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Magazine Issue

Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, February 16, 2026

VOL. 295 NO. 31 February 16, 2026
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Programs

kaan
article

Turkey Releases Imagery Of Second Prototype Of Kaan Fighter

Feb 13, 2026
Turkey’s Defense Industries Agency has released imagery of the second prototype of the indigenous Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Kaan fighter.
f35
article

Canada Confirms Initial Spending On Additional F-35As

Feb 13, 2026
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has confirmed that his government spent additional money to reserve slots on more Lockheed Martin F-35As.
MC-130J
article

SOCOM Finding Ways To Speed Up MC-130J Mods

Feb 12, 2026
U.S. Special Operations Command wants to progress quickly through long-awaited upgrades to the MC-130J through a different approach to addressing issues.
herm
article

Supersonic Hermeus Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 Starts Taxi Tests

Feb 13, 2026
High-speed aircraft developer Hermeus has begun taxi tests of its Pratt & Whitney F100-229-powered Quarterhorse Mk. 2.1 supersonic flight demonstrator.
satellite rendering
article

Eutelsat Cancels GEO Satellite As Boss Urges Germany To Back IRIS²

Feb 13, 2026
Eutelsat has cancelled the order for the Thales Alenia Space-made Flexsat Americas satellite due to concerns about competition for LEO systems.
transall aircraft
article

European Future Tactical Airlifter Concepts Moving Forward

Feb 13, 2026
European efforts to develop a future medium airlifter are steadily moving toward a concept, an Airbus official says, but he warns that if the program is to move into development, the number of nations and partner industries will need to be narrowed down.
CCA
article

Hensoldt Teams With Helsing For CA-1 Europa UCAV

Feb 12, 2026
Hensoldt has struck a partnership with Helsing, the European defense AI company that is behind development of the CA-1 Europa collaborative combat aircraft.

Daily Briefs

In Brief

Technology

nasa f-15 experimental aircraft
article

NASA Begins F-15 Laminar Flow Envelope Expansion Tests

Feb 13, 2026
Flight tests of an experimental low-drag laminar flow stub wing section are underway at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

Operations

danish f-35
article

Danish F-35s To Support New NATO Arctic Mission

Feb 13, 2026
Denmark will provide its Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to support Arctic Sentry, a new NATO mission in the region.
Caption: The Proton-M launch from Baikonur on Feb 2, 2026 (photo credits – Ivan Timoshenko / Roscosmos)
article

Roscosmos Launches Last Proton With DM-03 Booster

Feb 12, 2026
Russia’s first commercial space launch of 2026 was also the last for the Proton-M variant with DM-03 booster.

Funding & Policy

Credit: Dassault Aviation
article

Norway Funds Transfer Of Safran Hammer Guided Bombs To Ukraine

Feb 13, 2026
The procurement of Safran Hammer bomb kits for Ukraine follows on from a broader strategic partnership between Norway and France that was agreed to last summer.

Business

Caption: United Launch Alliance (ULA) hoists its Vulcan booster into the Government Vertical Integration Facility (VIF-G) adjacent to Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The rocket will carry the USSF-87 mission for the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command (SSC). Photo credit: United Launch Alliance
article

ULA Sees ‘Bright Future’ With 18-22 Launches In 2026

Feb 11, 2026
United Launch Alliance’s leaders expect to support nearly two dozen missions in 2026 with its two launch vehicles.
Credit: Rotron Aerospace
article

Ondas Buys UK Defense Startup Rotron Aerospace

Feb 12, 2026
British defense startup Rotron Aerospace is being bought by U.S. autonomous systems maker Ondas.

The Debrief

budget brief promo
article

Budget Brief: U.S. Share Of Global Defense Spending Hit New Low In 2025

Feb 13, 2026
Against the backdrop of rapidly rising global defense expenditure, one trend has gone largely unnoticed: In 2025, the U.S. share of global spending fell to its lowest level for decades.

Fleet Snapshot

Calendar