Bell Textron announced the Bell 505 completed its first flight fueled solely by 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), marking the first-ever single-engine helicopter to fly with 100% SAF. Bell collaborated with Safran Helicopter Engines, Neste, GKN Aerospace and Virent Inc. to make this Bell 505 flight possible.

To achieve this flight, Bell collaborated with Safran Helicopter Engines, manufacturer of the Arrius 2R engine on the Bell 505; GKN Aerospace, the fuel system component supplier; Neste, the SAF supplier; and Virent, Inc., a Marathon Petroleum Corp. subsidiary that manufactures renewable fuels and chemicals. Safran Helicopter Engines and GKN Aerospace conducted thorough testing on the engine and fuel system components.

Neste and Virent collaborated to blend, test, and deliver the SAF for this project as a 100% drop-in fuel. SAF, made from used cooking oil or other bio-based feedstocks, typically must be blended with petroleum products because it doesn’t include a component called “aromatics,” which is required to meet today’s aviation fuel specifications. Virent manufactures an aromatics component made from renewable plant sugars, which was added to Neste’s neat SAF, eliminating the need to blend SAF with petroleum fuel. The SAF supplied for this test flight by Neste and Virent is therefore a “100% drop-in” replacement for petroleum-based aviation fuel, requiring no engine modifications.

Bell’s own training fleet and demonstration aircraft currently use SAF in their operations. The team continues to guide customer conversations around its implementation and monitors SAF testing in a dedicated Bell 505 with Safran Helicopter Engines. This flight supports Textron’s Achieve 2025 Sustainable Footprint goal for 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions across the enterprise, among other sustainability initiatives.

The Bell 505 is a five-seat aircraft designed for safety and efficiency while using the most advanced technology to date. The platform uses a fully integrated Garmin G1000H NXi avionics suite and Safran Arrius 2R engine with a dual-channel FADEC.

Boeing may close the F/A 18 production unit by 2025. The Super Hornet fighter aircraft is one of the most successful fighters in US history, having served in the military for over four decades plus. It intends to end manufacturing of the F/A-18 Super Hornet in late 2025, when the last of the fighter jets have been delivered, as the aerospace giant changes its focus to winning the race for sixth-generation combat aircraft.

If India places an order for the F/A 18 fighter jet, the production schedule will be extended until 2027. After the F/A 18 production is completed, the manufacturing facility will be used for other Boeing products such as the T-7A Red Hawk, MQ 25 and F15, and 777x wing components.

Boeing is reallocating resources to future military aircraft projects: Boeing intends to construct three new state-of-the-art facilities in St. Louis to support work on the next generation of advanced crewed and uncrewed aircraft.

Modernization and upgrade initiatives will be prioritized: Boeing will continue to develop enhanced capabilities and improvements for the global F/A-18 Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler fleets. All Block II Super Hornets in Service Life Modification will get the Block III capability suite during the following decade. As part of the ongoing Growler improvements, Boeing will continue to incorporate sophisticated electronic attack capability.

The facility will be used to ramp up production of critical new defense programs, including the T-7A Red Hawk, the world’s first all-digital training system, and the MQ-25 Stingray, the world’s first carrier-deployed autonomous refueling aircraft, in addition to the ongoing production of new F-15EX Eagle IIs and 777X wing components.

Boeing has delivered almost 2,000 Hornets, Super Hornets, and EA-18G Growlers to clients throughout the world, including the United States Navy, Australia, Canada, Finland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Spain, and Switzerland since the F/A-18 debuted in 1983.

Presently, Boeing has offered India the Navy version fighter jet. It also demonstrated the best capabilities of the Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and was displayed at Aero India 2023.

The aircraft played an important role in US defense, and it was upgraded with the most advanced avionics and armament systems.