Aerospace & Defense Roundup: August 23

Pakistan and Turkey look set to cooperate on the development of the Anka unmanned air system after agreements were inked by industry. Components for the Anka will be produced in Pakistan through a memorandum of understanding between Turkish Aerospace (TAI) and Pakistan’s National Engineering and Science Commission (NESCOM), TAI said Aug. 21. The announcement follows the IDEF defense show in Istanbul held Aug. 18-20. Credit: Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images

Switzerland’s Dufour Aerospace is unusual among electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing startups in targeting the established helicopter market, and in particular emergency medical services. For Dufour, the unproven advanced air mobility market lies somewhere in the future. Credit: Dufour Aerospace

Boeing-owned Millennium Space Systems says last month’s early re-entry of an experimental spacecraft successfully demonstrated the ability of deployable tape technology to significantly accelerate de-orbiting a satellite after service-life completion. Credit: Millennium Space Systems

Embraer company Eve Urban Air Mobility is expanding its list of customers well ahead of entering the market with an electric vertical takeoff-and-landing air taxi. The spinoff has signed an agreement with Singapore-based on-demand flight provider Ascent Flights Global to provide access to aircraft. Credit: Embraer

Il-112 manufacturer United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) announced the suspension of flight trials of the Ilyushin Il-114 prototype—which has similar engines to the Il-112V—on Aug. 20. “It is necessary to analyze the details and circumstances of the Il-112V accident including the data from the flight recorder,” UAC said in a statement. Nevertheless, the airframer warned against the drawing of premature conclusions as the investigation commission has yet to define the reason for the crash. Credit: Ilyushin

Raytheon Technologies unit Collins Aerospace is to develop an environmental control and life-support system (ECLSS) for a privately owned and operated outpost in low Earth orbit (LEO) following a $2.6 million order from an unidentified customer. Credit: Getty Images/Elen11

Russia has displayed a new, longer-range missile for attack helicopters at the Army 2021 exhibition outside Moscow. The Product 305E is being developed by Kolomna Design Bureau of Mechanical Engineering, a subsidiary of Rostec, for the export market, the state-run TASS news agency reported Aug. 22. Credit: Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP / Getty Images

Virgin Orbit, the airborne small-satellite rocket launch upstart that announced its intent to go public Aug. 23, apparently will build and offer a fleet of Earth-observation (EO) and internet of things (IoT) satellites starting in 2023, according to investor materials. Credit: Virgin Orbit

The U.S. Air Force must break up a Sikorsky monopoly of a nearly billion-dollar upgrade package for the HH-60W fleet once an ongoing dispute over the ownership of a technical data package is resolved, a U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge has ruled. Credit: Sikorsky

General Atomics is gearing up to begin flights with its SkyGuardian unmanned air system (UAS) in the UK in the coming days after the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) gave the green light for flight operations. UK Royal Air Force officials have confirmed to Aerospace DAILY that the SkyGuardian aircraft has arrived in the UK and is being readied for a first phase of flight operations from RAF Waddington, England. Credit: GA-ASI

The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), a Washington think tank, has joined with the National Space Society (NSS) in calling on U.S. policymakers to pursue a joint NASA and Department of Energy (DOE)-led space solar power generation (SSP) capability. They characterize SSP as a clean energy national security asset for the commercial production and distribution of a renewable, more efficient form of electricity for the Earth and future human space exploration applications. Credit: Innovation Frontier Project

Despite the worldwide pandemic, the global space economy grew 4.4% last year to reach $447 billion, with the commercial sector accounting for the bulk of the increase, a new Space Foundation report shows. Credit: Space Foundation database

Australia has approved a launch permit for tiSPACE, a Taiwanese rocket startup, to test launch its Hapith I rocket from the Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex by the end of 2021. This will be the first of at least three suborbital launches planned by tiSPACE from the Whalers Way complex, a commercial site operated by Southern Launch. Credit: tiSPACE

China’s People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force has inducted a new tactical ballistic missile, with state media reporting two launches of the new weapon in recent exercises. According to state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), the missile struck its intended key hostile target “hundreds of kilometers” away, penetrating strong electromagnetic and jamming defenses. Credit: CCTV

Virgin Orbit, the small-satellite launching startup under aerospace entrepreneur Richard Branson’s portfolio that started operations this year, plans to end 2021 as a publicly traded company after a reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), executives announced Aug. 23. Credit: Virgin Orbit

NASA has postponed plans for an Aug. 24 spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS) by U.S. and Japanese astronauts due to a “minor medical issue” involving NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei. Credit: NASA