Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

NASA said it is standing down from a planned Jan. 31 wet dress rehearsal of its second Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

Drones were used by Ukraine to strike more than 800,000 Russian targets in 2025, defense officials have revealed.

SpaceX says it has developed a space situational awareness system it will make available to others to mitigate the risk of collisions.

With the Airbus H160M set to embark on French navy warships in the 2030s, work has begun to prove the rotorcraft’s compatibility with operations at sea.

For Japan, 2026 marks the penultimate year of its five-year Defense Buildup Plan, initiated in 2022 in response to a perceived deterioration in the regional security environment.

Russia plans the inaugural launch of the Soyuz-5 medium-lift vehicle at the end of March, the deputy head of Roscosmos state corporation Dmitry Baranov says.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz says Berlin and Paris will make a decision in a few weeks on whether to jointly pursue a future combat aircraft.

German rocket startup Isar Aerospace says it may return to the launchpad for its first attempt at an orbital launch as soon as March 19.

Military space systems require the kind of self-protection capability long associated with combat aircraft, the Spanish Space Commander argues.

Italy is looking at how to quickly regenerate lost space systems in times of conflict as the country seeks to prepare for future wars.

South Korea has begun the air-to-ground testing phase of Hanwha Systems' AESA radar integrated on the Korea Aerospace Industries KF-21 fighter.

Rolls-Royce has produced the first new-build Trent 1000XE incorporating a second phase of durability improvements.

Blue Origin’s first lunar lander is en route to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for thermal vacuum testing ahead of launch later this year.

The U.S. Air Force's top fighter pilot says the Trump administration's planned influx of funding should be targeted first to spare parts to address ongoing readiness issues.

Eutelsat announced late Jan. 29 that the previously proposed sale of its ground segment to investor EQT Infrastructure VI will not occur.

Military satellite startup York Space Systems became a public traded company Jan. 29 after an initial public offering of stock on the New York Stock Exchange.

Lockheed Martin will spend $1 billion to stockpile spare parts for the F-35.

L3Harris expects its new Missile Solutions unit, which combines Aerojet-Rocketdyne with critical missile systems, to generate $4.4 billion in revenue this year.

A hypersonic reentry capsule built by space technology company Varda Space Industries successfully landed Jan. 29, marking the company’s first reentry of 2026.

Ukraine says SpaceX responded swiftly after it discovered that Moscow has been using Starlink satellite communications to equip one-way attack drones.

Labour MPs are looking back at the canceled TSR- 2 and urging the government to learn from history.

Lockheed Martin could quadruple production of high-altitude interceptors after signing a framework for a future agreement with the U.S. military.

Hexcel is “going to push very hard” to grow its defense and space business in “the immediate future,” CEO Tom Gentile said.

ESA's head says a space summit French President Emmannuel Macron plans to host could provide direction on efforts to independently launch astronauts into space.

News in brief.