Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Irene Klotz
With nearly $1.8 million in private donations, a pair of Harvard University scientists has unveiled a project to use civilian science observatories and instruments to scout for unidentified aerial phenomena in Earth’s skies and beyond.
Space

By Guy Norris
Supersonic airliner developer Boom is evaluating a forward-looking vision system (FLVS) as part of preparations for flight tests of the XB-1 high-speed demonstrator as well as design planning for the follow-on full-scale Overture passenger aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Michael Bruno
Officials are watching as two British aerospace and defense suppliers are in talks again to merge, with Cobham making a £2.58 billion ($3.56 billion) non-binding offer for Ultra Electronics.
Manufacturing & Supply Chain

By Maksim Pyadushkin
Russian Helicopters secured a launch customer for the Mi-171A3, a new offshore modification of the Mil Mi-171 heavy-transport rotorcraft. The manufacturer unveiled the new version at the ongoing MAKS 2021 airshow, where it signed an agreement with Russian gas monopoly Gazprom for these helicopters.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
FORT RUCKER, Alabama—Two decades of counter-insurgency (COIN) operations have reshaped the U.S. Army’s aviation branch organizationally and
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
Fresh off Blue Origin’s first human spaceflight, founder Jeff Bezos is offering to cut his company’s fee for a human lunar landing demonstration mission dramatically and add—at company expense—an orbital flight test.
Space

By Mark Carreau
Russia’s near two-decade-old Pirs docking compartment and airlock left the International Space Station (ISS) in the grasp of the Progress MS-16 cargo capsule early July 26.
Space

By Graham Warwick
Backed by XPeng Motors, startup XPeng Huitian has flown the Voyager X2, a two-seat multicopter described as its fifth generation of electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicle.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Steve Trimble
“Based on initial observations, one target was successfully intercepted. At this time, we cannot confirm the second target was destroyed,” MDA said.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Steve Trimble
Lockheed Martin’s proposed acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne has prompted a new inquiry by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren about the effectiveness of behavioral remedies in aerospace and defense industry supply chains.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
Electric vertical-lift aircraft, like helicopters, are likely to become known for their versatility—from medical evacuation to express logistics to passenger transport. Now add another potential role: an electrical generator.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Steve Trimble
“The Army is at a decision point with what they want to do for the Gray Eagle,” said Col. Scott Anderson, the Army’s program manager for unmanned aircraft systems.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Army could buy up to eight Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems in fiscal 2023, two years early, Col. Scott Anderson said on July 23.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Russian Helicopters says its Kamov Ka-62 twin-engine medium helicopter is in the final stages of flight-testing and certification by Russian regulators is expected by year-end.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Chen Chuanren
After a highly anticipated Boeing F-15J upgrade project was halted and Lockheed Martin was chosen for the Japanese F-X next-generation fighter, Boeing is now in a holding pattern ready to support Japanese fighter programs.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Jen DiMascio
The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee has passed a bill that would temporarily block the U.S. Air Force from its effort to develop a so-called “Bridge Tanker.”
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Graham Warwick
Customers will be able to reserve fractional shares or whole aircraft when the program opens at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh show from July 26.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
A U.S. District Court judge has denied Wisk Aero’s petition for a preliminary injunction against Archer Aviation in its legal action accusing the rival urban air mobility startup of stealing its trade secrets.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Guy Norris
Rolls-Royce's Power Generation System 1 (PGS1) demonstrator is designed to pave the way for future hybrid-electric regional propulsion system development.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Army’s program manager on July 22 called on industry to increase their lobbying to Congress in support of the Future Armed Reconnaissance
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
Shield AI has acquired the small company that created an artificial intelligence agent that won DARPA’s AlphaDogfight trials last year.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Steve Trimble
A video released on July 22 by the contender for the U.S. Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) shows the SB-1 lifting to a hover an external load that the Sikorsky-Boeing described as 5,300 lb.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
The same day Blue Origin made its first human spaceflight, sending four passengers into suborbital space, the Federal Aviation Administration issued new FAA Commercial Space Astronaut Wings eligibility requirements.
Commercial Space

By Tony Osborne
Bristow Helicopters, the provider of the UK’s Search and Rescue helicopter service, is set to operate a rotary-wing unmanned air system for SAR duties this summer.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
The UK Ministry of Defense has completed its planned purchase of the General Atomics Protector medium-altitude, long-endurance uncrewed air system, signing an order for 13 aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion