Pratt & Whitney officials say they will be delivering two F135-PW-100 Joint Strike Fighter engines to the Arnold Engineering Development Center, Arnold AFB, Tenn., late in October to start conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) qualification tests that will run through January. Thomas Johnson, chief engineer for P&W’s F135 program said the next portion of the development will involve flight clearing for the A-1 first aircraft—scheduled for flight in August 2006.
General Atomics, the maker of one of the Air Force’s first Collaborative Combat Aircraft, has ambitious plans for its family of semi-autonomous drones beyond the FQ-42, including a flying-wing aircraft capable of carrying out both reconnaissance and strike missions. Meanwhile, the Air Force Research Laboratory announced a new program to…