Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

FCAS is suffering due to a slow pace of decision-making rather than political will to work together, France’s ambassador to Germany says.

Rocket Lab suffered a structural failure of the Neutron's Stage 1 tank during testing, setting back efforts to get the fully reusable launcher to liftoff.

News in brief.

SAFRAN demonstrations Blacknaute INS system... RAYTHEON gets Tomahawk award... New COO at SLINGSHOT AEROSPACE...

The four members of NASA’s Crew-11 Dragon mission appeared healthy and in good spirits as they gathered for a Jan. 21 news briefing.

Space startup Astra said on Jan. 21 that it has shipped 110 satellite engines since Jan. 2025 and is planning to test its new rocket (Rocket 4) this year.

The GPS signals on satellites are being jammed from terrestrial sources at growing rates, and the demand for alternate options for position, navigation and timing is burgeoning.

Blue Origin plans to start launching TeraWave in the fourth quarter of 2027, a 5,408-satellite, high-throughput communications network.

Emirati defense conglomerate Edge Group has received additional orders for the HT-750 optionally manned turbine-powered light helicopter from the UAE.

Germany has signed up to acquire additional stocks of the Meteor beyond-visual range air-to-air missile, MBDA has declared.

Mexico became the 25th country to order the Lockheed Martin C-130J airlifter, the U.S. company said on Jan. 21.

An Anduril-made sensor passively detected and targeted another aircraft from an autonomously commanded Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) for the first time.

Turkey could begin receiving Eurofighter combat aircraft from Qatar as soon as February, media reports have suggested.

Italy is budgeting €18.6 billion ($22 billion) for its role in the design, development and programmatic phases of the Global Combat Air Program.

German space startup The Exploration Company (TEC) is in talks to buy British launch startup Orbex.

The U.S. Navy now plans to brief industry on a concept for a new family of ship-launched ballistic missiles in February.

NASA has selected three science mission payloads for launch by Commercial Lunar Payload Services providers to study the Moon and galactic cosmic rays.

The Space Development Agency (SDA) is tasking Starfish Space to deorbit at least one of its satellites based in low Earth orbit (LEO) under a mission targeted for 2027, the Tukwila, Washington-based startup announced Jan. 21.

Isar Aerospace is scrubbing a potential Jan. 21 launch of its Spectrum rocket to address a technical fault.

NASA is poised to begin flight tests of a representative stub wing section that is aimed at dramatically enhancing the drag-reducing benefits of natural laminar flow (NLF) in next-generation, swept wing airliners.

Washington has approved Singapore’s request to acquire four Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and Mk. 54 Mod 0 lightweight torpedoes.

Bombardier has announced a number of new leadership changes as it focuses on future growth.

Vast is delaying launch of its Haven-1 demonstration space station from May to the first quarter of 2027, the company said Jan. 20.

As it surges ahead with ambitious objectives and constrained budgets, NASA faces five top challenges, a new report from the Office of Inspector General says.

SpaceX successfully carried an undisclosed number of satellites to orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office.