Aerospace & Defense Roundup: Feb. 02

Eaton Buys Cobham’s Aerial Refueling Unit In $2.8B Deal

British defense group Cobham is selling off its aerial refueling business to Eaton in a controversial $2.83 billion deal. Aerial refueling has long been seen as one of the crown jewels of Cobham’s business. The company pioneered the technology after the Second World War and its refueling systems equip the majority of Western tanker aircraft. Credit: Cobham

Bezos Handing Off Amazon CEO Post To Focus On Other Ventures

Jeff Bezos, one of the richest people ever and founder of the category-killing online business Amazon, said he will hand over the CEO title to Andy Jasse and become executive chairman of the business behemoth, which includes the Kuiper low Earth orbit satellite constellation project and a leading cloud computing service that serves U.S. national security. Credit: Frank Morring Jr./AWST

Former Fighter Pilot To Lead UK Space Command

A former Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilot has been appointed commander of the UK’s new Space Command. Air Commodore Paul Godfrey will lead the new command, which will include personnel from all three of the UK’s armed services as well as civil servants and industry personnel. Godfrey–who previously helped establish the UK’s F-35 Lightning Force–will take over the role later this year when the Space Command is formally established at High Wycombe outside London. Credit: Royal Air Force

Deputy SecDef Nominee Backs Nuclear Triad, Avoids Specifics

Like U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing, Deputy Defense Secretary Nominee Kathleen Hicks said she supports the nuclear triad, but was careful not to comment on specific programs. Credit: U.S. State Department

Boeing Flies First F-15EX, Confirms Early Delivery Schedule

The first Boeing F-15EX ordered by the U.S. Air Force soared into the sky over St. Louis on a “Viking,” meaning nearly vertical, takeoff at 12:53 pm CT Feb. 2. Matt Giese, Boeing chief test pilot, landed back at St. Louis International Airport after a 90-min. check-out flight. Credit: Eric Shindelbower/Boeing

GKN Leads UK Commuter EVTOL Study

GKN Aerospace is to lead the study of a “park-and-ride” concept for urban air transport under the UK’s Future Flight Challenge to develop a next-generation integrated aviation system. The Skybus project is one of three involving GKN that have secured an initial investment of £4.5 million ($6.15 million) under the government-funded Challenge, which is being led by the UK Research and Innovation agency. Credit: GKN Aerospace

U.S. Army Considers Further Small FTUAS Buys

The U.S. Army is wrapping up its “buy, try, inform” effort to evaluate competing runway-independent tactical unmanned aircraft systems as it prepares to finalize its acquisition strategy to replace the Textron RQ-7B Shadow. Credit: Martin UAV

Former Boeing CEO Muilenburg, Industry Vets Hunt For M&A Targets

ormer Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg, AirFinance founder Kirsten Touw and other aviation luminaries are joining to launch a new special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to acquire and take public aerospace and defense businesses. Called New Vista Acquisition Corp., the so-called blank-check company based in Chicago aims to raise more than $200 million in go-public offerings this year, according to a Feb. 1 filing with U.S. securities regulators. Credit: Boeing

Pipistrel Teams With C-Astral To Expand Nuuva UAS Into ISR

Electric aircraft pioneer Pipistrel has teamed with unmanned aircraft specialist C-Astral Aerospace to expand the capability of the in-development Nuuva V20 cargo drone to encompass intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Airbus To Build Three More Orion Service Modules

The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded a contract to Airbus for the construction of three more European Service Modules (ESM) for the Orion spacecraft that will carry crews to the cislunar Gateway station and the Moon as part of the NASA-led Artemis international program. Credit: NASA

NASA Ready To Test Water-Electrolysis Propulsion In Orbit

NASA is preparing for the in-orbit demonstration of a propulsion system for small satellites that combines the safety of using water as the propellant with the performance of a chemical rocket. Credit: NASA

U.S., S. Korea Mull Compensation For Global Hawk Failures

The U.S. and the Republic of Korea are discussing how to compensate South Korea for RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawks that have suffered a series of problems. The U.S. has proposed a compensation plan, according to an official at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the South Korean defense ministry’s acquisition office. Credit: USAF

SpaceX Starship Prototype Crash Lands After FAA Dispute

After a spat with the FAA over an incomplete safety assessment prior to a previous Starship test, SpaceX launched another Starship upper-stage prototype from Boca Chica Beach, Texas, on Feb. 2, reaching an altitude of 32,800 ft. (10 km) and demonstrating flight control during subsonic re-entry before the vehicle crashed at landing. Credit: SpaceX

RAF Plans SkyGuardian Flights In UK This Summer

The UK Royal Air Force is planning to operate a SkyGuardian medium altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned air system (UAS) in the UK this summer as it prepares for the introduction of its Protector platform. Details of the plans call for the UAS to operate out of airfields in England and Scotland and participate in exercises and airshows. They emerged from airspace change requests made to the UK Civil Aviation Authority at the end of last month. Credit: GA-ASI