Aerospace & Defense Roundup: Oct, 17

NASA and Boeing are negotiating a contract worth up to about $2 billion to begin production of a third Space Launch System (SLS) core stage.

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Ariane 6 launcher, on schedule for a first launch next year but facing a dearth of firm orders, has received renewed support from France and Germany.

The National Security Council (NSC) will soon release a strategy for preventing drone disruptions at major metropolitan airports, the FAA says.

Lockheed Martin expects South Korea to order another batch of PAC-3 MSE surface-to-air missiles within two years, adding to 64 that the country decided to buy in 2018.

The U.S. Army has acknowledged that it will not know the costs of modernizing key aviation assets until the service begins negotiations with select companies.

Testing how an artificial intelligence (AI) “brain” can control a fighter-sized aircraft remains the goal of the Skyborg program as the first prototype will also serve as a guinea pig for a new approach to aircraft design and production.

South Korea’s defense technology organization and Hanwha have flight tested a technology-demonstration fighter radar in cooperation with Elta, while proceeding in parallel with full-scale development of the sensor for the KF-X fighter. 

The U.S. Army says its biggest challenge in addressing the global pilot shortage is retaining pilots who are mid-career level warrant officers because over roughly a seven-year period the service was unable to hire pilots due to a lack of funding.