Defense

SpaceX marked the 50th flight of a Falcon 9 rocket with the successful delivery of the Hispasat 30W-6 communications satellite into orbit.

Thales says it has found more than one customer for its Avionics 2020 flight deck, unveiled five years ago and featuring an advanced human-machine interface.

New space company AST&Science has bought a controlling interest in European satellite manufacturer and system integrator NanoAvionics.

Singapore will keep its defense budget steady as a fraction of its economy even as its neighbors’ spending increases and new security threats emerge.

The second version of China’s Long March 5 rocket, intended for building the country’s planned space station, will fly in mid-2019, a year later than planned.

The General Dynamics’ purchase of CRSA confirms that larger scale matters in federal IT services.

The U.S. Air Force wants to lease commercial bandwidth to build an agile, resilient communications network for the modern battlefield.

The F-35 Joint Program Office has delivered the flight clearances, simulators, threat information, and logistics system required for the Air Force’s F-35As equipped with the latest software load to employ all of its weapons throughout the full flight envelope.

Lockheed Martin Chief Executive Marilyn Hewson says she has not spoken to President Donald Trump regarding potential U.S. trade tariffs and their consequences.

A significant chunk of money from the U.S. Air Force's unfunded priorities list would to go classified programs.

The U.S. Navy has sent a $1.5 billion wish list to Congress that includes millions to enhance the performance of the F/A-18 Super Hornet engine.

Singapore has taken delivery of the MBDA Aster 30 medium-range air defense system.

Share prices of Ultra Electronics plunged around 10% after the defense supplier abandoned the acquisition of Sparton, an electromechanical parts provider.

China will conduct five missions with Long March 11 solid-propellant launchers this year, confirming the fast-response rocket is finally regarded as mature.

Erik Prince’s Frontier Services Group has raised $107 million in new funds.

Famed Silicon Valley venture capitalist firm Andreessen Horowitz has led a Series A funding round into Astranis, “a new space startup producing small satellites that are cheaper and faster to build and launch than anyone else in the game,” representatives said March 1.

Buying more Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightnings is an option, the Asahi newspaper says, adding the ministry also has looked at extending the life of the F-2, which is due to retire in the 2030s.

Satellite communications provider Inmarsat and Airservices Australia will evaluate the use of satellite voice for air traffic services in Australia.

China’s defense budget will grow more slowly than the economy in 2018 for a third straight year, official figures suggest.

DARPA goes smallsat; Lockheed’s ship-based laser; Safran hybrid power demo; Boeing Australia autonomy initiative; Fortem’s radar-toting DroneHunter.

Aiming to build a force of 180 fighters by 2024, Indonesia has ordered Su-35s and is looking for a possible Western combat aircraft contract.

UAE wants to acquire F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, probably as part of a mixed fleet

France’s armed forces ministry launched a program on Feb. 28 to renew the country’s fleet of electronic intelligence aircraft with three special-mission Falcon jets.

The Pentagon advanced research agency plans to launch a program, called Blackjack, in fiscal 2019 to leverage commercial mass-production capabilities to demonstrate a proliferated smallsat constellation in low Earth orbit that can constantly keep track of “very large numbers” of targets.

The European Space Agency's Inspector General is satisfied with the action plan ArianeGroup and Arianespace presented to correct the problems identified after the Ariane 5's trajectory mishap last month.