Two years on from the Covid bounce-back of 2022, the great and the good of the global aerospace and defense industry will file through the Farnborough gates eager to see whether the historic airshow has gotten its power and influence back.

Farnborough Airshow veterans will recall epic past shows where Airbus, Boeing, and other airliner makers battled for bragging rights over who announced the biggest boosts to their order backlogs while performing captivating face-offs between combat aircraft.

Air navigation service providers around the world still struggle to recruit, train, and retain air traffic controllers as staffing levels still have not recovered from Covid-era layoffs and retirements. In the U.S. alone, the FAA needs to fill about 3,000 vacancies in a situation that appears to mirror the pilot shortage.

Aviation training group CAE offers to remedy the challenge through its new Air Traffic Services program, which will launch in October with NavCanada. Between then and the end of 2028, the Montreal-based company expects to prepare more than 500 students in a process beginning with  three to six months of initial training before their assignment to on-the-job training positions at NavCanada facilities around the country.

With more than 3,300 CFM International Leap-powered aircraft in service and more than 10,000 additional engines currently in backlog, GE Aerospace is earmarking an increasing portion of its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) investments to support the high-bypass turbofan engines that power the Airbus A320neo, the Boeing 737 Max, and the Comac C919.

Overall, GE Aerospace plans to invest more than $1 billion over five years in its MRO and component repair facilities worldwide. The investments will help create capacity to meet growth in both the widebody and narrowbody installed base by adding additional engine test cells and equipment. The funding also will add cutting-edge technology, including enhanced inspection techniques, to reduce turnaround times for customers and expand component repair capability within its overhaul shops.

Four months into her demanding new role as interim president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Stephanie Pope has taken strength from extensive feedback from employees as they strive to roll out the safety and quality plan critical to restoring the airframer’s bruised reputation. On the eve of this year’s Farnborough Airshow, she told a Presidents Panel briefing in London that the input from colleagues is what gives her confidence they can achieve their goals in terms of simplifying procedures, reducing defects, and improving build plans, while at the same time embedding a profound safety culture throughout the company.

Germany’s Bundeswehr has opted to buy more than 3,200 MBDA Brimstone 3 precision strike missiles to arm its Eurofighter Typhoon fleet. A final assembly line and service center will open at Schrobenhausen in Bavaria to fulfill the order and to support the weapon in service. The facility is close to the Luftwaffe’s Eurofighter base at Neuburg and to the major test and maintenance center at Manching. Currently, all Brimstones are assembled in the UK.

“The procurement of Brimstone 3 by Germany is a decisive contribution to the harmonization of armaments in Europe and the Bundeswehr’s ammunition stockpile,” said MBDA CEO Eric Béranger. “The new production line is the first of its kind outside the UK and demonstrates the value of the MBDA cooperation model in ensuring the sovereign supply of critical European defense capabilities.”

The digital flip-through issue of AIN’s award-winning Farnborough Airshow News is now available online. It’s a great way to quickly scan the news from Farnborough 2024, whether you’re attending the show or watching from afar.