The Air Force Research Lab earlier this month ran the final spin in the lab’s dynamic environment simulator, which has been in use since 1965. Lab officials “are considering” building a new state of the art centrifuge, according to a human effectiveness directorate release. Wright-Patt researchers have had a centrifuge on hand since 1935. The current 180-ton DES completed more than three million revolutions during its tenure.
The KC-Z4, a blended wing body tanker concept being developed by startup JetZero, could fuel larger groups of aircraft at longer range to hold more targets at risk, company officials say.