In Pictures: Top Aerospace & Defense Stories, Jan. 23 2023

Credit: NASA. Russia’s Roscosmos State Corp. is preparing to start its 2023 space campaign with the launch of the Elektro-L meteorological satellite atop a Proton heavy rocket.

Credit: U.S. Air Force. A London-based broker of international arms deals concocted an elaborate plan in 2015 to reap a half-billion dollar profit off the sale of 40 Lockheed Martin F-35As to South Korea—and won the U.S. government’s approval. 

Credit: NASA. The long-running joint NASA/Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Geotail mission to characterize the structure and dynamics of the Earth’s magnetic field has come to an end due to the failure of the probe’s second data recorder.

Credit: U.S. Air Force Photo/Alamy Stock Photo. Jordan has become the latest customer for Lockheed Martin’s Block 70 F-16 after signing the letter of offer and acceptance for the purchase of 12 aircraft.

Credit: Stratolaunch. High-speed flight development company Stratolaunch is partnering with Purdue University’s Research Foundation to accelerate R&D in hypersonic technology and speed the process of bringing vehicle concepts to flight test.

Credit: Bob Edme/AFP/Getty Images. France is planning to raise defense spending by around a third, President Emmanuel Macron has declared, with the funding being deployed to transform the country’s armed services. 

Credit: Airbus. Airbus is spinning-off its high-altitude pseudo satellite (HAPS) business as it seeks to begin offering commercial services with its solar-powered Zephyr platform by the end of 2024.