Aerospace & Defense Roundup: May. 06

The first U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancers returned to flight operations on May 3 after a safety stand-down, Air Force Global Strike Command said on May 6. The problem arose on April 8, when maintenance crews noticed a bomber at Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota was leaking fuel while taxiing to the aircraft parking area. By April 20, command chief Gen. Timothy Ray ordered a fleet-wide safety stand-down. Credit: USAF

The U.S. Space Force is close to establishing an unclassified version of a cloud-based digital platform that will allow guardians to collaborate with contractors to design new software applications for satellites, Maj. Gen. Kimberly Crider said May 6. Credit: OHB Sweden / ESA

FA-50

Kennedy Space Center

The UK could help India develop a larger variant of its Tejas combat aircraft as part of a new strategic partnership between the two countries. A road map for closer cooperation between the two countries–detailed by the UK government on May 4–calls for a broadened dialogue on how the UK can support India’s Light Combat Air Mk. 2 program, also known as Tejas Mk. 2. Credit: DRDO

Miami International Airport (MIA) on May 6 announced its selection by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to serve as a test site for drone detection technologies. Credit: Miami International Airport

Boeing and NASA plan to conduct an uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 of the Starliner CST-100 crew capsule at 2:53 p.m. EDT on July 30, pending range approval, the company said May 6. Credit: Boeing

China’s Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) has signed an agreement with Zigong Municipal People’s Government to build a dedicated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) industrial park in the city that will eventually see an annual output of 100 medium to large drones. Credit: Power Sport Images / Getty Images

Startup Wright Electric has begun testing the megawatt-scale power inverter that is a key building block in development of the electric propulsion system for its planned single-aisle airliner. Credit: Wright Electric