Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Cowboy Space says it plans to build launch vehicles and orbiting data centers for artificial intelligence.

MQ-9 Reapers fired BAE Systems precision-guided rockets during a recent demonstration by General Atomics Aeronautics Systems Inc. and the U.S. Air Force.

Canadian training and simulation giant CAE confirmed May 11 it is interested in selling or divesting its aviation software business Flightscape.

Turkey is planning to add defensive electronic warfare capabilities to its Steel Dome air defense umbrella.

Boeing plans to invest $1 billion over the next three years in its recently reacquired Wichita site, its top executive announced May 11.

Dassault and OHB propose Vortex-S spaceplane for ESA, aiming to boost Europe’s space capabilities with reusable designs and autonomous missions.

Latvia’s defense minister resigns after drone incursions expose airspace vulnerabilities, prompting leadership changes and calls for stronger defense.

Italian plans to develop an airborne satellite launch system have moved a step closer after the successful launch of a suborbital rocket from a jet trainer in the U.S.

The Turkish defense ministry says its Research and Development Center has produced six experimental Guchan fighter engines for the indigenous Kaan fighter.

Military planners face new vulnerabilities as defense becomes data-driven, exposing risks to cloud, AI tools and commercial satellites during conflict.

The U.S. Air Force has announced plans to soon move forward on the acquisition of ground-launched prototypes for a low-cost, supersonic counter-air missile.

AIRO Group revealed plans on May 11 to produce the RQ-70 Dainn uncrewed aircraft system as a follow-on to the company’s smaller, hand-launched RQ-35.

The Dutch military explores penetrating ISR and satellite upgrades to enhance intelligence capabilities and address vulnerabilities in space systems.

RTX’s Collins Aerospace is expanding a facility in Largo, Florida, to accelerate production of radars for the FAA’s air traffic control modernization push.

Tianzhou-10 docks with Tiangong hours after launch, delivering new technologies, life science experiments and supplies for future missions.

AVIATION INNOVATION COALITION announced... LOCKHEED gets Aegis Guam award... USRA welcomes University of Idaho...

Rocket Lab has signed an agreement to buy Motiv Space Systems, a specialist in planetary robotics and solar array motors, for $40 million in cash.

For more information about Aviation Week Intelligence Network’s (AWIN) 2026 Military Fleet & MRO Forecast and other Aviation Week data products, please see: https://pgs.aviationweek.com/forecast

Pratt & Whitney is advancing parts procurement for the first XA103 adaptive combat test engine after completion of a fully digital assembly readiness review.

NASA plans a June launch to boost the descending Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.

The U.S. Space Force is assisting an undisclosed partner nation that is interested in launching national security missions from a sovereign spaceport, a recent government notice shows.

The National Reconnaissance Office has scheduled the launch date for its next mission for no earlier than May 11, the agency said May 8.

The Pentagon, in concert with NASA and the FBI, on May 8 released scores of reports, images and videos of unidentified aerial phenomena.

Brian Hughes is returning to NASA as senior director of launch operations, the agency announced on May 8.

The French Navy has taken delivery of the first of three Pilatus PC-24 aircraft from Jet Aviation.