Aerospace & Defense Roundup: Oct, 8
NASA On Brink Of Overcoming ICON Delay
After a perplexing delay of nearly two years, NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) spacecraft is poised to launch late Oct. 9 on a Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS) Pegasus XL rocket carried aloft by the company’s L-1011 Stargazer aircraft from Cape Canaveral.
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House Dem Warns Against U.S. Open Skies Withdrawal
Rep. Eliot Engel: U.S. CongressA senior House Democrat has warned that U.S. withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty would only benefit Russia and be harmful to allies, partners and national security interests.
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Britain Publishes No-Deal Brexit Prep Advice
The UK government appears to be moving toward a goal of exiting the European Union (EU) without an agreement on Oct. 31. A no-deal exit has been described as a potential nightmare scenario for aerospace and British industry in general.
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India Takes Delivery Of Its First Rafale
In a ceremony at Dassault Aviation’s Bordeaux, France, factory, the government of India on Oct. 8 officially received the first of 36 Rafale fighters it ordered from France under a 2016 intergovernmental agreement.
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Finland Caps Future Fighter Procurement Budget At €10B
Finland has capped the procurement budget for its HX future fighter program at €10 billion ($10.95 billion) and will allow tenders to offer fewer than the specified 64 aircraft.
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Elbit To Supply Drones To Southeast Asian Army
Hermes 450: Gerald L. NinoElbit Systems Ltd. has been awarded a $153 million contract to supply battlefield and medium-altitude drones to “an Army of a country in Southeast Asia,” possibly Vietnam.
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Indra Leading EU Autonomous Drone Project
Mantis: IndraSpanish defense electronics firm Indra has taken the lead in a European project to develop technologies for the traffic management of unmanned air systems.
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Improved Gearbox Opening Kopter Flight Envelope
Swiss helicopter manufacturer Kopter says it has restarted flight tests of its third prototype SH09 single-engine light helicopter with a new, improved gearbox.
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