Does Airbus Deserve a B+ or a C-?

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 sponsor GE Aerospace. Learn more about how GE Aerospace and its partners are defining flight for today, tomorrow, and the future here

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 revolutionary little engine developed in a former Connecticut tobacco warehouse space. Visit Pratt & Whitney's website to learn more about a century of innovation. Check 6 Revisits delves into Aviation Week's more than 100-year archive. Subscribers can explore our archive here and read key Aviation Week articles relating to this podcast here:  New Radial Engine Ready Soon (Jan. 11, 1926) The Pratt and Whitney Wasp Engine (Feb. 15, 1926) AF Permits First Look at P&WA J57 (Nov. 16, 1953) Pratt & Whitney Evolves Turbofan From J57 Program (Jan. 26, 1959) P&W Comes Back—Strong (March 13, 1950) Power Pioneer: Pratt & Whitney's First Century (July 22, 2025)

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 Aerospace and its partners are defining flight for today, tomorrow, and the future here

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.