Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Aircraft WT001 got airborne from Birmingham Airport, England, shortly before 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 20.

Kelly Ortberg, Boeing’s new CEO, announced the move in a statement to employees just before the close of business on Sept. 20.

The FAA has issued an update to its interim safety standards for vertiport design.

The fifth T-7A will be delivered from Boeing in St. Louis to Edwards AFB, California, in mid-October.

The Taiwanese Defense Ministry says the unit was established Feb. 1, but its existence was not revealed until Sept. 18.

The praise demonstrates that startups are eagerly awaiting the new form of competition in Europe.

Iraq is purchasing South Korea's KM-SAM II medium-range, ground-based air defense system, becoming the third Middle Eastern nation to acquire it.

Cabin crew, maintenance workers and ATCs are among the positions that will need an influx of workforce, CAE CEO Marc Parent says.

Paris has revealed further details of France and Italy's plans to acquire a new version of the SAMP/T as it rushes upgrade air and missile defense capabilities.

News in brief.

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Increasingly, defense plans in Europe are converting to contracts for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 and Eurofighter’s Typhoon, giving industry executives on both sides of the Atlantic reason to be optimistic.

The National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine panel also acknowledged the mission’s extreme challenges and received initial comments.

The service’s Evolved Strategic Satcom (ESS) program office is completing source selection and expects to announce a contract award by early 2025.

The Combined Line Engineering facility at Lossiemouth, Scotland, has been built alongside the Atlantic Building.

PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) sees itself focusing on special-mission conversions for its CN-235 turboprop transport aircraft, as it looks to keep it relevant in the international market.

U.S. Special Operations Command now intends to buy a fleet of 62 of the L3Harris and Air Tractor aircraft.

Russia is making up to 116 billion rubles (about $1.3 billion) available for the startup, known as Bureau 1440, to deploy the global constellation.

The Norwegian Research Center has purchased two Windracers Ultra drones for Antarctic survey missions.

Thales is looking to begin industrialization of its Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon developed in the UK.

After launching 326 Earth observation satellites last year, more than 5,400 are due for launch over the coming decade, Debien said.

The EU has been urged to consider jump-starting a new Earth observation project in the face of fresh competition in the sector from SpaceX’s Starshield program.

Chinese company Zhongce Beifang Science and Technology is presenting a range of uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) to Indonesia, including its LM-10 loitering munition.

Airbus Helicopters UK has formally opened its new headquarters at London Oxford Airport, making what Chairman John Harrison calls a £55 million ($73 million) "investment not only in our infrastructure, but also in a better future."

The EU effort to create a sovereign satellite communications network, known as IRIS², should be unaffected by the exit of Thierry Breton from the EC, program backers say.