Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Robert Wall
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has signaled a desire to revitalize the agency’s aeronautics program, calling for more experimental X-planes.
Emerging Technologies

By Robert Wall
French President Emmanuel Macron has said the country will proceed with plans to build a new aircraft carrier.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Chen Chuanren
South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace finalized a contract with Estonia to supply the Baltic state with the K239 Chunmoo tactical surface-to-surface missile system.
Missile Defense & Weapons

Aviation Week Staff
News in brief.
Defense

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Air Force has expanded the pool of competitors vying for the second increment of Collaborative Combat Aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
A NASA safety panel is set to recommend that the agency reexamine the mission objectives of the crewed Artemis III Moon landing mission.
Budget, Policy & Regulation

By Tony Osborne
Leonardo Helicopters has completed the long-awaited first flight of its Next Generation Civil Tiltrotor Technology Demonstrator.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Vivienne Machi
Rocket Lab is making its missile defense development debut as the SDA awarded the company one of four contracts for the next phase of its Tracking Layer
Satellites

By Garrett Reim
Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace of Norway plans to acquire Zone 5 Technologies, a U.S. maker of low-cost cruise missiles.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Graham Warwick
U.S. startup Astro Mechanica plans to take its hybrid-electric supersonic engine into high-altitude and high-speed ground testing in 2026.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Brian Everstine
The DOD has surged assets to the Caribbean and the southern border to back military operations in the region including, potentially, the RQ-170 reconnaissance drone.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Robert Wall
Saab has secured another 2.5 billion in Swedish krona ($200 million) to support the evolution of the Gripen fighter.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
A radar upgrade for the X-62 autonomous fighter will allow the U.S. Air Force to experiment with AI-enabled “pilots” controlling sensors in combat.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Robert Wall
Signals intelligence-focused satellite company HawkEye 360 has acquired Innovative Signal Analysis to enhance usage of its orbit-collected data.
Commercial Space

By Robert Wall
Avio says it has booked two Vega C launches as the Italian rocket company gears up for taking over launch operations of the system from Arianespace next year.
Launch Vehicles & Propulsion

By Robert Wall
The French Defense Innovation Fund and MBDA have taken a stake in NanoXplore, a company specializing in reprogrammable special-purposes semiconductors.
Supply Chain

By Robert Wall
Spanish space startup Arkadia Space says it is looking to secure more contracts for its reaction control system after kicking off the year with a deal with Arianespace.
Launch Vehicles & Propulsion

By Thierry Dubois
Onera has started using a new test facility for structural materials, applying new methods to a Clean Aviation project on airframes for hydrogen propulsion.
Emerging Technologies

By Chen Chuanren
Malaysia is looking to fast-track its multirole combat aircraft program after plans to acquire ex-Kuwaiti Boeing F/A-18 Hornets are expected to face delays.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
Jared Isaacman was sworn in Dec. 18 as NASA Administrator.
Budget, Policy & Regulation

By Matthew Fulco
Digantara, an Indian space surveillance startup that operates in India, the U.S. and Singapore, raised $50 million in a Series B funding round.
Satellites

By Vivienne Machi
The White House issued a new executive order framing its near-term plans and policy ambitions for the space domain on Dec. 18.
Budget, Policy & Regulation

By Brian Everstine
Northrop Grumman announced Dec. 18 it had test-fired a prototype of a new solid rocket motor for the U.S. Navy.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Navy on Dec. 18 announced it had for the first time fired a newly developed one-way attack drone from a ship in the Middle East.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Michael Bruno
Starfighters Space sold shares Dec. 18, raising $22.1 million that the firm says will support its pursuit of its StarLaunch suborbital space launch programs.
Launch Vehicles & Propulsion