European government bickering scuttled a mega-merger of EADS and BAE Systems, and the Pentagon continues to hold firm against further consolidation among its top contractors. But consolidation amid second- and third-tier contractors is likely to accelerate as defense spending heads down in the U.S. and Europe.

The kind of precision maintenance, repair and overhaul practiced by Vector Aerospace Helicopter Services at its Richmond, British Columbia, facility demands precise, plentiful interior illumination. It doesn't hurt to cut the light bill either.

NASA wants $800 million in fiscal 2013 for its program to outsource the transport of crews to and from space, and says if it does not get the funding first commercial flights to the International Space Station will slip to 2018. With station funding set to expire in 2020, that could be a problem.

Gears on Boeing aircraft represent the biggest opportunity for 2013.

As the U.S. military pulls out of Afghanistan and “resets” for the Pacific theater, will there be an accompanying shift in the Defense Department's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance forces? The year should see the beginning of a shift away from lower-tech systems geared to detect improvised explosive devices and toward future high-tech sensors.

Dozens of women are filling senior management positions across aerospace and defense, changing the face of an industry not known for diversity. Another glass ceiling will shatter on Jan. 1, when Marillyn Hewson (right) becomes CEO of Lockheed Martin and Phebe Novakovic fills the top spot at General Dynamics.

The U.S. Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system, which has not had a successful intercept since 2008, is expected to return to flight in early 2013 after a two-year hiatus. And the U.S. will continue to roll out its Phased Adaptive Approach to protecting Europe, including construction of the first Aegis shore-launch site in Romania and further flights of the improved SM-3 Block 1B interceptor.

When the first Bombardier Global 5000 business jet equipped with Rockwell Collins's Pro Line Fusion avionics entered service in May 2012, it was a big day for proponents of head-up displays (HUD) in civil aircraft. The Global is the first aircraft to be certified with synthetic vision—a computer-generated three-dimensional view of the outside world—on the HUD. Now developers want to exploit the “always daylight” environment provided by synthetic vision to enable lower-visibility landings at a wider range of airports.