Aerospace & Defense Roundup: August 19

Japan’s Sea-Based Aegis System Faces Ax

A sea-based Aegis missile defense system could be the next program to be abandoned by Tokyo. The Japanese Defense Ministry does not plan to seek funds for it in the upcoming fiscal 2022 budget. Citing government sources, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said such a budget request will “likely be impossible over the next few years.” Credit: U.S. Missile Defense Agency

Boeing MQ-25 Refuels Second U.S. Navy Manned Aircraft

A U.S. Navy E-2D Hawkeye on Aug. 18 became the second aircraft since June 4 to be refueled by the Boeing-owned MQ-25 Stingray test aircraft. The Northrop Grumman command and control aircraft’s newly installed probe received fuel from the MQ-25 test aircraft’s refueling pod mounted on the inboard section of the left wing after conducting a wake survey. Credit: Kate Lowry/Boeing

Sounds Air Looks Ahead To Electric Regional Flying

New Zealand regional airline Sounds Air has confirmed its launch orders with Swedish startup Heart Aerospace for an initial three ES-19 electric 19-passenger aircraft. Based in Blenheim on South Island, the carrier is anticipating first delivery in 2026. Credit: Sounds Air/Heart Aerospace

James Webb Observations To Probe Mysteries Of Early Universe

One of the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) early science tasks, called COSMOS-Webb, will be a wide and deep mapping of the 13.7 billion-year-old universe. The 200-hr., high-resolution survey will cover a half million galaxies in the infrared and an unprecedented 32,000 star systems in the mid-infrared. Credit: NASA

Ampaire Demonstrates Hybrid Bridge To Electrified Regional Flights

Ampaire is relocating its hybrid-electric propulsion test aircraft to Exeter, England, after completing flight tests in Orkney, Scotland. The flight demonstrations are being conducted under projects funded by the UK government’s Future Flight Challenge. Credit: Angus Batey / Aviation Week

Indonesian Agency Plans N219 Floatplane

The Indonesian research and technology agency BPPT plans to develop a floatplane variant of the PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) N219 Nurtanio turboprop aircraft to foster domestic aerospace research and manufacturing capabilities. Credit: Indonesian Aerospace

Researchers Develop Cheaper Route To SAF From Biomass

One reason sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) costs more than conventional jet fuel is the expense of transporting biomass feedstocks to centralized production plants. A new process for producing jet fuel from ethanol with less energy and smaller facilities creates the potential for a distributed processing system located close to biomass sources, according to its developers. Credit: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

NASA Closes In On Electrified Propulsion Demonstration Awards

NASA says plans for the Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) project to flight-test megawatt-class electric aircraft propulsion systems are on track with “at least two” contract awards due to be made to industry in the coming months. Credit: NASA