Aviation Week's Check 6 Podcast

Production constraints and certification requirements are still proving to be major bottlenecks in getting aircraft seats to customers. Gary Weissel of Tronos Aviation Consulting joins editors to break down the interiors crisis.

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As the F-117 Nighthawk goes on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center for the first time, Aviation Week editors are joined by Air & Space Museum Director Chris Browne to reflect on the stealth aircraft and its place in history.

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Thank you to our sponsor, GE Aerospace. GE Aerospace is uniquely positioned to support its defense customers, providing reliable, high performance military engines and systems for air and sea. Building on more than a century of innovation, GE Aerospace continues to mobilize a new era of growth, balancing the current needs of the industry with the advanced capabilities needed for the future.

For more information, visit https://www.geaerospace.com/

Aviation Week editors are joined by Maj. Gen. (ret) Lee Levy to try and answer the trillion dollar-plus question of what the outcome of the midterm elections really means for the U.S. defense budget.

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Check 6 revisits how a misconception of the MiG-25 transformed U.S. air power, until a Soviet pilot's defection revealed the truth.

Aviation Week & Space Technology subscribers can explore our archive here and read key Aviation Week articles related to this episode here:

• New Interceptors Can Exceed Mach 2.5 (July 17, 1967)
• MiG Case May Spur Japan Arms Buy (Sept. 13, 1976)
• MiG-25 Pilot Lands Fighter At Hakodate (Sept. 20, 1976)

Listen in as PwC's aerospace team zeroes in on the supply chain and where it is most fragile in this special sponsored episode.

Read PwC's State of the Ramp report here

Analyst Scott Mikus joins Aviation Week editors to discuss third-quarter earnings and why an oversupply of narrowbodies may be looming.

Read Scott's column here

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Thank you to our sponsor, DXC Technology, helping airports and travel operators connect the systems that keep passengers moving. When one delay impacts multiple systems, DXC connects airport platforms so the whole operation can respond as one, for smoother journeys.

Learn more here

Aviation Week editors discuss the evolving European fighter landscape, introducing France's approach to its next-generation fighter it calls ACF, and the thinking around what will happen with Germany, Spain and the implication for the GCAP program, too.

CFM established an industry benchmark for reliability with its CFM56; roughly 24,000 are still in operation today, setting up big expectations for in-service durability. Today it continues producing spare engines, military engines and spare parts for the variant. But CFM's Leap program has been working through some issues since its entry into service.

On this episode sponsored by CFM, Aviation Week editors hear about CFM's durability roadmap from President Gaël Méheust, and how the company intends to apply lessons learned to its future Rise technology program Open Fan engine.

Listen to a past Check 6 Revisits episode exploring 40 years of CFM here

Editors discuss what the long-awaited certification of the Boeing 737-10 means for the industry and what's happening with the 777X. They also reflect on the Airbus A340-600 after its last major operator, Lufthansa, retired the quadjet.

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As developments in Ukraine highlight new issues for army aviation, editors share what they heard from leaders at AUSA 2026 and discuss how the service is looking to evolve.

Thank you to our sponsor, GE Aerospace. GE Aerospace is uniquely positioned to support its defense customers, providing reliable, high performance military engines and systems for air and sea. Building on more than a century of innovation, GE Aerospace continues to mobilize a new era of growth, balancing the current needs of the industry with the advanced capabilities needed for the future.

For more information, visit https://geaerospace.com/