The business and general aviation industry set a new mark in 2025 with combined aircraft and helicopter billings jumping by 14.5% to a record $35.7 billion as shipments collectively topped 4,100, GAMA reported this afternoon during its annual State of the Industry review in Washington, D.C. However, the results were not uniform, with growth in the business jet and piston sector offsetting a slide in helicopter and turboprop deliveries.

Airplane shipments rose 2.2% overall year over year (YOY) to 3,230 units, while billings soared to $31 billion, a 16.1% leap from 2024. The business jet segment drove these increases, with deliveries up by 11.8% to 854 aircraft. Piston aircraft deliveries also edged by 0.6%, or 10 units, to 1,782 last year. But turboprop deliveries declined by 5.1% YOY to 594.

Helicopter shipments were uniformly down, with piston and turbine deliveries each dipping by 1.9% to 206 and 732, respectively. This brought overall deliveries down by 1.9% to 938. Even so, helicopter billings increased by 5.5% to $4.7 billion.

“The state of the general aviation manufacturing industry remains steadfast. We continue to see robust numbers of total aircraft delivered, as well as annual billings eclipsing $35 billion, the highest it has ever been,” GAMA president and CEO James Viola said. “While some segments are seeing marginal declines in deliveries, they are all still above 2019 levels.”

Dyami Security Intelligence is warning its aviation clients to prepare for disruption to flights in and around the Persian Gulf region. The group’s just-released security assessment says U.S. and Israeli forces are preparing for imminent attacks on Iran, which could trigger security threats in neighboring countries and airspace.

According to Dyami’s analysts, increased movements of combat and support aircraft in the Mediterranean Sea and Gulf suggest that the Pentagon is now moving from a “signalling” posture to a state of “executable readiness.” Indirect diplomatic discussions involving Iranian and U.S. officials in Geneva have continued this week, with Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghci saying yesterday that some progress has occurred in discussions focused mainly on Iran’s nuclear program.

“Commercial air operators in the Middle East should anticipate a rapidly changing airspace environment if military operations commence,” warned the Dyami analysts. “Short-notice airspace closures, expanded restricted zones, GPS interference, increased military traffic, and possible missile or drone activity across Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, western Iran, and adjacent FIRs are a plausible risk.”

Dyami’s report concluded that attacks on Iran could start at the end of this week and may span several weeks, with Pentagon plans apparently including “an opening wave” to degrade Iranian strategic capabilities followed by strikes against supporting infrastructure. It says there will be minimal warning of these attacks.

Aery Aviation, a Newport News-based Part 135 air charter operator and Part 145 maintenance provider, has launched a special-mission "aircraft as a service" product using highly modified, low-time preowned Gulfstream IV-SPs. Dubbed Raven, the multi-mission platform can be used for a variety of civil and defense missions, including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; maritime patrol; electronic warfare; airborne testbed; UAV tracking and jamming; lidar mapping; rocket launch monitoring; and sea search radar.

The company has already modified one GIV-SP with 16 hardpoints—each having milspec connections and additional RF and fiber-optic attachments for future growth—that can accommodate some 40 swappable sensor pods, with configurations based on the mission. In addition, the aircraft has a mechanically-steerable array, positioned just below the nose, capable of scanning the 3 MHz to 18 GHz spectrum. Aery is modifying two other GIV-SPs into Raven platforms.

According to Aery CEO Steve Walton, all engineering, certification, and modification work for this project is being done in-house. While the company could modify and sell special-mission aircraft, Walton told AIN that he prefers to “own, build, and fly” the Ravens and offer them under a more cost-effective, per-flight-hour-priced plan. A contract with the U.S. Navy is pending.

Each Raven has four workstations and can collect up to one terabyte of data per hour, Walton said. The modified twinjets also have a 12-hour loiter time.

Karlsruhe, Germany-based SPAES is now approved to provide avionics design and certification services for EASA CS-25 airplanes. The approval is an extension of the company’s EASA Part 21J independent design organization privileges.

These privileges enable SPAES to offer “the execution of supplemental type certificates and minor change and minor repair in the area of avionics, cabin interior, structure, electrical systems, NVIS, and medical equipment” for transport-category airplanes, according to the company. It also manufactures customer-specific products in addition to its own products, along with installation kits for Part 145 repair stations.

Benefits for SPAES customers include: “Integrated offering of development, manufacturing, and certification within EASA privileges; reduced interfaces and coordination effort across project phases; and improved planning reliability for aircraft modification programs.” Customers include air rescue operators and business aviation clients, and SPAES can modify aircraft with avionics upgrades and cabin and emergency medical modifications, “from technical design and implementation through to certification.”

“For our customers, this expanded scope means fewer handovers and a more streamlined project execution, especially for complex CS-25 modification programs,” said SPAES CEO Joachim Schanz.

The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) has opened ticket sales for its 2026 EBACE show. Its annual trade show will be held in Geneva from June 2 to 4 and include a newly formatted static display of aircraft.

The Brussels-based industry group said that the floor plan for indoor exhibits is now being finalized. Hall 6 inside the Palexpo convention center at Geneva Airport will feature a new operators’ lounge for intimate discussions between EBACE exhibitors and clients, as well as redesigned networking zones and three conference stages.

According to EBAA, the static display will include “a strong line-up” of business jets and turboprops. The organizers have had “strong manufacturer engagement” with one undisclosed major OEM understood to be a confirmed participant in the static display, with further announcements anticipated ahead of the show.

Last year, EBAA confirmed that Geneva will remain the home location for EBACE with a static display in even years, with the event expected to rotate to other European cities—sans static display—in odd years. The refreshed static display will offer discreet direct access to VIP visitors, who will not have to access this area through the main exhibit hall.

The show’s conference this year will feature a new media stage with planned discussions focusing on innovation, safety, and the industry’s future workforce.

Garmin has added Brazos Safety Systems, Navi, and Jet-Care to the list of companies that provide postflight analysis services based on flight data captured by Garmin avionics and offloaded via the GDL 60 PlaneSync datalink and other systems. The integration allows aircraft owners the option of sharing data with these service providers.

There are three ways to upload flight data to FlyGarmin: automatically via the GDL 60 with a PlaneSync subscription; from a Garmin Flight Stream 510 wireless gateway to the Garmin Pilot app; or from Garmin GI 275 electronic instruments wirelessly to Garmin Pilot. Data can include, depending on how the aircraft is equipped, “GPS track, attitude information, engine data, aircraft total time, departure time, CO levels, and more,” according to Garmin.

Earlier integrations included FlySto, Crewchief Systems, and Savvy Aviation. Brazos Safety Systems provides flight data monitoring and flight operations quality assurance services for helicopters and airplanes. Navi helps pilots debrief their flights by analyzing in-flight audio and avionics data and providing insights based on the captured information. Jet-Care detects turbine engine performance and core degradation problems with its gas-path analysis programs.

EASA has approved UK-based Gama Aviation’s maintenance training program for Beechcraft King Air 200- and 300-series turboprops. Training will be provided at Gama Aviation’s facilities in Bournemouth and Glasgow.

The Part 147 training program includes classroom sessions and hands-on practical training, “delivered by experienced instructors with extensive operational insight,” according to Gama Aviation.

Gama Aviation offers maintenance services for King Airs; Bombardier Challengers and Globals; Embraer Legacy 600/650s; and helicopters, including Airbus H145s and Leonardo AW139s and AW169s. The company’s Part 147 training operation continues to evaluate additions to its training portfolio to meet fleet requirements and customer demand.

“This approval demonstrates the strength of our training organization and the high standards we apply across every course we deliver,” said Gama Aviation Part 147 training manager Olusegun Johnson. “Our programs are designed to provide [maintenance] engineers with the knowledge, practical skills, and regulatory understanding required in today’s maintenance environment. By offering training in both Bournemouth and Glasgow, we are increasing flexibility for customers while maintaining the consistency and quality associated with Gama Aviation’s training provision.”