Category Archives: MRO’s

Senate Appropriators Back Army ATI Cuts But Knock ‘Disjointed Rollout,’ Rebuke Plan To End T901 Engine

Sikorsky receives the first two GE Aerospace T901 engines at its West Palm Beach, Florida facility for integration on a UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter. (Photo: Sikorsky)

The Senate Appropriations Committee has backed most of the Army’s divestments as part of its new transformation initiative, while its defense spending bill rebukes a plan to end development of the new T901 helicopter engine and adds funds to upgrade more AH-64D Apaches to the newer E-model. 

The bill also directs the Army to provide regular briefings on its transformation plan, citing concern with the “disjointed rollout” and stating the committee has yet to receive “sufficient details regarding the analysis behind, and the purpose of, specific ATI decisions despite several months of attempted dialogue.”

“The committee is a willing partner to the Army, as demonstrated in its recommendations in this bill for certain budget line item consolidation and divestment of certain systems. However, the Department of the Army’s disjointed rollout of the Army Transformation Initiative (ATI), lack of transparency and delay of formal budget documentation and analytic briefings, make it difficult for the committee to make fully informed decisions on implementing and resourcing all of the Army’s requested initiatives,” the panel writes in the report accompanying its bill. 

The Senate Appropriations Committee on July 31 voted 26-3 to advance its $852.5 billion fiscal year 2026 defense spending bill, approving a $21.7 billion topline increase that boosts funds for shipbuilding, munitions and Ukraine aid.

As part of the new ATI plan, the Army has detailed an intent to cut “obsolete” programs including the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), Humvee, AH-64D Apache, Gray Eagle UAS and the M10 Booker and potentially ending development of the T901 engine out of the Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP), the Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) and the Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV).

“By and large, we are allowing the Army to move forward with canceling some of these programs,” a senior Senate GOP aide told reporters. 

The Army has said its “invest to divest” strategy leading ATI accounted for shedding $4.9 billion of older and “ineffective” equipment in its FY ‘26 budget request, while looking to spend $8.9 billion on higher-priority efforts such as buying more drones and accelerating development of the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft and the new M1E3 Abrams tank.

“Some of these proposals have merit and should be pursued, such as greater integration of unmanned aerial systems and counter-unmanned aerial systems into lower level units. Others raise concerns, like the abrupt cancellation of other programs, some of which the Army identified as top priorities only months prior. Such actions have created unpredictability for the other military services that were jointly invested in them, public and private industry and international partners,” Senate appropriators wrote in their bill report. 

Senate appropriators’ bill restores $175 million in funding for the ITEP program, after the Army targeted it for a cut, with the senior Senate GOP aide citing it as a “critical program to increase power and efficiency” on Army helicopters.

GE Aerospace, which developed the T901 as the future engine for the Army’s UH-60 Black Hawk and AH-64 Apache helicopters, has said the fate of the ITEP program is dependent on how FY ‘26 funding shapes out.

While the Army included Boeing’s AH-64D Apache among its planned divestments, Senate appropriators added $360 million to remanufacture 12 of the aircraft into the E-model configuration.

Gen. James Mingus, the Army vice chief of staff, previously said the Army wasn’t planning to upgrade any more AH-64Ds into newer E-models.

Outside of those two program increases, Senate appropriators’ defense bill appears to support the Army’s cuts for JLTV, Humvee, the M10 Booker, Gray Eagle, FTUAS and RCV. 

“We’re not forcing the Army to buy any Humvees, but we are investing in some anti-lock brake retrofit kits since the existing Humvee fleet is going to be with the Army for many decades to come,” a senior Senate GOP aide said, with the bill including a $25 million add for the kits. 

The Senate Appropriations Committee’s bill directs Army senior leaders to begin quarterly briefings to the congressional defense committees within 30 days of the legislation’s passage that would detail the service’s “harmonized operational and investment strategy” for ATI.

The briefings are expected to cover threat assessments that informed proposed changes, force structure impacts, acquisition strategy and investment timelines, defense industrial base impacts and implications for the Joint Force.

The House Appropriations Committee backed the Army’s M10 Booker cancellation while rebuking its JLTV, Gray Eagle, ITEP and FTUAS cuts.

Both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees’ respective versions of the National Defense Authorization Act support many of the Army’s planned ATI-related changes, while also calling on the service leaders to provide more details.

A version of this story originally appeared in affiliate publication Defense Daily.

The post Senate Appropriators Back Army ATI Cuts But Knock ‘Disjointed Rollout,’ Rebuke Plan To End T901 Engine appeared first on Avionics International.

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Red Cat Expects LRIP Order Soon For Army’s SRR Small Drone, ‘Aggressive’ Ramp Up In FY ‘26

Red Cat’s Black Widow sUAS. (Photo Red Cat)

Red Cat Holdings has said it’s expecting a low-rate production order “very soon” for the Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) small drone program, noting the service’s plan for a “significant” fielding ramp up next fiscal year.

Jeff Thompson, CEO of Red Cat, told sister publication Defense Daily the forthcoming order for its Black Widow small UAS is expected to be followed by a full-rate production award in early FY ‘26 that could total around $220 million to support scaling up the SRR effort.

“The fielding schedules are pretty darn aggressive,” Thompson said. 

After participating in the competitive SRR Tranche 2 prototyping effort, the Army announced in November 2024 it had selected Red Cat’s Black Widow sUAS for fielding over Skydio’s X10D small drone offering. Red Cat said at the time that procurement for the SRR program of record could cover nearly 6,000 systems/

The Army has said SRR is intended to provide platoons with small drones that offer real-time reconnaissance, security, and target acquisition capabilities.

Red Cat has previously noted the Black Widow sUAS’ capabilities include AI-aided target identification, tracking and classification software, forward-looking obstacle avoidance, a stealth mode to execute missions with radios off, a quiet acoustic signature and modularity to allow for “seamless” secondary payload integration.

The imminent LRIP order, which the Army calls TD-3, is expected before the end of the current fiscal year on Sept. 30 and that deliveries would occur within 90 days of award. Thompson said that prior budget documents stated the deal may cover about 250 systems, with a system consisting of two drones and one controller. 

As the Army then looks to scale up SRR in FY ‘26, Thompson said budget documents outlined plans for a full-rate production contract worth around $220 million, split between around $148 million for drones and $70 million for spares, repairs and training. 

Thompson noted that since last fall’s selection for the SRR program of record the Army has awarded it a pair deals, TD-1 and TD-2, worth around $2.8 million covering work to add features ahead of of LRIP and to advance compatibility with the Army-developed Universal Controller (UVC) toolkit.

“[The Army] will only buy drones that use UVC. We’re the first company to ever deploy it successfully. We’ve done some recent tests in front of large groups for the Army, all different branches across the Army, all different divisions,” Thompson said. “They wanted to make sure we could [use] the universal controller before we [went into] LRIP.”

The UVC toolkit, utilizing the Army’s UAS Tool software, was integrated on Red Cat’s own controller for the Black Widow drone.

Thompson said Red Cat is capable of building more than 500 Black Widow sUAS a month, with a capacity to expand as needed. 

“If they gave us an order for 5,000 [drones] a month, we could get there in two months. If they gave us an order for 10,000 a month, same thing,” Thompson said. “Our supply chain is great. Our production capabilities are great. We’ve expanded our facility.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently signed a memo directing the military services to more aggressively purchase small drones with a goal to widely field these systems by the end of 2026, while Thompson said there was no “Hegseth effect” for SRR as the Army’s plans have been in place for over a year.

The Army has laid out its own goal to deliver thousands of small drones over the next year, with an interest in systems that each cost less than $2,000, building off a previous “Purpose-Built Attritable Systems” (PBAS) notice that asked industry for information on small, first person view (FPV) drones that are “production-ready.”

Thompson said FPV drones, which have been used extensively by Ukraine, “are great…but they’re not very capable,” citing their lack of visual navigation or electronic warfare-resistant capabilities. 

“They’re capable for one thing, mostly, and that’s just kamikaze [use]…In the U.S., we can’t make FPV drones like they make them over there [in Ukraine]. They’d have to be standardized. They’d have to have safety capabilities,” Thompson said. “All the stuff that’s being made in all these other countries are being made with Chinese parts. They’d have to [be made] with U.S. parts. And, frankly, by the time you made a U.S. FPV drone it’s going to be a lot more expensive than the $1,000 per drone like in Ukraine.”

“This is going to sound completely selfish and self-serving, why not just build way more ISR drones,” Thompson added.

Thompson noted Black Widow is the “first scaled platform” to utilize Palantir’s visual navigation capability.

“And their visual navigation is the best on the planet. No one’s going to compete with it,” Thompson said. “The way they do visual navigation is different than everybody else. It’s three different buckets of technology to basically make it as locked in as a GPS without a GPS. Red Cat’s looking to just rip the GPS out of our drones going forward because of [Palantir’s] visual navigation.”

Red Cat announced its partnership with Palantir this past December, noting the company VNav visual navigation software “accelerates the ability to deploy electronic-warfare resistant sUAS without GPS” and is enabled by satellite imagery integration, Alternative PNT source capabilities and Palantir’s Edge Runtime system to run visual navigation algorithms onboard while fully offline.

A Defense Innovation Unit-led event in Alaska in June tested drone systems’ radio communication technologies against electromagnetic interference to assess current challenges.

Cal Biesecker contributed to this article.

A version of this story originally appeared in affiliate publication Defense Daily.

The post Red Cat Expects LRIP Order Soon For Army’s SRR Small Drone, ‘Aggressive’ Ramp Up In FY ‘26 appeared first on Avionics International.

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Cleared for Modernization: The Top Avionics Upgrade for Fixing America’s Broken ATC

As commercial air traffic surges back to pre-pandemic levels—and in many regions, surpasses them—aviation’s longstanding Achilles’ heel has returned to center stage: a strained, outdated Air Traffic Control (ATC) system ill-equipped to handle modern traffic volumes.

From chronic delays and inefficiencies to rising fuel costs and CO₂ emissions, the consequences are piling up. But a long-planned, urgently needed avionics upgrade is finally moving from paper to cockpit: ADS-B In.

If ADS-B Out was the foundation, ADS-B In is the future.

While most aircraft flying today are already equipped with ADS-B Out—which broadcasts an aircraft’s position, velocity, and other data to ground stations and nearby aircraft—ADS-B In allows aircraft to receive and act on that same data. It effectively enables a real-time traffic picture in the cockpit, enabling pilots to “see” what ATC sees, often more precisely and sooner.

And in the current ATC crisis, that matters.

The ATC bottleneck…

The U.S. and much of Europe are operating ATC systems that haven’t fundamentally changed since the 1960s. Radar-based tracking is limited in range and accuracy. Controllers juggle dozens of aircraft with incomplete information and minimal automation. The result? Chronic congestion, especially in terminal areas, and an inability to flexibly reroute aircraft during weather events or sudden demand spikes.

Even the FAA’s ambitious NextGen modernization program, launched in 2007, has been slowed by politics, budget constraints, and the enormous technical lift of replacing decades-old infrastructure. But within this broader effort, ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast) is one area where progress is not only visible—it’s finally airborne.

ADS-B Out has already transformed surveillance by shifting from radar to satellite-based positioning. But its benefits are mostly to the system, providing ATC with more precise data. ADS-B In brings those benefits directly into the cockpit. Aircraft equipped with it can receive:

• Traffic Information Service–Broadcast (TIS-B): Real-time data about nearby aircraft, including non-ADS-B equipped planes tracked by radar.
• Flight Information Service–Broadcast (FIS-B): Weather updates, NOTAMs, and other situational awareness tools.
• Direct-to-aircraft data sharing: Letting pilots maintain optimal spacing and sequencing in terminal areas without waiting for ATC instructions.

ADS-B In enables airborne self-separation, in-trail spacing, and real-time rerouting, all vital in congested airspace.

Several airlines, including Delta and American, are actively retrofitting their fleets with ADS-B In capability. Airbus and Boeing are offering it as a line-fit option on new jets, especially for aircraft expected to operate in saturated airspaces like the U.S. East Coast, Western Europe, or over oceanic corridors where radar isn’t available.

The FAA has also begun testing Interval Management (IM) procedures, which use ADS-B In to allow aircraft to safely fly closer together, improving runway throughput and en-route capacity. Early trials at Dallas–Fort Worth and Atlanta show time savings of up to 10% during peak operations.

Avionics vendors step up…

Avionics giants like Honeywell, Collins Aerospace, Garmin, and Thales are racing to roll out certified ADS-B In packages that integrate with existing FMS and EFIS displays. These upgrades are being marketed not just as compliance tools but as fuel-saving, time-saving operational enhancements with immediate ROI.

The cost to retrofit a single narrowbody aircraft can range from $80,000 to $150,000 depending on configuration, but with rising fuel prices and stricter emissions targets, airlines are starting to see these upgrades not as expenses, but as essential investments.

The post Cleared for Modernization: The Top Avionics Upgrade for Fixing America’s Broken ATC appeared first on Avionics International.

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Europe’s Air Traffic System Could Soon Face Chaos of Its Own

Europe’s fragmented air traffic control (ATC) system has long been a source of inefficiency, delays, and frustration.

Unlike the U.S., which operates under a unified FAA-controlled airspace, Europe remains a patchwork of national ATC systems, each with its own regulations, procedures, and technology.

However, as 2025 unfolds, the situation in Europe is about to deteriorate even further, thanks to geopolitical instability, the next phase of Brexit-related disruptions, and a Trump-driven shake-up at the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

America faces its own ATC crisis and the problem is poised to spread overseas.

European nations insist on maintaining control over their airspace, leading to inefficiencies, duplicated efforts, and conflicting rules. Many European ATC systems are still relying on decades-old radar and communication protocols.

Europe’s ATC lacks uniformity in flight routes, altitude assignments, and airspace classifications, making coordination a nightmare.

Rising tensions among the European Union (EU), Russia, and China will further complicate cross-border flight routes.

If President Trump follows through on his promise to radically overhaul the FAA, including potentially pulling the U.S. out of international ATC agreements, air traffic coordination between North America and Europe could become chaotic.

A disjointed system means more vulnerabilities to cyberattacks, particularly from nation-state actors.

What this means for avionics…

For avionics manufacturers and airlines, these growing inefficiencies mean that pilots and airlines will be forced to make last-minute reroutes to navigate shifting regulations.

The lack of standardization increases the chances of near misses and miscommunications. Airlines will need to invest in more advanced avionics to adapt to a rapidly changing regulatory landscape.

The only solution? Many analysts argue for a true Single European Sky (SES) initiative.

The SES is designed to overhaul Europe’s ATC system by replacing national boundaries in the sky with a streamlined, continent-wide network that operates under a single, unified structure. First proposed in the early 2000s, the SES framework aims to centralize airspace management, reduce congestion, and introduce more advanced technology to optimize flight paths.

While some progress has been made, particularly with initiatives like the Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs), which encourage cross-border cooperation, full implementation has been hindered by bureaucratic inertia, national sovereignty concerns, and resistance from some controllers who fear job losses or diminished influence.

The potential benefits of a true SES are enormous. Estimates suggest that full implementation could cut air traffic management costs by as much as 50%, reduce flight times and fuel burn by optimizing routes, and significantly lower CO₂ emissions.

The European Commission has argued that a fully realized SES would enable Europe’s aviation sector to meet its sustainability goals while enhancing capacity to handle growing air traffic demand.

However, political challenges remain. Some nations see control over their airspace as a matter of national security and are reluctant to cede authority to a centralized European system. Others, particularly countries with strong ATC unions, fear that increased automation and cross-border consolidation could lead to job losses.]

Yet, with the mounting pressures of climate change, rising fuel prices, and increasing demand for air travel, the case for a truly unified airspace is stronger than ever.

Ultimately, without a genuine SES, European aviation risks being left behind in an increasingly competitive global industry. As air traffic volumes continue to rise, inefficiencies will become even more pronounced, making reform not just desirable, but necessary. The question is no longer whether Europe needs a Single European Sky—it’s whether political will can finally push it forward.

The post Europe’s Air Traffic System Could Soon Face Chaos of Its Own appeared first on Avionics International.

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America’s ATC Meltdown: Why The Skies Are Short-Staffed and The Remedies That Are Needed

For over a decade, the U.S. has been facing a persistent and growing shortage of air traffic controllers. The problem has ballooned into a full-blown crisis, straining airport operations, triggering flight delays, and testing the limits of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) training pipeline.

Despite efforts to address it, the gap between the number of certified controllers and the number required to safely manage America’s airspace keeps widening.

As of early 2025, only about 10,800 certified professional controllers are actively working, far below the 14,600 needed to keep air traffic flowing smoothly and safely. Nearly 280 of the country’s 300 air traffic control facilities are now operating below proper staffing levels. Even minor disruptions like a government shutdown can bring controller training to a standstill and further delay the pipeline.

And that pipeline is fragile. When the federal government shutters—even briefly—students at the FAA’s Oklahoma City training academy are sent home. This happened in 2013 and again during later political impasses. Add the pandemic to the mix, and controller hiring practically froze for two years. FAA officials estimate they need to hire at least 3,000 new controllers just to bring staffing up to sustainable levels.

The effects of the shortage are already showing. In New York, one of the most congested airspaces in the country, the FAA has been forced to cap the number of flights. United Airlines claims that delays occur daily, regardless of weather, because there simply aren’t enough controllers on duty. In fact, the airline says 68% of its 2024 delays on clear-weather days were due to ATC staffing limitations.

Fatigue is also a growing concern. Testimony before Congress revealed that some controllers have been working six days a week, 10 hours a day, for years on end. Larger airports bear the brunt of the staffing crisis, with some airlines now diverting routes to smaller airports just to cope.

While the U.S. has the most acute shortage, it’s far from alone. Europe is short roughly 700 to 1,000 controllers. Canada’s NAV CANADA has struggled to hire, and even Australia is seeing staffing shortfalls that are delaying flights. But no other country faces the same combination of bottlenecks and regulatory constraints as the U.S.

Is hiring too selective?

One of the biggest issues is not attracting interest but converting that interest into qualified hires. The FAA’s hiring process is notoriously selective. Only about 10% of applicants make it through the initial screening, and even fewer complete the multi-year training process.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens under the age of 31. They must pass strict medical and security clearances and demonstrate near-perfect vision. Bifocal contacts aren’t allowed, and colorblind applicants are automatically disqualified. Add in academic or work requirements, and most hopefuls are screened out before they ever step into a simulator.

Even once someone is hired, it can take two to three years before they’re certified to work independently. And just as the FAA is strict on who gets in, it’s equally strict on when they must leave: mandatory retirement hits at age 56, even though many federal employees work until at least 65. While the FAA allows rare waivers up to age 60, the majority of controllers are forced out early, even if they’re still sharp and healthy.

The rationale is that controllers must maintain peak cognitive and physical performance, and the FAA argues that the early retirement is a safety measure. On the plus side, ATC pensions are generous: controllers can retire at age 50 with 20 years of service, or at any age with 25 years in. But the flip side is that this creates a steady outflow of talent that the FAA has been unable to replace fast enough.

To turn the tide, the Transportation Department has announced a plan to boost starting salaries by 30% and streamline the hiring timeline. The FAA has also launched its Enhanced Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI), allowing a handful of approved colleges to deliver equivalent training programs outside the federal academy.

Still, the challenges remain steep. Controller work is grueling, mentally taxing, and increasingly overloaded. About 41% of current controllers are logging 60-hour weeks. That pressure drives burnout and attrition, just as the system needs experience more than ever.

Meanwhile, political decisions are stirring new fears. The recently formed Government Efficiency Department (DOGE) has implemented sweeping federal workforce cuts. Though air traffic controllers haven’t been laid off, around 400 FAA staffers lost their jobs in early 2025, raising alarms about support systems critical to safety and training. A key FAA report even briefly disappeared from the agency’s website before being recovered via an internet archive.

DOGE has called for retired controllers to return to duty, but that’s a long shot given the legal retirement cap. And critics note that DOGE, despite its influence, lacks any real aviation expertise.

There are some signs of hope. FAA trainees in Oklahoma recently received a $5-per-hour raise, signaling a willingness to invest in the future workforce. But with skies only getting busier and new technologies like 5G and urban air mobility on the horizon, the need for more qualified controllers has never been more urgent.

Unless hiring accelerates and structural reforms are made, travelers can expect more delays, more cancellations, and more pressure on the few controllers keeping the system afloat.

The post America’s ATC Meltdown: Why The Skies Are Short-Staffed and The Remedies That Are Needed appeared first on Avionics International.

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Avionics to the Rescue: Tech Innovations Target Airport Bottlenecks

As global air travel rebounds with a vengeance, the aviation industry is once again grappling with a painful bottleneck: overcrowded airports and a dangerously understaffed air traffic control system. Delays, diversions, and miscommunication are on the rise.

However, the avionics sector, long the invisible hand of flight safety and navigation, is emerging with next-gen solutions that promise to ease the strain from the inside out.

At the heart of this technological revolution is the move toward more autonomous flight management. Aircraft are increasingly being equipped with avionics systems capable of advanced trajectory prediction and real-time data sharing with both pilots and ground systems.

This evolution reduces reliance on overburdened human controllers and enables aircraft to make more precise in-flight decisions. The introduction of Flight Management System upgrades with artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted route optimization allows pilots to reroute mid-flight to avoid congestion, saving both time and fuel.

One of the more promising tools gaining traction is System Wide Information Management, or SWIM. This data-sharing framework gives pilots, controllers, and airport operations access to the same stream of real-time information. The result is better coordination, fewer delays, and far more efficient ground handling, even at packed airports.

Combined with enhanced Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) capabilities, aircraft are becoming smarter nodes in a constantly updating airspace network.

Remote Tower technology, initially rolled out in Europe and now being explored more seriously in the U.S., adds another layer of resilience. With high-resolution cameras, radar integration, and data fusion capabilities, these virtual control centers can monitor and manage traffic at multiple regional airports from a centralized facility.

Scalable solutions…

For regions that can’t quickly recruit and train new controllers, these solutions offer a scalable alternative that leverages avionics innovation.

Equally important is the digital transformation of airspace management. NASA and the FAA, in partnership with avionics OEMs, are developing Uncrewed Traffic Management (UTM) tools that are now being adapted for conventional aircraft. The eventual goal is to create a harmonized digital sky where both manned and unmanned aircraft can navigate fluidly under automated systems, thereby reducing human error and communication lags.

While these technologies are still maturing, they’re gaining real-world traction faster than many expected. Airlines and airport authorities are facing hard economic and logistical realities, forcing them to turn to avionics firms for answers.

From predictive analytics that help airports better manage gate assignments and turnaround times to cockpit-based spacing tools that let aircraft fly more efficiently during approach and landing, avionics is no longer just a support system; it’s also a strategic weapon against operational gridlock.

As delays grow more intolerable and controller shortages more dire, the momentum behind these avionics innovations is only accelerating. The skies of the future will not just be crowded—they’ll be smarter, and much of the credit will go to the glass cockpit and the silicon behind it.

The post Avionics to the Rescue: Tech Innovations Target Airport Bottlenecks appeared first on Avionics International.

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HASC Wants USAF to Lay Out Plan for Full-Scale Production of CCA Increment 1

Pictured is the YFQ-42A production representative test vehicle in Poway, Calif. (General Atomics Photo)

The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) wants the U.S. Air Force to lay out its plan for full- scale production of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) Increment 1.

“The committee expects the Air Force to move forward with full-scale production of Increment 1 as soon as possible following the completion of successful flight demonstrations,” according to an en bloc amendment last week by Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) to the HASC’s fiscal 2026 defense authorization bill. “While CCAs are envisioned to operate alongside fighter aircraft, the committee is fully supportive of the potential of autonomous aircraft and expansion of these capabilities with other piloted-type aircraft. Therefore, the committee directs the secretary of the Air Force to provide a briefing to the House Committee on Armed Services, not later than January 16, 2026, on the service’s plans to transition CCA Increment 1 prototypes to full-scale production and the associated resource requirements.”

The Anduril Industries‘ YFQ-44A Fury and the General Atomics‘ YFQ-42A Gambit CCA prototypes are to have their debut flights this year, and the Air Force said in May that the prototypes had begun ground testing.

The Air Force has said that it plans an Increment 1 downselect in fiscal 2026 and the start of Increment 2 development that year.

The range of the U.S. Air Force’s prototype CCAs are to be at least 700 nautical miles–greater than the 590 nautical mile range of the Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter by Lockheed Martin and the 670 nautical mile range of the service’s F-35A Lightning II, also by Lockheed Martin.

Beale AFB, Calif.–the home of the U-2 surveillance plane–is to house the Aircraft Readiness Unit for CCAs to allow them to deploy quickly.

In April last year, the Air Force narrowed the CCA Increment 1 field to General Atomics and Anduril. While the service had said flight testing would begin this summer, the Turner amendment approved by HASC last week said that “the program is on pace to conduct flight testing in late 2025.”

The amendment said that the “committee remains concerned with the rapid military growth of adversaries and the speed by which mass-produced, modern capabilities are proliferated and threaten the air superiority that has underpinned U.S. military dominance for decades.”

“To counter these threats, the committee encourages the Air Force to continue to embrace initiatives that accelerate affordable and rapid fielding of capable airpower mass,” according to the amendment.  “The committee remains strongly supportive of the Increment 1 Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. In just over five years, the CCA program has progressed from conceptual development to production and fielding of an operationally relevant capability, while leveraging technologically advanced contributions of an expanding industrial base.”

A version of this story originally appeared in affiliate publication Defense Daily.

The post HASC Wants USAF to Lay Out Plan for Full-Scale Production of CCA Increment 1 appeared first on Avionics International.

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Clear Skies, Clear Data: How Avionics Health Monitoring is Powering a New Era of Fleet Oversight

Global Avionics Round-Up from Aircraft Value News (AVN)

Garmin Pilot engine monitoring on iOS. (Garmin)

In today’s data-driven world, the integration of avionics health monitoring systems with national infrastructure is transforming how aircraft fleets are managed and maintained. This evolution isn’t just improving safety; it’s also reshaping fleet economics and driving up aircraft values.

The crux of the issue is real-time connectivity. Traditionally, aircraft health monitoring was largely reactive. Pilots or maintenance crews would identify problems after flights or during scheduled inspections.

However, with modern avionics health monitoring systems, enhanced by broadband satellite links, edge computing, and artificial intelligence diagnostics, aircraft can now report performance anomalies and component degradations as they happen. By syncing these insights with national-level digital infrastructure, aviation authorities and operators gain instant, fleet-wide visibility.

From Silos to Systems

Historically, maintenance and monitoring data remained siloed within individual airline IT systems or aircraft OEM databases. But governments and aviation regulators, recognizing the safety and security benefits, are pushing toward the integration of aircraft health data into broader, nationally coordinated platforms. This model enables centralized oversight, rapid risk detection, and more informed regulatory interventions.

The U.S. FAA’s push toward NextGen infrastructure and Europe’s SESAR initiative are early examples of this alignment. These programs envision a future where aircraft are not only tracked geographically but also continuously assessed for systems integrity in real time. Through partnerships with airlines, OEMs, and software providers, national infrastructures are starting to ingest and analyze avionics data, offering benefits that ripple across every stakeholder in aviation.

Impacts on Aircraft Values

For aircraft appraisers and lessors, this integration has profound implications. Aircraft equipped with advanced avionics health monitoring capabilities, and proven to be connected to real-time data systems, are increasingly viewed as lower-risk assets. Their maintenance records are more transparent, their downtime is minimized, and their operational histories are traceable in ways that older, analog aircraft simply can’t match.

This transparency boosts residual values. Leasing companies can justify higher lease rates for aircraft with continuous health monitoring because these jets offer reduced likelihood of unscheduled maintenance and longer time-on-wing for key components. Operators can also extract more cycles before overhaul, further enhancing lifecycle economics.

Real-time avionics health monitoring also helps optimize fuel efficiency and reduce emissions, factors that enhance both environmental credibility and financial appeal.

A Catalyst for New Aviation Norms

This shift fosters new business models. Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) providers are moving toward “predictive maintenance-as-a-service” agreements. Airlines no longer wait for a fault; instead, they rely on ground-based analytics systems to schedule interventions before failures occur. This predictive capability is only possible through robust data integration with national infrastructure.

Meanwhile, insurance companies are beginning to recalibrate their risk models based on an aircraft’s real-time diagnostic capabilities. Just as the automotive world saw with telematics, aircraft with richer data trails are commanding more favorable terms.

For OEMs, the integration trend offers both opportunity and pressure. Manufacturers that can offer aircraft pre-integrated into national fleet oversight networks will have a competitive advantage. However, it also means they must open up more of their proprietary systems for third-party and regulatory access, an ongoing point of tension.

Challenges and Roadblocks

The transition isn’t without friction. Cybersecurity looms large. Connecting aircraft systems with national networks introduces vulnerabilities that must be aggressively mitigated. The global nature of aviation complicates standardization. Different nations operate on varying regulatory frameworks, data privacy laws, and infrastructure readiness levels.

For developing countries, the cost of upgrading national infrastructure to support integrated health monitoring remains a hurdle. However, with the rise of cloud-native platforms and scalable satellite connectivity, these barriers are gradually being lowered.

A New Global Baseline

As fleet-wide oversight becomes not just a capability but an expectation, aircraft without integrated avionics health monitoring systems may face depreciation. They’ll likely incur higher insurance costs, experience more downtime, and become less attractive to lessors and buyers. In effect, these aircraft are slowly being rendered obsolete by digital transformation.

Conversely, aircraft that are “born digital” and ready to plug into national oversight systems represent a new premium class of asset. In a future where real-time airworthiness data is accessible by both operators and regulators, transparency becomes currency and data becomes a determinant of value.

Final Descent

The integration of avionics health monitoring with national infrastructure isn’t just a technical upgrade; it’s a paradigm shift. It enhances safety, streamlines maintenance, and reshapes how aircraft are valued and financed. As this real-time connectivity becomes embedded into global aviation norms, stakeholders who embrace the change stand to gain, not just in efficiency and compliance but also in asset longevity and profitability.

This article also appeared in our partner publication, Aircraft Value News.

John Persinos is the editor-in-chief of Aircraft Value News.

The post Clear Skies, Clear Data: How Avionics Health Monitoring is Powering a New Era of Fleet Oversight appeared first on Avionics International.

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