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Magazine Issue

Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, December 19, 2025

VOL. 294 NO. 56 December 19, 2025
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Funding & Policy

white House
article

White House Issues Executive Order On Space Superiority

Dec 18, 2025
The White House issued a new executive order framing its near-term plans and policy ambitions for the space domain on Dec. 18.
NG Images
article

ESA Assesses Underfunding Impact On Human, Robotic Exploration

Dec 18, 2025
The European Space Agency by February plans to sort out how to deal with a 20% funding shortfall for Human and Robotic Exploration missions.
himars with atacms
article

U.S. Approves Taiwan For Potential Himars, Loitering Munitions Sale

Dec 18, 2025
Washington has green-lit the potential sale of $11.1 billion in military equipment to Taiwan.
The Space Force is focusing on domain awareness for the first CASR mission area. Credit: ASBE/Getty Images
article

Space Domain Awareness To Be Initial Focus For CASR Program

Dec 17, 2025
The U.S. Space Force has set domain awareness as its initial—and for now, sole—mission area of focus for its Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve program.

Daily Briefs

In Brief

Business

starfighter
article

F-104 Company Starfighters To Pursue Suborbital Launch Service

Dec 18, 2025
Starfighters Space sold shares Dec. 18, raising $22.1 million that the firm says will support its pursuit of its StarLaunch suborbital space launch programs.

Programs

Prismatic
article

BAE-Built Stratospheric Aircraft Wins Five-Year AFRL Contract

Dec 18, 2025
The BAE Systems PHASA-35 will operate monthslong airborne surveillance missions under a new AFRL contract.
H175
article

Spain Orders 100 Airbus Helicopters Spanning From H135 Up To NH90

Dec 18, 2025
Airbus has secured a blockbuster helicopter order from the Spanish Defense Ministry that has committed to taking 100 rotorcraft of different types.
KAI
article

South Korea Kicks Off Ground Armament Testing For KF-21 Fighter

Dec 18, 2025
South Korea awarded KAI a KRW 685.9 billion contract to launch testing for the air-to-ground configuration of the KF-21 Boramae fighter on a new timeline.
Iceye SAR image
article

Rheinmetall Secures German SAR Satellite Contract In Iceye Partnership

Dec 18, 2025
Rheinmetall says it has received the order to provide synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites to the German Armed Forces a day after funding was approved.
JPT150 prototype successfully firing
article

France Names Toutatis On-Orbit Ops Demo’s Propulsion Providers

Dec 18, 2025
The French Defense Innovation Agency (AID) says startups ThrustMe and ION-X will provide the on-orbit propulsion systems for its Toutatis demo due in 2027.

Operations

U.S. Navy
article

U.S. Navy Launches One-Way Attack Drone For First Time

Dec 18, 2025
The U.S. Navy on Dec. 18 announced it had for the first time fired a newly developed one-way attack drone from a ship in the Middle East.
SpaceX
article

SpaceX Starlink Satellite Fails On Orbit

Dec 18, 2025
SpaceX said one of its Starlink satellites failed on orbit, causing some space debris and now tumbling.

The Debrief

Credit: StockCake
article

Debrief: Defense Tech Still Has Wind At Its Back

Dec 18, 2025
The defense technology sector is riding high heading into 2026, shrugging off concerns of a bubble.

Forecast Friday