Aerospace

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

Can material and labor supply keep pace with aftermarket demand as flight activity recovers?

Graham Webb, Pratt & Whitney’s Chief Sustainability Officer, tells Lee Ann Shay about what needs to be done now to reduce aviation’s carbon footprint.

After its KA-SAT satellite internet service in Europe was disrupted on Feb. 24 by an alleged cyberattack from Russia, Viasat shared details of the attack with industry competitors via the U.S. Space Force’s Commercial Integration Cell.

Fresh off the success of the first U.S. private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Axiom Space has broken ground on a headquarters campus at Houston Spaceport to support work on the first U.S. commercially developed and operated space station.

UK postal service Royal Mail is planning to purchase as many as 500 fixed-wing uncrewed air systems in the coming years to provide delivery services to remote areas of the country.

Russia’s United Engine Corporation (UEC) has completed the bench test of the first prototype of its PD-8 turbofan engine.

Advanced battery developer Amprius Technologies is to go public through a merger with a blank-check company with the intent of using the funding raised to scale up production of high-energy-density silicon-anode lithium-ion batteries and aviation as an initial target market.

When OEMs launch a new airplane program, they will need supplier partners to help shoulder the burden of development.

Mini-rover Moon landing planned for later this year to prove technology for pressurized JAXA-Toyota Lunar Cruiser.

Initial efforts for Istari will be focused on the development of a synthetic aperture radar, but additional capabilities will be added.

Market demand for the A320neo family remains strong, but Airbus is delaying A321XLR entry-into-service due to certification issues.