In Pictures: Top Aerospace & Defense Stories, Jun. 07, 2022

Safran Announcement Hints At Secret Lockheed Aircraft

A cryptic news release by Safran Landing Systems Canada Inc. hints at the existence of a secret Lockheed Martin aircraft project. The May 31 news release announces that the Canadian landing gear specialist has received a contract from Lockheed to support a “future aircraft.” Credit: Steve Trimble/Aviation Week

Volocopter Flies Longer-Range VoloConnect eVTOL

Volocopter has flown its larger, longer-range VoloConnect winged electric vertical takeoff and landing air taxi. The prototype made its uncrewed first flight in May and the German startup is aiming for service entry in 2026. Credit: Volocopter

NASA Project Gathers Data On Climate-Influencing Thunderstorms

If the threat of severe thunderstorms materializes over Eastern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle on June 8, the staff of a NASA project and its heavily instrumented high-altitude ER-2 jet aircraft plan to be there. The goal is to gather data on how intense summer thunderstorms over the Central U.S. influence the Earth’s atmosphere and contribute to climate change. Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas

HASC Strategic Forces Markup Scrutinizes Hypersonic Defense

Lawmakers want the Pentagon to broaden its use of advanced technologies for hypersonic and ballistic missile defense by increasing research in directed energy, cyber capabilities and artificial intelligence (AI) in addition to the ongoing Glide Phase Interceptor program. The House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee, in its markup of the fiscal 2023 defense policy bill, outlined multiple efforts to increase homeland defense against hypersonic weapons. Credit: DARPA

Lockheed Martin Announces First SiAW Bidding Race Award

Lockheed Martin has become the first competitor to receive a Phase 1 award in a bidding process for a contract to develop a new U.S. Air Force air-launched strike missile. The Lockheed bid for the Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW) contract leverages the StarDrive digital engineering process created by the company’s Skunk Works unit, but is offered by the Missiles & Fire Control Div., said Bryan Gates, the company’s senior manager for Air Dominance and Strike Weapons and Northwest Florida Operations. Credit: Lockheed Martin

House Panel Approves Some C-130, Tanker Retirements

The House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee will allow the U.S. Air Force to continue to chip away at its C-130 and legacy tanker fleets under its markup of the fiscal 2023 defense policy bill. The markup, released June 7, requires the Air Force keep at least 271 C-130s. This number aligns with the Pentagon’s budget request, allowing for the retirement of eight C-130s from its 279. Credit: U.S. Air Force

MACH-TB Seeks Answer For 'Hypersonic Valley Of Death'

In a bid to overcome a “hypersonic valley of death” for high-speed technologies, the U.S. Navy is soliciting ideas for an experimental hypersonic glide body that can be used for testing several payloads at speeds of more than Mach 5 on each flight. A “request for solutions” released on May 26 by the Naval Surface Warfare Center seeks a company that can deliver an operational prototype for a modular “Experimental Glide Body” within 39 months of contract award. Credit: NASA

Raytheon Technologies' Headquarters Moving To Washington, D.C., Suburb

Raytheon Technologies, the Super Tier 1 aerospace supplier and large defense prime contractor, will move its corporate headquarters this year to Arlington, Virginia, home of the Pentagon and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The announcement follows other leading aerospace and defense companies, including Boeing’s recent decision to do likewise, and means that most of the largest Western A&D companies will have their corporate headquarters in the Washington area. Credit: Raytheon

Northrop Proposes Jackal High-Speed Loitering Munition

Northrop Grumman has been developing a turbojet-powered loitering munition called Jackal with 300-mph speed and a 15-min. loiter capability at a range of 100 km (62 mi.), the company says. The 6-in.-dia. Jackal, which remains in early development, started as a program in 2017 within Northrop’s Armament Systems division in Plymouth, Minnesota, a spokesman says. Credit: Northrop Grumman

NASA Selects Artemis Priority Science Missions

NASA has selected two new science investigation missions for launch to the Moon under its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) public/private exploration initiative. One mission is to explore the mystery surrounding formation of the magma-rich Gruithuisen Domes on the northeastern border of Oceanus Procellarum. The second is to assess the influence of the lunar low-gravity and radiation environment on human genetics and cellular processes. Credit: NASA

From Safran announcement hints at secret Lockheed Aircraft to Volocopter flies longer-range VoloConnect eVTOL. Take a look at these and more in our daily roundup of aerospace & defense news.

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