Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, August 8, 2016

U.S. Army has formally invited Australia to participate in early discussions about Future Vertical Lift as the requirements are still being cemented.

NTSB investigators say the first prototype Bell 525 helicopter broke up in flight before crashing on July 6.

Airbus Defense and Space says it has shipped the PeruSat-1 satellite to Kourou, French Guiana, in preparation for a Sept. 16 launch.

NASA is charting a new course for its space medicine research.

NORTHROP GRUMMAN has U.S. Navy contract to begin work on second Japanese E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. First Japanese E-2D is due for 2018 delivery. RAYTHEON has $523m U.S. Missile Defense Agency contract option to produce, test and deliver 47 Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IB interceptors for testing and deployment.

The U.S. is demonstrating its ability to strike targets around the globe, sending five of its bomber aircraft on long-range missions in the Arctic and Pacific. Three B-52 Stratofortress and two B-2 Spirit bombers are conducting nonstop flights from the U.S. to the North and Baltic Seas, according to U.S. Strategic Command. The aircraft are flying over Alaska and the North Pole and over the Pacific Ocean to the Aleutian Islands. As part of the mission called “Polar Roar” the bombers are conducting intercept training with Canadian CF-18s and U.S.

An Indian air force Hawk advanced trainer aircraft crashed minutes after taking off from an air force base in West Bengal in eastern India on Aug. 4.

Italian defense and aerospace firm Leonardo-Finmeccanica is to establish a new U.K. entity focused on its three main core businesses: aerospace, defense and security.

Malaysia is aiming to become the leading aerospace manufacturer in Southeast Asia, with offsets a key tool in its industry strategy.

The two countries are eyeing “a potential long-term training detachment” for the Singapore air force at Guam.

View the U.S. DoD Ballistic Missile Defense Spending: FY15-FY17 ($K) chart in PDF format.

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