Our editors take the pulse of the industry at Aviation Week’s Mergers and Acquisitions Conference

Aviation Week editors discuss Dennis Muilenburg’s performance before Congress and what Europe’s top aviation regulator says about the Max returning to flight.

The biggest noise at this year’s NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas came from Gulfstream with the unveiling of its new $75 million G700. But the topic of how the industry can become more sustainable is becoming louder. And with electric aircraft entering the mix, where is the industry heading next? Listen in as our editors discuss.

Nearly years after Aviation Week confirmed the existence of the stealthy RQ-180, new reporting suggests the Northrop Grumman high-altitude unmanned aircraft system has a new home base in California and has been ready to fly operational missions since at least 2017. Aviation Week editors Guy Norris, Steve Trimble, and Graham Warwick discuss the details of the latest story, along with some of the implications the reporting poses for the acquisition and operational communities. 

The Boeing 737 MAX fiasco has become a punch to the gut for the commercial aerospace market this year, and when combined with China and European trade wars and tariffs, the sector will emerge bruised and scratched. But longer term, advisers still see growth and exciting changes as new technologies alter everything from how aircraft fly to how companies make money. Aviation Week Senior Business Editor Michael Bruno talks with Accenture Global A&D Lead John Schmidt and North American A&D Lead Brian Legan.

As the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting set to begin on Oct. 14 in Washington DC, the service’s leadership has embarked on the most ambitious modernization agenda for the aviation branch in over 40 years. Within a decade, the Army hopes to field a new attack reconnaissance aircraft and a long range assault aircraft with greater speed, range and payload than anything it operates today. Aviation Week editors Lee Hudson, Steve Trimble and Graham Warwick look at the current state of two competitive prototyping programs now underway, and raise questions about the affordability and benefits of the Army’s goals.

Are these seemingly mutually exclusive goals attainable in an increasingly environmentally concerned world? It was on the agenda at the International Society for Air Breathing Engines (ISABE) conference in Canberra, Australia, from where senior editor Guy Norris discusses everything from biofuels and more electric aviation to hypersonics and long range commercial operations with the Society’s Prof. Ric Parker and Prof. Andrew Neely.

Aviation Week Executive Editor Jens Flottau and Senior Business Editor Michael Bruno explain how Europe and the U.S. find themselves on the precipice of a ruling that could prevent U.S. airlines from taking delivery of Airbus aircraft and European airlines from accepting Boeing ones.

In an exclusive interview, Air Force acquisition chief Will Roper lays out a plan for a new way to make a “century series” of aircraft. Aviation Week editors Steve Trimble, Lee Hudson and Jen DiMascio process what that might mean for the military and current manufacturing base.

Pentagon veteran Steve Grundman joins Aviation Week editors to discuss the state of U.S. cooperation with military allies