Samwise Aeronautical Mechanics
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Boeing Delivers 60 Aircraft in May as 737 MAX Production Reaches 47 Per Month
Boeing delivered 60 commercial aircraft in May 2026, including 51 737 MAX jets and six 787 Dreamliners, as the manufacturer recovered from a first-quarter production halt caused by scratched electrical wiring on approximately 25 MAX aircraft. The scratches, traced to a machining error at Boeing’s Renton plant, required rework before delivery. With 250 deliveries recorded through May, Boeing remains on track to meet its full-year guidance of approximately 500 737 MAX deliveries. CEO Kelly Ortberg confirmed in late May that production had reached the FAA-approved rate of 47 aircraft per month, up from 42, with a fourth 737 MAX production line scheduled to open in Everett, Washington in July.
Sources: Bloomberg
NASA X-59 Breaks Sound Barrier for First Time, Advancing Quiet Supersonic Research
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft completed its first supersonic flight on June 5, 2026, reaching Mach 1.1 at 43,400 feet over Edwards Air Force Base in California. Test pilot Jim “Clue” Less flew the 81-minute mission, which focused on evaluating flying qualities across subsonic and supersonic regimes. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, designed to fly supersonic while generating a low-intensity “sonic thump” rather than a disruptive boom. The next milestone flight will target Mach 1.4 at 55,000 feet—the profile planned for community overflight surveys that will gather public noise-response data to inform new international regulations on supersonic commercial flight.
Sources: AIAA
Rolls-Royce and GE Secure USAF Contracts for Collaborative Combat Aircraft Medium-Thrust Engines
The U.S. Air Force has selected Rolls-Royce to develop a medium-thrust turbofan engine for its Collaborative Combat Aircraft Increment 2 program, alongside a parallel contract awarded to GE Aerospace for its GE426 design. Rolls-Royce confirmed funding for its Orpheus engine family, a scalable architecture intended to provide affordable propulsion across multiple autonomous missions. Increment 2 targets a larger “medium”-class CCA than the smaller unmanned jets entering flight testing under Increment 1, which features designs from General Atomics and Anduril Industries. The Air Force has stated a long-term requirement for 1,000 Collaborative Combat Aircraft beginning in the late 2020s as part of its Next Generation Air Dominance family of systems.
Sources: FlightGlobal
Continental Aerospace Technologies to Return to U.S. Ownership in $535 Million Arcline Deal
Arcline Investment Management has agreed to acquire Continental Aerospace Technologies from subsidiaries of China’s Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) for approximately $535 million, returning the storied general aviation engine manufacturer to U.S. ownership. Continental, founded in 1905 and headquartered in Mobile, Alabama, built its first aircraft engine in 1929 and currently powers tens of thousands of general aviation aircraft worldwide. The company had operated under Chinese ownership for approximately 15 years following AVIC’s acquisition. The transaction, announced June 8, remains subject to regulatory approval. Arcline cited Continental’s established position in piston engine manufacturing and its broad installed base as key strategic assets.
Sources: AVweb
Germany and France End FCAS Fighter Program at ILA Berlin After Nine Years of Deadlock
Germany and France formally terminated the crewed fighter jet component of the Future Combat Air System program at ILA Berlin, ending a nine-year development effort that consumed roughly €4 billion in study costs without producing a prototype. Industrial disagreements between Dassault Aviation and Airbus Defence and Space over workshare and intellectual property rights proved irreconcilable. Germany is now in active diplomatic discussions about joining the Global Combat Air Programme, the UK-Italy-Japan sixth-generation fighter program. Separately, a consortium of eight German aerospace and defense companies—including Airbus, MTU Aero Engines, MBDA, and HENSOLDT—launched “Team Gen 6” at ILA Berlin on June 10, proposing a nationally developed combat air solution.
Sources: Aviation Week
Airbus Unveils Ravenstorm Collaborative Combat Aircraft Concept at ILA Berlin 2026
Airbus unveiled its U760 Ravenstorm collaborative combat aircraft concept at the ILA Berlin Airshow on June 10, 2026. The system features a 6-metric-ton maximum takeoff weight, a 10-meter wingspan, a 13-meter fuselage, and a payload capacity exceeding 500 kilograms. Designed for air-to-air, air-to-ground, and electronic warfare missions at high-subsonic cruise speeds, Ravenstorm is larger than current U.S. CCA designs such as the XQ-58 Valkyrie. Airbus describes the platform as a “European sovereign solution” and targets first deliveries by 2032. The aircraft will be equipped with Airbus’s Multiplatform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure mission system, incorporating an AI-based decision-support tool called Mindshare.
Sources: Aviation Week
Fraunhofer Showcases Automated CFRP Hydrogen Tank Manufacturing System at ILA Berlin
The Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials is presenting HYTANK at ILA Berlin 2026, a flexible, automated machining and assembly system for carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer liquid hydrogen tanks. The system automates process steps including surface pre-treatment and barrier-layer application for cryogenic fuel storage structures, establishing a validated pathway for the repeatable serial manufacture of LH2 tanks for aviation applications. Conventional CFRP hydrogen tank production relies on manual processes that are difficult to scale; HYTANK addresses this bottleneck by integrating precision machining and multi-layer deposition into a single automated cell. The technology is aligned with Airbus and other airframers’ timelines for hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft entry into service.
Sources: Fraunhofer
Curated by JD · samwise.agency