Despite significant cost growth and the risk of additional schedule delays, the Pentagon has decided to move ahead with Raytheon’s GPS ground-control system, the Department of Defense announced Oct. 14.
INTERNATIONAL LAUNCH SERVICES announced its first commercial shared launch using a Proton Breeze M with the Eutelsat 5 West B satellite and Orbital ATK Mission Extension Vehicle 1 (MEV-1). Launch set for Q4 2018. MBDA’s MMP (Missile Moyenne Portée) land combat missile completed qualification testing; deliveries to French army to begin next year.
Navigation and UAV provider Trimble said this week that Toulouse-based Delair-Tech has acquired its Belgium-based Gatewing UAV engineering and manufacturing business. Financial details were not provided. “This transaction is part of our continuing program to tighten our corporate focus,” said Ron Bisio, vice president of Trimble’s Geospatial Division.
Amid growing interest in private sector human spaceflight, startup Axiom Space is outlining a road map to develop an industrial “space city” in low Earth orbit based on multiple units of its modular habitat concept.
India is weighing a global tender for an aerial tanker to replace its seven Ilyushin Il-78MKIs after scrapping plans to buy six Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transports.
L-3 COMMUNICATIONS VERTEX AEROSPACE began work on nine-year, $1.9b contractor logistics support contract for U.S. Air Force KC-10 fleet, following Government Accountability Office dismissal of bid protest by rival AAR DEFENSE SYSTEMS & LOGISTICS. RAYTHEON and U.S. Air Force completed series of risk reduction functional checkouts of GPS Next-Generation Operational Control System (GPS OCX) Block 1 capabilities, with focus on software. Testing included GPS constellation management and sustainment.
The aerial imaging market is expected to hit $2.836 billion by 2022, registering a compound annual growth rate of 12.9%, according to Allied Market Research. The government sector will be the dominant end-user, growing almost 11% yearly, and North America will lead by region, although the Asia-Pacific will be the fastest growing. “The adoption of aerial imaging has increased in various sectors such as agriculture and forestry, energy and resource management, tourism, research, and media and entertainment among others,” forecasters say.
North America The new commander of U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command says he won’t take the organization’s “foot off the gas” when it comes to laser weapon development for an AC-130J Block 60 gunship. Lt. Gen. Brad Webb took command of the Hurlburt Field, Florida-based special forces group in July from Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold. “I absolutely do not intend to take the foot off the gas in respect to development of a high-energy laser,” Webb says. U.S. Army Outlines Options
The U.S. Air Force has a “validated requirement” to field the latest UTC Aerospace Systems 10-band MS-177A electro-optical infrared reconnaissance sensor on the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk.
Earth imagery and information provider DigitalGlobe plans to buy national security technical and analytical services provider Radiant Group for $140 million.
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has partnered with the U.S. Navy to demonstrate advances in computer-frying weapon technology, culminating in AFRL’s first flight test of a directional, high-power microwave since the successful “Champ” demonstration in 2012.
The Norwegian defense ministry is proposing a 1.9 billion krona ($231 million) year-on-year budget increase to pave the way for a long-term transformation program and the introduction of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Hurricane Nicole was forecast to strengthen before passing over or near Bermuda on Oct. 13, possibly triggering a further delay in an International Space Station resupply mission.
Based on lessons learned from operations of the International Space Station (ISS), the next-generation of space station is likely to be smaller, designed for a single purpose and possibly just crew-tended, NASA says.
Solid rocket motor manufacturers Aerojet Rocketdyne and Orbital ATK have been barred from exclusively teaming with prime contractors Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman or Boeing Defense, Space & Security for the U.S. Air Force’s forthcoming intercontinental ballistic missile competition.
The U.S. Air Force is looking forward to bringing online a capability that top brass say could fundamentally change the way the service conducts air refueling.
