Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

The head of the U.S. Air Force is raising the possibility of completely taking on the mission of air base protection from the Army.

As it showcased dual-carrier operations for the first time, China released images showing the PLAN J-15B and J-15D now in operation.

SpaceX CRS-31 is scheduled to launch on the Falcon 9 rocket with the Cargo Dragon capsule from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 4 .

L3Harris is hoping to add Morocco to the list of countries operating its advanced, business-jet-based airborne ISR aircraft.

Boeing and the International Association of Machinists (IAM) have reached a new tentative agreement that will be presented for a vote Nov. 4.

News in brief.

The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) made special mention during its fourth-quarter session of how mission management openly addressed safety concerns.

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But the Marine Corps probe, released Oct. 31, found the incident was not a result of a dereliction of duty.

The Nigerian Air Force is modernizing with 10 new AW109 transport helicopters in 2026 and the first of 24 M-346FA light attack aircraft in 2025.

Reaction Engines, the UK-U.S.-based pioneer of hypersonic propulsion and thermal management systems, has been forced into closure.

The European Union as taken the first of two procedural steps to move forward with its proposed sovereign satellite communications constellation.

Airbus’ A400M airlifter is set to receive a series of upgrades as part of a new agreement between the launch customer nations.

The New Mexico-based company is developing high-altitude platform station (HAPS) airships that fly for long durations in the stratosphere.

The agreement “acknowledges the mutual desire to strengthen and expand cooperation and investment,” an Oct. 30 Embraer press release says.

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration has reportedly signed a contract for the purchase of 100 MBDA Meteor air-to-air missiles.

Saudi Arabia appears to have become an operator of Russian Pantsir-S1 short-range anti-aircraft systems, signaling Moscow continues to pursue arms deals abroad.

The Space RCO is one of three acquisition agencies under the U.S. Space Force and headquartered at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico.

Last June, the service awarded the initial NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 contracts worth $5.6 billion to United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin and SpaceX.

The Office released the BALISTA query in March 2024.

The agreement seeks to license the operational supervisors who will monitor EHang’s EH216-S autonomous multicopter.

Marc Bell, Terran Orbital’s co-founder, chairman and CEO, was “separated” from the company upon close of the acquisition.

The UK plans to boost defense spending by an additional £2.9 billion ($3.7 billion) in 2025-2026, Chancellor Rachel Reeves says.

The defense contractor’s revenue and earnings per share in the September quarter both exceeded Wall Street’s consensus estimate.

A pair of rookie Chinese taikonauts joined veteran commander Cai Xuzhe for a 6 1/2-hr. ride to China’s Tiangong space station.