Subscription Required

 

Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, December 4, 2020 is published in Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, an Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) Market Briefing and is included with your AWIN membership.

Already a member of AWIN or subscribe to Aerospace Daily & Defense Report through your company? Login with your existing email and password.

Not a member?  Learn how you can access the market intelligence and data you need to stay abreast of what's happening in the aerospace and defense community.

LoginLearn How
Magazine Issue

Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, December 4, 2020

VOL. 274 NO. 43 December 04, 2020
Download PDF

Programs

article

U.S. Army Details MQ-1C’s Future Role In Sensor RFI

Dec 03, 2020
A request for information published on Dec. 2 by the U.S. Army’s product manager for Enhanced Radar, Optics and Sensors seeks payloads that can be integrated in time for the MQ-1C to participate in a Joint All-Domain Operations demonstration event.
article

Chang’e 5 Collects Samples, Ascent Stage Takes Off

Dec 03, 2020
The ascent stage of China’s Chang’e 5 sample-return mission has taken off from the Moon’s surface ahead of a docking in lunar orbit.
article

France Takes Delivery Of Second King Air-based ISR Platform

Dec 03, 2020
France has taken delivery of the second of eight Beechcraft King Air 350-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms.
article

Arecibo Observatory’s Future Uncertain

Dec 03, 2020
Whether Puerto Rico’s venerable Arecibo Observatory will be replaced after being heavily damaged by multiple support cable failures rests in the hands of Congress and the space science community, according to Ralph Gaume, director of the National Science Foundation’s astronomical sciences division.
article

Aevum Unveils UAS For Autonomous Small Sat Launch Service

Dec 03, 2020
Aspiring small satellite launch service and logistics provider Aevum has unveiled an 80-ft.-long, 60-ft. wingspan unmanned aircraft system to serve as the reusable first stage of a three-stage, autonomous launch system that aims to cut costs and dramatically reduce the time needed to plan and execute missions.

Daily Briefs

In Brief

Rolls
article

Rolls-Royce Outsources Indian R&D Center To Infosys

Dec 03, 2020
Rolls-Royce has hired Infosys, one of India’s largest digitally-based consulting firms, to provide engineering, research and development services for its civil aerospace business, turning over a major office in Bengaluru that the engine-maker built up over the last decade.

Funding & Policy

article

European Bank Marks Foray Into New-Space Investing With Spire

Dec 03, 2020
The European Investment Bank, the long-term lending institution of the European Union, announced Dec. 3 that it could invest up to €20 million ($24.3 million) in Spire Global, a Luxembourg-registered nanosatellite operator for cloud-enabled data analytics, marking the European institution’s first direct new-space venture.
article

NASA Buying Lunar Regolith Sample For $1

Dec 03, 2020
NASA has awarded four companies contracts to collect samples of lunar regolith, then transfer ownership to the agency, not for return to Earth necessarily but to expand the legal and regulatory framework for commercial space activities on the Moon and beyond.
article

Basing USAF F-35As In Japan Seen Offering 'Great Benefit'

Dec 01, 2020
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force already operates F-35As in-country, but the USAF presence is limited to two squadrons of aging Boeing F-15C/Ds and Lockheed F-16C/Js.

Business

article

FLIR Fills Out UAV Offerings With Altavian Acquisition

Dec 02, 2020
FLIR Systems, which has re-engineered its business since last year to focus on UAVs and automotive sensors, has acquired Altavian, a privately-held manufacturer of small UAS for defense and public safety customers that used FLIR sensors.
article

A&D-Focused Blank-check SPACs Grow

Dec 01, 2020
Blank-check company Genesis Park Acquisition has been seeded with $150 million through its initial public offering and is on the hunt for aerospace or aviation services businesses to buy.

Operations

article

Russia Launches Soyuz-2.1b From Plesetsk

Dec 03, 2020
The Russian defense ministry launched a Soyuz-2.1b medium-class vehicle with a Fregat third-stage booster from its spaceport Plesetsk in northern Russia on Dec. 3, orbiting three Gonetz-M communication satellites and the ERA-1 military nanosatellite, Roscosmos State Corp. said.

Aviation Week Forecasts