The X-24A experimental aircraft, propelled by 24 electric thrusters, completes flight tests of scaled-down model. The Aurora Lightning Strike X-24A, one of the most advanced experimental aircraft created by the US for decades, has successfully concluded test flights of a scaled-down model. Designed to transition from vertical takeoff and landing to horizontal flight using electrically-powered…

Boeing, the U.S. Navy, the Royal Australian Air Force and the United Kingdom Royal Air Force will continue modernizing global maritime patrol capabilities through a $2.2 billion contract awarded March 30 for at least 17 P-8A Poseidon aircraft. The agreement also includes options for 32 additional aircraft, as well as money for long-lead parts for…

US aerospace giant Boeing has unveiled concepts for systems that could be used as the key components of a deep space manned exploration mission. At the heart of the plans is a system known as the Deep Space Gateway, a crewed spaceport that would be used as a staging post to launch manned missions to…

Researchers from the University of British Columbia have developed a bendable, stretchable, transparent sensor that could have a wide range of applications in wearable electronics. Described in the journal Science Advances, the flexible device is able to recognise proximity, touch and pressure, combining multiple sensing functions from some of the leading smartphones. It is made…

Lockheed Martin has revealed that it has successfully demonstrated a 60kW laser weapon, the most powerful system of its kind yet to be developed. In testing earlier this month, the laser – which has been developed for the US Army – produced a single beam of 58kW, representing a world record for a laser of…

As it renegotiates our relationship with the EU, the UK government must be mindful of engineering’s economic importance, says Dr Hayaatun Sillem, deputy chief executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering. According to the government’s timetable, this month should see the UK trigger Article 50, paving the way for departure from the European Union. In order to support…

Boeing announced today (March 9) that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has certified the 737 MAX 8 airplane for commercial service. Boeing is now in the final stages of preparing for the first 737 MAX 8 delivery to customers in the coming months. To earn certification for the 737 MAX 8, Boeing undertook a…

The Trim-Trio circular connector part of the – Souriau’s range from Esterline Connection Technologies features a wide variety of insert arrangements for plastic, metal, and bi-metal connectors. They are fitted with 16 and 20 gauge contacts for signal, coaxial, and fibre-optic connections, and 12 and 8 gauge contacts for power connections. Trim-Trio simplifies the management of…

It is hard to believe that it has been ten years since Steve Jobs launched the iPhone. A decade has passed in which his ‘widescreen iPod, mobile phone and Internet communications device’ completely changed the way that people communicate, access information, and consume media. The iPhone wasn’t the first smartphone, but it made accessing data…

Panasonic Automotive & Industrial Systems Europe has extended its product line of OS-CON Polymer-Aluminium-Solid Capacitors with three new series for environments requiring high temperatures of up to 125°C, e.g. heavy industrial and stressful environments. The products benefit from a small footprint, ESR values, low power consumption and are able to withstand high humidity (95°C/95% –…