Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force already operates F-35As in-country, but the USAF presence is limited to two squadrons of aging Boeing F-15C/Ds and Lockheed F-16C/Js.

Spain is planning to purchase a trio of former Iberia Airbus A330-200s to convert them into Multi-Role Tanker Transports for the country’s air force.

Days after unveiling plans to decommission and dismantle the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, the National Science Foundation announced a third wave of damage, the Dec. 1 collapse of the suspended 900-ton instrument platform.

After years of discussions, Canada’s Telesat and Loral Space & Communications will combine to form a new publicly traded Canadian company called Telesat Corp., the companies announced.

Defense unmanned systems provider Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has acquired 5-D Systems.

U.S. officials have confirmed Greek interest in acquiring the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, but insist that any purchase of the fifth-generation combat aircraft will be a “multiyear process.”

China’s Chang’e 5 lunar sample return mission successfully touched down on the Moon’s surface on Dec. 1, the China National Space Administration said.

Hungarian officials say the country’s purchase of Embraer’s KC-390 airlifter “represents a gap-filling development” for NATO in Eastern Europe.

Hungary has ordered Kongsberg’s Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System to replace its Soviet-era ground-based air defense system.

Blank-check company Genesis Park Acquisition has been seeded with $150 million through its initial public offering and is on the hunt for aerospace or aviation services businesses to buy.

Workers at Boeing’s complex in St. Louis, Missouri are now assembling the weapons systems trainer and the operational flight trainer, which are scheduled for delivery to the U.S. Air Force in 2023.

Australia said it will work with the U.S. in developing and testing prototype hypersonic cruise missiles.

Virgin Orbit will make a second attempt to reach orbit with the air-dropped LauncherOne small satellite rocket on Dec. 19, with backup launch windows available later in the month in the event of a delay.

Jacobs Engineering Group has announced its second acquisition in as many weeks that aims to boost the government services provider’s profile in providing advanced technologies of keen interest to national security and other agencies.

A new head of Air Force Special Operations Command is calling for a "ruthless" divestment of certain functions in order to finance a major restructuring to prepare for conflict with a great power.

Russia has taken another significant step toward development of its first reusable space launch vehicle.

Nov. 2, 2020, the date that marked 20 years of continuous human operations aboard the International Space Station, also represents an unfolding “wedding of the old and the new,” according to David Brady, NASA’s ISS associate program scientist.

The French Air Force has taken delivery of the first of two second-hand Airbus A330-200s which will be converted into Multi-Role Tanker Transports (MRTT).

Defense officials have said UK plans to develop a laser directed energy weapon are “on-track” despite the program suffering a year-long delay.

The German Navy has turned to private contractors to train pilots for its Lockheed P-3 Orion maritime patrollers.

The space launch ambitions of the Shetland Islands have been given an additional boost with investment from a Scottish conservation fund, but the cash injection appears to have prompted a war of words between competing space ports.

The British Army has taken delivery of its first two remanufactured AH-64E Apache attack helicopters.

Germany has formally placed orders for 31 NH90 NATO Frigate Helicopters (NFH) to replace its Westland Sea Lynx fleet.

Canada will require emergency locator transmitters on most aircraft in the country to operate on both digital and analog frequencies starting as soon as next year, under new Transport Canada regulations .

The U.S. Air Force has selected four locations to become home for the C-130J, but a key Democrat on Capitol Hill is condemning the announcement as politicized because one of the bases is located in Georgia where there will be a double runoff election for the U.S. Senate in January.