June 3, 2026 - No. 22 In This Issue : Early retirement plans for the B-1B and B-2 fleets... : GE Aerospace completes XA102 assembly readiness review for U.S. Air Force NGAP engine program : GE Aerospace completes XA102 assembly readiness review for U.S. Air Force NGAP engine program : The MD-11 cargo planes like the one in last fall's deadly UPS crash in Louisville return to the air : Boeing has announced a $1 billion investment in its Wichita, Kansas operations over the next three years. : One Last Mission for the Legacy Hornets : Russia’s MC-21 Takes Major Leap as 1st Production Jet Enters Flight Testing : USAF Outlines VC-25A Retirement Plan : While the world fights over oil, China just flew a 7.5-ton unmanned cargo plane powered by a megawatt-class hydrogen turboprop : Seven years on: Boeing 777X Certification Delay Pushes Toward 2027 : Graduate Research Request Early retirement plans for the B-1B and B-2 fleets... While Whiteman AFB prepares for the B-21 drop, the USAF just dropped a reality check on the Pentagon. The service has officially ripped up the early retirement plans for the B-1B and B-2 fleets. Instead of heading to the boneyard, the Bone and the Spirit will now soldier on until 2037. The USAF has also allocated $17 billion to keep these heavy-hitters modernized and lethal. I guess the B-52 won't be alone when we move to Mars. ‘Too early to tell’ if timeline holds for delivery of Army’s tilt-rotor MV-75 for testing: Official “Ultimately, we'll have to make some risk decisions about when the performance of the system is not going to keep pace with the schedule," Maj. Gen. Clair Gill told Breaking Defense. By Carley Welch on March 25, 2026 2:29 pm Bell's FLRAA provides the Army with expanded options for maneuver, including significantly increased mission efficiency and a reduced number of flight hours to accomplish missions. (Photo courtesy of Bell) WASHINGTON — Earlier this year, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George said he expected the Bell-Textron-made MV-75 tilt-rotor long-range assault helicopter will be delivered to formations for testing by the end of this year or the beginning of next. But two months later, the Army’s Program Executive Acquisition for Maneuver Air said today it’s “too early to tell” if that timeline is still viable. A lot’s gonna have to do with funding as we go into a new year,” Maj. Gen. Clair Gill told Breaking Defense. “So there are a number of variables that I don’t want to commit to a day on the calendar right now, because we have what we call a success-oriented schedule, which means everything goes the way we want it to, and that, I don’t want to say it’s a utopian mindset, but it’s a very optimistic outlook for something that we don’t have a lot of history with.” Gill, who is dual hatted as the Commanding General of the Army Aviation’s Center of Excellence, emphasized that the MV-75 is a complex, brand new system, and with that, he and other aviation leaders might have to make tough decisions on timing. “Ultimately, we’ll have to make some risk decisions about when the performance of the system is not going to keep pace with the schedule. So we are absolutely prioritizing schedule right now, but not at the risk of safety,” he said. Even if the first MV-75’s aren’t delivered to units for testing by the end of the year, Gill said the Army is still pursuing a tight timeline, which he said he believes Bell-Textron can achieve, though it is a “tall ask.” The MV-75 was selected by the Army in 2022 to be the service’s pick for its Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program of record — an aircraft that’s designed to fly “twice as far” and “twice as fast” as other assault helos, according to the Army. Last spring George told lawmakers that the service was working with Bell-Textron to create an acceleration plan to move the delivery for the fully operational aircraft to formations up to 2028 from 2030, and another Army senior leader said the service was aiming to fly the first prototype in fiscal year 2027. Today Gill didn’t provide any updates on those goals. In terms of the plan to integrate the aircraft with formations, Gill said today the Center of Excellence is standing up an operations development team (ODT) this summer of about 25 to 30 people that will be responsible for sorting out integration and lifetime sustainment. “Their full purpose in life is to think through how we get this off the production line and into the hands of Army aviators, Army maintainers and formations, and start thinking about how we fight,” Gill said. “The Army’s been great about giving us extra people that we can think through what’s the best way to do this.” He added that some of the ODT members will be “integrated” with Bell to help speed up the delivery to formations, and the ODT will serve as the “nucleus” for a potential future unit that will fly the MV-75s. When the MV-75 is eventually delivered, the 101st Airborne Division will be the first to receive the helos, as former Vice Chief of the Army Gen. James Mingus previously said. After that, Gill said that he and other senior leaders are “thinking about” the potential to introduce the MV-75 into the National Guard as well. “This is some of the analysis that the ODT will do that will tell us whether or not that’s a good idea,” Gill said. “First and foremost, we need to make sure we understand how to operate and fight this thing. But it does help us to think through, how would we integrate it into all the units and the different sort of types of units that we’re going to field it to.” GE Aerospace completes XA102 assembly readiness review for U.S. Air Force NGAP engine program May 12, 2026 Photo: GE Aerospace. GE Aerospace has completed the Assembly Readiness Review for its XA102 adaptive cycle engine, marking a key milestone in the United States Air Force’s Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion programme. The company said the achievement advances the XA102 engine towards a full system demonstration later this year. According to GE Aerospace, the review confirmed that the XA102 engine’s design, manufacturing processes and supply chain development remain on schedule for the next phase of the NGAP programme. The company stated that the milestone demonstrates progress in delivering propulsion technology intended for future U.S. Air Force combat aircraft. A central element of the programme is GE Aerospace’s digital engine model, which replaces traditional two-dimensional engineering drawings with a model-based definition approach. The company said the framework integrates model-based manufacturing and inspection processes to improve production accuracy and accelerate development timelines. GE Aerospace also confirmed the completion of all demonstrations linked to the model-based engine during the programme’s first phase. The company said these demonstrations highlighted continued advances in digital engineering and manufacturing capabilities.Steve Russell, vice president and general manager of Edison Works at GE Aerospace, said, “With the completion of the Assembly Readiness Review, we are demonstrating the maturity of our XA102 engine design and the strength of our digital-first approach to developing next-generation propulsion systems.” “Our use of a fully integrated digital engine model, which spans design, manufacturing, and inspection, positions us to deliver advanced capability faster and with greater precision for the warfighter,” Russell added. The NGAP programme is intended to develop technologies and manufacturing capabilities for future air superiority missions in contested operational environments. According to GE Aerospace, adaptive cycle propulsion technologies are expected to improve aircraft range, survivability and thermal management for advanced sensors and weapons systems. GE Aerospace said the XA102 builds on the company’s earlier XA100 adaptive engine programme, which completed multiple rounds of testing. The company described the XA102 as the next stage in adaptive propulsion development, combining improved capability with a focus on affordability and sustainability. The company added that its work on adaptive cycle engines reflects more than a century of cooperation with the U.S. military in aircraft propulsion technology. GE Aerospace stated that the XA102 programme continues to support the Air Force’s efforts to field next-generation fighter aircraft with enhanced operational performance. The MD-11 cargo planes like the one in last fall's deadly UPS crash in Louisville return to the air Story by JOSH FUNK Louisville UPS Plane Crash © Jon Cherry Note: See photos and video in the original article. The model of cargo plane that crashed in Kentucky last fall after an engine fell off a UPS jet as it was taking off resumed flying over the weekend. The Federal Aviation Administration said it approved Boeing’s proposed fix for the workhorse MD-11s “after extensive review.” And then FedEx started flying them to deliver packages again Sunday. Fisher Investments The UPS plane crashed in November 2025 shortly after taking off once the left engine flew off the wing as the plane rolled down the runway. Three pilots on the plane that was headed for Hawaii loaded with packages and fuel were killed along with 12 more people on the ground near Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport. Boeing developed a plan to replace a key spherical bearing and step up inspections of the parts that hold the engines to the wings. The National Transportation Safety Board has said that in 2011 Boeing had documented four previous failures of the part that helps secure the MD-11’s engines to the wings on three different planes, but at that point the plane manufacturer “determined it would not result in a safety of flight condition.” These planes were built by McDonnell Douglas, which was later bought by Boeing. Louisville UPS Plane Crash © Uncredited The FAA grounded all MD-11s after the crash because of concerns that the planes might not be safe. Earlier this year, UPS retired its entire fleet of the aircraft, which made up about 9% of its total fleet. But FedEx had remained committed to getting them back in the air even though they only account for about 4% of its fleet. The other package hauler that used MD-11s, Western Global Airlines, has not commented publicly since the crash and didn't respond to an email about the FAA's decision. FedEx said in a statement that it worked closely with Boeing, the FAA and its own experts to inspect and repair its planes, and the government certified that it had complied with Boeing's recommendations. It owns 46 of these planes though even before the crash it had been storing more than two dozen of them. “Safety is our highest priority at FedEx,” the company said. But FedEx does plan to eventually retire its MD-11s and replace them with more efficient models. They had announced that long-term plan even before the crash. Aviation lawyers who are representing some of the families that have sued over the Louisville crash said they hope the FAA made sure these planes will be safe. “We hope the FAA does a thorough job of investigating the fixes before the MD-11 fleet is allowed to return to flight,” lawyer Bradley Cosgrove said. But aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said he’s surprised it took this long to get these planes flying again given how quickly the NTSB identified key concerns that likely contributed to the engine falling off. The NTSB is planning two days of investigative hearings on the UPS crash next week to delve deeper into what happened. “I’m confident that the solution will work, and I would like to see the MD-11s back up in the air. It will be a safe airplane with regards to its engines after these corrective actions are made,” said Guzzetti, who used to investigate crashes for both the NTSB and FAA. Some experts speculated after the crash that the MD-11s might never fly again if the repair proved to be more expensive that it was worth in these older planes. But Boeing found a way to address the safety concerns with just replacing the bearing and stepping up inspections. ___ Associated Press writer Jack Dura contributed to this report from Bismarck, North Dakota. Tell me about Boeing's $1 billion investment in Wichita and its plans for Spirit AeroSystems. May 11, 2026 Boeing has announced a $1 billion investment in its Wichita, Kansas operations over the next three years. This follows Boeing's $8.3 billion acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems, which was finalized in December 2025. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] $1 Billion Wichita Investment Details [1] The investment aims to modernize the Wichita site and reintegrate it into Boeing’s primary production system. Key areas of focus include: [1] • Facility Upgrades: Modernizing 178 buildings and approximately 13 million square feet of production space. • Workforce Development: Expanding employee training and education programs for the roughly 13,000–15,000 workers now back on Boeing’s payroll. • Production Systems: Strengthening manufacturing processes to support increased output, such as raising 737 MAX production to 47 aircraft per month by summer 2026. [1, 2, 3] Plans for Spirit AeroSystems Reintegration [1] Boeing’s acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems reverses a 20-year-old outsourcing strategy, aiming to improve safety and quality control following recent regulatory scrutiny. [1, 2] • Commercial Operations: All Boeing-related commercial work—including the 737 fuselages and major structures for the 767, 777, and 787 Dreamliner—is being brought directly in-house. • Spirit Defense: Legacy defense operations will now operate as an independent subsidiary called Spirit Defense. • Divestitures to Airbus: As a condition of regulatory approval, Spirit’s assets that manufacture components for Airbus were divested to ensure competition. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] • Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg stated this move is a "pivotal moment" to unify safety standards and ensure stability across the commercial supply chain. [1, 2] One Last Mission for the Legacy Hornets By Captain Karl Flynn, U.S. Marine Corps April 2026 Proceedings Vol. 152/4/1,478 The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimates the U.S. military would quickly run out of antiship missiles (ASMs) in a Taiwan war scenario; roughly 400 missiles would be expended in the first few weeks.1 Although efforts are underway to increase missile production and stockpiles, the U.S. industrial base at present lacks the surge capacity to do so. Replenishing missile stocks will take years. Therefore, it is necessary to find creative means to functionally increase ASM capacity quickly. One way to do so would be to convert retired fighter aircraft. Hundreds are stored at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona—the so-called Boneyard. Many of these could be converted into attritable antiship missiles to supplement purpose-built ones. Even if intercepted before reaching their targets, the converted aircraft would soak up surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and enable true antiship missiles to reach Chinese ships more often. This unorthodox move could create hundreds of standoff, carrier-launched “missiles” in short order—or at least short compared to new-build missiles. The AMARC Experience website—AMARC being the Air Force’s 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group that manages the Boneyard—uses open-source imagery to track the base’s inventory of retired and under-refurbishment aircraft. As of early February, the website estimates there are 196 F/A-18A through D model legacy Hornets in inventory.2 The majority (122) are C models. While there is no record of legacy Hornets having been converted for unmanned flight, the Navy repurposing carrier-based fighters as unmanned weapons is not a new concept. During the Korean War, the Navy turned obsolescent F6F Hellcat fighters into remote-controlled drones for precision ground-attack missions.3 Starting in the early 1970s, the Navy converted some F-4Bs, -Ns, and -Ss into QF-4 drone models, albeit ones that flew from test ranges, not carriers. Other examples exist, including the Air Force’s QF-4 and QF-16 conversions done in the late 1990s and 2010s, respectively. Both Phantoms and Falcons have been used for aerial weapon testing. Notably, the QF-16 has a digital fly-by-wire system, as legacy Hornets do. Outside the United States, Ukraine has recently converted Aeroprakt A-22 light sport aircraft and used them with astonishing success.4 Multiple reasons might exist to hold back some aircraft, especially younger, recently retired Marine Corps C/D models. But even if only half the Hornets in the Boneyard could be converted, this would still increase the number of antiship missiles by almost 100. In principle, repurposing legacy Hornets should be feasible. FlightGlobal has reported that converting an F-4 took as little as six months.5 And some of those aircraft had been in storage for 20 years before their conversion, while early Navy QF-4s came immediately from the fleet even as the Vietnam War was ongoing.6 For comparison: It takes roughly 30 months—five times as long as a QF-4 transformation—to produce a Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile.7 Setting aside restoration to flightworthiness, an F/A-18 would demand significant engineering work before it could be used as an ASM. A fighter converted for use as an ASM—call it a “CASM”—would need to be able to take off and fly autonomously. Existing software and hardware advances in flight controls, sensors, and automation—such as those tested on board the X-47B—could be the foundation.8 Most important, antiship Hornets would need detection and targeting capabilities, but this is largely a systems-engineering problem. Antiship missile seekers already exist, and F/A-18 CASMs would have ample capacity to carry them. In fact, without its life-support systems and ejection seat, an F/A-18A/B/C/D could carry multiple sensors and the computing power necessary for sensor fusion as well as an explosive payload for increased lethality. But, for the sake of rapid fielding, conversions more than likely should be done first with a single seeker. Later development could explore multisensor systems that incorporate data from an inertial-navigation system, seekers from High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles, and existing radar-guided antiship missiles. A CASM could be extremely difficult to defeat with electromagnetic countermeasures alone. Similarly, it could be worth exploring the option of carrier recovery. If the tactical situation changes after the CASMs have launched (not unlikely, given the hours-long time of flight), it may be worthwhile to recover and reuse the CASMs. The Precision Landing Mode on today’s Super Hornets could offer a model—provided the CASM can first be practically fielded, of course.9 Regardless of what sensors they possess, antiship-missile-Hornets would pose a serious threat to warships. Modern surface combatants have almost completely forgone the use of armor for protection. A clean F/A-18 weighing 23,000 pounds impacting at Mach 1 might or might not sink a modern surface combatant—it would in part be a function of the target’s damage-control capability—but it certainly could cripple critical systems. An adversary therefore would be forced to expend SAMs in self-defense, depleting his antiair batteries. Even a Renhai-class cruiser has a finite magazine, and not all vertical-launch cells hold SAMs. By posing a credible threat, the converted aircraft could leave ships more susceptible to follow-on attacks by ordinary ASMs. While the primary purpose of CASMs would be to absorb SAMs, relatively easy modifications might increase the probability of a hit on the ship—or at least increase the number of SAMs fired to intercept the Hornet. Because the aircraft would be unmanned, there would be no need to be concerned about preserving the life of a pilot or the long-term viability of the aircraft. A CASM could exceed the g-limits of its airframe, sustain heavy g-forces far longer than a human pilot could, or both. The unmanned Hornet would simply do everything within its physical capabilities to strike its target. Chaff and flares may have limited value against modern SAMs and air-search and targeting radars, but F/A-18s already have the dispensers. They may as well be put to use. An autonomous dispenser-control system interfaced with the aircraft’s radar-warning receivers could at least marginally improve survivability. Miniature air-launched decoys might do even more to confuse adversary targeting efforts.10 Even so, while unmanned Hornets stand little chance of surviving an integrated air-defense environment, scoring an indirect hit may also be useful. Mission-critical systems on modern warships are extremely vulnerable. Radar antennae, electronic-warfare systems, communication systems, and vertical launch cells could be seriously damaged by a portion of a wing, fuselage, or other wreckage impacting at several hundred miles per hour. Of course, for CASMs to be valuable, they must first be able to get in range of their intended targets. The legacy Hornet’s ferry range with three external fuel tanks is about 2,000 statute miles—beyond the reported (unclassified) ranges of the Chinese DF-17 and DF-21 antiship missiles.11 The DF-26’s roughly 2,500-mile range would still pose a threat to carriers launching CASMs, but legacy Hornets are capable of in-flight refueling. A back-of-the-envelope estimate suggests a single MQ-25 Stingray should be able to provide four Hornets enough fuel to reach the Taiwan Strait if they were launched from a carrier operating at the edge of the range of a DF-26. Each Stingray can transfer 16,000 pounds of fuel after flying 580 miles, and the CASMs would only need to top off with a few hundred miles’ worth of fuel.12 And if multiple aircraft carriers were operating together and supported by joint tanking assets, a carrier-launched salvo could operate from even greater standoff range. This, then, raises the question of how the aircraft would be stored during transport. Placing them in a carrier hangar would take up valuable space required by aircraft organic to the air wing. A small number of CASMs might be stored on board the carrier, but other ships could carry them in greater numbers. A heavy-lift helicopter could then transfer them to the carrier for launch: The CH-53E’s sling load payload is 36,000 pounds; the empty weight of an F/A-18 is 23,000 pounds.13 To maximize the size of a single CASM salvo, it may also be worth considering launching CASMs from multiple aircraft carriers. Converting legacy Hornets into CASMs would certainly be challenging, but multiple precedents should make it worth considering, if only to put a dent in the other side’s magazine depth. Given shortages in ASM inventory, trading easily targetable retired airframes to soak up SAMs would increase the utility of purpose-built ASMs by giving them less-contested follow-on attacks. To exploit this advantage, testing and evaluation should begin immediately. Russia’s MC-21 Takes Major Leap as 1st Production Jet Enters Flight Testing Russia’s first serial-production MC-21-310 has entered flight-test preparation while certification continues, as UAC targets annual output of 36 aircraft and prepares for future airline deliveries By Shweta Shukla June 2, 2026 Google News Photo: By Dmitry Terekhov from Odintsovo, Russian Federation - MC-21-300, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69904148 MOSCOW– Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has transferred the first serial-production Yakovlev MC-21-310 to its flight-test division, marking another milestone in the country’s effort to bring its domestically equipped narrowbody airliner into commercial service. The aircraft was assembled at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant and moved to the flight-test department while certification activities continue. The MC-21-310 is expected to become one of the cornerstone aircraft of Russia’s civil aviation sector, with Rossiya Airlines (FV) slated to be the launch operator once regulatory approvals are secured. Photo: By Dmitry Terekhov from Odintsovo, Russian Federation – MC-21-300, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69904149 Russia MC-21 Production Advances The transfer of the first production-standard aircraft comes as UAC pursues a dual-track strategy of certification and manufacturing. While test programs continue in Moscow, assembly lines in Irkutsk have already begun producing aircraft intended for future airline deliveries. According to the manufacturer, moving the aircraft to the flight-test department allows engineers to begin evaluating onboard systems ahead of schedule. The process will also help refine procedures related to aircraft preparation, testing, and customer handover. The MC-21-310 represents Russia’s most advanced domestically developed passenger jet program in decades. The aircraft has been redesigned to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers, incorporating Russian-made systems and components in place of previously imported equipment. This import-substitution effort accelerated following international sanctions that affected access to Western aerospace technology and components. Photo: By Denis Fedorko – http://russianplanes.net/id210229, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59349054 Certification Continues for the MC-21 Although the aircraft has entered the flight-test preparation phase, certification remains a critical milestone before commercial operations can begin. UAC stated that the aircraft will only be delivered to customers after certification testing is completed and authorities approve major modifications made under the type certificate program. These modifications include the integration of domestic equipment across multiple aircraft systems. The MC-21-310 is powered by Aviadvigatel PD-14 turbofan engines, making it one of the few modern narrowbody airliners to use an entirely Russian-developed powerplant. The PD-14 has been positioned as a key element of Russia’s long-term aerospace strategy and is expected to support the country’s push for greater self-reliance in civil aviation manufacturing. As testing progresses, engineers will evaluate aircraft performance, system functionality, and operational readiness before the type enters commercial service. Photo: Government.ru | Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MC-21-presentation-governmentru.jpg Delivery Plans Grow The movement of the aircraft to the flight-test division also creates additional capacity on the final assembly line. According to Irkutsk Aviation Plant General Director Andrei Soynov, the step frees up production space for subsequent aircraft already moving through the manufacturing process, Flight Global flagged. The company has simultaneously increased assembly activities while supporting certification efforts, signaling confidence in the program’s development timeline. UAC ultimately aims to achieve an annual production rate of 36 MC-21 aircraft. Reaching that target would significantly expand Russia’s domestic aircraft manufacturing capability and provide local carriers with an alternative to Western-built narrowbody jets. Rossiya Airlines, part of Aeroflot Group (SU), has previously been identified as the first airline expected to receive the MC-21-310. The delivery timeline will depend on the successful completion of certification activities and final regulatory approvals. 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 USAF Outlines VC-25A Retirement Plan Brian Everstine May 26, 2026 Credit: U.S. Air Force The two Boeing 747-200s that have served as presidential transport will both be retired in 2029 as long-awaited replacements should come into service. The Pentagon recently released a budget plan outlining planned aircraft retirements, including its schedule for divesting the two VC-25As that have served the flying White House role since 1990. Under the new schedule, both will be retired in fiscal 2029 as the U.S. Air Force and Boeing have said they expect delivery of the new 747-8-based VC-25Bs in 2028. Additionally, the 747-8 donated by the government of Qatar to serve as a “bridge aircraft” to the new fleet is expected to be delivered this summer. However, that aircraft has undergone significantly limited modifications compared to the VC-25Bs so it is not clear if it will serve the full, international Air Force One role or remain confined to American airspace. The plan outlines cost savings of $8 million in fiscal 2027 on procurement; $95.9 million in personnel, operations and procurement in fiscal 2028 and $2.23 million in 2029 on operations costs. “The VC-25B engineering design is being finalized, meeting the first major milestone of the new schedule and building confidence in on-time delivery. Consequently, all cost savings will be reinvested into the replacement capabilities,” the document states. Additionally, the Air Force has outlined other changes to its VIP fleet under the budget plan. Four 737-based C-40C Clippers will be retired in 2028, along with eight Gulfstream C-37As and C-37Bs over the next five years. The service expects to field a new C-37C in its fiscal 2027 plan. While the world fights over oil, China just flew a 7.5-ton unmanned cargo plane powered by a megawatt-class hydrogen turboprop, climbing to 984 feet, covering 22.4 miles at 137 mph, and landing 16 minutes later with the engine running smoothly the whole way By Kevin Montien Published On: May 31, 2026 at 5:00 PM The idea sounds like something pulled from science fiction. While countries argue over oil, China has tested an aircraft concept that some have described as “water-powered,” though the real technology is more precise and more interesting than that. On April 4, 2026, a roughly 16,500-pound unmanned cargo aircraft took off from an airport in Zhuzhou, in China’s Hunan Province. It climbed to about 1,000 feet, flew around 22 miles at about 137 miles per hour, and landed 16 minutes later with the AEP100, a megawatt-class hydrogen-fueled turboprop engine developed by the Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC). Xinhua described it as the world’s first flight test of a hydrogen-fueled turboprop engine at that power scale. Not really water power So, is this actually a plane powered by water? Not exactly. Hydrogen can be produced by splitting water using electricity, but the aircraft itself did not fly by sipping water from a tank. What the AEP100 used was liquid hydrogen. When hydrogen reacts with oxygen, the main exhaust product is water vapor, meaning the engine does not release carbon dioxide from the fuel burn itself. That detail matters. If the hydrogen is made with renewable electricity, often called “green hydrogen,” the climate benefit can be much larger. If it is made from fossil fuels, the story becomes less clean. Hydrogen-powered turboprop engine during ground testing in China as part of the AEP100 aviation project. Why combustion matters The AEP100 does not work like the hydrogen fuel cells being developed for some electric aircraft concepts. It burns hydrogen directly inside a turbine cycle, which is closer to how a conventional aircraft engine burns kerosene. A turboprop uses engine power to spin a propeller, rather than relying only on jet thrust. In practical terms, that makes it a natural fit for cargo flights, island routes, and regional service where speed is useful but not everything. The hard part is the fuel. Liquid hydrogen must be kept near minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit, and engineers also have to manage heat, fuel flow, and stable combustion inside the engine. A 16-minute test proves a lot, but it does not yet answer questions about long-term durability, maintenance, or everyday operating costs. Oil pressure in the background The timing was not random. The global oil market has been under pressure from the Middle East conflict, and the International Energy Agency said its 32 member countries agreed in March 2026 to make 400 million barrels of emergency oil reserves available to the market. That is the kind of shock people eventually feel in ticket prices, shipping costs, and the price of moving goods across the world. For China, hydrogen aviation is not only about cleaner skies. It is also about depending less on imported fossil fuel. Aviation is a stubborn sector to clean up. Batteries are still too heavy for many longer flights, and the International Energy Agency reported that aviation accounted for 2.5% of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2023. China’s road map China’s wider plan is laid out in a peer-reviewed paper by Jun Cao, Wei Li, and colleagues from the AECC Hunan Aviation Powerplant Research Institute, with participation from the Science and Technology Committee of Aero Engine Corporation of China. The paper sets a phased road map for hydrogen aviation power, with key technology validation by 2028, regional aircraft use by 2035, and wider use in mainline commercial aircraft by 2050. The study does not make the challenge sound easy. It points to aircraft and engine design, onboard liquid hydrogen storage, precise hydrogen control, thermal management, and low-emission combustion as major barriers. Put more simply, the engine is only one part of the puzzle. A hydrogen aircraft also needs safe tanks, reliable airport refueling, new maintenance procedures, and rules that regulators can trust. A different bet from Airbus Airbus has taken a different route for its ZEROe program. In 2025, the company said it had selected hydrogen fuel cell technology for its future aircraft concept, using fuel cells to create electricity for propellers, with water as the byproduct when renewable hydrogen is used. The European manufacturer has already powered on a 1.2-megawatt fuel cell system on the ground. It also says more than 220 airports have joined its Hydrogen Hubs at Airports project, which studies how hydrogen could be produced, stored, and distributed for future flights. That makes the contrast clear. Airbus is leaning into hydrogen-electric propulsion, while China’s AEP100 test shows a push toward direct hydrogen combustion for larger power needs. Which approach wins? For now, the answer is still in the air. Cargo comes first No passenger service date has been announced for the AEP100. For the most part, Chinese officials are pointing first to the “low-altitude economy,” including unmanned air freight, island logistics, and controlled regional corridors. That makes sense. Passenger certification takes years, and nobody wants experimental fuel systems rushed into busy airports packed with travelers, luggage carts, traffic jams, and tight schedules. Cargo routes offer a smaller testing ground. Refueling infrastructure can be built in fewer places, flight patterns can be controlled more tightly, and operators can learn without immediately taking on the complexity of airline service. A small flight with bigger questions The test flight was brief, but it was not meaningless. A heavy unmanned aircraft took off, flew a controlled route, and returned safely using a fuel that does not produce carbon dioxide at the engine. Still, the future depends on what happens next. Green hydrogen must become cheaper, cryogenic storage must become practical, airports need new systems, and regulators will need proof that the technology is safe flight after flight. The main official flight report was published by Xinhua, and the hydrogen aviation road map was published in Strategic Study of CAE. Seven years on: Boeing 777X Certification Delay Pushes Toward 2027 Helwing Villamizar May 31, 2026 July 2026 ‍SEATTLE — Boeing’s long-delayed 777X program appears to be facing another schedule slip, with U.S. certification now likely moving into 2027 rather than arriving this year. The latest signal came from FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, who suggested that the Boeing 777X would follow the 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 certification work into 2027. Aviation Week reported that Bedford expects the MAX 7 to be certified this summer and the MAX 10 by year-end, with the 777X following after that. How long is the latest delay? The latest pushback is best understood as a certification delay of several months, not yet a formally announced new delivery delay beyond 2027. Boeing had already updated its 777-9 certification timeline in October 2025 and said it now expected first delivery in 2027, taking a US$4.9 billion pre-tax charge on the program. That moved the aircraft from the previous 2026 delivery target into 2027. What appears different now is that certification itself may not arrive until 2027. If certification slips into early 2027, Boeing may still be able to protect some 2027 delivery timing. If certification moves deeper into the year, airline entry-into-service plans could slide again. That is the real risk: not simply another date change, but a compression of the entire handover, training, induction, and service-entry timeline. Certification, not demand, is the problem This is not a demand problem for Boeing. The 777X still has major long-haul customers, including Lufthansa (LH), Emirates (EK), Qatar Airways (QR), and Cathay Pacific (CX). The pressure is certification and execution. Boeing has repeatedly said the latest delay is tied to the certification process rather than a newly discovered technical issue. AP reported after Boeing’s Q3 results that CEO Kelly Ortberg attributed the 2027 shift to certification delays, not new technical problems. That distinction matters, but it does not make the delay harmless. Certification delay still affects Boeing cash flow, airline fleet planning, and widebody capacity strategies. Photo: Simone chellini/Airways Seven years late from original target The 777X was originally expected to enter service in 2020. A 2027 certification and delivery window would make the program roughly seven years late from its original service-entry target. Reuters previously reported that the move to early 2027 put the program about 14 years after its 2013 launch. For airlines, that timeline has real consequences. Carriers waiting on the 777-9 have had to extend the lives of older 777-300ERs, Airbus A380s, Boeing 747-400s, or other long-haul aircraft, depending on the operator. That adds maintenance, fuel, and cabin-product pressure. Current Boeing 777X order book Customer777-9777-8FTotalEmirates (EK)235—270Qatar Airways (QR)9034124Cathay Pacific (CX)35—35Singapore Airlines (SQ)31—31Lufthansa Group (LH)20727British Airways / IAG (BA)24—24China Airlines (CI)15823All Nippon Airways (NH)18220Korean Air (KE)20—20Air India (AI)10—10Cargolux (CV)—1010Etihad Airways (EY)10—10Ethiopian Airlines (ET)8—8Silk Way West Airlines (7L)—22Unidentified customer2—2Adjustment3—3Total52163619 Note: Emirates (EK) also has an order for 35 Boeing 777-8 aircraft, which is included in the total. Bottom line The 777X is Boeing’s most important new widebody program and a critical competitor to the Airbus A350 on high-capacity long-haul routes. Each delay gives Airbus more time to position the A350-1000 and future widebody campaigns as lower-risk fleet-renewal options. For Boeing, the issue is bigger than one aircraft. The 777X delay tests whether the company can stabilize development, certification, and production after years of quality, regulatory, and financial pressure. The latest pushback is not yet a clean “one more year” delay. But if certification does not arrive until 2027, Boeing’s already narrow path to first 777X deliveries next year becomes even tighter. Graduate Research Request candidate in Aviation with a specialization in Human Factors at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. With nearly 40 years of experience in aircraft maintenance and aviation safety, his dissertation research examines how Aircraft Maintenance Technicians (AMTs) experience and describe decision-making during troubleshooting, inspection, and repair activities in Part 121 and Part 135 operations. The IRB-approved study seeks currently employed Part 121 and Part 135 AMTs with at least one year of maintenance experience to participate in one confidential 60 to 75-minute virtual interview focused on real-world maintenance decision-making. Participation is voluntary and confidential, and no proprietary or company-specific information will be requested. Although employed by the FAA, this research is conducted solely in an academic capacity and is not affiliated with or conducted on behalf of the FAA. Individuals interested in participating or learning more may contact Steve Poiani at poianadf@my.erau.edu. https://sites.google.com/view/aircraftmaintenancestudy/home Steve Poiani Doctoral Candidate Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University poianadf@my.erau.edu Curt Lewis