Trainer makers compete; many aircraft take first flights

Drake and Logan present a year in review of aircraft development across many sectors of the industry. Lockheed Martin, along with Korea Aerospace Industries, is upgrading the T-50. Raytheon's T- entrant is a development of Leonardo-Finmeccanica's M-346. Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and L-3 revealed a prototype in August, and the Boeing/Saab team rolled out not one, but two airframes Sep 13. Other military programs of note included China's large four-engine airlifter, the Avic Y-20, entering service. Boeing's KC-46 continued flight testing that led to award of low-rate initial production. The US Air Force declared the F-35A basic combat-ready in August.