Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Mark Carreau
An international crew of astronauts and scientists are in the midst of a 16-day Mars analogue mission to evaluate tools, equipment and procedures for deep space exploration while submerged within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary off the state’s Atlantic coast.
Defense

By Marhalim Abas
In a push toward transparency and the reduction of corruption, Indonesia says its future major arms buys will be conducted under government-to-government arrangements.
Defense

By Graham Warwick
The Airbus Group-sponsored Perlan 2 stratospheric glider is en route by container ship to El Calafate in southern Argentina from where it will continue flights aimed at setting a new world gliding altitude record by soaring to 90,000 ft. in mountain waves and the polar vortex.

In another step toward using the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in actual operations, the U.S. Marine Corps will ...

View the Forecast Friday: Tanker and Transport Engine Deliveries 2016-2025 chart in PDF format.

ORBITAL ATK has $182m U.S. Missile Defense Agency contract for three medium-range ballistic missile targets to represent ...

The Textron AirLand Scorpion has become the test case for a new airworthiness initiative by the U.S. Air Force that could make non-program of record military aircraft more attractive to international buyers.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
The U.S. Air Force is planning to perform a business case analysis for so-called Adversary Air (ADAIR) capabilities to plug what it sees as a “significant gap” in training requirements.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
Airbus will lease the Heron from Israel Aerospace Industries.
Defense

By Jay Menon
An Indian air force (IAF) An-32 aircraft with 29 people on board went missing over the Bay of Bengal on July 22.
Defense

By Graham Warwick
A full-scale prototype of Facebook’s stratospheric solar-powered unmanned aircraft, designed to provide Internet access in remote regions, has entered flight testing in South Africa.

The F-35 fighter jets operated by partner nations and international customers, including Turkey, will eventually be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, a top Air Force general confirmed July 21.
Defense

The Obama administration’s recapitalization of the U.S. nuclear arsenal could grow to consume 6-7% of annual defense spending in the early 2020s as the Pentagon retools its strategic force, including a replacement cruise missile and intercontinental ballistic missile.
Defense

More Rafale export contracts are in the offing but are taking time to materialize, causing Dassault Aviation to strive to adjust the fighter’s production rate.
Defense

By Marhalim Abas
Malaysia will stage two simultaneous separate exercises with the U.S. military, apparently for the first time. The two exercises are Cope Taufan 2016 and Keris Strike 2016.
Defense

The fixed-price development contract Boeing offered to win the KC-X competition over Airbus in 2011 continues to haunt the company as its pre-tax losses for development top $2 billion.
Defense

LOCKHEED MARTIN has $241.8m U.S. Navy contract for procurement of diminishing manufacturing sources electronic components for ...

Adm. John Richardson, U.S. chief of naval operations (CNO), visited Chinese North Sea Fleet headquarters on July 20 to meet with ...

By Michael Bruno
Boeing late July 21 announced after-tax charges totaling $2.1 billion, including $393 million on the U.S. Air Force KC-46 tanker and $847 million on the 787.
Defense

By Jay Menon
India is getting ready to test launch a scramjet engine next week—the second in a series of trials aimed at developing a reusable launch vehicle.
Defense

The U.S. Air Force is contemplating pursuing a low-end, light attack “OA-X” aircraft to augment the A-10 Warthog in a close-air support role, while simultaneously aiming for a more robust replacement, dubbed “A-X2,” down the line.
Defense

By Graham Warwick
A full-scale prototype of Facebook’s stratospheric solar-powered unmanned aircraft, designed to provide Internet access in remote regions, has entered flight testing in South Africa.
Defense

The first aircraft equipped with the Advanced Display Core Processor II took to the skies over Eglin AFB in Florida for the first time on July 8, successfully completing a 2-hr. 53-min. test flight.
Defense

By Angus Batey
The U.S. Marine Corps has taken an unusual approach to backfilling their front-line squadrons to cover delays to the F-35B: the Corps is raiding the boneyard to bring some retired fighters back into service.
Defense

Lockheed Martin says it recently conducted a successful controlled flight test of the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (Lrasm) surface-launch variant from the Self Defense Test Ship at Point Mugu Sea Range, California.
Defense