Australian Aviation

Fledglings take flight The RAAF’s fledgling Wedgetail AEW&C capability is taking a crawl-walk-run approach following the formal handover of the first two aircraft by Boeing on May 5. While a third aircraft has since joined the Williamtown based 2SQN, the first, A30-001, has been inducted into an R7 heavy maintenance period at Boeing Defence Australia’s

Daher-Socata has begun an evaluation of the all-composite Grob SPn business jet which could see the business turboprop manufacturer move into the jet market. The SPn had earned more than 100 orders before one of the prototypes crashed in 2006, killing Grob chief test pilot Gerard Guillaumaud. Although the project continued after that, Grob fell

Air Tahiti Nui has announced that its regional director New Zealand, Mark Hutchinson, will take interim responsibility for the airline’s commercial activities in Australia following the passing of regional director Australia Craig Lee recently. Under the interim structure, Hutchinson will manage both regions until a new structure is formalised, with World Aviation Systems continuing to

Polytechnic West opens its Aerospace Training Centre As WA’s aviation industry continues to grow on the back of the resources boom, Polytechnic West (PWA) has invested to ensure that it can provide key skills training to support the sector. This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members. Subscribe to Australian Aviation for unlimited access

The Pentagon’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) office has revised down its cost estimates of the JSF program after taking into account new modelling based on the international partner program and the economies of scale yet to be realised on the 3000+ aircraft program. The new estimates were revealed by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics COO

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has notified Congress of a possible sale of six refurbished former US Navy SH-60F Seahawk helicopters to Spain. The notification comes after a request from Spain for the aircraft as well as engines, inspections and modifications, spare parts, support and training equipment, and technical publications. Spain already operates