The grounding and subsequent restricted flight regime of the F-35 fleet are not expected to affect its ability to get prepared for its first deployment on a U.S. aircraft carrier in November, according to program officials.
TEL AVIV—With growing international pressure on Moscow over its military support for Ukrainian separatists, Israel has curbed the export of advanced defense systems to Russia, including UAVs. While Russian officials claim no orders are pending, analysts have estimated the volumes of future deals add up to hundreds of millions of dollars.
SPACEX SUED: Former SpaceX employees have filed a class-action lawsuit in a California court against the company for failing to notify workers of a mass layoff that was announced in July. California’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires employers to let employees know 60 days before an impending layoff. The lawsuit, filed Aug. 4 in the Superior Court of the State of California, seeks unpaid wages and interest, including back-pay, for the failure to provide timely notice.
The U.S. Navy is getting a Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) engine repaired that was damaged about four years ago in early operations aboard the lead ship of the class. The Navy recently awarded Rolls Royce Marine North America a $9 million contract to repair the MT30 marine gas turbine engine that “suffered a failure in the starboard position aboard LCS 1” USS Freedom in 2010, Navy officials say. At the time the engine was damaged, Navy officials say, it was replaced with an existing MT30 already in the Navy supply system.
LOGAN, Utah—Work performed on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (Darpa) Phoenix program to recycle large antennas and other functional gear on inactive orbiting spacecraft is leading toward spacecraft that assemble themselves like growing embryos, one cell at a time.
NEW DELHI — India and the U.S. have decided to increase their military ties in the coming years, as they discuss ways to expedite pending defense deals between the two countries.
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and AgustaWestland would jointly develop a derivative of the AW169 if the Italian-British manufacturer is chosen for South Korea’s LCH-LAH helicopter program. “AgustaWestland considers that KAI will have a major role to play in the global LCH-LAH program, with a significant influence on the development and production of the military variant,” AgustaWestland says.
The U.S. Navy has conducted limited airstrikes against militant fighters in Iraq, less than a day after President Barack Obama gave the green light for air operations over the country. Two Boeing F/A-18 Hornets from the USS George Bush dropped 500 lb. laser-guided bombs on mobile artillery pieces being used by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) insurgents near Erbil in the North of the country during the morning of August 8. According to the Pentagon, ISIL was using the artillery to shell Kurdish forces defending the city.
SAN DIEGO — NASA is preparing to repeat tests of a large, inflatable deceleration device designed to help land large payloads on Mars after incorporating lessons learned from a mostly successful initial test over the Pacific on June 28.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) aug. 11-14 — Tennessee Valley Chapter 17th Annual Space & Missile Defense Symposium, Von Braun Center-Convention Center, Huntsville, Alabama. For more information go to www.ndia.org/meetings/C063/Pages/default.aspx
