have also been successfully charged and discharged using the high-voltage Mobile Charging Unit co-developed by Pratt & Whitney Canada, the National Research Council of Canada and the Innovative Vehicle Institute. H55 is supported by RTX Ventures, the venture capital arm of RTX. "Performing end-to-end tests of our pioneering hybrid-electric propulsion system and batteries marks another critical milestone toward our goal of demonstrating this promising technology in flight," said Jean Thomassin, executive director, new products and services introduction, Pratt & Whitney Canada. "Ultimately, we are targeting up to 30% improved fuel efficiency compared to today's regional turboprops, and insights from this project are also helping us advance the development of hybrid-electric technology to address multiple future platforms." AeroTEC joins De Havilland Aircraft of Canada, which is providing critical baseline data and engineering expertise for the Dash 8-100 experimental aircraft. Other collaborators on the program include GKN Aerospace, which is providing high-voltage electrical wiring and interconnection systems, and Ricardo, which is supporting the development of the hybrid-electric propulsion system. "AeroTEC's mission is to accelerate the evolution of aerospace, and our collaboration with Pratt & Whitney Canada on the RTX Hybrid-Electric Flight Demonstrator project is a clear example of that commitment," said Justin Morigeau, president, AeroTEC. "In our role leading the modification and flight testing of the experimental aircraft, we're proud to support the demonstration of cutting-edge technologies that will define the future of sustainable flight." Hybrid-electric propulsion is a core part of RTX's technology roadmap for improving fuel efficiency and performance in future aircraft, leveraging the industry-leading aircraft propulsion and electrical systems expertise of Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace, respectively. The two RTX businesses are collaborating on a range of technology demonstrator projects, including the Clean Aviation SWITCH project, which is developing a hybrid-electric Pratt & Whitney GTF™ engine demonstrator. For questions or to schedule an interview, please contact corporatepr@rtx.com. Pratt & Whitney announces A320neo engine upgrade option, extends wing time By Ian Molyneaux Edited By Emma Yates-Badley June 16, 2025, 11:53 (UTC +3) Creative Common / Clément Alloing / flickr Pratt & Whitney has announced an engine upgrade option for Airbus A320neo operators that will offer nearly double the time on wing of today’s GTF engine. On the opening day of Paris Air Show 2025, the RTX-owned company, said it was introducing Hot Section Plus (HS+), an upgrade option for the PW1100G-JM engine. Derived from the Pratt & Whitney GTF Advantage engine, HS+ will provide 90 to 95% of the GTF Advantage’s durability benefits with installations starting in 2026. “HS+ brings the durability improvements of the GTF Advantage hot section to today’s GTF engine. Customers operating the current GTF engine model will have the opportunity to nearly double time on wing,” said Nick Tomassetti, Vice President, Sales & Marketing at Pratt & Whitney, on June 16, 2025 GTF engines with HS+ will be fully intermixable and interchangeable with both the current GTF and GTF Advantage engine models, simplifying operations with a combined fleet. HS+ includes only about 35-part numbers and will be incorporated during maintenance visits. “The GTF Advantage features the most state-of-the-art hot section in the single-aisle market. In the high-pressure turbine (HPT), the enhancements include an advanced airfoil design with improved coatings. The HPT and combustor also feature optimized cooling hole size, shape and location, with improved hole drilling techniques to reduce oxidation,” a spokesperson for Pratt & Whitney said. Ursa Major secures $32.9 million contract to supply engines for U.S. military hypersonic tests by Sandra Erwin June 16, 2025 WASHINGTON — Rocket engine maker Ursa Major landed a $32.9 million deal to supply 16 advanced propulsion systems to Stratolaunch for hypersonic flight tests. Under the contract announced June 16, Colorado-based Ursa Major will deliver an upgraded variant of its Hadley engine for use in Stratolaunch’s reusable hypersonic vehicle called Talon-A. Stratolaunch has a contract with the Pentagon to provide testing vehicles and infrastructure for military systems. “This contract directly supports U.S. hypersonic test infrastructure and the broader imperative to accelerate high-speed flight programs,” Ursa Major CEO Dan Jablonsky said in a statement. The upgraded Hadley engine is called H13. “This version increases engine reusability with additional starts, driving down cost per flight while supporting new test objectives and mission profiles,” said Chris Spagnoletti, president of liquid systems at Ursa Major. He added that the H13 uses advanced metals and is designed to fly more than twice as many missions as the current engine variant. Hadley engines have powered multiple Talon-A missions. The engine produces 5,000 pounds of thrust and operates on liquid oxygen and kerosene using an oxygen-rich staged combustion cycle — a design more commonly found in large orbital-class engines. Pentagon hypersonic testing program Stratolaunch, based in California, is one of several private aerospace firms tapped by the U.S. Department of Defense to accelerate hypersonic flight testing. The Pentagon uses Stratolaunch’s Talon-A as a test platform. Mounted under the wing of the company’s massive carrier aircraft — the world’s largest plane by wingspan — Talon-A can be air-launched at altitude and reach speeds over Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound. Testing systems at hypersonic speeds remains expensive and logistically complex, making reusable platforms like Talon-A increasingly valuable, defense officials have sai Ursa Major secures $32.9 million contract to supply engines for U.S. military hypersonic tests Open Fan Would Be Suboptimal On Narrowbody, RTX Chief Scientist Says Share Thierry Dubois June 14, 2025 Credit: CFM International PARIS—An open-fan engine such as the RISE demonstrator CFM International has been building would be less efficient than a more conventional ducted turbofan on a next-generation narrowbody aircraft, RTX Chief Scientist Michael Winter said June 13. His comments come three months after Airbus CTO Sabine Klauke said she saw no major roadblock for the integration of an open-fan engine into an A320 replacement next decade. The debate is ongoing between the proponents of the open fan and its expected 20% fuel burn improvement versus those who contend integration challenges may wipe out the benefits of the innovative propulsion system. Demonstration projects, including some launched under the EU's Clean Aviation research and technology program, will help conclude the discussion by the end of this decade. An open-fan engine features a larger-diameter fan for better efficiency. As the accompanying nacelle would make the engine too heavy, the fan is unducted, thus resembling a multi-blade propeller with a stator just downstream. CFM partners GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines are planning to start RISE ground tests next year. Design engineers should carefully balance efficiency and the secondary effects of the technology they choose. “The overall efficiency of the engine is the propulsive efficiency multiplied by the thermal efficiency,” said Winter, who was speaking at the Paris Air Forum on the eve of the Paris Air Show. “The propulsive efficiency of a fan gets higher when you slow it down to generate less pressure.” As thrust is the pressure multiplied by the area, a slower fan such as an open fan needs a larger diameter. At the scale of a narrowbody, it does not integrate well with the overall aircraft, Winter asserted, because “the airframe needs to be modified ... and made heavier to protect the fuselage.” There Winter was referring to certification requirements: with the open fan architecture, fuselage reinforcements might be needed to mitigate a blade-out event. Moreover, the next generation of aircraft may receive thinner wings designed for a laminar airflow, which is another way to improve efficiency. “If I put a large open fan in front of that, it won't preserve a nice smooth flow over the wing,” Winter said. “For a higher propulsive efficiency, Pratt & Whitney introduced the geared turbofan (GTF) to slow down the fan just enough, while not compromising the installation on the aircraft,” he continued, alluding to the in-service PW1000G engine family. “At the scale of a single-aisle, a GTF is a much better solution,” Winter said. On the next generation of narrowbodies, Winter expects a Pratt GTF to go just above the current gear ratio of 3:1, for better propulsive efficiency. RTX engineers are also working on thermal efficiency. “Since the dawn of the jet age, we've come only half way to the theoretical limit, so there is a tremendous amount of runway,” Winter said. To overcome the challenges brought by higher temperatures, he is counting on ceramic-matrix composites. Moreover, cooling patterns inside turbine blades will become more sophisticated, he predicted. RTX intends to make the most of a new medical technology and is already investing in a new dedicated factory. Hybrid Power Available For Homebuilts An electric motor gives a boost to a big motorcycle engine when needed. Russ Niles · Monday, June 09, 2025 VoltAero A French hybrid electric propulsion company will release a 260 kW (350 horsepower) version of its unit for use in homebuilt/experimental and light sport aircraft next year. VoltAero intends to eventually put the HPU210 power unit in a certified aircraft called the Cassio in coming years, but said it’s making it available for the amateur-built market after a year of flight testing on a modified Cessna 337 called the Cassio S. “We’ve validated our hybrid propulsion architecture on our in-house Cassio S flying testbed, which has logged more than 185 flight hours and flown approximately 25,000 kilometers in a full range of operating conditions.” The HPU 210 uses the four-cylinder supercharged engine used in Kawasaki’s most powerful super bike. The Ninja H2 SX 998 cc puts out 207 horsepower while screaming at 10,000 rpm. It provides about 70% of the power for the aircraft and the 60 kW electric motor kicks in when more power is needed. The motorcycle engine will have a 1,500 TBO in certified aircraft. The company is expecting a 10-gallon-per-hour cruise burning just about any kind of gasoline including E85 ethanol blend. The power unit will be supplied firewall-forward and hopes to have the first installations in 2026. Curt Lewis