With a growing portfolio and lengthening backlog, Gulfstream Aerospace anticipates production will reach at least 200 aircraft a year in the not-too-distant future, which would be a record rate for the Savannah, Georgia airframer. Expressing confidence that Gulfstream would reach this production level, president Mark Burns said, “That’s a number. It's not the number.”

Speaking to reporters at NBAA-BACE, Burns noted that the production rate will be about 160 jets this year, but that the company has heavily invested in its facilities and designed them with scalability to accommodate growth.

The only member of Congress with both a pilot’s license and a graduate degree in artificial intelligence (AI) wants the FAA, not a standalone AI agency, to regulate the technology in aviation. 

Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-California), a 6,200-hour pilot who has owned his Embraer Phenom 300 for 15 years, chairs the House Science Committee’s research and technology subcommittee. Speaking Tuesday afternoon at NBAA-BACE 2026, he said the European Union’s AI Act leaves companies in regulated sectors answering to two regulators. “If you set out to regulate something for the purpose of regulation, you’ve embarked on a fool’s errand,” he said.

Barrington Irving, who holds two Guinness World Records as the youngest person, and first Black man, to fly solo around the world 20 years ago, is planning another world flight in 2027. This time the feat is aimed at encouraging more people to embrace aviation careers—and to expand support from companies for apprenticeships and training. 

Irving’s 2007 flight was in a Columbia 400 piston single, but next year’s trip will be faster in a business jet. As was the case for the first trip, Executive Air Services founder and CEO Fabio Alexander Vasquez will sponsor the 2027 flight, and the Aircraft Electronics Association and NBAA will provide additional support. Vasquez introduced Irving to NBAA before his first flight, and that led to broad support from the industry.

Global aviation training provider CAE has launched Ready for Work, a computer-based initiative aimed at getting aircraft maintenance technicians up to speed faster, at a time when the industry is facing skilled labor shortages. It focuses on that two-year period between when a technician earns their airframe and powerplant certificate and their start of initial aircraft type training. 

That period typically consists of learning through on-the-job training, according to David Bienvenu, general manager of CAE’s maintenance training division. 

RTX is solving the complexity of connecting the aviation industry. Through innovations in areas such biometrics and airport management systems, RTX is improving the passenger experience and making air travel even safer.

True Blue Power, a subsidiary of Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics, has announced FAA approval of a supplemental type certificate (STC) for its Gen5 TB50 lithium-ion main ship batteries for the Gulfstream IV, G450, V, and G550 jets.

The STC was developed by 101 Aviation in partnership with Aloft AeroArchitects, and according to Van Winter, Mid-Continent’s s-v-p of sales and marketing, it encompasses approximately 1,200 airframes, half of which are G550s. While True Blue produces Li-ion batteries for aircraft down to the Cessna 172, it moves into a higher weight class with the G550 battery STC. 

Aircraft operators are being offered help in assessing the feasibility of each planned flight with the launch of UAS International Trip Support’s artificial intelligence-based SkyX tool. The Dubai-based group launched the latest addition to its GTMx digital trip management platform on Tuesday at NBAA-BACE.

According to UAS, aviation professionals will now be able to start their trip-planning process by describing a planned mission in their own words and receive an initial feasibility assessment. The SkyX AI agent will quickly assess all relevant operational requirements, potential constraints, and logistical and safety considerations for specific destinations.

Rolls-Royce is adding five benefits to its CorporateCare Enhanced engine maintenance program, without charging operators more per flight hour, the engine maker announced on Monday at NBAA-BACE. The additions extend coverage to minor foreign object damage (FOD) and time-expired parts on Pearl engines, among other changes.

Lindsey Gillen, Rolls-Royce v-p of sales and marketing, said the changes grew out of feedback from operators on the company’s Corporate Customer Council, which meets annually in Europe and the U.S. This round brings “not necessarily huge coverage changes, but customer experience pieces,” she told AIN.

Perfect Point EDM is demonstrating technology this week at NBAA-BACE that simplifies and speeds up the tedious process of removing fasteners from aircraft structures without damaging the fastened material. and speeding up the removal process. The company’s E-Drill also eliminates shavings, heat, and foreign object debris that occur with twist drilling.

The E-Drill uses electro-discharge machining (EDM), with a precision-sized electrode that matches the fastener size. To remove a fastener, the technician first selects the fastener and material type on the E-Drill display, then positions the vacuum-locator tool over the fastener, using a “bombsight” to align the tool. A vacuum holds the tool firmly, even on curved surfaces.

The digital flip-through issues of AIN’s award-winning NBAA Convention News is now available online. It’s a great way to quickly scan the news from NBAA-BACE 2026, whether you’re in Las Vegas attending the show or watching from afar.