Month: April 2026

Sikorsky unveiled a new incarnation of its Armed Black Hawk helicopter at the Army Aviation Warfighting Summit in Nashville last week. TWZ’s Jamie Hunter spoke with Sikorsky’s Matt Isaacson about how this expands mission sets and provides greater flexibility for the Black Hawk, while minimizing the need for separate types with an air arm’s H-60/S-70 fleet.

​Check out our full tour of the aircraft and its weapons:

The H-60 Black Hawk Gunship Evolves With New Wings And Weapons

Contact the author: tyler@twz.com

WASHINGTON — The State Department said that it is preparing a limited release of commemorative U.S. passports celebrating America’s 250th birthday that feature a picture of President Trump, who would be the first living president to be featured in the travel document.

The concept for the special passport, including a rendering of Trump’s stern-looking visage, had been under consideration for months before finally being approved late Monday and publicly announced Tuesday. Between 25,000 and 30,000 of the new passports will be available to applicants at the Washington passport office beginning shortly before July 4.

It’s the latest instance of Trump having his name and likeness added to buildings, documents and other highly visible tributes. There are efforts to put Trump’s signature on all new U.S. paper currency, also a first for a sitting president, as well as to include his image on a gold commemorative coin to celebrate the country’s founding.

The commemorative passport will be the default document for people applying in person at the Washington office, although those who want a standard passport will be able to get one by applying online or outside Washington, officials said.

“As the United States celebrates America’s 250th anniversary in July, the State Department is preparing to release a limited number of specially designed U.S. passports to commemorate this historic occasion,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.

“These passports will feature customized artwork and enhanced imagery while maintaining the same security features that make the U.S. passport the most secure documents in the world,” he said.

The limited release passport will feature Trump’s picture over a gold imprimatur of his signature to an interior page, while the cover will feature the words “United States of America” in bold gold print at the top and “Passport” at the bottom — a reversal of the standard cover.

In addition, a small gold laminate American flag, with the number 250 encircled by stars, will be at the bottom of the back cover.

The Bulwark reported earlier on the commemorative passports.

The only presidents featured in current U.S. passports are in a double-page depiction of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota — George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

Other depictions include the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall in Philadelphia, and scenes of the Great Plains, mountains and islands. Current passports also contain quotations from Martin Luther King Jr. as well as Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Dwight Eisenhower.

The addition of Trump’s picture and signature to the passport book is the newest step his aides have taken to increase the president’s visibility, including adding his name to the U.S. Institute of Peace building and the Kennedy Center performing arts venue.

Trump also has made waves with his plans for a new White House ballroom and a massive arch to be built at one of the entrances to Washington from Virginia.

Lee writes for the Associated Press.

Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi has been seeing more flights take off at the main airport in Iran’s capital, where operations resumed on Saturday as the ceasefire with the US and Israel continues.

Four UK airports have found themselves in the top 10 of the ‘worst for delays’ across Europe, with one securing the top spot following average delays of almost two hours

A UK airport has been named the ‘worst in Europe’ for delays, while three other UK airports also found themselves in the top 10.

New research from AirAdvisor ranked Manchester Airport as the worst airport in Europe for hour-long flight delays. The airline comparison experts analyzed data from 9,594,711 flights across 46 European airports in 2025 to reveal results based on the percentage of flights delayed by 60 minutes or more (weighted at 70 percent) and the average length of those delays (weighted at 30 percent).

This saw Manchester take the top spot, with 6.16 percent of its flights delayed by 60 minutes or more in 2025 and an average delay of 116.7 minutes, which amounts to almost 2 hours. AirAdvisor AirData found that the routes from Manchester most prone to delays were to Amsterdam Schiphol, Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Dublin.

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A Manchester Airport spokesperson told The Mirror: “This analysis of the Civil Aviation Authority’s data is misleading as it ignores important context – context which is directly referenced by the CAA in the notes accompanying the research and in the research itself. Punctuality is affected by factors that are outside of an airport’s control. The two most significant factors contributing to delays in the last year have been industrial action affecting air traffic control in Europe, and the weather. These were exacerbated by airspace restrictions above conflict zones meaning airports with significant long-haul networks, like Manchester, were more significantly affected than others.

“As an industry we are working collectively to achieve the best possible on-time departure rates, while protecting flight schedules and avoiding the need for cancellations.”

But it wasn’t just Manchester that found itself named among the worst. Birmingham, London Gatwick, and London Stansted joined the airport, making the UK the most represented country in the top 10.

London Gatwick was ranked the sixth worst in Europe, with a 5.24 percent rate of hour-long delays and an average delay of 111.88 minutes. According to the data, AirAdvisor found that the most impacted routes from Gatwick were to three major holiday hotspots: Barcelona, Malaga, and Lisbon.

In tenth place was Birmingham Airport, after the experts found that it scored a 5.26 percent rate of hour-long delays and an average duration of 108.01 minutes. The most disrupted routes from Birmingham were said to be flying to the popular destinations of Amsterdam, Dublin, and Paris Charles de Gaulle.

A Birmingham Airport spokesperson said: “Flight delays can happen for several reasons including industrial action and bad weather, some of which are out of an airport’s control. This month over half of all aircraft left on time and we continue to work hard to improve punctuality. Our colleagues work tirelessly to provide brilliant passenger service, with the vast majority of people rating their experience as excellent.”

Meanwhile, London Stansted came in joint tenth with Birmingham, after data found that it had a 5.5 percent rate of hour-long delays and an average delay of 106.24 minutes. AirAdvisor said the most delayed routes from Stansted were to Dublin, Edinburgh, and Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen.

A London Stansted Airport spokesperson told the Mirror: “It’s very important to put this analysis into perspective. The data looks at 46 airports but there are more than 340 major airports across Europe, so this represents a small and self-selective sample. This type of analysis of the Civil Aviation Authority’s data is misleading as it ignores important context – context which is directly referenced by the CAA in the notes accompanying the research and in the research itself.

“It should also be noted this research has been produced by a flight compensation company and looks specifically at delays of more than 60 minutes, which are often driven by wider factors such as air traffic restrictions, industrial action, adverse weather impacts and airline operations, airline crew shortages or delays to inbound flights rather than airport performance.