Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Boeing is exploring Saudi Arabia as a potential alternative supplier for titanium.

Arms transfer policy figured large in the second Trump administration’s first year in office, but the reform agenda is expanding.

Commercial space startup Momentus and NASA will partner on an in-space servicing mission in low Earth orbit.

The U.S. Air Force is interested in low-risk options for space-based air moving target indicator satellites to inform a future acquisition strategy.

American entrepreneur Lucien Zeigler and London-based investor Nehal Farooqui have launched Saudi Arabia’s first defense venture capital fund.

SpaceX, the world’s leading launch company, has announced a strategic shift to develop its own lunar program.

Firefly Aerospace is aiming to return its Alpha rocket into service Feb. 18 following a ground test accident nearly five months ago.

NASA is standing down from a planned Feb. 11 launch of the SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the ISS due to expected weather conditions, the agency said Feb. 9.

Norway has become the first confirmed export customer for the 500-km (311-mi.) extended-range variant of the Hanwha Aerospace K239 Chunmoo guided rocket system.

Nandina REM has opened its first recycled carbon fiber production facility in Singapore.

Electro Optic Systems has opened a new high-energy laser facility in Singapore, marking the company’s first major manufacturing footprint outside Australia.

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. has conducted the first flights of two electric aircraft: a large uncrewed cargo aircraft and an autonomous drive/fly combination vehicle.

Taiwan plans to buy 10 Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules after determining that a mid-life upgrade of its existing C-130H fleet would be too costly.

The outlook for the Middle East military aircraft market over the coming decade is robust as regional air forces modernize their fleets and expand their air power capabilities, Aviation Week’s Defense Market Analyzer’s data shows.

Saudi Arabia is improving its air defenses through the rollout of THAAD and is looking to bolster that through its agreed addition of F-35s.

German aerospace lobby BDLI is calling for a dual-fighter strategy under FCAS, effectively urging France and others to go separate ways while maintaining the veneer of cooperation.

Saudi Arabia is exploring several proof-of-concept projects using electric UAS and AAM tech that would act as first responders in a fire emergency.

GA-ASI will explore the fitment of long-range standoff weapons on the MQ-9B SkyGuardian UAS as it looks to broaden the scope of roles it performs.

Pakistan’s GIDS has arrived at World Defense Show weeks after conducting the first test-firing of the Taimoor air-launched cruise missile.

Titra Teknoloji is stepping up its international marketing campaign as it targets expanded export opportunities in the growing tactical uncrewed systems market.

Budgetary dynamics have shifted significantly in recent years with the rapid increases in Middle East and North Africa spending caused by security concerns in multiple states.

A Feb. 6 NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory mission update discusses a new research analysis of a sample of Mars.

Pivotal is shifting focus from serial prototyping toward the operational realities of supporting real-world customers across multiple mission sets.

Airbus continues to stand by its case to keep the UH-72A Lakota as the U.S. Army’s primary helicopter trainer.

Kratos Defense has hinted that the XQ-58 Valkyrie has a possible future as a launch platform and host in Taiwan.