Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Aviation Week’s recently released 2026 Military Fleet & MRO Forecast identifies open requirements for the delivery of 6,513 new-build military aircraft worth $250 billion over the next decade.

—Arianespace achieved a double-first with the inaugural flight of the Ariane 64 launcher configuration and satellite deployment.

The war in Ukraine has evolved into combat dominated by the use of drones.

An Indian decision-making council approved a ₹3.6 trillion ($39.7 billion) budget on Feb. 12.

U.S. Special Operations Command wants to progress quickly through long-awaited upgrades to the MC-130J through a different approach to addressing issues.

News in Brief

AMCA acquires ELECTROCUBE... NASA evaluating cold-spray technology... BAE gets C-UAS award...

A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket successfully delivered the next batch of U.S. military satellites to their intended orbits on Feb. 12.

A new stealthy-looking, high-speed target drone has been unveiled by Saudi company Midana at this week’s World Defense Show 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

CFM’s decision to cap the life limit of a critical Leap-1B component has Southwest Airlines concerned about a potential engine shortage.

Airbus is using the World Defense Show 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this week to relaunch its A400M tactical airlifter sales campaign in the country.

Saudi space technology company SARsatX is laying the groundwork for the launch of the first Saudi-made commercial satellite.

The Artemis II launch team prepared on Feb. 12 to test if repairs to stem a hydrogen leak that stopped a launch dress rehearsal nine days ago were successful.

Russia’s first commercial space launch of 2026 was also the last for the Proton-M variant with DM-03 booster.

Armenia has selected Shield AI’s V-BAT vertical takeoff and landing uncrewed aircraft system for its military.

Several European countries have signed an agreement to jointly develop long-range loitering munitions, the German defense ministry said.

Hensoldt has struck a partnership with Helsing, the European defense AI company that is behind development of the CA-1 Europa collaborative combat aircraft.

British defense startup Rotron Aerospace is being bought by U.S. autonomous systems maker Ondas.

Israel says it has completed a series of flight tests of Rafael’s David’s Sling air defense system to validate performance enhancements.

The demise of British launch startup Orbex has reduced ESA flagship European Launcher Challenge to four candidates.

Italy’s ELT Group is planning to explore the potential for electromagnetic spectrum analysis and cyber intelligence gathering from orbit through an agreement with Italian space logistics company D-Orbit.

MTU Aero Engines' new boss wants to maintain the engine partnership with Safran to jointly pursue the fighter programs likely to emerge from the anticipated divorce between France and Germany on the Next-Generation Fighter portion of their FCAS.

UK government ministers have insisted they will not let a decision to buy a New Medium Helicopter (NMH) for the armed services “time out.”

KAL-ASD has successfully tested the deployment of a 5-m satellite antenna array, validating its ability to design large, deployable reflectors.

Leonardo has provided additional granularity regarding its future low-Earth-orbit-based satellite constellation.