Airbus Military launched the C295W, a new version of its C295 surveillance and transport aircraft featuring winglets and an uprated version of the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127 turboprops that power it, according to a company release. This model, available in 2014, is designed to “provide operators with enhanced performance in all flight phases, but is particularly aimed at those operating at ‘hot and high’ airfields where payload increases in excess of 1,000 kilograms are promised,” states the company’s release. In intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance roles, the company claims that the enhancements will increase the C295’s endurance by up to an hour and permit an operating altitude up to 2,000 feet higher than now. The new features will also reduce fuel consumption by some 4 percent, depending on configuration and conditions, states the release. The W-model will become the standard version of the C295, starting in late 2014, following flight trials with the winglets, states the release. Airbus Military assembles the C295 in Seville, Spain.
US Space Command Should Always Be Led by a Guardian
Sept. 12, 2026
General Stephen Whiting took command of U.S. Space Command in January 2024, and if customary three-year tenures hold, his tour would end in January 2027. The question now before the President and Senate is who should follow him? Whoever they choose, it has to be a Guardian—and so should every successor…
