In Pictures: Top Aerospace & Defense Stories, Apr. 28, 2022

Australian MRTT Conducts Tanking Compatibility Tests With Japan’s F-2s

The Japan Air Self Defense Force has confirmed that it is currently conducting air-to-air refueling compatibility tests with the Royal Australian Air Force. Credit: Japan Acquisition Technology & Logistics Agency

U.S., European Crew-4 Astronauts Reach Space Station

The Japan Air Self Defense Force has confirmed that it is currently conducting air-to-air refueling compatibility tests with the Royal Australian Air Force.

F-35 Program Facing Struggle To Fund Depots

The F-35 program is struggling to find enough funding to fully stand up and resource the jet’s depots because the Pentagon’s habit of underfunding maintenance facilities while expecting cost reductions in contract negotiations is not playing out as expected, the program executive says. F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) Executive Lt. Gen. Eric Fick, during an April 28 House Armed Services (HASC) readiness subcommittee hearing, said the Pentagon has historically underfunded depots in its budget plans, accepting risk in support costs for activating the maintenance facilities because it relies on the JPO to negotiate savings on its own to “shore up those funds.” Credit: U.S. Navy

Northrop Working Through Absenteeism, Inflation, Supply Issues

Northrop Grumman is progressing on workforce absenteeism issues that plagued its F-35 program over the winter, and otherwise does not see particular problems elsewhere in its portfolio due to ongoing inflation, labor, pandemic or war-related challenges, the large prime’s chief executive said April 28. The update came as Northrop reported first-quarter financial results that met financial analysts’ expectations while managers reiterated confidence in previously forecasted guidance for the whole year. Credit: Lockheed Martin

Boeing Unveils First T-7A For USAF

Boeing on April 28 unveiled the first T-7A Red Hawk trainer for the U.S. Air Force, though the aircraft will remain at the company’s St. Louis facility for more ground and flight tests before being handed over to the service. The first T-7A was painted in light gray with the jet’s signature red tail—a nod to the Tuskegee Airmen’s red-tailed aircraft in World War II—with the RA 99 FTS tail code for the 99th Fighter Training Squadron at Randolph AFB, Texas. Credit: Boeing

Bombers From The 1950s Central To 2020s Fleet

On April 15, 1952, the Boeing B-52 bomber made its first flight. Seventy years later the aircraft remains a key part of the U.S. Air Force fleet, with all indicators suggesting it will remain so for the foreseeable future. While only 76 of the 744 bombers produced remain in service, the decision to proceed with the Commercial Engine Replacement Program provides a firm indicator of just how long the type will continue to operate. Credit: Senior Airman Kate Bragg, U.S. Air Force

Firefly Completes IRR Of Blue Ghost Lunar Lander

Firefly Aerospace has completed the integration readiness review (IRR) of its Blue Ghost M1 lunar lander. The review examined the lander’s structures, fluids, propulsion system, core avionics, battery production, harness production, FlatSat progress, mechanical ground support equipment, electrical ground support equipment and facilities readiness to support lander integration, the company said April 26. Credit: Firefly Aerospace

White House’s $33B Ukraine Request Includes Increased Air Defenses

President Joe Biden on April 28 requested $33 billion from Congress for aid to Ukraine, a dramatic increase from ongoing spending to support Kyiv in its fight against Russia, and specifically highlighted a need for anti-aircraft and advanced air defense systems. Credit: BAE Systems

Textron Aviation Deliveries, Sales Rise In Q1

Despite the Russia-Ukraine war and volatility in the stock market, business aircraft activity at Textron Aviation has remained strong during the first quarter of 2022, company officials say. In January, Textron officials discussed raising rates throughout the course of 2022. Credit: Textron Aviation

Raytheon Buys Into Hybrid Rocket Engine Startup Firehawk Aerospace

Fresh off comments about problems with rocket motor supply and the need to make small, strategic acquisitions for advanced aerospace technology, Raytheon Technologies has invested in custom-made rocket engine-maker Firehawk Aerospace. Super Tier 1 supplier and defense prime contractor Raytheon announced its Series A stake in Dallas-based Firehawk Aerospace on April 28. Details were not provided. Credit: Raytheon

NASA/DLR Confirm Termination Of SOFIA 747SP Observatory

Science missions using the Boeing 747SP-based Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) airborne observatory will end in September 2022 after the U.S. National Academies assessed the science output no longer justifies its operating costs. NASA and the German Space Agency at DLR–which contributed 20% of the operating costs and developed SOFIA’s 2.7-m-dia. telescope–say the decision to end flights later this year comes after the National Academies published new priorities for astronomical research in its latest Decadal Survey. Credit: NASA/Jim Ross

USAF Ends F-15C/D Operations In Europe

The U.S. Air Force has ended more than 40 years of operating the F-15C/D Eagle in Europe with the departure of the type from RAF Lakenheath, England. Air defense versions of the McDonnell Douglas F-15 were introduced into the European theater in the late 1970s. The type was operated from bases in Germany, the Netherlands and later the UK. Credit: Tony Osborne/Aviation Week

Skyryse To Upgrade Air Methods Fleet To Fly-By-Wire

U.S. air medical transport company Air Methods has partnered with startup Skyryse to retrofit more than 400 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft with full-authority fly-by-wire flight controls to improve safety. Air Methods has also invested $5 million in Los Angeles-based Skyryse’s $205 million Series B funding round, taking the total raised so far to more than $250 million. Credit: Skyryse

Let L-410 Manufacturer Freed From Russian Ownership

Aircraft Industries, the manufacturer of the Let family of turboprop regional aircraft, is now back in Czech hands after being acquired from its Russian owner. The Kunovice, Czech Republic-based company is now 100%-owned by OMPO Holding, part of the Czech defense supplier Omnipol, which also has a minority shareholding in Aero Vodochody, the Czech Republic’s other aircraft OEM. Credit: John Martin Davies / Alamy Stock Photo

South Korea To Acquire SM-6 Missiles, Upgrade Black Hawks

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee has greenlit the KRW760 billion ($600 million) purchase of Raytheon SM-6 missiles for the navy’s new KDX III Batch II destroyers. Aimed at bolstering the country’s ballistic missile defenses, especially against its northern neighbor, the missiles are expected to be delivered no later than 2031. Credit: Raytheon

From Australian MRTT conducts tanking compatibility tests with Japan’s F-2s to U.S European Crew-4 astronauts reach Space Station. Take a look at these and more in our daily roundup of aerospace & defense news.

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