Signia Aerospace, a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Heads Up Technologies, an Addison, Texas, supplier of aircraft cabin management, lighting, and audio and video systems, from JLL Partners. The deal brings cabin electronics into a Signia portfolio whose brands have centered on propellers, wheels and brakes, thermal systems and rescue equipment.

Signia announced the agreement in a press release dated November 4, 2026. The release did not disclose the purchase price or an expected closing date. Harris Williams is financial advisor to Signia, and Lincoln International and Mesirow are financial advisors to Heads Up.

What Heads Up brings to Signia

According to the release, Heads Up provides proprietary aircraft cabin systems and components, including cabin management systems, audio and video distribution, cabin lighting, electronic controls, displays and passenger interfaces, for aerospace OEMs and aircraft operators in business and commercial aviation. Signia said the products are designed into aircraft cabin architectures and that Heads Up holds long-standing positions on major aircraft platforms, with aftermarket demand for replacement parts, upgrades and cabin modernization. The release does not name the platforms.

JLL Partners describes Heads Up as a designer and maker of proprietary cockpit, cabin and aircraft systems and components, “primarily for business jet applications.” Its product categories include interior and exterior lighting systems, cabin management systems and tactile passenger hardware components.

On its website, Heads Up lists six facilities in the US, UK and Germany, including sites operating under the ALTO, STG and Innovative Advantage names. Its Texas operations list an FAA Production Approval Holder (PAH) approval and FAA and EASA Part 145 repair station approvals, its Cwmbran, UK, site a Civil Aviation Authority Production Organisation Approval (POA), and its Hamburg, Germany, office an EASA Design Organisation Approval (DOA). The company says it launched in June 2024 what it describes as “the first sustainable emergency floor path marking product,” called saf-Tglo eco E1.

Norman Jordan, Chief Executive Officer of Signia, said “Heads Up Technologies is an outstanding addition to Signia Aerospace” and that the deal strengthens Signia’s position in highly engineered, proprietary aerospace systems, citing Heads Up’s technology, customer relationships and platform positions. He said it fits Signia’s strategy of investing in businesses whose products are essential to aircraft operation.

Andrew Wall, President of Signia’s Aircraft Systems business, said Heads Up has earned the trust of leading aircraft manufacturers and operators through decades of engineering expertise and product reliability. He described its integrated cabin management and electronics capabilities, along with its lighting and aftermarket portfolio, as a platform for growth.

How Signia has grown since 2022

Arcline formed Signia on July 19, 2022, together with the acquisition of International Mezzo Technologies, a maker of microtube heat exchangers. At launch, Signia had two business units, Thermal Management and Mission Equipment, and Arcline appointed Norman Jordan, a former CEO of Safran Cabin with more than 30 years of aerospace experience, as chief executive.

On July 9, 2024, Signia agreed to buy the Goodrich Hoist & Winch business from Collins Aerospace, an RTX Corporation business, adding rescue hoists and cargo winches to its Mission Systems segment. It acquired Precise Flight of Bend, Oregon, on August 11, 2025, as covered in Signia’s purchase of Precise Flight, and on April 14, 2026, it bought Aerox Aerospace Group, an aviation oxygen systems supplier in Bonita Springs, Florida, in a deal it presented as expanding its aircraft systems capability.

Signia’s brand list now includes ACE Thermal Systems, Cleveland Wheel & Brake Systems, Hartzell Aviation, Hartzell Propeller, International Water Guard, Lifesaving Systems, Meeker Aviation, Mezzo Technologies, Onboard Systems, Onboard Hoist & Winch and Precise Flight. Signia’s own descriptions of those brands cover thermal management, wheels and brakes, welding and engine technology, propellers, onboard water systems, rescue and cargo handling equipment, external payload mounts and safety systems. Heads Up adds cabin management, lighting and passenger-experience technology to that mix.

Arcline’s growing scale

The size Arcline reports in its boilerplate has grown across Signia’s deal announcements. The firm described $8.9 billion in cumulative capital commitments in July 2024 and $14 billion in cumulative capital commitments in August 2025. It cited over $20 billion in assets under management in April 2026 and over $30 billion in assets under management in the Heads Up release. The two later figures use a different measure from the two earlier ones.

Arcline says it builds “Industrial Compounders,” which it describes as market-leading, mission-critical industrial platforms designed to compound earnings over decades. Arcline-backed Arxis began trading on Nasdaq on April 16, 2026, which Arcline describes as the first of its Industrial Compounders to go public, following the Arxis initial public offering.

Signia did not say when it expects the Heads Up transaction to close.

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.