Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Australia has selected the Northrop Grumman AN/ALQ-251 radio frequency countermeasures (RFCM) system for its new fleet ofC-130J Hercules airlifters.

To accelerate the production of inertial reference systems and make them more compact, Thales is relying on micro electro-mechanical systems accelerometers.

Rolls-Royce aims by mid-year to freeze the design of a smaller UltraFan geared turbofan demonstrator, signaling its intent to target the single-aisle market.

SpaceX, United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin will provide launch services for the most critical national security missions beginning in 2028.

The International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory plans to launch its Orbital Edge Accelerator program.

A quartet of civilian polar explorers returned from a 3.5-day spaceflight with SpaceX’s first crewed Dragon splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Beijing has retaliated with new controls on critical mineral exports, targeting the American defense-industrial base as well as matching levies on U.S. imports.

Diversified parts provider Leggett & Platt will sell its aerospace and defense unit for $285 million gross to private investment firm Tinicum.

The administration is disrupting the $52.5 billion CHIPS and Science Act, raising questions about the security of military semiconductor investment funding.

According to data from Aviation Week Intelligence Network’s Fleet Discovery Military tool, the global fleet of C-390s will increase more than 500% by 2035, from the ten in service today to 51 in 2035.

News in brief.

Mayman Aerospace has completed flight testing of its Razor P100 high-speed autonomous vertical takeoff-and-landing aircraft.

THALES ALENIA SPACE extending life of EGNOS... BOEING gets South Korean P-8A training award... ZENATECH acquires land surveying company...

True Anomaly isoffering its Jackal autonomous spacecraft for missions in geosynchronous orbit and cislunar space.

Aetherflux has raised $50 million as it prepares to demo infrared laser power beaming from a subscale low-Earth-orbit satellite.

U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command has received the L3Harris/Air Tractor OA-1K Skyraider II.

Denel and Embraer have agreed to a framework for future industrial collaboration on the KC-390.

Medical physicist Chris Williams has been selected to serve aboard the International Space Station.

NASA estimates it is a year to a year and a half away from completing an updated preliminary design review of the Mars Sample Return mission.

Europe would have gaps in key mission areas if a push to reduce the U.S. military’s presence on the continent were to occur, the top U.S. officer in the region says.

A new U.S. Air Force unit creating a proving ground for autonomous combat aircraft hopes to take flight within the year.

Diehl Defense and Elbit Systems are offering a laser-guided rocket system for Germany’s Airbus H145M helicopters.

The UK says F-35 delays to production and upgrades will not impact its plans to declare the aircraft's full operational capability.

The defense research laboratories of Australia and the UK have teamed up to jointly develop subsystems for new-generation low-cost weapons and munitions.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation has scheduled a confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump’s nominee to head NASA.