2026 promises a packed calendar of major aviation conferences and airshows spanning commercial aviation, defense, space, and MRO sectors. From Singapore's flagship February airshow to Farnborough's July gathering, industry leaders will convene at key venues worldwide to discuss emerging technologies, sustainability initiatives, and strategic opportunities.
Brussels Airport has cancelled all departing flights on November 26, 2025, due to participation from security and handling staff in a nationwide industrial action. The airport apologized for the inconvenience and said that cancellations could also be possible on some arriving flights.
A Beijing court has ordered Malaysia Airlines to pay compensation of over $410,000 to each family that filed a case regarding the disappearance of Flight MH370. Eight families have received compensation orders, totaling around $3.
Malaysia Airlines has welcomed its ninth Airbus A330neo aircraft, which touched down at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on December 21, 2025. The aircraft will be deployed on routes including Bali, Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland, and Tokyo as the airline works toward operating the youngest widebody fleet into Australasia by Q1 2026.
Malaysia Aviation Group has appointed Bryan Foong Chee Yeong as Airline Business CEO and Low Wen Long as Group Chief Strategy Officer, effective February 1, 2026. The appointments come as the aviation group enters a new phase focused on 'scaled and disciplined growth' following years of pandemic-era restructuring.
Malaysia Aviation Group will operate more than 2,400 flights during the Chinese New Year travel period, with a focus on domestic routes connecting Peninsular Malaysia with East Malaysia. Both Malaysia Airlines and Firefly will offer subsidized fares for travel between Kuala Lumpur and selected destinations.
Malaysia Aviation Group announced that its long-serving Group Managing Director, Izham Ismail, will retire at the start of 2026 after nearly five decades with the company. Captain Nasaruddin Bakar has been named as the incoming Group CEO and President, bringing over 30 years of experience to the role.
Malaysia has resumed the search for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean, with marine robotics company Ocean Infinity leading the effort under a previously announced operational agreement. The renewed mission builds on new technical assessments and focuses on a targeted area identified by Malaysian authorities as having a higher probability of locating the aircraft's wreckage.
The US Marine Corps has selected L3Harris as the winner of its Precision Attack Strike Munition (PASM) program, worth $86.2 million. The contract will cover delivery of an unspecified number of 'Red Wolf' weapons by end of fiscal 2027.
The Marine Corps has unveiled new details about its ongoing Dynamis Series, a technology accelerator sprint project aimed at modernizing its command and control architecture. Col.
MBDA plans to establish a new wholly-owned subsidiary in the UAE, focusing on loitering munitions and missiles. The company aims to increase its presence in the Middle East through partnerships with local firms like EDGE Group and Calidus.
France's DGA has awarded MBDA its first contract for the One Way Effector (OWE), a sovereign long-range strike munition designed to overwhelm enemy air defenses. The OWE is positioned as a 'mass plus range' option, situated between high-end cruise missiles and less expensive loitering munitions.
MBDA, Tawazun Council for Defence Enablement, and French company FLY-R have launched defense localization projects in the UAE. The initiatives include the establishment of MBDA's fully owned UAE subsidiary and a co-development program to design and industrialize an AI-enabled loitering munition.
The UK has awarded MBDA UK a £316 million contract to deliver DragonFire laser weapon systems to the Royal Navy from 2027. Following successful trials, the system destroyed high-speed drones at speeds of up to 650 km/h.
The Missile Defense Agency (AeroTime) has announced that it has qualified 1,086 more companies to compete for future awards under its Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) program. The new awards bring the total number of firms granted an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) SHEILD contract to over 2,100.
The US Missile Defense Agency has selected 1,014 companies for the SHIELD contract vehicle, a $151 billion procurement channel supporting the Golden Dome missile defense initiative. Selected from 2,463 proposals, these firms will compete for task orders spanning research, development, production, and sustainment through 2035.
The Missile Defense Agency has selected over 1,000 companies as qualifying offerors for the Golden Dome contracting vehicle, a $151 billion initiative designed to rapidly develop innovative homeland air defense capabilities. Under the SHIELD (Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense) framework, selected contractors will compete for staggered awards across 19+ work areas including prototyping, weapon design, cybersecurity, and AI-enabled applications.
Melbourne Airport welcomed a record number of international passengers in January 2026, with 688,534 arrivals processed during the month. This surge coincided with the Australian Open tennis tournament, contributing to total international traffic of 1.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has questioned whether the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) can deliver a jointly developed next-generation fighter jet due to a growing mismatch between French and German operational requirements. The program faces challenges with its requirements profile, and Germany is considering exploring new fighter variants or partnerships if a compromise proves impossible.
A Mexican Navy Beech King Air operating as a medical aircraft crashed into Galveston Bay in Texas on December 22, 2025, killing at least five people. The twin-engine turboprop was flying from Mérida, Mexico, to Galveston when it went down near the Galveston Causeway during its approach to land.