In Pictures: Top Aerospace & Defense Stories, Jan. 26 2023

Credit: Polish Ministry of National Defense. In mid-January Baykar revealed that the Kuwait Ministry of Defense has signed a $370 million contract for an undisclosed number of its TB2 Bayraktar uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), becoming the 28th export customer for the type.

Credit: Alef Aeronautics. Alef Aeronautics, the San Mateo, California-based startup developing a battery-electric flying car that takes off and lands vertically, has reported presales of more than 440 vehicles since emerging from stealth in October. 

Credit: Regent. Regent, the Rhode Island-based startup developing an all-electric seaglider, has secured a strategic investment from Japan Airlines (JAL), the two companies announced on Jan. 26.

Credit: Sikorsky. MESA, Arizona–Despite losing the U.S. Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program, a decision it is protesting, Sikorsky is looking ahead to applying its X2 coaxial rigid-rotor compound helicopter technology to commercial aircraft.

Credit: NASA. Space startups raised a record-setting $550 million in private and public capital and grant funding during the first quarter of fiscal 2022 following their first flights to the U.S. National Laboratory aboard the International Space Station (ISS), according to the latest annual report from the organization that supervises station research.

Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Michelle Tucker. Textron Aviation will deliver the first 10 of up to 64 aircraft based on the Beechcraft King Air 260 to the U.S. Navy next year to serve as twin-engine, fixed-wing trainers under a $113 million contract announced on Jan. 24.

Credit: Boom Supersonic. Construction of the production site for Boom Supersonic’s planned Mach 1.7 Overture airliner has begun at Piedmont Triad International Airport, in Greensboro, North Carolina, setting the clock ticking on an ambitious timetable that targets roll-out of the prototype in 2026.

Credit: BAE Systems. Italian industry partners in the newly established Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) to develop a future combat aircraft have been contracted to support the latest phase in the Italian element of the program. 

Credit: Airbus. Airbus intends to hire another 13,000 new employees in 2023, roughly the same number the company added in 2022.

Credit: Leonardo Helicopters. Leonardo has decided to ditch Honeywell’s HTS900 turboshaft in favor of Safran’s Arriel 2K turbine to power the AW09 single-engine light helicopter. 

Credit: Electro.aero. U.S. startup Electra.aero has secured $30 million in financing from the U.S. Air Force’s AFWerx innovation arm, which will be added to the $55 million raised from investors in a Series B round.

Credit: NASA. NASA has successfully tested a 4,000-lb.-thrust rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) and revealed plans to develop a follow-on 10,000-lb.-thrust version to evaluate as an alternative to liquid-fuel rockets for long-distance missions to Mars. 

Credit: Romanian Air Force. The war in Ukraine has provided added urgency and funding to the long term process of modernizing Romania's air force.