Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Steve Trimble
The unpainted aircraft, F287, took off on June 3 from the Boeing assembly line in St. Louis, Missouri.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
The Spanish Air Force has been steadily building up its capabilities with the A400M and is performing strategic, tactical and aerial refueling missions with the platform.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
Veteran astronaut Kate Rubin’s trip will ensure a U.S. presence on the International Space Station while NASA strives to complete the certifications of a second commercial crew launch provider.
Space

By Tony Osborne
“We can call it 'ATAK one and a half,'" Turkish Aerospace CEO Temel Kotil says.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Air Force is inviting industry to submit ideas to start replacing the MQ-9 unmanned aircraft system by 2030 with a next-generation, medium-altitude strike and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance UAS.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Canada has concluded an undersea search for the wreckage of a Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone naval helicopter that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on April 29, killing all six personnel onboard.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
Carbon recycler LanzaTech has launched a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) spinoff, LanzaJet, with $25 million in backing from Canadian and Japanese investors.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Daniel Urchick
AVIATION WEEK NETWORK estimates that at the end of 2019 there were 1,888 Western-designed helicopters performing scout missions in military service
AWIN Knowledge Center

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

AeroVironment, Inc. has promoted Senior Vice President Ken Karklin to the role of chief operating officer, effective immediately. Karklin previously
Defense

By Irene Klotz
Four days after launching astronauts for a flight test of its commercial space taxi, SpaceX fired off another Falcon 9 rocket to resume building out its Starlink satellite network for high-speed internet service.
Space

By Steve Trimble
The awards create a pool of contractors now eligible to compete for a rolling series of task orders as the Air Force stages “on ramp” demonstrations for new Advanced Battle Management System technologies.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Graham Warwick
The U.S. arm of Japanese satellite servicing startup Astroscale is expanding into geostationary orbit by acquiring the assets of Israeli company Effective Space Solutions.
Space

By Steve Trimble
The Northrop Grumman B-21 is at least 18 months from a first flight milestone, but the stealth bomber’s “flight-ready hardware” already is
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Bill Carey
Several U.S. airlines are among 69 signatories of a letter supporting a stay, or halt, of an order granting Ligado Networks access to mobile satellite services bands for a ground-based 5G network.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Steve Trimble
A nearly year-long setback for the Tactical Boost Glide program will cause a similar delay for the U.S. Air Force’s AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, the U.S. Government Accountability Office says.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Graham Warwick
After building 111 aircraft and conducting more than 25,000 flights, unmanned and manned, startup Kitty Hawk is winding down the Flyer project to develop a single-seat recreational electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
An extended-range anti-radiation missile developed by the U.S. Navy performed a captive-carry test on June 1, paving the way for flight testing to
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Mark Carreau
Arnold Aldrich, a 35-year NASA executive whose guidance touched U.S. human space exploration from Mercury through the space shuttle, died on May 28 in a Virginia hospital following a brief battle with cancer.
Space

By Tony Osborne
Airbus Helicopters has delivered its first helicopters using an electronic-delivery process negating the need for the customer to travel to collect the aircraft in light of the travel restrictions caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
Known as the “impact origin of life hypothesis,” this process may have occurred elsewhere in the inner Solar System, including Mars and perhaps other planetary systems.
Space

By Bill Carey, Lee Hudson
The District of Columbia National Guard is investigating “low-flying maneuvers” conducted by helicopter pilots over the city’s downtown June 1 after
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Graham Warwick
Bye Aerospace is approaching the critical design review for its eFlyer 2 two-seat electric training aircraft and has revealed plans to develop an all-electric six- to nine-seater in addition to the already announced four-seat eFlyer 4.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
The approval, announced June 2, means that air forces now will be able to use the full capacity of the aircraft to drop up to 116 paratroopers from the paratroop doors.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Bradley Perrett
Taxi testing has begun for the first prototype of Taiwan’s new advanced trainer, the Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC) AT-5, ahead of a first flight planned for the second half of June.
Aircraft & Propulsion