Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Graham Warwick
With backing from Airbus Ventures, commercial space situational awareness provider LeoLabs is to expand its ground-radar network to track smaller objects in low Earth orbit.
Defense

By Mark Carreau
NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is expected to transmit its first extra solar system planet search data back to Earth in early August.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
Sofia has requested formation from France, Germany Israel, Italy, Portugal, Sweden and the U.S. Among the types requested include new-build F-16 Block 70s from the U.S.
Defense

“The three firms and their partners will work with the URSC to [each] assemble at least three small to medium satellites every year, to have 27 satellites by the end of 2021,” ISRO says.
Defense

By Lee Hudson
The aircraft carrier modifications needed to accommodate the U.S. Navy’s MQ-25A Stingray unmanned refueling tanker revolve around preparing mission control space and installing control and connectivity testing.
Air Dominance

By Tony Osborne
The Luxembourg government has ordered a pair of H145M twin-engine utility helicopters to support the growth of the tiny European state’s armed forces.
Defense

By Graham Warwick
As the UK prepares to leave the European Union, its aerospace research universities are joining forces to create a national aviation consortium to provide a single point of engagement with the global aerospace industry.
Defense

AIRBUS says its Zephyr S High-Altitude-Pseudo-Satellite has broken the current non-refueled flight endurance record of 14 days, 22 min. and 8 sec.

The U.S. Army is to use Raytheon’s Coyote small expendable unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to counter the threat from drones.

View the Aviation Week Forecasts: Western Transport Aircraft MRO Demand 2018-2027 chart in PDF format.

By Lee Hudson
There will be a Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) meeting this fall that nails down the cost and schedule of the F-35 Block 4, the Pentagon acquisition chief says.
Defense

By Lee Hudson
U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis says congressional legislation not authorizing the transfer of F-35s to Turkey has not impacted the two countries’ military relationship.
Defense

By Lee Hudson
Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3 will conduct the last flight of the Shadow as part of the Rim of the Pacific exercise.
Defense

By Lee Hudson
The Pentagon disseminated a “do not buy list” to industry making sure military weapon systems are not operating on software that has Russian or Chinese ties, the department’s acquisition executive says. Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord told reporters her office began working on the list “in earnest” about six months ago. The Defense Department is working closely with the intelligence community to identify companies who do not operate in a way consistent for defense technology standards.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
French ministers have given the go-ahead for industry to begin work on developing an upgraded version of the MBDA Mica-family of air-to-air missiles.
Defense

India’s space agency is preparing for a hectic end of 2018, with several rocket launches planned from September onward, the country’s top scientist says.
Defense

INDIA since 2015 has let out 168 defense contracts, with 106 going to Indian vendors, aligning with “Make In India” policy.

​The U.S. Air Force has awarded Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. a contract to provide logistics support services for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corp., Army and Coast Guard C-20 and C-37 fleets.

By Mark Carreau
NASA is being urged to divorce itself from selecting the lowest credible bidder for its most technically challenging and costly science mission initiatives in the wake of the James Webb Space Telescope's problems.
Defense

By Irene Klotz
SpaceShipTwo's engine burned for 42 sec., its longest-duration firing so far, setting new altitude and speed milestones of 170,800 ft. and Mach 2.47.
Defense

By Graham Warwick
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) plans to award UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS) a contract to develop and test a multi-phenomenology sensor package for its MS-177 multi-sensor, long-range imaging sensor now flying on the Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk.
Defense

By Arie Egozi
Barring a last-minute twist, the Israeli Air Force is poised to buy $10 billion worth of Boeing aircraft.
Defense

By Lee Hudson
The DOD has released the JEDI cloud RFP that will allow the DOD to move faster in developing tech such as artificial intel and machine learning.
Defense

By Graham Warwick
Aerostructures manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems is developing a new method for shaping titanium raw material at elevated temperatures as a cost-saving measure.
Defense

By Guy Norris
Raytheon has been selected by Darpa to develop and test a Tactical Boost Glide (TBG) weapon.
Defense