MQ-9A Reaper passes 2 million flight hours

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General Atomics' latest generation MQ-9A Reaper UAV approaches half of the company's total flight hours

As reported by General Atomics, the MQ-9A Reaper SİHA of the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) company, which has been producing and developing UAV / SİHA systems for 30 years, has exceeded a total flight time of 2 million hours. Predator A, Predator XP, Predator B ER, Guardian, Gray Eagle and Gray Eagle ER produced by the company, which has produced more than 1000 UAVs / SİHAs; Predator C Avenger; and MQ-9B SkyGuardian fleets total flight hours exceeding 7.2 million with nearly 500,000 missions.

GA-ASI UAVs are used by the US Air Force, US Army, US Marine Corps, NASA, Italian Air Force, Royal Air Force, Spanish Air Force, Indian government, French Air and Space Force, United Arab Emirates Armed Forces and Royal Netherlands Air Force. It provides an average of 48,000 hours of operational service per month, including newly delivered MQ-9As.

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Images of the wreckage of the world's largest plane appeared!

Ukraine shared the images of the wreckage of the world's largest aircraft Antonov An-225 Mriya, which was shot down by Russian forces at Kyiv Gostomel Airport.

Turkish Airlines will get a pilot!

Turkish Airlines intensified its operations with the increase in passenger demand after the effect of the pandemic disappeared.

THY, which employs flight crews close to normal flight hours due to its busy flight plan, decided to employ pilots for some fleets. The fact that even the winter leave rights of the flight crews were not given due to the density and that many fleets were flying close to 100 hours per month prompted the THY management.

At the first stage, work has started to recruit 30 experienced captain pilots of this type for the Airbus A330 fleet. It was learned that THY is working to purchase narrow body as well. 

In addition to the captain employment, it is expected that there will be experienced second pilot employment

Aeroflot stops international flights!

Russia's flag carrier, Aeroflot, will stop all international flights, except Belarus, from 8 March.

Aeroflot's aforementioned decision came after the recommendation of the Russian Federal Aviation Agency Rosaviatsiya to suspend flights from Russia to abroad from 6 March and from foreign countries to Russia from 8 March.

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the EU, the USA, the UK and some other countries decided to close their airspaces to Russian airlines

Boeing donates $2 million to Ukraine!

American aircraft manufacturer Boeing has announced that it will donate $2 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

While Russia's occupation of Ukraine continues, humanitarian aid to Ukraine continues. 

Boeing, the world's largest aircraft manufacturer, announced that it will provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine. In the statement made by the company, it was stated that 2 million dollars will be donated.

Airbus suspends operations in Russia

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, many countries, especially the European Union and the USA, decided to impose sanctions on Russia. EU-based aviation giant Airbus also decided to support the sanctions.

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus announced that it has suspended support to Russian airlines and supply of spare parts to Russia.

The giant aircraft manufacturer also added that in line with the sanctions, it has suspended all operations of its engineering center in Russia.

BOEING WILL ALSO SUPPORT SANCTIONS!

On the other hand, US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing took a similar decision after US President Joe Biden announced that the airspace would be closed to Russian planes and that the sanctions would continue to increase.

It was stated that Boeing will suspend technical support to Russian airline companies and stop supplying spare parts

DHL Express also decided to impose sanctions against Russia

DHL Express, one of the world's largest logistics and cargo companies, has decided to impose sanctions on Russia.

DHL Express also participated in the sanctions imposed on Russia from various parts of the world after the Russia-Ukraine war. DHL Express, one of the most important transporters in the world, has decided not to accept shipments whose destination is Russia.

According to the information obtained; Parts, components, documents and miscellaneous shipments to Russia are rejected by DHL Express. It was reported that DHL Express, which took the aforementioned decision, would not accept shipments during the war

Boeing suspends support for Russian Airlines

While many countries continue to impose sanctions on Russia after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the US aerospace giant Boeing has decided to impose sanctions against Russian airlines.

In a statement made by the US aerospace company Boeing, it was stated that the company will suspend its support to Russian airlines.

"We have suspended our main operations in Moscow and temporarily closed our office in Kiev, Ukraine. We are also suspending parts, maintenance and technical support services for Russian airlines. As the conflict continues, our teams are focused on ensuring the safety of our teammates in the region," Boeing said in a statement. ' he said

Aeroflot made a forced landing at Istanbul Airport!

The plane of the Russian airline company Aeroflot, making the Moscow-Verona flight, made a forced landing at Istanbul Airport.

The Aeroflot plane, which took off for the Italian city of Verona, was not allowed to enter the Greek airspace. Aeroflot aircraft, which had been circling in the air for a while, landed at Istanbul Airport

Russia closed its airspace to 36 countries

After Russia's attack on Ukraine, the Kremlin retaliated against the airspace decision taken by the EU countries. Russia closed its airspace to aircraft of 36 countries.

In the statement made by the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency ( Rosaviatsiya

), it was reported that in accordance with the norms of international law, European states responded to the closure of the airspace to Russian planes or the flights of civil planes registered in Russia.

In the statement, which stated that restrictions were imposed on airline companies of 36 countries, the countries whose Russian airspace was closed are listed as follows:

“Austria, Albania, England, Belgium, Bulgaria, British Virgin Islands, Great Britain, Hungary, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Denmark, (including Greenland, Faroe Islands) Jersey, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Cyprus, Latvia , Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Croatia, Czechia, Sweden, Estonia” 

Singapore Airlines reports profit for the first time since the start of the pandemic

Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) posted a net profit of $85 million at the end of the third quarter for the first time since the start of the pandemic. This was thanks to the significant increase in air travel to and from Singapore in the October-December 2021 period, as well as continued strong demand and strong returns in the cargo market.

Singapore's initiation of Vaccinated Travel Route (VTL) regulations and subsequent developments, as well as the Group's immediate sale of all existing routes, whose travel bans have been lifted, resulted in meeting pending demands during the year-end travel period. The group carried 1.1 million passengers in this quarter, which is 5 times more than the same period last year and twice as much as in the second quarter of the 2021/22 financial year. Passenger capacity (measured in terms of available seats-kilometers) grew by 183.8% on an annual basis, thanks to the increase in flights with the VTL application. At the end of this quarter, Group passenger capacity reached 45% of pre-Covid-19 levels.

Cooperation between CFM and Airbus

CFM International (CFM), a 50/50 joint-stock company established by GE and Safran Aircraft Engines, and Airbus have signed an agreement to collaborate on the hydrogen demonstration program to be held in the mid-2020s.

The program aims to test a hydrogen-powered direct-combustion engine on the ground and in flight, in preparation for the commissioning of a zero-emissions aircraft by 2035.

CFM will replace the combustion chamber, fuel system and control system of a GE PassportTM turbo fan to run on hydrogen. This engine assembled in the USA; It was chosen because of its physical size, advanced turbo machinery and fuel flow capacity. The engine will be mounted on the aft fuselage of the flight test platform so that engine emissions, including traces of condensation, can be monitored separately from the emissions of the engines powering the aircraft. CFM will conduct an extensive ground test program prior to flight testing with the A380 flight test platform.

The program will use an A380 flight test platform equipped with liquid hydrogen tanks, prepared at Airbus facilities in France and Germany. Airbus will determine the requirements for the hydrogen propulsion system, oversee the flight test and will provide an A380 platform to test the hydrogen combustion engine while cruise.

Gaël Méheust, CFM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Hydrogen combustion capability is one of the core technologies we are developing and maturing as part of the CFM RISE Programme. “With the combination of capabilities and experience from CFM, our parent companies and Airbus, we have a really great team that can successfully introduce our hydrogen propulsion system.”

Sabine Klauke, Airbus Chief Technology Officer, said: “This is the most important step at Airbus to usher in a new era in hydrogen-powered aircraft since our ZEROe concepts were unveiled in September 2020.” “This international partnership, which draws on the experience of engine manufacturers in America and Europe to advance hydrogen combustion technology, sends a clear message that our industry is committed to achieving zero-emission flights.”

CFM set Airbus's Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions in the aviation industry by 2050 in October 2021 to make zero-emission aircraft a reality by developing and testing the technology needed within the ambitious timeframe. He shares his determination to keep his promise.

 

Together, CFM, GE and Safran Aircraft Engines maintain a deep-rooted relationship with Airbus, and these partners demonstrate an excellent track record in providing high-performance products that meet the needs of airline customers.

Lufthansa suspends flights to Russia

German airline Lufthansa has suspended its flights to and from Russia for a week.

In a statement from the company, "Lufthansa will not use Russian airspace for the next 7 days due to the current and newly developing regulatory situation. During this period, flights to Russia will be stopped." statement was included.

In the statement, it was emphasized that the planes in the Russian airspace will leave the field in a short time, and it was stated that the situation is closely followed and close contact with national and international authorities