While the U.S. Navy still plans to replace its EP-3 Aries with the MQ-4 Triton UAS, the intelligence community continues to want manned aircraft to fulfill some missions, those familiar with service aerial surveillance programs say.
To help keep its overtaxed fleet of F-18-related aircraft flying, the U.S. Navy earlier this month awarded Boeing about $24.6 million in deals for parts and components.
LOCKHEED MARTIN and RAYTHEON have U.S. Air Force contract modification for Paveway II production through July 27, 2023; value not to exceed $649.7m. RAYTHEON has $104.6m U.S. Air Force contract for technical refresh of Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) guidance section, to be complete by Feb. 28, 2017. MBDA’s Brimstone air-to-surface missile completed U.K. Royal Air Force operational evaluation trials during February 2016 at China Lake, CA.
Forecast International predicts the global fighter/attack/trainer retrofit and modernization market will reach $31.1 billion over the next decade, with the most valuable segment being electronics, expected to be worth $20.8 billion. Emerging technologies poised to make a major impact on the market include greater use of composite materials and gallium nitride, additive manufacturing and passive radar technology.
NASA expects to spend “on the order of $30 million” helping SpaceX send a modified Dragon vehicle to the surface of Mars in the 2018 planetary launch window.
SpaceX confirmed the parachute-assisted splashdown of the automated Dragon space freighter in Pacific waters about 262 mi. southwest of Long Beach, California, at 2:54 p.m. EDT.
An Australian program to deploy Gulfstream G550s adapted for electromagnetic missions is far more ambitious than it appeared to be when revealed in January.
Eight months after opening its first outpost in Silicon Valley, having learned what works and what does not when it comes to engaging commercial entrepreneurs, the Pentagon is rebooting its Defense Innovation Unit – Experimental (DIUx).
On Monday and Tuesday, Senate Armed Services subcommittees conduct their individual markups of the fiscal 2017 U.S. defense policy bill, while on Wednesday the House Appropriations defense subcommittee will mark up the Pentagon’s fiscal 2017 spending bill. Meanwhile, on Tuesday morning Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall will speak at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN conducted critical design review for U.S. Navy Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 3 AN/SLQ-32(V)7 electronic warfare system. SPACE SYSTEMS LORAL appointed Michael Gold vice president of Washington, D.C., operations. Gold was D.C. operations director for BIGELOW AEROSPACE. AERYON LABS added capability to communicate via mobile ad hoc network into its SkyRanger quadcopter small UAV, using Persistent Systems’ Wave Relay system.
MANAGING UAS: AeroVironment is to participate in the next demonstration of NASA’s unmanned aircraft system (UAS) traffic management (UTM) construct in October in partnership with SmartC2, developer of the Virtual AirBoss aviation business management system. The UTM Technical Capability Level 2 demo will focus on beyond-line-of-sight operations in sparsely populated areas.
The U.K. Joint Committee on Human Rights says there should be greater accountability for lethal UAV strikes, and also calls for more clarity on their justification.
A Switzerland-based team of aircraft designers and engineers believes that a lightweight supersonic advanced trainer and multi-mission aircraft could find a niche in air arms investing in a new generation of combat aircraft such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The first Long March 7 rocket is on its way to China’s new space launch base on Hainan for a verification flight that will reportedly be critical for the country’s manned space program.
The FAA has expanded its efforts to prevent UAVs from flying too close to airports by signing cooperative research agreements with an additional three suppliers of counter-UAV systems.
The inability to send aloft about two-thirds of the U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornets does not represent a concern across all services, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook says.
