Aerospace & Defense Roundup: Oct. 7

Aerojet Opens Arkansas Plant For Large Solid Rocket Motors

Aerojet Rocketdyne announced on Oct. 6 that a new large solid rocket motor manufacturing facility is officially operational to support propulsion demand for future intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), hypersonic missiles and missile defense systems. Credit: Aerojet Rocketdyne

Australia Lifts Defense Spending 9.1%, Plans More Big Rises

Undeterred by the budgetary effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia will increase defense spending by a nominal 9.1% in the fiscal year that began in July 2020, with further strong rises planned for the following three years. Credit: Sgt. David Gibbs/Commonwealth of Australia

Boeing’s Ferguson Gives Up Seat On Starliner Flight Test

Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson is stepping aside as commander of the planned June 2021 CST-100 Starliner crewed flight demonstration mission to the International Space Station (ISS), citing family obligations. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz

Luxembourg Takes Delivery Of A400M

Luxembourg’s armed forces have taken delivery of their first fixed-wing aircraft: an Airbus A400M airlifter. The landlocked country will be the smallest operator of the aircraft, having purchased just one. Credit: Airbus

Growler Block 2 An Option For Australia

Australia will consider the Block 2 upgrade of the Boeing EA-18G Growler as part of a regular program of keeping aircraft common with those of the U.S. Navy, the defense department in Canberra said. Although a project to replace the Growler in Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) service will begin this decade, a spokesperson for the department suggests introduction of a new type will not quickly follow. The Growler is used for electronic attack. Credit: Sgt. Guy Young/Commonwealth of Australia

RAF Drone Swarm Trials Include BriteCloud Technology

Leonardo’s BriteCloud active decoy technology has been adapted to fit onboard small unmanned aircraft to support the UK Royal Air Force’s drone swarm trials. Credit: Airbus

Satellite Shuttle Startup Momentus To Go Public Under SPAC Acquisition

Momentus will become the next publicly traded new-space venture in early 2021, and the first self-described space infrastructure provider, upon closure of a deal announced Oct. 7 for blank-check company Stable Road Acquisition to buy the satellite orbit-mover startup. Credit: Momentus

Airbus Gears Up For Next-Gen Earth Observation

Airbus is preparing for the launch of the first of four Pleiades Neo satellites, designed for improved resolution and more frequent revisits in Earth observation, and simultaneously working on a lower-cost generation. Due to delays in Arianespace’s Vega C launcher program, the first Pleiades Neo spacecraft is now due to be placed into orbit in early 2021 instead of mid-2020. Credit: Tiraden

France To Order New Rafales In Compensation For Greek Sale

The French government plans to order 12 new Rafale fighters from Dassault Aviation to maintain the French Air Force’s capacity after the sale of 12 used Rafales to Greece. The additional order will be signed by year’s end, Minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly said in response to a question at the French parliament Oct. 6.

STC Adds Enhanced Vision System To Firefighting DC-10

Astronics Corp. has announced FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) approval of its Max-Viz 1400 enhanced vision system installation on the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 aerial firefighting tanker. Credit: Astronics Corp.

U.S. Military Proposes Resupply Demo Using SpaceX Starship

U.S. Transportation Command could stage a joint proof of principle test with SpaceX with the Starship Earth-to-Earth transportation system for a military resupply mission, Gen. Stephen Lyons said on Oct. 7. Credit: SpaceX

Boom Firms Up Overture Plans As XB-1 Rolls Out

Boom Supersonic is readying the XB-1 demonstrator for ground tests at its Centennial Airport, Colorado, headquarters following a virtual rollout event on Oct 7. The 71-ft.-long, delta wing XB-1 trijet is designed to pave the way for Boom’s follow-on Mach 2.2 Overture airliner. Credit: Boom Supersonic

Russian Hypersonic Missile Hits Sea Target In Test, MOD Says

The Russian Navy’s most advanced frigate completed a flight test of the NPO Mashinostroyeniya 3M22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missile on Oct. 6, firing the anti-ship weapon at an ocean target for the first time in the Barents Sea, the Ministry of Defense (MOD) said. Credit: Russian MOD via YouTube