In Pictures: Top Aerospace & Defense Stories, Jun. 27, 2022

U.S. Army Awards Sikorsky $2.28B Contract For Black Hawks

The U.S. Army on June 27 awarded Sikorsky a $2.28 billion contract for 120 H-60M Black Hawks, the 10th and final multiyear contract for the helicopters. The contract will cover work from 2022-2026 and includes options for another 135 aircraft, an announcement says. About $480 million is obligated at the time of the award, with a total value of up to $4.4 billion if options are fully exercised. Credit: U.S. Army

U.S. To Send Advanced Air Defenses To Ukraine As NATO Plans More Aid

The U.S. military is preparing to send advanced air defense systems to Ukraine to better protect the country’s skies from threats including cruise missiles, as NATO leaders meet to determine additional aid for the nation in its war with Russia. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters June 27 that President Biden agreed to a request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the systems, but would not specify what weapons would be delivered. Credit: NATO

AFRL, U.S. Navy Conducting ‘HiJENKS’ Capstone Test

A five-year joint effort by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the Office of Naval Research to create the next generation of a high-powered microwave weapon is culminating in a major test this summer. The High Power Joint Electromagnetic Non-Kinetic Strike (HiJENKS) weapon—the follow-on to the AFRL-created Counter-electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP)—is currently being evaluated at the secretive Naval Air Station China Lake, California. Credit: U.S. Air Force

The Weekly Debrief: USAF Launches Blended Wing Body Effort, Re-kindles X-48C

Nearly a decade after NASA retired a subscale prototype with no follow-up program, the U.S. Defense Department has proposed launching a large-scale prototyping effort for a blended wing body (BWB) aircraft, which will be evaluated as a future tanker, airlifter and bomber. The U.S. Air Force- and Office of the Secretary of Defense-funded prototyping effort also is proposed explicitly as potential option for a future commercial airliner, giving U.S.-headquartered industry players a potential rival to a hybrid-hydrogen-fueled BWB airliner concept being pursued by Airbus. Credit: Robert Wall/AWST

UK Royal Air Force Halts Mosquito Loyal Wingman Work

The UK Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Rapid Capability Office (RCO) has decided not to proceed with the build and flight trials of its £30 million ($37 million) Mosquito Lightweight Affordable Novel Combat Aircraft (LANCA) demonstrator. The RCO says the decision, announced late June 24, has been made in agreement with industry partners. It follows a technical review of the demonstrator and reflects the need for a change in direction for the LANCA program, the RCO says. Credit: Spirit Aerosystems

Boeing Job Push Signals Company-Wide Recovery Drive

Boeing may still be at least two years away from launching its next all-new commercial airliner, but the manufacturer is on the hunt for thousands of new engineers and machinists as it looks to ramp-up 737 MAX production, complete certification of the 737-7, -10 and 777-9, and start development of the 777-8F freighter. The urgency of the recruitment drive has been exacerbated by several factors. On top of the production increase, Boeing is seeking hundreds more staff to handle the heavier workload of regulatory-related tasks needed for its civil certification processes in the wake of the 2018-2019 737 MAX accidents. Credit: Boeing

MDA Narrows GPI Bidding To Raytheon, Northrop Grumman

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has narrowed a competition to build a hypersonic missile interceptor to Northrop Grumman and Raytheon, eliminating a bid by Lockheed Martin to enter the next stage of the Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) prototyping program. The June 24 awards “are an important step toward increasing the capacity of our missile defense system and providing a capability to the warfighter,” MDA Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill says. Credit: DARPA

Northrop Grumman Cygnus Boosts Space Station

NASA and Northrop Grumman have reported a successful, first-ever limited orbital reboost of the International Space Station (ISS) on June 25 using the gimbaled delta velocity engine on Northrop’s Cygnus resupply mission capsule. A first attempt at the demonstration to provide the ISS with a maneuvering capability independent of the propulsion elements on the station’s Russian segment was aborted after 5 sec. on June 20 to permit a reassessment of the propulsion system parameters. Credit: NASA

From U.S. army awards Sikorsky $2.28B contract for Black Hawks to U.S. to send advanced air defenses to Ukraine as NATO plans more aid. Take a look at these and more in our daily roundup of aerospace & defense news.

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