Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Steve Trimble
Lockheed Martin and the F-35 Joint Program Office have entered talks on a revised delivery schedule that seeks to set a long-term, stable production rate by stretching out the recovery plan for assembly delays imposed by COVID-19 disruptions, company officials said on June 10.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
The European Space Agency has chosen its next medium-class space science mission—a Venus orbiter that will join a pair of NASA probes, selected last week to help resolve questions about why Earth’s sister planet evolved so differently.
Space

By Tony Osborne
Leonardo has handed over the first of up to 130 TH-73 training helicopters to the U.S. Navy.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
NASA’s recently extended Juno mission to Jupiter this week transmitted its first close-up images of the giant planet’s icy moon Ganymede, the Solar System’s largest lunar companion.
Space

By Chen Chuanren
Shenzhou-12 will be the first of four manned missions to support the construction of the Tiangong space station.
Space

By Bill Carey
The FAA will assemble an aviation rulemaking committee to provide the agency with recommendations for allowing routine flights of drones beyond an operator’s visual line of sight, Administrator Steve Dickson said June 9.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Lee Hudson
The Biden administration’s pick for Air Force Secretary is among the nominations that have been sent to the Senate for confirmation.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Tony Osborne
The decade-long UKSAR2G contest is calling on bidders to provide an aviation solution for the UK’s offshore and onshore search and rescue capability.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Chen Chuanren
Seoul’s requirement calls for a 30,000-40,000 ton carrier that can support up to 16 Lockheed Martin F-35Bs and eight helicopters.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Jen DiMascio
The review will be worked as a part of the Biden Administration’s National Defense Strategy and feed into the integrated deterrence review.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Irene Klotz, Guy Norris
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter completed a seventh excursion through the skies of Mars on June 8, traveling south 348 ft. in 62.8 sec. as part of a series of flight tests to prepare for future aerial planetary exploration campaigns.
Space

By Mark Carreau
The second of the UK’s two new aircraft carriers has embarked the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for the first time.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
NASA’s Lunar IceCube has completed prelaunch environmental testing at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, in preparation for its flight as a secondary payload aboard the Artemis I mission later this year.
Space

By Tony Osborne
NATO defense ministers have signed an agreement to create a network of flight training centers across Europe that could reduce reliance on U.S.-based training facilities.
Light Attack and Advanced Training

By Graham Warwick
Kitty Hawk has completed its first operational exercise with the U.S. Air Force’s AFWerx innovation unit assessing the ability of the company’s Heaviside electric vertical-takeoff aircraft to perform medical evacuation, personnel recovery and logistics.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Graham Warwick
The avionics and flight control systems for Lilium’s seven-seat electric regional air taxi will be supplied by Honeywell.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Graham Warwick
According to EHang, the EH216 is the first eVTOL vehicle granted permission for outdoor, open-airspace flights in Japan.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Irene Klotz
An upcoming Pentagon report concludes that classified U.S. technology is not behind the hundreds of UAP sightings by military pilots and other credible witnesses.
Space

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Air Force has a preferred bomber fleet strategy that leaves room for up to 149 Northrop Grumman B-21s, a nominal 50% increase over the previously stated procurement objective of more than 100.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Thomas Harker has directed the service to defund nuclear sea-launched cruise missile development in fiscal 2023, according to a memo obtained by Aerospace DAILY.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Tony Osborne
Airbus Helicopters is to acquire a key supplier of dynamic components in a move that appears to mirror a strategy adopted by the company’s commercial airliner business.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
Regional air mobility startup Electra has unveiled its first commercial product, a hybrid-electric aircraft designed to fly a pilot and seven passengers up to 500 mi. with takeoff and landing distances of just 100 ft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
City of Houston officials joined with Collins Aerospace on June 7 to ceremonially break ground on the construction of an 8-acre campus on the grounds of Houston Spaceport.
Space

By Graham Warwick
Regional airline Ravn Alaska has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with startup Airflow for 50 electric logistics aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
The Colombia proposal adds to a growing list of nations where the new-generation Gripen is in contention, such as Canada, Finland and India.
Aircraft & Propulsion