In Pictures: Top Aerospace & Defense Stories, May 31, 2022

Raytheon-Led Consortium Returns Sentinel Recon Platform To The Skies

A Raytheon Sentinel radar-reconnaissance aircraft previously operated by the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) has been returned to flying status in preparation for a new career in the U.S. One of the five Sentinels, all modified Bombardier Global Express business jets, made a two-hour flight on May 30 flying from RAF Waddington, England, where the aircraft have been in open storage for the past year. Credit: Tony Osborne/Aviation Week

South Korea Embarks On Domestic UAS Development

South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development (ADD) has confirmed plans to kickstart development of two uncrewed aerial system (UAS) designs: an air teaming system and a low observable reconnaissance UAS. The agency has secured funds to cover development, prototyping and flight test for the two UAS programs. Credit: Choi Jaehyeok

Japan Aims To Kickstart Arms Exports By Further Relaxing Policies

Tokyo reportedly is planning to further relax its strict arms export regulations, enabling it to sell fighter aircraft, missiles and other weapons to a dozen selected countries. According to Tokyo-based financial newspaper Nikkei, exports could commence as early as March 2023—before the end of the current fiscal year. Credit: Ken Ishii/Getty Images

Airbus Fires Spike Missile From H145M

Airbus Helicopters has fired Rafael’s Spike anti-armor missile from its H145M light utility helicopter as the OEM works to broaden the capabilities of the dual-use platform. First trial firings of the Israeli-developed Spike ER2 were undertaken from a company-owned H145M on a firing range in Romania in January. Demonstrations were later performed for potential customers of the system in late May. Credit: Airbus Helicopters/Cara Irina Wagner

Chinese eVTOL Startup TCab Picks Safran Power

Since China’s EHang burst onto the scene in 2016, the country has lagged the U.S. and Europe in numbers of startups entering the nascent advanced air mobility (AAM) market. But growth of the domestic industry is accelerating. Credit: TCab Tech

Sierra, Spirit Partner On Shooting Star Cargo Module

Sierra Space and Spirit AeroSystems have signed a strategic partnership to improve production efficiency and assembly of Sierra Space’s Shooting Star cargo module. The letter of intent covers the development and production of future Shooting Star cargo modules. Sierra Space and Spirit AeroSystems will also work together to find ways to speed up the time it takes to bring Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser family of spaceplanes to market, the companies said on May 31. Credit: Sierra Space

Raytheon Wins Stinger Contract, DOD Shifts Funding For Ukraine

The Pentagon has awarded a new contract for Stinger anti-aircraft missile replacements while also shifting more internal money for military assistance to Ukraine, and is seeking to stockpile critical munitions as it looks at lessons learned from Russia’s invasion. The Defense Department on May 27 awarded Raytheon Technologies a $624 million contract for Stinger missiles and associated equipment, with work to be completed in June 2026. Credit: U.S. Army

Honeywell Generator Passes Megawatt Milestone

Honeywell is looking to push continuous operation of its megawatt generator to higher levels having recently run the hybrid-electric aircraft power system at up to 1.02 megawatts. The 280-lb. unit, which is also designed for applications including mobile charging stations, turbo generators and directed energy systems, ran continuously at 900 kW during the demonstration, Honeywell says. Credit: Honeywell

Resurgent Pandemic Slowed EHang eVTOL Certification Efforts

Resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic in China and resulting travel restrictions have slowed efforts to certify the EH216S autonomous air taxi, EHang told analysts on May 31. But the Guangzhou-based startup said its project-specific certification plan is about to be approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). Credit: EHang

Canada Awards $632M Contract To Extend CH-146 Fleet

A nearly $632 million (C$800 million) contract awarded on May 31 to Bell Textron Canada Limited will extend the life of a fleet of Royal Canadian Air Force CH-146 Griffon until “at least the mid-2030s,” the Canadian government says. The service life extension program will preserve the multi-role fleet for another decade until the government can select a replacement through the future Tactical Reconnaissance Utility Helicopter program. Credit: Royal Canadian Air Force

JAXA Plans Hypersonic Scramjet Ballistic Flight Test

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has scheduled a hypersonic scramjet test flight in July as part of plans to perfect the propulsion technology for future high-speed transports and a hypersonic cruise missile under joint development with the country’s Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC). The experimental flight is set for July 23. Credit: JAXA

Lilium Touts Transition Milestone In eVTOL Testing

Achieving transition from rotor-borne vertical to wing-borne horizontal flight is a key milestone in the development of a winged electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft–a landmark that surprisingly few of the advanced air mobility (AAM) startups have yet reached. Germany’s Lilium announced on May 31 that it had achieved main-wing transition for the first time with its Phoenix 2 technology demonstrator, which is undergoing remotely piloted envelope-expansion flight testing in Spain. Credit: Lilium

The Weekly Debrief: Why The F-35 Should Have Been The Star Of The Top Gun Sequel

Top Gun: Maverick is—no spoiler!—a movie. And here are two things the Paramount blockbuster, which netted $151 million on its opening weekend, is not: a documentary, or a fictional account based on a true story. This seems obvious, but it’s important. The actors and director of the Top Gun sequel are in no way required to produce a realistic account of a strike mission. Their scriptwriters are, likewise, not obligated to constrain their characters to conventional tactics, or limit weapon systems to known specifications or even physics. Credit: Neil Mockford/FilmMagic/Getty Images

A Raytheon Sentinel radar-reconnaissance aircraft is returned to flying status in preparation for a new career in the U.S. and South Korea is to kickstart development of two uncrewed aerial system designs: an air teaming system and a low observable reconnaissance UAS. Take a look at these and more in our daily roundup of aerospace & defense news.

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Comments

1 Comment
Kurt
Wed, 06/01/2022 - 12:48
Hmmmm, firing at an X on the ground. Ordnance might not be ready yet or they want to be comfortable with the propulsion systems and guidance first. A Cato (Catastrophe At Take Off ) near the helicopter could be deadly to the launcher.
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