Defense

The U.S. Navy successfully fired a Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) from a SeaRAM launcher for the first time on an Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship.

SpaceX and other new players in the A&D field may change the way heritage providers do business.

Name: Large-Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (LDUUV)

Canada's Liberal party would launch a competition for a less expensive substitute for the Lockheed Martin fighter.

The European Space Agency has delayed the launch of the first leg of the €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) ExoMars campaign from January to March to address a technical issue on the entry, descent and landing (EDL) demonstrator.

The program has run ahead of schedule and is about 10% under budget, says Rear Adm. Tony Dalton, the manager of the Australian defense department’s helicopter acquisitions.

Lockheed Martin and European missile manufacturer MBDA are hoping that Germany’s selection of the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) will spur international interest.

Australia will decide next decade whether to replace or modernize its 22 Airbus Tiger attack helicopters, which are only now moving toward full operational status 14 years after they were ordered.

The Australian version of the NHIndustries NH90 helicopter should be removed from Canberra’s Projects of Concern list in 2016.

Long March 6, the first member of China’s new launcher family, flew for the first time on Sept. 20.

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has won a fifth customer for its T-50 family of supersonic trainers and light attackers, with Thailand agreeing to buy four of the aircraft.

The first captive flight test of the air-launched version of the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile, developed jointly by India and Russia, will be carried out by the end of this year from a Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter aircraft.

China is due to conduct the first flight of the solid-propellant Long March 11 space launcher ahead of schedule on Sept. 25.

As Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to arrive in Seattle Sept. 22 to begin a seven-day U.S. visit, concerns over China’s cyber and naval intentions still threaten relations between the two global powers.

NEW DELHI – Astrosat, India’s first space observatory dedicated to the study of distant celestial objects, is set to launch on Sept. 28. The satellite

U.S. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James says she will ensure that basic information about the new Long-Range Strike Bomber (LRSB) is provided to the press prior to contract award.

Lockheed Martin could offer Turkey’s Stand-Off Missile (SOM-J) as a weapon for U.S. Air Force and Navy F-35s, after signing a deal with a Turkish manufacturer to develop the weapon.

Saturn’s ice-covered moon Enceladus appears to host a global subsurface ocean that fuels geyser-like eruptions from its south pole.

The goal is to expand the envelope to 10,000-ft. altitude, 70-kt. speed and a three-day endurance, in preparation for mission system tests and demonstrations to potential customers.

USAF Brig. Gen. Duke Richardson, the program executive officer for all Air Force tanker programs, sheds light on multiple deficiencies discovered in the KC-46 fuel system in an exclusive interview.

“If conflict occurs out there, we’ve failed,” says Adm. Jonathan Greenert, who retires as chief of naval operations Sept. 18.

The Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (Sewip) Block 3 program successfully completed the preliminary design review (PDR) recently for the next generation AN/SLQ-32 shipboard electronic warfare system.

Australia’s Airbus Tiger helicopters, which were under threat of abrupt replacement early this year, are proving their worth. Belated declaration of final operational capability is likely only a few months away.

After years of delays and development problems, Australia’s MRH90 helicopters are finally going into service.

The smooth performance of helicopter deliveries to Australia under U.S. FMS contracts contrasts with troublesome programs for two Airbus types that were immature when ordered