BAE Systems has completed its 1,000th US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker repair at its facility in Endicott, New York, work that supports a tanker fleet whose last aircraft was delivered to the Air Force in 1965 and which, according to an Air Force fact sheet, Air Mobility Command manages at 396 aircraft.

The company announced the milestone in a press release dated November 6, 2026, describing it as part of a role in keeping the Air Force’s primary refueling fleet flying and operationally ready for more than 40 years. BAE, which says it is the sole provider of the tanker’s safety-critical Fuel Management System (FMS), did not say when the 1,000th repair was completed, over what period the repairs were made or which components they covered.

What BAE maintains on the KC-135

According to the release, BAE employees maintain the KC-135 Fuel Management Advisory Computer (FMAC) and the Integrated Fuel Management Panel (IFMP). The company says it provides maintenance of legacy hardware to prevent obsolescence, alongside modern upgrades intended to help the aircraft operate in contested airspace.

“Reaching this milestone for the KC-135 is a testament to our team’s technical expertise,” said Corson Witham, program manager for sustainment at BAE Systems, who also credited the strength of the system’s design. “By maintaining the reliability of these critical flight systems, we support the U.S. Air Force’s operational readiness goals.”

An FMS upgrade on offer

BAE said it has developed an FMS upgrade built around line-replaceable units (LRUs) that exceed future mean time between failure requirements. Its open architecture complies with the US Air Force’s Aviation Maintenance System Global Requirements Assurance framework, which the company said allows more flexibility for future upgrades and repairs.

The release does not say whether the Air Force has ordered the upgrade, how many aircraft it would cover or what it would cost. It also gives no contract name or value for the repair work itself.

BAE said the KC-135 work draws on 40 years of experience delivering safety-critical aeronautic systems, including fly-by-wire controls, fuel management controls, electronic engine controls, power management systems and other mission-critical avionics. Endicott is also the site of BAE’s new aircraft electrification facility, which AirPro News covered when it opened.

A tanker fleet delivered between 1957 and 1965

The KC-135 has served as the Air Force’s main aerial refueling aircraft for more than 60 years, according to the Air Force fact sheet published by MacDill Air Force Base. It refuels Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and allied aircraft and can also carry patients on aeromedical evacuation missions. The Air Force bought the first 29 aircraft of a planned 732-aircraft fleet in 1954. The first aircraft flew in August 1956, the first production Stratotanker was delivered to Castle Air Force Base, California, in June 1957, and the last KC-135 was delivered in 1965.

More than 417 of the original KC-135As were re-engined with CFM International CFM-56 turbofans as the KC-135R or KC-135T. The fact sheet says the re-engined tankers offload 50% more fuel, are 25% more fuel efficient and cost 25% less to operate. Each CFM-56 produces 21,634 pounds of thrust, and the aircraft’s prime contractor is The Boeing Company. The last KC-135E retired in 2009.

Air Mobility Command manages 396 Stratotankers, according to the fact sheet, which lists 153 with the active-duty force, 171 with the Air National Guard and 72 with the Air Force Reserve. The tanker can transfer up to 200,000 pounds of fuel, nearly all of it through the flying boom operated from the rear of the aircraft, and some aircraft carry wingtip multipoint pods that can refuel two receivers at once. A drogue attached to the boom lets the tanker refuel probe-equipped aircraft. The basic crew is three, a pilot, a co-pilot and a boom operator, with a navigator added on some missions.

AirPro News has also reported on KC-135 fleet inspections after falsified certifications. BAE’s release does not address the fleet’s retirement timeline or say how long the company expects to support the FMS.

HEGGEMANN AG and Deutsche Aircraft have completed taxi and initial flight-test validation of a new landing gear system for both the existing Dornier 328 fleet and the D328eco, the companies announced on November 5, 2026. The gear now moves into further certification work covering flight, structural, durability, braking, steering and operational testing.

In a press release dated November 5, 2026, issued from Büren and Weßling in Germany, Deutsche Aircraft described the result as a certification milestone reached after extensive ground and flight testing. The release also sets out the part played by HEGGEMANN, the development and industrial partner behind the gear, which is also the partner for serial production of landing gear shipsets for Dornier 328 aircraft already in service.

HEGGEMANN’s role on the programme

According to the release, HEGGEMANN provided the landing gear engineering for the programme. That work included concept development, structural design, drop-test campaigns, structural, performance and endurance trials, and full DO-160 environmental testing. The two companies have worked together since the D328eco programme began in 2020.

Dr. Christian Howe, CEO of HEGGEMANN AG, said the successful flight-test validation “confirms the robustness” of the landing gear system. HEGGEMANN said it will keep supporting Deutsche Aircraft until the D328eco enters service.

According to its company history, HEGGEMANN was founded in 1962 by Paul and Maria Heggemann as a local workshop that made metal frames for gliders, moved to its current site at Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport in 1995, and delivered its first landing gear systems, for Zeppelin and Grob, in 2000, when it also added an in-house drop-test rig. Its landing gear page lists engineering, manufacturing, testing and MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) services, a test facility in Paderborn working to EASA, FAA and DO-160G environmental standards, and EASA Part 145 approval for repair and overhaul.

From taxi runs to a first flight campaign

The November milestone follows Low-Speed Taxi (LST) and High-Speed Taxi (HST) testing and a first flight-test phase on a dedicated Dornier 328 test aircraft, which completed its initial development flight campaign in September 2026. In a press release dated September 8, 2026, Deutsche Aircraft said flight testing began on August 5, 2026, and that the legacy aircraft had completed its first five development flights, meeting all planned test objectives. That release, which AirPro News covered in its report on the first five testbed flights, said the aircraft had logged more than 15 hours with the new gear across flight and ground testing.

The new gear uses one concept for current and future aircraft. Deutsche Aircraft said the design aims to improve corrosion resistance and maintainability and to integrate proven subsystem technologies within the existing installation envelope.

Wolfgang Kuhl, Vice President Programs & Innovations at Deutsche Aircraft, said: “The successful validation of the new landing gear is an important step on our certification journey for the D328eco.”

Why Deutsche Aircraft wants control of the gear

Deutsche Aircraft said the milestone supports its strategy to secure full intellectual property control and engineering authority over the landing gear, which it expects to strengthen supply chain resilience and long-term product stewardship. The September release explained the reasoning. It said landing gear has been a recurring challenge in regional aviation, and that reliance on third-party suppliers and limited access to intellectual property can lead to spare parts shortages, complex lifecycle management and operational uncertainty.

In that release, the company said it had moved to a new landing gear supplier and obtained full intellectual property rights, placing the gear architecture under its direct engineering authority. Chief Executive Nico Neumann said bringing the system under the company’s direct control was intended to deliver greater reliability, resilience and long-term support.

For operators of the existing Dornier 328, Deutsche Aircraft listed three benefits in September: a common landing gear architecture across both generations, improved lifecycle support and maintainability, and better spare parts availability with more predictable lead times. The November release names HEGGEMANN as the partner for serial production of landing gear shipsets for existing Dornier 328 aircraft.

What comes next for the D328eco

Certification work continues with flight, structural, durability, braking, steering and operational testing, according to the November release. The September release listed the upcoming flight tests as braking and stopping-distance validation, steering and ground-handling evaluations, crosswind testing and unpaved runway testing, with high-load and structural testing and stress, durability and reliability evaluations among the certification assessments.

The gear programme runs alongside the industrial build-up for the D328eco. Deutsche Aircraft opened its Final Assembly Line at Leipzig/Halle Airport on September 29, 2026, an investment the company put at more than €100 million for a facility designed for up to 48 aircraft per year, as AirPro News reported on the Leipzig final assembly line opening. The company said that opening marked the programme’s transition from development to serial production, with Leipzig handling assembly, flight readiness and global deliveries and Oberpfaffenhofen remaining the home of engineering, flight testing and certification.

Neither the November landing gear release nor the September assembly line release gives a date for the D328eco’s entry into service.

Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) inducted its first U.S. Air Force HH-60W Jolly Green II for scheduled depot-level maintenance on September 21, 2026, at its new facility at the North Carolina Global TransPark in Kinston. It is the first planned maintenance under a depot assignment that, according to the U.S. Navy, represents about 70% of the platform’s total expected workload.

The Navy announced the milestone in a news release dated November 3, 2026, describing the aircraft as the platform’s first to be brought in for planned maintenance at the Global TransPark site. The induction followed the September 17 ribbon cutting of the facility, which the Navy said was built specifically to support the depot’s new workload.

A full teardown, not a targeted fix

FRCE was selected in 2023 as the stateside depot source of repair for the HH-60W. Under that selection, FRCE will conduct all airframe programmed depot maintenance for Jolly Green II aircraft located within the continental United States, the share the Navy puts at about 70% of the platform’s total expected workload.

HH-60W Branch Head Travis Beamon said the team had been preparing for the induction since FRCE was selected for the workload in 2023. He described the scheduled visit as a significantly more in-depth maintenance event than the depot’s earlier repairs: the aircraft is completely disassembled, with all paint, parts and components removed, including fuel, hydraulics and electronics. Technicians then carry out structural evaluations and repair any defects, and after reassembly the helicopter goes through final operational and flight checks.

“We are going over every single part with a fine-tooth comb,” Beamon said.

FRCE has performed in-service repairs on the HH-60W for nearly a year, according to the release. The Navy defines these as unscheduled, targeted repair requests triggered by a specific fleet issue, and Beamon said they helped prepare the team for the first scheduled induction. Many of the artisans on the new line previously maintained the legacy UH-1N Huey. Ryan James, an aircraft maintainer on the HH-60W line, said he had worked on H-1s during his military service and had done HH-60 in-service repairs at Mid-Atlantic, experience he said helped him during the transition.

What the Air Force expects from its depot partner

The HH-60W replaces the HH-60G Pave Hawk as a dedicated combat rescue helicopter for the Air Force. According to the Navy, it is used to recover isolated personnel from hostile or denied territory, day or night and in adverse weather, and also flies humanitarian missions, civil search and rescue, disaster relief, medical evacuation and non-combatant evacuations.

Charles Darnell, division chief at the Air Force HH-60W Helicopter Program Office, said the mission leaves zero margin for failure, which makes it vital to partner with a depot-level maintenance facility able to meet the Air Force’s stringent standards for aircraft reliability. He said combat rescue missions demand a depot with a demonstrated record of quality, reliability and on-time delivery, and that the collaboration with FRCE will strengthen HH-60W readiness and fleet reliability.

FRCE Commanding Officer Col. Christopher C. McDonald II called the induction a significant milestone in the depot’s support of warfighter readiness. “This induction and the expansion of our industrial capacity are more than milestones,” McDonald said, adding that they reflect the command’s commitment to strengthening joint force aviation.

How the Global TransPark complex came together

FRCE is based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Havelock, North Carolina, and operates as part of the U.S. Navy, Naval Air Systems Command and Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers. In its May 4, 2026 lease announcement, it described itself as North Carolina’s largest maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and technical services provider, with more than 3,600 civilian, military and contract workers.

The Navy signed the lease for the Kinston property on April 15, 2026. It gives FRCE 65 acres at the Global TransPark for work on Navy and Marine Corps C/KC-130 Hercules and Super Hercules transport aircraft as well as the HH-60W. The Navy described the arrangement with the state as the first partnership of its kind within the Department of War, and said the idea originated more than six years before that announcement, from the need for an East Coast C-130 maintenance facility and a lack of adequate space for one.

The North Carolina Office of the Governor said on April 16, 2026, that the 10-year agreement covers space at the 2,500-acre multimodal industrial park, and that the Navy had signed a $15 million-per-year contract that takes effect once FRCE fully occupies its 65-acre space. It added that the finished hangars will give the Navy 17 acres under roof.

State lawmakers approved a $350 million loan in 2023 for site improvements to accommodate FRCE, according to the governor’s office, and the Navy describes the FRCE facility as 750,000 square feet. The Navy said the long-term lease, executed by Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC), yields an estimated $700 million cost avoidance for the U.S. government and cuts the construction timeline by more than 50%.

At the September 17 opening of what the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) called the Fleet Readiness Center East C-130/HH-60 MRO Complex, Governor Josh Stein and other officials welcomed the Navy to the park’s newest hangar. NCDOT said the facility will maintain the C/KC-130J Super Hercules and C/KC-130T Hercules alongside the HH-60W, and that the Navy expects more than 400 high-skilled jobs and estimates $164 million a year for the eastern North Carolina economy.

Earlier HH-60W work at Kinston and what comes next

The September induction was not FRCE’s first HH-60W work at the Global TransPark. In an earlier release, FRCE described its first on-site HH-60W in-service repair, carried out at its existing H-1 facility at the Global TransPark. That helicopter arrived on an Air Force C-5M Super Galaxy, and the team had earlier completed its first HH-60W in-service repair at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. FRCE said its HH-60W team had trained alongside operational Air Force maintenance squadrons since 2024, and had trained at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, on loading and unloading the helicopter, because many future HH-60W inductions will arrive by C-5.

Construction is not finished. NCDOT said on September 17, 2026, that most of phase one, which began in March 2024, was complete, with final work expected the following summer. The C-130 complex project began in 2020, and NCDOT said the Navy chose the park because it could host a facility large enough for large military aircraft and is centrally located on the East Coast.