Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Steve Trimble
It is easy to dismiss the proposal as a congressionally-mandated busy work for the Pentagon, and perhaps that’s all it is. And, yet, Israel’s military has demonstrated a unique capacity for strategic surprise. Could the idea of an MOP in Israeli hands be enough to create a deterrent effect in Tehran?
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Lee Hudson
The U.S. naval aviation community is conducting a study on how to toughen existing rotary-wing and tiltrotor aircraft for combat post-2030.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Argentina’s plan to purchase Korea Aerospace Industries’ F/A-50 Golden Eagle light combat aircraft has been thwarted by an ongoing UK arms embargo.
Budget, Policy & Operations

The management of the UK’s nuclear weapons stockpile is to be brought back under government control from a Lockheed Martin-led private consortium.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Bradley Perrett
Japan has selected Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to commence development of the F-X fighter, making the company responsible for the complete aircraft, including propulsion.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Selected U.S. military contracts from the past week.
Defense

As the rest of the U.S. focuses on Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida is preparing for two launches
Defense

Brief news items of interest to aerospace & defense professionals.
Defense

By Steve Trimble, Guy Norris
At the time the picture was taken in daylight hours, the unknown aircraft was flying above California City in a racetrack pattern at an estimated altitude of 20,000 ft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
The Department of the U.S. Air Force’s international affairs office recently established a dedicated space division to better align the department with a single strategy for international engagement.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Lee Hudson
The Pentagon has created the new position of assistant defense secretary for space policy, which Congress directed in the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Bill Carey
The FAA on Oct. 30 unveiled a new “Beyond” program to replace the now-expired Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program in advancing commercial drone applications.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Mark Carreau
Retired NASA astronaut Bill Shepherd and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko fondly recall their launch and docking to the International Space Station 20 years ago.
Space

By Steve Trimble
Speaking to the IDGA Hypersonic Weapons Summit on Oct. 29, Gen. Timothy Ray also suggested the non-nuclear policy for hypersonic weapons could be revisited.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Steve Trimble
The contract with a $700 million ceiling value could result in orders for up to 2.906 ACES 5 ejection seats over the next decade, beginning with a task order to replace the ACES 2 seats in the Boeing F-15 fleet.
Supply Chain

By Tony Osborne
French defense officials are calling for the development of a future medium airlifter for the 2030s that could replace the CASA CN235 and Lockheed C-130H Hercules aircraft in French service.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Graham Warwick
French start-up VoltAero has selected Belgian-headquartered Sonaca Group to develop the airframe for its clean-sheet Cassio 2 family of hybrid-electric aircraft for general and regional aviation.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Bradley Perrett
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has suspended development of the SpaceJet for more than three years.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Samuel Archer
Fleet Snapshot
AWIN Knowledge Center

Calendar of upcoming events of interest to the aerospace & defense industry.
Defense

Brief news items of interest to aerospace & defense professionals.
Defense

By Lee Hudson
Before the House and Senate defense authorization panels met this week for their first conference negotiation meeting with panel leadership, governors from 14 states urged Congress to prohibit the proposed retirements of U.S. Air National Guard C-130 aircraft.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
Both aircraft will be delivered to Japan by June 30, 2023, joining two previously ordered KC-46As.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
NASA’s Osiris-Rex asteroid sample return mission spacecraft has successfully secured material gathered last week from the surface of the near Earth object Bennu in the spacecraft’s Sample Return Capsule.
Space

By Steve Trimble
The San Diego-based company announced winning a contract on October 29 for a program that provides professional services for U.S. federal agencies.
Supply Chain