Skyborg could also be a cargo delivery aircraft. The program launched by Air Force Research Laboratory is mainly known for developing artificial intelligence for a new family of unmanned combat air vehicles, but the program also includes Volansi's cargo delivery system.

We talk with Volansi CEO Hannan Parvizian and newly appointed board member Will Roper, formerly assistant secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, about how Volansi could become the next Skyborg. 

China could become the world’s largest commercial aviation system by the middle of the decade. Up to recently, Western suppliers were integral to the Asia giant’s aerospace development, and the relationship was mutually beneficial. But with the new Biden administration potentially following the former Trump administration’s more-adversarial approaches, and with Comac’s C919 hitting new milestones, a new era is dawning on the trans-Pacific paradigm. In this episode of Check 6, Aviation Week Senior Business Editor Michael Bruno talks with consultant Alex Krutz of Patriot Industrial Partners about what suppliers need to think about now for the future of U.S.-China aerospace.

Nanoracks CEO Jeff Manber predicts that by the end of the year, private space companies will have more discretionary money to spend than the U.S. federal government. Listen in as he provides an update on his company’s acquisition by Voyager space and more.

Nineteen months after they predicted UAM would be a niche market, Aviation Week’s Graham Warwick and Teal Group’s Richard Aboulafia are back to address why investors are now pouring billions of dollars into the emerging sector. 

Don Grommesh, Bill Lear’s employee No. 8, served as chief engineer, vice president of Learjet engineering and vice president and general manager of customer service.

Al Higdon, Joined Lear Jet in 1964 and helped make Learjet a household name. Higdon, now retired, is co-founder of Sullivan, Higdon & Sink, now Signal Theory.

Dave Franson, joined Learjet as director of public affairs from 1997 and served for seven years. Franson is now president of the Wichita Aero Club.

It has been a roller coaster ride in aerospace over the last year. From how to keep up with demand, to how to keep the lights on, to how to restructure and even rebound – the A&D sector has seen it all since this time last year when Covid-19 was just beginning to register worldwide. One year on, how is industry responding and what do A&D leaders think will happen in the coming months and years? In this edition of Check 6 with Accenture, Senior Business Editor Michael Bruno explores these topics with John Schmidt, Accenture’s global A&D lead, and Jeff Wheless, global A&D research leader.

Aviation Week editors talk with Jared Isaacman, the founder and CEO of Shift4Payments, and the man about to command first all-civilian mission on board a SpaceX Dragon capsule.