Aerospace & Defense Roundup: May 27

Airbus Defense & SpaceA400M

Weaponizing C-17s, C-130s As Arsenal Planes Under Review

C-130 Credit: USAFA new proposal to prototype and field palletized munitions on U.S. Air Force C-17s and C-130s starting as early as next year is under discussion by the Air Staff despite recent objections over such a concept made by the head of Global Strike Command.

USAFKC-46

BoeingF/A-18

NASACape Canaveral

FAA Authorizes Zipline Drone Operation In North Carolina

Zipline operators performs pre-flight check before launching the drone by catapult. Credit: ZiplineZipline and Novant Health announced on May 27 that they have received emergency approval from the FAA to fly medical supplies by drone to a hospital north of Charlotte, North Carolina, to support its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. Navy Expands T-44A Replacement Search To Refurbished Aircraft

T-44A Credit: U.S. NavyThe U.S. Navy has expanded a search for a new multi-engine, fixed-wing training system to include remanufactured aircraft, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) said on May 26.

SpaceX To Evaluate Dimming Feature For Starlink

Vera C. Rubin Observatory Credit: LSST/NSF/AURASpaceX plans to evaluate a new dimming feature called VisorSat for its growing global constellation of Starlink broadband connectivity satellites, whose disruptive brightness in the night sky has raised the ire of professional and amateur astronomers.