Japan`s defence ministry has taken delivery of Kawasaki Heavy Industries` prototype XP-1 maritime patrol aircraft for a long-term programme of test and evaluation activities. Flown for the first time in 2007, the demonstrator has completed an initial 11-month phase of testing by its prime contractor, which expects to build 70 production P-1s to replace Japan`s KHI/Lockheed Martin P-3C Orions.  

Sikorsky X2 Demonstrator Sikorsky’s futuristic X2 high-speed helicopter technology demonstrator made its first flight today in Horseheads, N.Y., in the hands of chief test pilot Kevin L. Bredenbeck. The single-engined fly-by-wire aircraft features coaxial rotors and a pusher propeller that Sikorsky believes will revolutionize the helicopter world with cruise speeds of up to 250 kts, some 100 kts faster than current production helicopters.