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Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, May 18, 2026 is published in Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, an Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN) Market Briefing and is included with your AWIN membership.

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Magazine Issue

Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, May 18, 2026

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The Debrief

Debrief: Amid Slow eVTOL Progress, Defense Market Moves Faster
article

Debrief: Amid Slow eVTOL Progress, Defense Market Moves Faster

May 15, 2026
One theme united the first-quarter analyst calls by the publicly traded electric air taxi startups: the defense market.

Daily Briefs

In Brief

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the company’s Dragon spacecraft atop, stands at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, i
article

Weather-Delayed SpaceX Cargo Dragon Launches To Space Station

May 15, 2026
NASA’s weather-delayed Cargo Dragon resupply mission to the International Space Station was successfully launched on May 15.
NASA/Jim Ross
article

NASA Picks Up X-59 Flight Test Tempo

May 14, 2026
NASA is continuing to speed up the rate of X-59 flight tests.
Virgin
article

Virgin Galactic Expects Latest Seat Sale Tranche To Close During Summer

May 14, 2026
Virgin Galactic plans to close seat sales tranche in Q3, resume passenger flights by year end, and expand spaceport operations globally.
Merlin is certifying its Merlin Pilot autonomy platform as a retrofit for the Cessna Caravan.  Credit: Merlin Labs
article

Merlin Expands Autonomy System Into Commercial Cargo

May 14, 2026
Merlin is expanding its autonomous flight platform into the commercial cargo market with the launch of a new product line called Condor.
storm
article

Rafael Pitches UAV Radar-Threat Self-Protection System

May 14, 2026
Rafael is proposing to equip UAVs with some of the self-protection equipment more typically associated with combat aircraft.
UK MOD
article

UK Links Defense Payments To Performance

May 15, 2026
UK ties defense payments to contractor performance, raising incentives for faster delivery and easing regulations for smaller businesses.
Apache Sunset
article

Contest Narrows in British Army’s Search For Autonomous Apache Wingman

May 15, 2026
The British Army narrows its search for an autonomous Apache wingman, with four companies advancing in Project NYX to deliver operational capability by 2030.

Fleet Snapshot

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