Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Leonardo will lead 42 industry and government organizations from 15 European countries on the European Defense Fund’s Ocean2020 unmanned maritime system demo.

The 44.4-meter tall Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C40) lifted off at 9.29 a.m. India time Jan. 12 after a 28-hr. countdown from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is getting a new chief, K. Sivan, popularly known as the “Rocket Man."

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency had been planning to take over Boeing’s position as the lead integrator of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, but has concluded it's not ready yet.

Naval Group and Airbus Helicopters will build an unmanned tactical helicopter demonstrator to be tested aboard a French Navy warship in mid-2021.

AIRBUS HELICOPTERS UK LTD. has £100m ($135.4m) contract to support Royal Air Force Puma HC Mk. 2 helicopters through March 2022.

New Zealand and Lockheed Martin have signed a revised contract for the installation phase of the Anzac Frigate Systems Upgrade (FSU) contract.

Virgin Galactic completed a seventh and possibly final glide test flight of the SpaceShipTwo Unity over California’s Mojave Desert on Jan. 11.

Registration to fly drones weighing 0.55–55 lb. (0.25–25 kg) as a hobby was required under a registration rule the FAA issued in December 2015.

Boeing has revealed details of a reusable Mach 5-plus demo vehicle design that could pave the way for a future high-speed strike and reconnaissance aircraft.

Budget paralysis in Washington has claimed perhaps its first victim of 2018, the Wings Over Atlanta Air and Space Exposition.

Russia has called for international cooperation to prevent armed drones from getting into the hands of terrorists, after its bases in Syria were targeted.

Britain’s Empire Test Pilots School is gearing up for the arrival of new aircraft as it prepares to begin offering courses under new EASA regulations in 2019.

Shareholder approval came despite significant concerns voiced over the proposed acquisition by leading aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing, as well as by some investors.

British small-cap defense supplier Ultra Electronics saw its stock price climb almost 22% on Jan. 11.

What does it take in 2018 to make a quadcopter stand out as an aircraft worth writing about?

Japan wants its two planned Aegis Ashore batteries to become operational as quickly as possible, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera says.

CFOSat, set to lift off from China this year, will provide a deeper understanding of how the ocean works and its role in curbing climate change.

Spatial disorientation has been determined as the cause of the fatal crash of a Royal Thai Air Force Saab JAS 39C Gripen a year ago.

Raytheon is warning of a Tomahawk cruise missile production gap if more orders aren't forthcoming.

Canada charges that Washington’s anti-dumping and countervailing-duties measures are not compliant with international law under the trade group.

LORD CO. has $27m U.S. Navy contract for V-22 item repair.

A U.S. startup developing an eVTOL aircraft using the channel wing configuration pioneered in the 1950s by Willard Custer has flown a small-scale model of its concept.

The JWST’s primary mirror and science instrument package are ready to depart NASA’s JSC for integration with the spacecraft bus and sunshield.

Boeing HorizonX has flown a prototype electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) unmanned cargo aircraft.