Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Countdown clocks at the Kennedy Space Center began ticking down toward launch of NASA’s Artemis II flight test.

Boeing and Rheinmetall have partnered to jointly market the MQ-28 Ghost Bat collaborative combat aircraft for Germany’s requirement by 2029.

Rocket Lab says it has received regulatory approval from the German government to acquire optical communications provider Mynaric.

The cockpit warning light that cut short the second flight of NASA’s X-59 low-boom supersonic flight demonstrator on March 20 proved to be a false positive.

SpaceX launched the 16th Transporter rideshare mission on March 30, carrying 119 small satellite payloads to orbit for government and commercial customers.

Flight training operations started for the Argentine air force’s newly acquired Lockheed Martin F-16Bs on March 30.

A new variant of a low-cost, air-launched cruise missile quietly entered development for the U.S. Air Force in December.

The U.S. Navy on Feb. 27 conducted the first flight test of a new precision landing mode for the military’s Sikorsky H-60 variants.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has secured a defense agreement with Qatar and is working to secure similar arrangements in the region.

The project will develop a compact, low-cost spectrometer that can be deployed across satellites, aircraft, and ground stations.

A French aircraft developer has secured €110 million ($126.1 million) from a European fund to launch the development of amphibious firefighting aircraft.

SpaceX has lost communication with a Starlink satellite on orbit following a March 29 anomaly, the company disclosed on social media March 30.

The EC is starting to open up business opportunities to industry under the just approved €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) European Defense Industry Program.

The agreement between Airbus and Fairmat comes as efforts to recycle more materials from end-of-life aircraft continue.

China’s CAS Space says it is gearing up for mass production of its Kinetica-2 rocket in the wake of the vehicle’s inaugural mission.

Airbus has used its modified Airbus Do-DT25 uncrewed aircraft system for the first time to intercept a drone target.

Space sovereignty has become a major talking point for governments and industry as they adjust to a new geopolitical landscape.

Pilatus is poised to add to its PC-21 trainer customer base after signing an agreement with Indonesia in parallel with Jakarta’s purchase of PC-24 business jets.

China ran the first ground test of a hydrogen-fueled variant of the AEP100 turboprop, the country’s first megawatt-class hydrogen-powered aerospace engine.

The UK Defense Ministry is hunting for technology to defeat fiber-optically controlled drones in the latest in a flurry of counter-UAS initiatives.

The two-day countdown for NASA’s Artemis II flight test, which is expected to become the first human spaceflight beyond Earth orbit in more than 53 years, is on track to begin March 30.

Conferences and events for professionals in the aviation community.

De Havilland Canada is advancing assembly of the first new-build DHC-515 waterbombers after securing a wave of orders from Europe and Canada.

The four-member Artemis II flight crew returned to Kennedy Space Center March 27 for a second attempt to launch.

Norway has pledged to increase defense spending and accelerate the introduction of new warships and associated helicopters.