Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Jens Flottau
The two explosions in Brussels Airport (BRU) on the morning of March 22 and the explosion in a subway station near the EU institutions were the work of terrorists, Belgian officials said.

By Maksim Pyadushkin
Russia continues to renew its military arsenals, albeit at a slower pace in 2015 than the prior year and as weakening currency is constraining its purchasing power.
Defense

By Michael Bruno
GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump is conducting "a very dangerous discussion" on trade that must be addressed, former Boeing CEO and Chairman Jim McNerney says.
Defense

By Mark Carreau
Perhaps in a different era, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft may have spotted liquid nitrogen flowing on distant Pluto, a distinctive planetary realm so far from the Sun that temperatures now measure minus 400 F, according to modeling of the latest data transmissions.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
The Italian air force is doubling the size of its M-346 jet trainer fleet with an order for an additional nine aircraft from Finmeccanica.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
Missile manufacturer MBDA will lead a consortium in a bid to capture a U.K. defense ministry directed energy weapon research program.
Defense

The U.S. Navy concluded a successful light-off test of its upgraded periscope detection and discrimination (PDD) capability earlier this month for the AN/SPQ-9B Anti-Ship Missile Defense Radar onboard guided-missile cruiser CG 57 USS Lake Champlain.
Defense

By Jay Menon
India is working to develop a sensor to gauge radiation levels after a nuclear accident, making a significant step toward ensuring the safety of the country’s nuclear installations.
Defense

To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. For a complete list of Aviation Week Network’s upcoming events, and to register, visit www.aviationweek.com/events (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Mar. 29-30—4th DoD Unmanned Systems Summit, Mary M. Gates Learning Center, Alexandria, Virginia. For more information go to www.eventsinamerica.com/events/4th-dod-unmanned-systems-summit/ev56b8d0…

View the U.S. DoD - Electronic Warfare, Suppression Of Enemy Air Defense And Countermeasure Spending FY15-FY17 ($K) chart in PDF

To accelerate the development of future lasers, the U.S. Air Force is investing in manufacturing technology that enables new lasing materials to be produced from nanopowders. Under a small-business research effort administered by the U.S Army, Georgia-based nanomaterials company nGimat developed processes to produce yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) power from which laser amplifiers are made. Unable to fund the development internally, nGimat approached the Air Force, which is providing funding help to transition the materials to laser weapon systems and missile seeker domes.

SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL CORP. has $121.5m U.S. Marine Corps contract to build 13 prototypes for Engineering, Manufacturing and Development (EMD) of Amphibious Combat Vehicle Phase 1, Increment 1 (ACV 1.1). Award follows GAO denial of GENERAL DYNAMICS protest of awards to SAIC, BAE SYSTEMS. MBDA reported €5.2b ($5.9b) in sales for 2015, driven by Rafale and Fremm frigate contracts signed by Egypt and Qatar. New export orders were €3.6b, revenue reached €2.9b, up from €2.4b in 2014.

By Mark Carreau
Portions of the information technology and physical infrastructure of NASA’s Near Earth Network, part of the agency’s far-reaching Space Communications and Navigation Program, face security risks, says an audit by Paul K. Martin, the agency’s inspector general.
Space

By Graham Warwick
Canadian industry is missing out on strategic opportunities on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter because of the new Ottawa government’s election promise to hold a competition for its next fighter, says Magellan Aerospace, a major Canadian supplier to the program.
Defense

By Tony Osborne, Graham Warwick
Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) has launched another round of fundraising with the completion of assembly of its Airlander 10 hybrid airship.
Defense

The U.S. Navy’s new procedures for dealing with breathing system problems in F-18 line aircraft will require a surge in spare parts and logistical needs.
Defense

By Graham Warwick
AVX Aircraft is to develop the transmission and propulsion systems for the vertical-take-off-and-landing (VTOL) shipboard unmanned aircraft that Northrop Grumman is building under Darpa’s Tern program.
Defense

By Jay Menon
India’s Reliance Defense Ltd. has teamed up with French avionics firm Sagem to develop and transfer technology for the Infrared Search and Track (IRST) system for naval warships and combat aircraft.
Defense

An Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine assigned to Submarine Group 10 completed a Follow-on Commander’s Evaluation Test (FCET) earlier this month with the launch of three Trident II D5 missiles, U.S. Navy officials say.
Defense

By Graham Warwick
To achieve the stated goal of reducing the flyaway cost by approximately $10 million by the end of 2019, to $85 million for the conventional F-35A, will require the government customer to begin investing in manufacturing improvements beginning in 2017.
Defense

By Mark Carreau
The crew's activities are scheduled to include the addition of the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module space habitat and the belated installation of the first docking port for U.S. commercial crew transport vehicles.
Defense

RAYTHEON has $573m U.S. Air Force contract for Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (Amraam) production.

Republican leaders of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee remain unenthusiastic about NASA’s ...

View the Forecast Friday: C4ISR Aircraft Deliveries chart in PDF format.

Airbus Group reached an agreement to sell its defense electronics business to global investment firm KKR for €1.1 billion ($1.24 billion).
Defense