Aerospace & Defense Roundup: May. 24

UK Carrier Group Begins First Deployment, Heads To Indo-Pacific

Credit: UK Royal Navy

The first of the UK’s two new aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth, has set sail on its initial deployment. 

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Washington Scraps U.S.-South Korea Missile Guidelines, Range Grows

Credit: South Korea Ministry of National Defense

The U.S. has abolished the 42-year-old U.S.-South Korea Missile Guidelines, allowing South Korea to develop increasingly capable ballistic missiles. 

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Poland Buys Turkish Bayraktar Drones, Arms

Credit: wikimedia.commons

Poland has joined the growing list of countries to export armed unmanned aircraft systems from Turkey. 

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NASA Seeking Industry Comment On Orbital Free Flyer Strategy

Credit: NASA

NASA has issued a draft plan for the first phase of its Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) program, which seeks to spur the initial development of two to four commercial free flyers as successors to the International Space Station (ISS).

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UK Government Introduces Spaceport Licensing Regulations

Credit: UK government

British spaceports will be able to apply for operating licenses this summer, paving the way for launch from the UK mainland in 2022. 

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The Weekly Debrief: Does The U.S. Military Need To Bring Back Seaplanes?

Credit: U.S. Navy

The specter of war with China across the vast Pacific Ocean has provoked the U.S. military to re-imagine the command-and-control mission, spend billions on ever longer-range and faster missiles, and now has caused U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) to embrace the possibility of a seaplane revival.

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Contractor-Owned Aircraft Crashes Near Nellis AFB

Credit: Wikimedia / Ken Lund

A contractor-operated aircraft crashed at about 2:30 p.m., May 24, on the southern edge of Nellis AFB, Nevada, the U.S. Air Force said. 

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