In Pictures: Top Aerospace & Defense Stories, Jun. 08, 2022

Russian State Space Corp. Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin threatened to restart a German telescope aboard the joint Russian-German Spektr-RG space observatory which Germany shut down in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The observatory was launched in 2019 for a seven-year mission to map sources of X-ray emissions coming from large galaxies and other astronomical objects. Credit: German Aerospace Center

Joby Aviation has confirmed it has acquired German hydrogen-electric propulsion pioneer H2Fly. A spinoff from German Aerospace Center DLR, H2Fly was acquired in April, reported The Air Current on June 8, citing German registration filings. Credit: H2Fly

Even without test pilot astronauts on board, NASA’s Artemis I mission of a Space Launch System (SLS)-propelled Orion capsule around the Moon and back to Earth promises drama, which the space agency is working to share publicly through live video and data transmissions. Earlier this week, the 32-story, two-stage SLS and Orion capsule were returned to their launchpad at Kennedy Space Center for a second attempt at the Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR), a demanding countdown simulation that includes propellant loading. Credit: NASA

A lack of available aircraft and range time has delayed testing of the GBU-53/B StormBreaker small-diameter bomb, with initial operational capability expected to slip, according to a new government assessment. After the U.S. Air Force fielded the Raytheon bomb, previously known as the SDB-II, the program staff moved on to integration tests on Boeing F-18s. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), in a report released June 8, said the program office could not get enough available aircraft and time on the range for continued testing, and that, coupled with software issues, is delaying integration on F-18s. Credit: Raytheon

Canada’s first private-equity fund dedicated to the aerospace supply chain is targeting $100 million and has already garnered commitments for $77 million, officials said. Suzanne Benoit, president of Aero Montreal, said June 7 the new fund will propel the growth of small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) after the historic collapse of aviation demand shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in early 2020. Credit: Airbus

Tier 1 Engineering has begun flying its electric Robinson R44 helicopter with the 350-kW MagniX magni350 electric propulsion unit planned for the production conversion. The helicopter flew for more than 3 min. on June 4 at Los Alamitos Army Airfield in California. Tier 1 is developing the all-electric e-R44 for Lung Biotechology, which plans to acquire a fleet of the aircraft to transport human organs. Credit: Tier 1 Engineering

SEAKR Engineering recently demonstrated optical communications between a pair of DARPA Mandrake II satellites. More than 280 GB of data were transferred at a range of 114 km (71 mi.) over a period of more than 40 min., the company said on June 8. SEAKR Engineering is a wholly owned subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. Credit: DARPA

The U.S. Space Force is at risk of fielding a new Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) that does not meet requirements and could necessitate costly and time-intensive rework because it is moving ahead without a formal risk assessment and baseline for the design, a new assessment says. The Space Force’s DARC is a rapid-prototyping effort to develop a ground-based radar across three sites to track objects in the entire geosynchronous orbit belt. Credit: Northrop Grumman

The U.S. Air Force now expects to make a production decision on the MH-139 Grey Wolf helicopter in January 2023, a total slip of about 16 months—which also pushes back initial operational capability (IOC)—because of ongoing FAA certification and design issues, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a new report. The GAO, in its annual report on major Pentagon weapons systems, said the Air Force program office is withholding 10% of its progress payments to Boeing due to schedule delays and because the company has not submitted contractually required data on time. Credit: Boeing

Chinese startup AutoFlight has continued its rapid progress toward developing the Prosperity 1 electric vertical takeoff and landing air taxi, flying a second full-scale, proof-of-concept (POC) aircraft that incorporates design refinements. Shanghai-based AutoFlight flew the first full-size POC aircraft in October 2021 and made the first transitions between rotor-borne vertical and wing-borne horizontal flight in January. Credit: AutoFlight

While the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program is still stalled because of a disagreement between Airbus and Dassault Aviation, the French procurement agency and Dassault are hinting they have ideas for a Plan B. “I hope the Future Combat Air System will take shape as planned,” Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier said. “However, if it fails there will be a Plan B, be it purely French or with other partners.” He was speaking June 7 at the Paris Air Forum during a panel discussion. Credit: Dassault Aviation

The invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the need for missile defense in a conflict, and a House panel is calling on the U.S. Army to assess if it requires more batteries for the mission and how its Patriot systems should be upgraded. The House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee on June 7 released its markup of the fiscal 2023 defense policy bill, which would require the Army to assess its Patriot missile defense battery and interceptor acquisition objectives. Credit: U.S. Air Force

When Dubai hosted demonstrations of both EHang and Volocopter prototypes in 2017, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates looked to be a front-runner for the introduction of urban air mobility (UAM) using electric air taxis. Neither of those demonstrations has yet led to concrete plans to field urban air taxis in the Emirate. But Dubai-based business aviation operator Falcon Aviation Services has now signed a letter of intent with Embraer spinoff Eve for up to 35 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for delivery from 2026. Credit: Eve Holding

MDA and Redwire have received contracts to each develop 42 antennas for low Earth orbit military satellites. Redwire was contracted to deliver 42 high gain Link-16 antennas for an “undisclosed national security customer for a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation,” it said on June 7. For its part, MDA was awarded a contract from Lockheed Martin to build antennas and control electronics for 42 LEO satellites as part of the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 1 Transport Layer program.

U.S. Space Force logo.