Aviation Week's Check 6 Podcast

Airframers' 2025 delivery totals are in. Aviation Week's team grades Airbus, Boeing and the smaller OEMs on their production performance last year.

Analyst Byron Callan joins Aviation Week editors to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump's attack on contractor profits and his plan to boost defense spending by 50%. Find out more about Aviation Week's Defense Conference  here

Watch as Richard Aboulafia joins the podcast to discuss how 2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for two next-generation fighter programs conceived in Europe: FCAS and GCAP. Subscribers can read Richard's column on the Global Combat Air Program here Find out more about Aviation Week's Defense Conference here

In the annual Flubs & Forecasts edition of Check 6, editors reflect on what they got right and wrong in 2025 and make their predictions for 2026. Listen in as Aviation Week & Space Technology Editor-In-Chief Joe Anselmo hears from Christine Boynton, Michael Bruno, Brian Everstine, Guy Norris, Garrett Reim, Lee Ann Shay, Robert Wall and Graham Warwick. Check 6 will be back in 2026. Thank you to our...

In this special anniversary episode of Check 6 Revisits, Pratt & Whitney President Shane Eddy and Aviation Week editors Guy Norris and Christine Boynton delve into the engine-maker's achievements over its first century. This episode explores how Pratt & Whitney's propulsion innovations have made it a global powerhouse, navigating highs and lows throughout the decades—and all dating back to a revol...

The F-47, low-cost missiles, space superiority and more—listen in as Aviation Week's Robert Wall, Steve Trimble, Tony Osborne and Brian Everstine break down the key developments of 2025 in the defense world.

Airbus will again miss its delivery target due to supplier quality problems as Boeing's turnaround takes another step forward. Aviation Week's Joe Anselmo, Jens Flottau, Sean Broderick and Michael Bruno break it all down.

Listen is as Aviation Week's Steve Trimble, Tony Osborne and Robert Wall discuss what the defense industry was talking about at Dubai Airshow: from Saudi F-35s to Fursan to the Red Arrows.

Boeing and Airbus are both now looking at the feasibility of upsizing their largest twin-aisles at the behest of Emirates, which led the way for orders at Dubai Airshow. Listen in as Christine Boynton, Jens Flottau, Guy Norris and Graham Dunn discuss that and other commercial highlights in this special episode recorded at the event. Thank you to our sponsor GE Aerospace. Learn more about how GE Ae...

Aviation Week editors are joined by guest columnist Richard Aboulafia of Aerodynamic Advisory to explore why Airbus and Boeing are dragging their feet on the next twin-aisle, leaving the Comac C929 as the only passenger widebody program formally in development.

From executive orders to oversight reforms, government contracting is shifting fast. In this sponsored podcast PwC experts join Aviation Week to break down the biggest regulatory changes, funding priorities and cost-control pressures shaping the aerospace and defense industry. Learn more: America In Motion—How businesses can own their next move

Aviation Week's Robert Wall, Brian Everstine, Vivienne Machi and Steve Trimble discuss the impact of policy changes at the Pentagon before they break down the latest developments with the B-21 and multiple CCA projects.

Aviation Week's Joe Anselmo, Michael Bruno and Jens Flottau are joined by contributing columnist Kevin Michaels to record a podcast discussing whether the aerospace industry is making the most of the commercial upcycle.

After a busy week of news, Aviation Week defense editors break down the latest developments in the fighter, trainer and uncrewed aircraft programs in an action-packed episode.  Steve Trimble shares a special dispatch from South Korea on the KF-21 program's production progress and KAI's leadership challenges, while Tony Osborne discusses Ukraine's potential 150-aircraft Gripen deal and Germany's ne...

This week Check 6 is hosting an episode from Aviation Week's MRO Podcast—European fleet growth, supply chain bottlenecks, AI, Gen Z, supplier contracts and geopolitics were all up for discussion as Aviation Week's team convened to record a special episode of the MRO Podcast live at MRO Europe in London. Find out more about Aviation Week Intelligence Network's  2026 Fleet & MRO Forecast   here

Today's satellites are cheaper, but hardly cheap. Brad King, the CEO of a propulsion supplier Orbion Space Technology, joins us to explain why.

Rumors are flying about how aircraft OEMs are working on technology for the next generation of large commercial aircraft. But a recent survey of the commercial aviation industry by McKinsey and Aviation Week shows surprising results when it comes to what industry players really think is happening. And the truth has significant consequences for how the air transport industry will operate in coming...

Labor contracts prohibit many U.S. airlines from refreshing their regional jets with the latest technology. Does this open the door for a novel hybrid-electric venture—and perhaps even a turboprop comeback?

Aviation Week's Steve Trimble travelled to Ukraine where he participated in a military drone event and gained insights into how Russia's UAV operations are evolving. Steve discusses his observations and other aspects of the conflict with Tony Osborne and Robert Wall, as they unpack what it means about the changing battlefield dynamics. Read Steve's dispatch from Ukraine here

After Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg warned that certification of the 777-9 will take longer still, editors break down how the certification process has changed and why it is taking so long. Thank you to our sponsor GE Aerospace. Learn how the company and its partners are defining flight for today and the future here  

The DSEI arms expo provided the backdrop for companies to unveil new weapons and for government buyers to drive home a sense of urgency to develop systems at pace. Aviation Week editors discuss what they observed and covered in their reporting . Aviation Week analyst Sonny Butterworth also joins to share his observations on the land domain. Thank you to our sponsor Siemens. Siemens Xcelerator prov...

In the decades since two modified B-29s dropped atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, bringing World War II to a close, there have been many ideas about how the power of the atom might be harnessed for other uses, including space exploration and aircraft propulsion.  On this episode, Aviation Week editors comb through our archives to discuss the legacy of the atomic bomb missions and th...

Is free trade over in commercial aviation, or it is all just smoke and mirrors? Aerodynamic Advisory's Richard Aboulafia joins Aviation Week's Joe Anselmo, Jens Flottau and Dan Williams to discuss.

Aviation Week's Brian Everstine, Robert Wall and Steve Trimble discuss U.S. naval aviation ahead of the annual Tailhook gathering and the surprise announcement that U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Allvin will be retiring. 

Aviation Week's Vivienne Machi and Brian Everstine are back from their trip to the  annual Space and Missile Defense conference . Here's what was new or surprising, from counter-UAS to in-space mobility.