Leave a reply. FAA backs flight tests of JetZero's top-mounted engines. October 28, 2026, 08:48 PDT JetZero has been selected to receive $5.3 million under the fourth phase of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) program, the company announced on October 28, 2026. The funding will pay for engine and nacelle instrumentation on Jet1, the full-scale blended-wing-body demonstrator the Long Beach, California-based company is building ahead of a first flight it has scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2027. Measuring airflow around top-mounted engines. According to JetZero, the instrumentation will record airflow at the engine inlet and at the fan exit during takeoff, climb, cruise and crosswind ground operations. The company said the measurements would provide data from an operating aircraft rather than relying on engine test rigs or simulated ground-plane testing. JetZero said it would share the resulting data. The measurements target the feature that most distinguishes the design: engines mounted on top of the airframe. JetZero says that placement reduces noise for communities around airports, one of the three areas CLEEN is meant to address alongside fuel burn and emissions. Jet1 is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW2040 engines, the model used on the Boeing 757. Under agreements announced by RTX on March 6, 2025, Collins Aerospace is designing and building the demonstrator's nacelle structures, including the inlet, fan cowl and fan duct. JetZero joins the FAA's fourth CLEEN phase. The FAA launched CLEEN Phase IV in September 2026 and awarded two-year agreements to Boeing, GE Aerospace, Heart Aerospace, Honeywell Aerospace and JetZero. The three previous phases, starting in 2010, ran on five-year agreements and were made up largely of established airframe, engine and component manufacturers. Heart Aerospace announced on October 12, 2026, that it had received $2.9 million for turbogenerator work on its ES-36 hybrid-electric regional aircraft, matched by an equal company contribution. JetZero did not disclose a cost share or the total value of its project. If JetZero's agreement runs the two-year term the FAA describes, Jet1's scheduled first flight would leave the in-flight portion of the work in the second half of that period. Jet1 heads toward its 2027 first flight. JetZero said on August 31, 2026, when it closed a $100 million loan facility, that the Jet1 build was 40% complete as of June 2026. Scaled Composites, a Northrop Grumman company, is building the aircraft. In August 2023, the US Air Force selected JetZero to develop and flight-test its demonstrator, with the Department of Defense planning to contribute $235 million toward the project over four years. The company is targeting entry into service for the production aircraft, Z4, in the early 2030s, with final assembly planned at the factory it broke ground on in Greensboro, North Carolina, on June 15, 2026. JetZero says the Z4 is designed to be up to 50% more fuel efficient than comparable tube-and-wing aircraft using the same propulsion technology.

JetZero has won $5.3 million from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under Phase IV of its Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) program. The money will fund engine and nacelle instrumentation to collect data on top-mounted engines in an all-wing design. JetZero will capture airflow data at the engine inlet and fan exit during takeoff, climb, cruise, and crosswind ground operations. It will gather the data in a representative operational environment, not on costly engine rigs or in simulated ground-plane tests. The company's Z4 aircraft places engines on top of the fuselage to reduce airport noise. JetZero says it is designed to deliver up to 50% better fuel efficiency than comparable tube-and-wing aircraft using the same propulsion technology, with entry into service targeted for the early 2030s.

Trump unveils major US chip investments. 20 Oct 2026 8:34 PM Digital Desk | Washington, Oct 21 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has announced a $1.5 billion Pentagon investment in semiconductor production and a new industrial minerals manufacturing facility in North Carolina, linking the expansion of America's technology industry to national security, tariffs and efforts to reduce dependence on foreign supply chains. Addressing a Republican campaign rally in Greenville on Tuesday (local time), Trump said his administration was rebuilding domestic manufacturing capacity in strategically important industries, including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and aerospace. The announcements came as Trump sought support for Republican candidates ahead of the November 3 congressional elections, warning that Democratic control of Congress could threaten his economic and security policies. "The Department of War will be investing $1.5 billion to produce cutting-edge semiconductor chips right here in North Carolina," Trump said. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick separately announced that Sibelco, an industrial minerals company, would establish a quartz manufacturing facility in the state, involving an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars. Lutnick described quartz as an essential material for semiconductor production and said the investment would support Trump's objective of bringing critical manufacturing back to American soil. The President argued that decades of industrial policy had allowed much of the semiconductor industry to move overseas, particularly to Taiwan. He said major chip manufacturers were now investing hundreds of billions of dollars in American facilities, including projects in Arizona and possible further expansion in Texas. "We're going to have close to 50 per cent of the chip business in a very short order," Trump said, presenting the forecast as evidence of his administration's manufacturing strategy. Trump also highlighted pharmaceutical investments by Johnson & Johnson, Biogen, Merck, Genentech and AbbVie, saying the companies were committing more than $10 billion to manufacturing operations in North Carolina. He pointed to JetZero's $4.7 billion aircraft manufacturing project, which he said would create more than 15,000 jobs. The President attributed the expansion of domestic manufacturing to his tariff policies, arguing that foreign companies were increasingly choosing to produce goods inside the United States rather than face import duties. He claimed his administration had secured $22.2 trillion in investment commitments, although the figure was not independently established in the supplied transcript. Turning to the Middle East, Trump said the conflict involving Iran had affected energy prices but predicted a sharp decline in oil costs once the fighting ended. He defended the military campaign as necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and maintained that the conflict would end quickly. The President also used the rally to support Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley against former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper. Trump criticised Cooper's record on crime, immigration and taxation, while urging voters to preserve Republican control of the House and Senate. He also pledged further action on border security, healthcare and tax relief if Republicans retained their congressional majorities. The November 3 midterm elections will determine control of Congress during the final two years of Trump's second term. The outcome will affect his ability to advance legislation on trade, immigration, defence spending and domestic economic policy.