In Pictures: Top Aerospace & Defense Stories, Feb. 07 2023

Credit: Exotrail. Spacetug developer Exotrail of France has raised a $58 million Series B round.

Credit: Bell Textron. The Iraqi army’s aviation branch has emerged as the first confirmed customer for newly unveiled, armed versions of two Bell helicopters. 

Credit: SpaceX. The International Space Station (ISS) is nearing a challenging stretch as the SpaceX Crew-6 Dragon’s four-person crew prepares to launch on a six-month mission.

Credit: Boeing India. Boeing is forging ahead with the company’s long-standing bid to sell Block III Super Hornet fighters to the Indian Navy. 

Credit: Dassault Aviation. The Indian government has announced that defense spending will increase by 12.5% for fiscal 2023-24, rising from to INR5,250.7 billion ($63.8 billion) to INR5,935.4 billion ($72.1 billion).

Credit: ZeroAvia. ZeroAvia plans to conduct hydrogen-powered demonstration flights from the Netherlands to European destinations by the end of 2024 in preparation for commercial passenger flights in 2025. 

Credit: Universal Hydrogen. Universal Hydrogen has received an FAA experimental airworthiness certificate for its De Havilland Canada Dash 8-300 flying testbed, clearing the way for its first flight fitted with a megawatt-scale hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system.

Credit: GKN Aerospace. One of the largest thermoplastic composite aerostructures yet produced has been delivered by a team led by GKN Aerospace under Europe’s Clean Sky 2 aeronautics research program.

Credit: AeroVironment. U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) has consolidated acquisition of ground-launched loitering munitions into a single program with rapid acquisition authority and released the first solicitation with an 18-day deadline.

Credit: Airbus. Daher, in partnership with Airbus and Safran, has started flying a modified TBM 900 single-engine turboprop aimed at testing a hybrid-electric, distributed propulsion system.

Credit: Indian Navy. The Indian Navy has completed the first launches and arrested recoveries onboard its new aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. 

Credit: Hanwha Systems. Major global events such as the Olympic Games and World Expo have become a focus for the launch of urban air mobility (UAM) services, beginning with the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. 

Credit: Government of India. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Feb. 6 inaugurated a massive helicopter manufacturing facility for state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) in Tumakuru, about 70 mi. northwest of Bangalore. 

Credit: Archer Aviation. The FAA administrator paid a visit to Archer Aviation headquarters on Jan. 31, demonstrating the agency’s commitment to integrating electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles and advanced air mobility (AAM) technologies.