Aerospace & Defense Roundup: Mar. 29

Europe plans a large-scale demonstration of urban air mobility in 2022 focused on the deconfliction of multiple different types of users of low-altitude airspace. Flight tests in the French cities of Bordeaux and Toulouse will involve manned and unmanned passenger and cargo air vehicles. Credit: Airbus

Apophis, a 1,120-ft.-wide asteroid that was discovered in 2004, had raised concerns that its frequent Earth-crossing orbit could pose an impact threat. But that all went away on March 26, when 9994 Apophis, the object’s formal designation, was removed from NASA’s Sentry Impact Risk Table (SIRT). Credit: JPL/NASA

French shipbuilders Naval Group and Les Chantiers de l’Atlantique have formed a joint venture to begin studies on the development of France’s future aircraft carrier. The two companies will work on preliminary studies for the proposed 75,000-ton, nuclear-powered ship, which is due to enter service in 2038. It will replace the current carrier, the 42,000-ton Charles de Gaulle. Credit: USMC

Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) has flown the second of three Embraer A-29s ordered by U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command and unveiled a special livery. The turboprop-powered light attack fighter and trainer arrived on Feb. 23 at SNC’s modification facilities in Centennial, Colorado, the company announced March 29. Credit: Sierra Nevada

North Korea announced on March 25 that it had tested a new type of short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), according to the country’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). This launch test was conducted by North Korea’s National Institute of Defense Science, which has also developed and tested other strategic and tactical missiles. Credit: Jung Yeon-Je / AFP / Getty Images

H225

Boeing and Hypersonix Launch Systems will conduct a joint study of an air-breathing space launch system powered by the Australian startup’s Spartan scramjet engines. The effort is targeted at development of a reusable hypersonic vehicle which would form the core of a sustainable, rapid turn-around small satellite launch system to low Earth orbit (LEO). If adopted, the liquid hydrogen (LH2)-fueled air-breathing system would mark the first application of scramjets for space launch. Credit: Hypersonix

A history of U.S. national security priorities can be traced in the development of new missions for the nearly half-century-old Tomahawk cruise missile. With the delivery of the first operational Raytheon Tomahawk Block V missile to the Navy on March 25, the Tomahawk program will be free to focus on the next major upgrade. Credit: U.S. Navy

Sikorsky has demonstrated the supervised autonomy capability of its modified S-70A Black Hawk optionally piloted vehicle, with the test pilot using a tablet to command the helicopter through a complete mission. Credit: Sikorsky

Saab has flight tested an additive manufactured panel on its Gripen fighter to prove the potential of 3D printed components for urgent battle damage repair. The component is a hatch that covers part of the aircraft’s chaff-and-flare dispenser. It is positioned on the right-hand aft fuselage and was produced from a nylon polymer called PA2200. It was flown on a two-seat Gripen in March. Credit: Saab