Aerospace & Defense Roundup: Oct. 21

Bell Starts Parts Production For New Armed Scout Helo

Bell has loaded the first parts for the company’s contender for the U.S. Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) into a tooling fixture at the company’s plant in Amarillo, Texas, a company executive told Aviation Week. Credit: Bell

Singapore Deploys Military-Grade Anti-Drone System At Changi

In a continuing effort to thwart potential drone incursions into Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) airspace, local authorities have deployed a military-grade anti-drone protection system during the lull in activity at the airport amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung / Facebook

NASA Completes Pilot Breathing Assessment

NASA has finished the second, final phase of an assessment of how pilots breathe while flying a high-performance fighter–an important study to help understand what causes the kinds of physiological episodes that military fighter pilots have been experiencing over the last decade. Credit: USAF

Daily Memo: Will Air Taxis Fly Without Uber At The Wheel?

Can urban air mobility survive without Uber? That is one question raised by an unconfirmed report that the ride-hailing giant is seeking “strategic alternatives” for its Elevate aerial ridesharing business, such as a partnership or partial sale. Credit: Uber

Leader Spotlight: Mangone Long Shot For Calif. House Seat

Democrat Kim Mangone is challenging one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, to represent California’s 23rd District. Mangone has extensive experience in aerospace and defense. Should the balance of power shift, her comments provide a look at how Democrats with a background in the industry might shape future policy.

Honeywell Supplies Fly-By-Wire System For Cargo Drone

Slovenia’s Pipistrel Aircraft has selected a Honeywell fly-by-wire (FBW) system for flight control of its planned Nuuva V300 cargo drone, the companies announced Oct. 21. Credit: Pipistrel Aircraft

Osiris-Rex Successfully Touches Down On Asteroid

Flying autonomously more than 208 million mi. from Earth, NASA’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft made brief, successful contact with the boulder-strewn surface of the asteroid Bennu on Oct. 20, according to data from the probe received by the mission operations and science teams at 6:13 p.m. EDT. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona