Defense

The company had originally planned to fly the prototype, 39-8, by the end of the year, but has elected to push the first flight into the second quarter of 2017.

Spirit AeroSystems CEO and President Tom Gentile will not cop to a turnaround for the leading aerostructures provider, but the relatively new chief executive is happy to point out his Wichita company has entered a new moneymaking era.

NASA has successfully downlinked images from all nine Saffire-II material samples ignited aboard an unmanned Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo capsule.

India has announced plans to build nine more long-endurance UAVs following the successful flight of the Rustom-II, meant to boost the country’s homeland security.

Russia’s United Engine Corporation (UEC) has performed the first ground test start of the new engine for Sukhoi’s T-50 fifth-generation fighter.

The European Aviation Safety Agency has certified a new version of Airbus’ H135 twin-engine light helicopter kitted with the company’s self-developed Helionix avionics suite.

Australia is pushing for a multinational effort at improving the NH90 military helicopter, with a larger payload and better sensors under consideration.

Airbus has delivered the first three of 11 AS565 MBe Panther helicopters to Indonesia.

The Indian air force has granted initial operational clearance to the upgraded Sepecat Jaguar ground attack aircraft.

The Canadian government is beginning negotiations with Boeing for 18 “interim” F/A-18 Super Hornets to bridge a widening airpower gap until a new fighter can be competitively selected to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF) remaining 1980s-vintage CF-18s.

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is planning three major flight tests.

Switzerland’s defense ministry hopes to extend the life of the country’s F/A-18 Hornets and keep its F-5 Tigers in service longer until a replacement for both aircraft is fully introduced by 2030.

The U.S. Defense Department plans to end its reliance on Russian helicopters to support the Afghan army.

Airbus has completed deliveries of 15 H135s for Boeing’s Australian military helicopter training program.

Facebook is preparing to fly its Aquila stratospheric unmanned aircraft for a second time as the NTSB investigates the structural failure that occurred when the aircraft encountered turbulence just before landing on its June 28 first flight.

The Swedish defense ministry has reintroduced the ground-launched version of Saab’s RBS-15 anti-ship missile because of Russia’s increased activity in the Baltic Sea.

Company offers to make an advanced version of its Super Hornet in India for its air force and export customers.

The F-15 and F/A-18 production lines could extend into the early-2020s with fleet-size orders from Qatar and Kuwait.

There is renewed focus on Tranche 1 Eurofighters as air forces look at how to keep them in service for the long-haul.

Surveying the Navy’s diverse new weapons portfolio, from the LRASM anti-ship cruise missile to extended-range versions of Harpoon and JSOW.

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump is just beginning to form his team. What will it mean for aerospace, aviation, NASA, trade and the economy?

The U.S. Navy’s long-running quest for an unmanned maritime patrol aircraft is entering its final stages.

Operators are finding that Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II is fundamentally changing the way the U.S. Marine Corps thinks about operating from amphibious assault ships.

Lockheed Martin has snagged a $1.2 billion contract to upgrade 134 F-16 fighters for the Republic of Korea Air Force to the advanced F-16V configuration equipped with Northrop Grumman’s advanced electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.

Orbital ATK’s sixth NASA-contracted Cygnus resupply mission spacecraft departed the International Space Station early Nov. 21 to carry out a set of post-ISS objectives over the next six days.