Business Aviation

BlackSky Signs New Block Buy for Five Rocket Lab Launches

BlackSky Signs New Block Buy for Five Rocket Lab Launches

Rocket Lab USA, Inc (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, has today announced it has signed another block buy deal for five Electron launches with BlackSky, a leading provider of real-time geospatial intelligence and global monitoring services.

Rocket Lab has launched six Electron missions for BlackSky since 2019, becoming the primary launch provider for BlackSky’s constellation. With these five new launches added to the manifest, BlackSky has contracted more Electron launches than any other single commercial customer. The launches are expected to begin in 2024 from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand.

“After four years of launching for BlackSky, we’re delighted to continue our partnership with more dedicated launches on Electron,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck. “Building and maintaining a constellation requires precision deployment to unique orbits and a dependable launch schedule. We’re proud to deliver this dependable and tailored capability launch after launch, year after year.”

BlackSky’s next-generation Gen-3 satellites are designed to produce images with up to 35-centimeter resolution. Increased resolution and enhanced spectral diversity extend BlackSky’s ability to provide real-time insights to its customers in a broad set of conditions, including nighttime, low light and challenging weather.

The new BlackSky launches join a busy Electron manifest in 2024 featuring missions for commercial constellation operators Capella Space, Kinéis, Hawkeye 360, and Synspective, as well as a variety of government missions.

About Rocket Lab

Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with an established track record of mission success. We deliver reliable launch services, satellite manufacture, spacecraft components, and on-orbit management solutions that make it faster, easier and more affordable to access space. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron small orbital launch vehicle and the Photon satellite platform and is developing the Neutron 13-ton payload class launch vehicle. Since its first orbital launch in January 2018, Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle has become the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered 170 satellites to orbit for private and public sector organizations, enabling operations in national security, scientific research, space debris mitigation, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and communications. Rocket Lab’s Photon spacecraft platform has been selected to support NASA missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as the first private commercial mission to Venus. Rocket Lab has three launch pads at two launch sites, including two launch pads at a private orbital launch site located in New Zealand and a third launch site in Virginia, USA.

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Allegiant secures financing for airbus a320 ceo and boeing 737 max aircraft

PR Newswire | October 05, 2023

Allegiant Travel Company announced financing commitments for seven Airbus A320 and four Boeing 737 MAX aircraft from BNP Paribas, Europe's leading bank, and Jackson Square Aviation (JSA), a leading global commercial aircraft lessor. The innovative $412M deal combines banking and lessor capital to secure Allegiant's aircraft financing needs into the second quarter 2024, while providing the airline with healthy liquidity at an attractive cost in today's market. "We are delighted with BNP Paribas and Jackson Square's creativity in providing what we believe is an efficient framework that affords us robust liquidity to support foundational investments in our fleet. This transaction taps into young A320 CEO aircraft and will also serve as the inaugural financing for our Boeing 737 MAX equipment," said Robert Neal, Allegiant's senior vice president and chief financial officer. Allegiant has drawn down $196 million on September 29, and the remainder will be drawn commensurate with its initial 737 MAX deliveries. "Our relationship with BNP Paribas, spanning more than a decade, has been instrumental in our growth as an ultra-low-cost leader. We are thrilled to welcome Jackson Square Aviation as a new partner as we make air travel more affordable and accessible to leisure travelers," added Neal. "We are delighted to provide Allegiant, a long-standing client of the bank, an innovative and first-of-its-kind financing solution which combines bank and lessor capital into one transaction. This transaction allows the airline to maximize value while having more structural flexibility to manage its aircraft fleet versus the more traditional aircraft financing alternatives," said Ankush Chowdhury, managing director & head of transportation banking and capital markets at BNP Paribas. "BNP Paribas is honored to partner with Jackson Square Aviation as we continue to innovate in the world of aviation finance with the goal of providing efficient and thoughtful financing solutions to our aviation clients," added Chowdhury. "It's a great pleasure to have Allegiant as a new airline customer for Jackson Square Aviation and we're pleased to be working together with a long-standing banking partner, BNP Paribas," said Chris Dailey, president & chief commercial officer of JSA. "Combining the strengths of JSA and BNP Paribas, we're able to provide an efficient financing solution for Allegiant's fleet of in-service Airbus A320s and next generation Boeing 737-8-200s, which we're also excited to introduce as a first into our portfolio," said Dailey. Allegiant currently operates an all-Airbus fleet comprised of 127 Airbus A319s and A320s. Allegiant has agreed to purchase up to 130 Boeing 737-7 and 737-8-200 models in a multi-year deal, Boeing's first with an ultra-low-cost carrier in the United States. The new 737 MAX additions will afford the airline flexibility, environmental benefits, and new customer features. AboutAllegiant – Together We Fly Las Vegas-based Allegiant (NASDAQ: ALGT) is an integrated travel company with an airline at its heart, focused on connecting customers with the people, places and experiences that matter most. Since 1999, Allegiant Air has linked travelers in small-to-medium cities to world-class vacation destinations with all-nonstop flights and industry-low average fares. Today, Allegiant serves communities across the nation, with base airfares less than half the cost of the average domestic roundtrip ticket.

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Aviation Technology

Joby Delivers First eVTOL Aircraft to Edwards Air Force Base Ahead of Schedule

Joby | September 28, 2023

Joby Aviation, Inc, a company developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for commercial passenger service, today announced it has delivered its first aircraft to Edwards Air Force Base approximately six months ahead of the expected 2024 delivery date. On-base operations with Joby aircraft will be used to demonstrate a range of logistics missions, including cargo and passenger transportation, and will be operated by both Joby and U.S. Air Force personnel. In partnership with the U.S. Air Force, NASA will also use the aircraft for research focused on how these aircraft could fit into the national airspace, benefiting the entire air taxi industry. Joby’s aircraft, which has already begun flying at Edwards AFB, is the first electric air taxi to be stationed on a U.S. military base and is believed to be the first delivery of an electric air taxi in the U.S., as part of Joby’s $131 million AFWERX Agility Prime contract with the U.S. Air Force. Joby’s current and previously completed work with the Department of Defense represents a total potential contract value of $163 million, the largest in the industry. The Agility Prime contract includes the provisioning of up to nine aircraft to the U.S. Air Force and other federal agencies, reinforcing the U.S. government’s continued leadership in developing and adopting eVTOL technology, and ushering in a new era of electric aviation. A second aircraft is planned to be delivered to Edwards in early 2024. The aircraft, which was the first built on Joby’s Pilot Production Line in Marina, CA, will be stationed at Edwards Air Force Base for at least the next year, with charging and ground support equipment provided on-base by Joby in a facility purpose-built by the Air Force for joint flight test operations. The U.S. Air Force and Joby will conduct joint flight testing and operations to demonstrate the aircraft’s capabilities in realistic mission settings. On-base operations will also include the training of Air Force pilots and aircraft maintenance crews, which will provide the DOD with valuable insight into the performance of eVTOL aircraft and will give Joby on-the-ground operational and training experience as the company prepares for the launch of commercial passenger service in 2025. “We’re proud to join the ranks of revolutionary aircraft that first demonstrated their capabilities at Edwards Air Force Base, including the first American jet fighter, the first supersonic aircraft, and many others that have pushed the boundaries of aviation technology,” said JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby. “The longstanding support of the DOD and NASA has been critical to the rapid development of electric aviation and eVTOL aircraft, and demonstrates how successful public-private partnerships can bring new technology to life at speed. Their work will have profound implications for continued American leadership in both commercial and defense aerospace technology,” he added. Joby’s partnership with the DOD dates back to its 2016 engagement with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), which granted the company early funding as well as access to test ranges and expertise that have aided its aircraft development program. “Agility Prime’s stated objective in 2020 was to work towards an operational capability for transformative vertical lift in the DoD by 2023. The arrival of Joby’s aircraft at Edwards AFB is an important step towards achieving this objective,” said Col Elliott Leigh, AFWERX director and Chief Commercialization Officer for the Department of the Air Force. “The delivery of this first eVTOL aircraft is the start of a new chapter in Edwards’ rich aerospace history,” notes Maj Phillip Woodhull, director, Emerging Technologies Integrated Test Force. “This partners private industry with the 412th Test Wing’s world-renowned test management execution. We are excited to agilely test, experiment with, and evaluate this new technology for potential future national defense applications.” In partnership with the U.S. Air Force’s AFWERX program, NASA will also be supporting this testing at Edwards Air Force Base with NASA’s pilots, researchers, and equipment as part of their commitment to advancing the Advanced Air Mobility industry as a whole, for the benefit of all. NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center is located on Edwards Air Force Base, and has a long history of supporting important technological milestones in aviation and space – supersonic and hypersonic flight, digital fly-by-wire control systems, and the space shuttles. “NASA’s participation in the Joby and AFWERX project will provide our researchers with hands-on experience with a representative eVTOL vehicle, concentrated on how these types of aircraft could fit into the national airspace for everyday use, that will inform NASA’s effort in supporting the entire eVTOL industry,” said NASA research pilot Wayne Ringelberg. “The research will include a focus on handling qualities evaluation tools, autonomy, and airspace integration, which is all needed research to push the industry forward.” Over the past year, the U.S. Air Force and Marines have made multiple visits to Joby’s manufacturing and flight test facilities in Marina, CA. Four U.S. Air Force pilots completed full remotely-piloted transition flights of the Joby aircraft in April, and two groups of Marines visited in May to conduct mission analysis regarding potential logistics and medical applications of the aircraft. With a range of up to 100 miles plus energy reserves and a top speed of 200 mph, the Joby aircraft is capable of transporting a pilot and four passengers quickly and quietly with zero operating emissions. The delivery will be celebrated at an event held this morning at 10:00am PT at Edwards Air Force Base. The event can be watched live via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qVLQsz_YJc. Media assets, including photos and videos of the Joby aircraft in flight, are available here. About Joby Joby Aviation, Inc. is a California-based transportation company developing an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing air taxi which it intends to operate as part of a fast, quiet, and convenient service in cities around the world. About AFRL The Air Force Research Laboratory is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 11,500 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. About AFWERX The innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory brings cutting edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. Employs approximately 325 military, civilian and contractor personnel at six hubs and sites executing an annual $1.4B budget. Since 2019, has executed 4,671 contracts worth more than $2B to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability.

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Aviation Technology

Supernal, Hyundai WIA and Mecaer Aviation Group Partner to Accelerate eVTOL Landing Gear Development

PR Newswire | October 19, 2023

Supernal, Hyundai Motor Group's (HMG) Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company, Hyundai WIA, a global automotive and aerospace parts manufacturer and Mecaer Aviation Group, an Italy-based global aeronautical company, announced today a partnership to design and manufacture landing gear systems for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles. Hyundai WIA specializes in mass manufacturing and precision machine tools, while Mecaer is experienced in designing and building aerospace-grade landing gear systems. The three partners are collaborating to improve the safety and overall performance of eVTOL vehicles by addressing weight, structural efficiency, energy absorption and electronic system integration in the landing gear design and manufacturing process. "Our collaboration with Hyundai WIA and Mecaer is a testament to Supernal's commitment to innovation and the highest standards of safety, design and manufacturing for Advanced Air Mobility," said Jaiwon Shin, president of Hyundai Motor Group and CEO of Supernal. "This partnership unites our collective strengths and expertise to deliver aerospace-grade eVTOL landing gear in record time and ensure their scalability and sustainability. These types of automotive and aerospace strategic alliances are key to the growth and success of our emerging industry." The partnership is critical to Supernal's efforts to pioneer high-scale production processes that will meet future demands of the AAM industry. The collaboration will support the business model—and streamline manufacturing—by incorporating state-of-the-art materials and efficient assembly technologies. "Hyundai WIA looks forward to leveraging our expertise from the automotive industry in large-scale parts manufacturing for the benefit of Supernal's upcoming eVTOL aircraft," said Jae-Wook Jung, president and CEO of Hyundai WIA. "We foresee significant potential to help demonstrate how cross-industry efficiencies can address enduring supply chain challenges, as well as the potential created by a new category of civil aviation." "We are especially proud to announce our participation in this industry-leading strategic partnership and to have teamed with Supernal and Hyundai WIA to design, develop and manufacture a fully integrated wheeled landing gear for the Advanced Air Mobility company's eVTOL vehicle," said Bruno Spagnolini, CEO, Mecaer. "We are extremely appreciative of the trust Supernal has shown in the ability of the Mecaer and Hyundai WIA team to produce and innovate its landing gear system." Supernal, Hyundai WIA and Mecaer held a signing ceremony for the partnership at the Seoul Air Show on October 18.

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