Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Tony Osborne
The fuselage for the Hungarian Air Force’s first KC-390 transport aircraft is complete and awaiting fitment of the wings.
Aircraft & Propulsion

SINGAPORE—Korean Air’s Aerospace Division (KAL ASD) and Airbus Helicopters are to jointly develop a vertical uncrewed aircraft system (VUAS) for the
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Jen DiMascio
Teams from ArianeGroup, the European Space Agency and Germany’s space agency, DLR, are testing the Ariane 6 rocket’s upper stage and Vinci engine.
Space

By Mark Carreau
NASA’s SpaceX-contracted Endurance Crew-5 Dragon capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station on Oct. 6, delivering four astronauts and cosmonauts as part of a crew exchange.
Space

By Michael Bruno, Joe Anselmo
Parker Hannifin has plenty of opportunity to change and improve Meggitt operations while still upholding promises Parker made to the UK government to sustain core Meggitt operations in the country, Parker leaders told Aviation Week.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Garrett Reim
The U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency has awarded a prototype contract worth up to $200 million to York Space Systems for 12 communications satellites as part of its Tranche 1 Demonstration and Experimentation System program.
Space

By Graham Warwick
Sweden’s Heart Aerospace may have moved up to 30 seats to increase the appeal of its planned electric regional airliner, but French startup Aura Aero continues to pursue a 19-seater and has announced letters of intent for another 130 aircraft, taking the total to more than 330.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Steve Trimble
The Leidos-owned company won the contract for the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed (MACH-TB), the Pentagon said on Oct. 6.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Brian Everstine
The U.S., Japan and South Korea are responding to increased tensions following multiple North Korean ballistic missile launches this week with a series of air drills and missile defense exercises in the region.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Tony Osborne
The UK’s competition watchdog has expressed concerns that a $7.3 billion tie-up between satellite communications firms Viasat and Inmarsat could lead to airlines and passengers paying higher prices for onboard Wi-Fi.
Interiors & Connectivity

By Brian Everstine
Aerojet Rocketdyne and the Air Force Research Laboratory recently conducted a successful test of a new large solid rocket motor called eSR-19 that the company is pitching for multiple stages on both defense and space applications.
Space

By Graham Warwick
The first crewed electric vertical takeoff and landing flight in Italian airspace has been conducted from the country’s first fully functional vertiport at Rome’s Fiumicino International Airport.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Graham Warwick, Alan Dron
Hydrogen propulsion pioneer ZeroAvia has acquired HyPoint, a startup developing high power-density hydrogen fuel cells for aviation.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Tony Osborne
The first of 16 Protector medium-altitude, long-endurance uncrewed aircraft systems ordered by the UK Royal Air Force has been accepted, paving the way for deliveries to begin in 2023.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
France has selected MBDA’s Akeron LP air-to-ground missile to arm its future fleet of Eurodrone medium-altitude, long-endurance uncrewed aircraft systems.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Tony Osborne
The Nordic country follows a growing trend of European nations strengthening their defense budgets to reflect the new regional security situation.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
“We don’t use words like ‘radical’ lightly, and certainly believe our track record for designing and developing the most cutting-edge UAS in the world gives us some credibility here,” GA-ASI says.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Helen Massy-Beresford
Lessors have played a major role in boosting the conditional orderbooks of electric aircraft startups, from Avolon’s preorder for 500 Vertical Aerospace four-passenger air taxis to Rockton’s letter of intent for 40 Heart Aerospace 30-seat regional airliners.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Graham Warwick
South Korean telecommunications provider KT has completed the country’s first 5G wireless network dedicated to urban air mobility.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Garrett Reim
DARPA has launched its Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay program, an effort to demonstrate the long-distance wireless transmission of energy using lasers and UAVs as relays.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Tony Osborne
The Eurodrone medium altitude long endurance uncrewed aircraft system program has passed its Integrated Baseline Review, a key milestone toward upcoming design reviews.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Steve Trimble
A Norwegian company has demonstrated a high-supersonic propulsion technology for missiles in two flight tests in August that were partly U.S. military-funded, the Pentagon announced on Oct. 5.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Matthew Jouppi
The Boeing P-8 Poseidon is a U.S. maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) based on the 737-800 ERX and powered by a pair of CFM International CFM56-7B27 jet engines.
Defense

By Graham Warwick
Switzerland’s RUAG has entered the electric vertical takeoff and landing market through a partnership with Swiss startup Dufour Aerospace.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Steve Trimble
The Air Force Research Laboratory obligated $835,000 on a contract with a $9.8 million ceiling to Boeing on Sept. 29 to investigate “advanced missile subsystem components."
Missile Defense & Weapons