Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Japan’s imminent five-year defense plan will include buying 50 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightnings, to be followed by a further 50, the Mainichi newspaper says.

Britain’s Defense Science and Technology Laboratory has issued tenders for a study into the creation of a synthetic aperture radar small sat constellation.

The Philippines will order 16 Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk helicopters within months, Defense Secretary Deflin Lorenzana said.

Japanese startup Euglena has completed construction of the country’s first demonstration plant for producing renewable jet and diesel fuel.

A week after NASA’s Osiris-Rex asteroid sample return mission spacecraft arrived at the asteroid Bennu, scientists see early signs of a carbon- and water-rich object.

The U.S. Air Force has released a draft solicitation for the second phase of a next-generation rocket competition to deliver National Security Space payloads.

The Pentagon will not confirm the fiscal 2020 top line budget numbers until Feb. 4.

Voyager 2 has joined its Voyager 1 twin in interstellar space, scientists announced Dec. 10 at the American Geophysical Union meeting in Washington.

India’s indigenous Light Utility Helicopter reached an altitude of 6 km in recent testing, a critical requirement for the certification of the 3-ton aircraft.

China’s Chang’e 4 lunar probe has conducted a second course correction following its launch from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China.

A German think tank has suggested Berlin could go down the route of a split buy of Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and Eurofighters.

The British Royal Air Force (RAF) has declared MBDA’s Meteor ramjet-powered beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile operational on the Eurofighter Typhoon.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) will get a dedicated advanced military communications satellite with the upcoming launch of GSAT-7A.

Argentina’s state-owned airframer, Fábrica Argentina de Aviones, is preparing to deliver three IA-63 Pampa III light jet trainers to the country’s air force.

The abort was the first unplanned shutdown during a terminal count of a Delta IV Heavy, which has flown 10 times since its debut in 2004.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) overcame an unexpected satellite communications interruption early Dec. 8 to proceed with the berthing of SpaceX’s 16th NASA-contracted Dragon resupply capsule.

GENERAL DYNAMICS has $85.9m U.S. Navy contract for Navy secure voice systems and services.

Former airline pilot and Boeing executive Terry McVenes has joined standards organization RTCA as its new president and CEO.

View the Aviation Week Forecasts: Western Fixed-Wing Military Aircraft ISF By Prime 2018-2028 chart in PDF format.

BOEING has $159m U.S. Air Force contract for Japan’s second KC-46A tanker.

China launched its Chang’e 4 mission to study the far side of the Moon at 2:23 a.m. local time Dec. 7 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China, according to local media reports.

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U.S. Air Force Col. Robert Bongiovi became the launch systems services enterprise director one year ago, after serving as the office’s acquisition chief.

Embraer and the Brazilian federal government plan to challenge a Brazilian court order that stops Embraer and Boeing from finalizing their proposed commercial-aircraft joint venture (JV) before the country’s new administration is in power.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Lt. Gen. Rozzano Briguez as the new chief of the air force, replacing Lt. Gen. Galileo Gerard Kintanar.