Defense

After a dozen years in orbit about giant Saturn, the Cassini spacecraft is set to embark on a “ring grazing” session as the lead-in to a mission “Grand Finale.”

The Polish Ministry of National Defense has signed a contract to buy two Gulfstream 550 aircraft, with delivery in 2017.

Oslo plans to buy five P-8s to replace six P-3 Orions and three Dassault Falcon 20 electronic warfare aircraft.

BAE Systems has completed the first flights of the first two Eurofighter Typhoons destined for Oman.

The Type-Certifiable Predator B (TCPB) flew for the first time on Nov. 17 from the company’s Gray Butte flight operations facility in California.

Australia is putting renewed efforts into what has been a neglected national capability in electronic warfare.

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.

A developer of commercially available unmanned aircraft detection systems has unveiled a portable rifle-style jammer that blocks video and forces the drone to land safely and without damage.

Results of a study may help to narrow the cause of the blurred vision experienced by many long-duration astronauts.

An independent report into the construction of Britain’s warships has recommended that a new generation of light frigates for the Royal Navy should be built by another British shipyard or an industrial alliance rather than solely by BAE Systems.

F-22 fighter maintainers are already tackling an issue with the fleet’s stealth coating that, if left untreated, could cause the radar-evading material to peel off the aircraft.

The Pentagon has awarded Lockheed Martin $1.3 billion to continue production of the next batch of F-35s.

Israel’s security cabinet has unanimously approved the purchase of an additional 17 F-35s.

Orbital ATK’s sixth NASA-contracted Cygnus resupply mission to the International Space Station came to its anticipated end late Nov. 27.

The European Data Relay System (EDRS), also known as SpaceDataHighway, entered into service last week.

Possible changes to the NH90 helicopter include more payload, enhanced electro-optical system and teaming with unmanned aircraft.

After 10 years of development, the Navy’s $14 billion MQ-4C Triton program is preparing its fifth and sixth aircraft for deployment to Guam.

Facebook Aquila to fly again; TsAGI eyes hydrogen-fueled widebody; Northrop’s Tern takes shape; Denver hosts counter-UAS demo.

JSC Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (SCAC) and The Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute named after Professor N. Ye. Zhukovsky (TsAGI), an aircraft design and test centre, completed another series of tests with regard to Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) aircraft.

The Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS) has allegedly failed to explain why it grounded three Dornier 228 turbo-prop surveillance aircraft, which could have been deployed effectively to provide aerial surveillance services to the army's counter-terrorism war against the Islamist Boko Haram militant group in the north-east. Oscar Nkala reports.

In this week’s Washington Outlook: punting could limit number of KC-46A aircraft ordered this year; and a plan to send humans past Venus and Mars.

Just off the coast of San Diego on the USS America, the JSF is fundamentally changing the way the U.S. Marine Corps operates from amphibious assault ships.

In this week’s roundup: Russia tests engine for its T-50 fighter; Lockheed to upgrade F-16s for South Korea; Malaysia’s defense budget squeeze and Airbus advances Australian rotorcraft training program.

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.