Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Graham Warwick
Thales Alenia Space has been awarded a European contract to prepare for an in-orbit demonstration of spacecraft servicing.
Commercial Space

By Lee Hudson
The the acting defense secretary is skeptical about whether the fifth-generation fighter is needed.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Five days before President-elect Joe Biden’s swearing in to become the 46th U.S. president, the House Armed Services Committee chairman introduced legislation for a waiver that would allow Lloyd Austin to become defense secretary.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Thierry Dubois
The EU is looking for synergies between two components of its Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021-27: the newly created €8 billion ($9.5 billion) European Defense Fund and the €14.9 billion space budget.
Space

By Steve Trimble
Both companies have received $8.5 million contracts to launch Phase 1 of the a four-step prototyping program worth up to $250 million.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Graham Warwick
Advanced air mobility, electric aircraft and hypersonic flight are the focus of the latest academic research projects to be funded under NASA’s University Leadership Initiative.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Tony Osborne
Russia is to follow the U.S. by withdrawing from the Open Skies treaty, drawing a question mark over the future of the arms control accord.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Tony Osborne
Japan’s SoftBank has re-invested in OneWeb, the satellite communications company that was sent into Chapter 11 nine months ago after the Tokyo-based holding company withdrew its support.
Commercial Space

By Tony Osborne
A British aircraft parts supplier says it has halted supplies of fuel systems to Turkish unmanned aircraft OEM Baykar Makina after discovering the system had been used in Baykar’s Bayraktar TB2 combat unmanned air system.
Supply Chain

By Tony Osborne
The Apache will be introduced from 2025, Australian defense minister Linda Reynolds announced Jan. 15, adding that the Boeing helicopter represented the “most lethal, most survivable and lowest-risk” option.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Airbus says it has completed the Preliminary Design Review on the UK’s new Skynet 6A military communications satellite. The review occurred in November and was completed virtually due to the restrictions in place because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Airbus announced Jan. 14.
Commercial Space

By Lee Hudson
Reflecting on his time as acting U.S. defense secretary, Chris Miller wishes he had time to tackle the Pentagon’s acquisition system, and would use the F-35 as the case study of what not to do.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Irene Klotz
Lockheed Martin, prime contractor for NASA’s deep-space crewed Orion spacecraft, has completed assembly and testing of the capsule earmarked for a flight test in November and transferred possession to NASA.
Commercial Space

By Mark Carreau
Blue Origin credits a team of experienced industry partners with its success so far as a competitor to build NASA’s lunar Human Landing System to shuttle future astronauts between lunar orbit and the Moon’s surface.
Commercial Space

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Air Force could soon have a new competitor for production funding to the F-35: the Next Generation Air Dominance program.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
The new acquisition strategy for ReleaseONE signals Roper’s plan to harvest the first tranche of ABMS technologies into a batch of systems that can be acquired, developed and fielded.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Irene Klotz
Blue Origin tested an upgraded New Shepard suborbital launch system on Jan. 14, sending the uncrewed, six-passenger capsule to an altitude of 347,568 ft. before it made a parachute return to the West Texas desert.
Commercial Space

By Michael Bruno
Publicly traded space-related stocks received a proverbial booster shot this week when a popular investment manager unveiled a new electronically traded fund focusing on space.
Space

By Mark Carreau
SpaceX’s latest Dragon International Space Station resupply mission concluded late Jan. 13 with the first splashdown off the U.S. East Coast, delivering a 4,400-lb. cargo rich in time-sensitive scientific research.
Space

By Tony Osborne
The Greek Parliament has approved the country’s purchase of Dassault Rafale fighter jets, but the buy only fulfils part of Athens’ desire to field 40 new-generation combat aircraft by 2025.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) is debuting its KC-390 airlifter on a foreign military exercise for the first time, with a deployment to the United States.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Michael Bruno
AeroVironment on Jan. 13 announced its second major acquisition in as many months, unveiling a deal to buy Arcturus UAV, a privately-held provider of Group 2 and 3 unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and contractor-owned services to military customers.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Michael Bruno
The Pentagon on Jan. 13 formally unveiled the Trusted Capital Digital Marketplace, a network for preapproved U.S. investor groups to match with technology startups deemed interesting enough to U.S. national security agencies to guard against Chinese or other foreign investment stakes.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
The new development program is part a series of contracts awarded in the past year worth a total of $974 million to continue and expand production of the radar seekers for PAC-3.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Michael Bruno
An Italian startup focused on the rapidly growing ground-segment-as-a-service market, Leaf Space, has raised €10 million ($12.15 million) in a Series A venture capital round, the company announced Jan. 13.
Commercial Space