Aerospace & Defense Roundup: Oct. 21

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

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

F-18

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

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.

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

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