Samwise Aeronautical Mechanics
Friday, June 26, 2026
Airbus and Safran Take Full Ownership of French Specialty Metals Supplier Aubert & Duval
Airbus and Safran have signed a binding agreement to acquire Tikehau Capital’s 50% stake in Aubert & Duval, France’s foremost producer of specialty aerospace metals. Upon closing, each OEM will hold an equal 50% interest in the company, ending private equity involvement in a firm that supplies forged and machined high-strength steels, titanium alloys, aluminium billets, and nickel superalloys to commercial and military aerospace programmes. The consolidation gives both manufacturers direct control over a critical upstream materials supplier at a time of sustained supply-chain pressure, with production of advanced aerostructures and propulsion components increasingly dependent on tightly controlled specialty metal stocks.
Sources: Aviation Week Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
DARPA X-65 CRANE Demonstrator Advances Toward First Flight on Active Flow Control
DARPA’s X-65 CRANE demonstrator has completed ground testing and is advancing toward a milestone maiden flight, Aurora Flight Sciences confirmed. The 7,000-pound unmanned aircraft eliminates every conventional control surface—no ailerons, elevators, or rudder—relying entirely on Active Flow Control, in which precisely calibrated jets of pressurized air expelled from slots across the fuselage and wings generate aerodynamic moments for pitch, roll, and yaw authority. Ground-based testing confirmed sufficient control authority across the required flight envelope. If successful, the 30-foot-wingspan vehicle will be the first full-scale demonstrator controlled exclusively by fluidic actuators, with implications for future low-observable aircraft design.
Sources: AIN Online Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Thai Airways Takes Delivery of First Factory-Fresh Boeing 787-9 Powered by GEnx
Thai Airways International received its first factory-new Boeing 787-9 this week, taking delivery at a ceremony at the Boeing facility in Everett, Washington. The aircraft, sourced through AerCap under a lease arrangement, is powered by twin GE Aviation GEnx-1B turbofan engines and configured for 298 passengers across two cabins—30 in business class and 268 in economy. The delivery marks the carrier’s return to new-technology widebody fleet growth following its financial restructuring, replacing capacity previously operated under pre-bankruptcy lease arrangements. Three additional 787-9s from the same programme are scheduled for delivery before the end of this year.
Sources: Aviation Week Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Russia Commences Serial Production of PD-8 Engine for Redesigned SJ-100 Regional Jet
Russia’s United Engine Corporation has commenced serial assembly of the PD-8 turbofan at the Saturn production facility in Rybinsk, weeks after Rosaviatsia issued type certification for the engine on 5 June 2026. The PD-8 is the domestically developed replacement for the Franco-Russian SaM146 that powered the original Superjet 100, and its serial production launch clears the path for the redesigned SJ-100 regional jet to reach airline service without dependence on sanctioned Western components. To support the production ramp-up, the Rybinsk plant has commissioned 100 new precision machining tools dedicated to PD-8 component manufacture.
Sources: FlightGlobal Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
IATA Renews Call for Engine MRO Market Liberalization as GTF and LEAP Bottlenecks Persist
The International Air Transport Association renewed calls at its World Maintenance and Engineering Symposium for reform of the engine MRO market, warning that capacity bottlenecks affecting Pratt & Whitney GTF and CFM LEAP powerplants will persist without intervention. A joint IATA–Emerton study presented at the event documented systemic barriers preventing independent shops from obtaining OEM approval to overhaul these engines, concentrating work among a small set of network participants. IATA urged regulators and original equipment manufacturers to broaden access to spare-parts distribution and engineering data, enabling more certificated shops to absorb demand driven by record narrowbody deliveries and ongoing engine inspection campaigns.
Sources: Aviation Week Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
India Grants Final Operational Clearance to Netra Mk 1 Airborne Early-Warning Fleet
India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation has granted Final Operational Clearance for the Indian Air Force’s Netra Mk 1 airborne early-warning and control fleet, certifying it combat-ready after completion of all developmental and operational trials. The Netra Mk 1 integrates an indigenous active electronically scanned array surveillance radar, electronic support measures, and a domestically developed mission management system aboard a modified Embraer ERJ-145 airframe. The clearance follows initial operational clearance granted in 2017, after which the fleet conducted frontline missions. India’s Ministry of Defence described the milestone as a landmark in the nation’s aerospace self-reliance programme.
Sources: FlightGlobal Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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