Defense

There are signs of hope that the new House Armed Services Committee chairman will make defense acquisition reform a key priority.

Any budget-driven delay in the Future Vertical Lift program would put at risk industry’s ability to develop an advanced rotorcraft, warns the U.S. Army.

Our editors discuss adaptive engine technology, sixth-generation fighters, threats to the F-35 and the next presidential aircraft.

Domingo Ureña-Raso, who oversaw development of the Airbus A400M, has been forced to resign because of delays in getting the airlifter into service.

SpaceX-USAF legal settlement offers little near-term gain for SpaceX, but it appears to serve the company’s strategic goals.

The Rise and Fall of a Launch Monopoly?

Students of post-Cold War aerospace are intimately familiar with the Last Supper.

Small problems that blighted the helicopter in its earliest days of operation are still causing concerns as operators struggle to procure spares and get rotorcraft back into service.

U.S. military planners have now broadly accepted that the only way to meet the advanced performance needs of “sixth-generation” combat aircraft, barring changes to the laws of physics, will be the adoption of variable-cycle, or adaptive engine technology.

GE makes strides in lightweight ceramic matrix composite blade technology.

KAL appears to be proposing a design based on the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, which should be developmentally cheaper than KAI’s KF-X proposal. However, Boeing reportedly has given up supporting KAL’s bid because of a serious image problem suffered by the South Korean company.

Noting that the 747-8 is the only platform "manufactured in the United States [that] when fully missionized meets the necessary capabilities established to execute the presidential support mission," Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said competition will be sought at the subsystem level for the program.

An “advanced aeronautics” prototyping project, including airframes and propulsion, is one of a number of new and accelerated technology projects in the fiscal 2016 defense budget, according to Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work.

Shrinking defense budgets, fewer programs, and tech developments in other industries creating incentives for A&D rivals to cooperate to win awards.

The Pentagon has finished a secret analysis of alternatives (AoA) for the Long Range Standoff (LRSO) project, a cruise missile to replace today’s AGM-86 Air-Launched Cruise Missile

The competition to build South Korea’s proposed KF-X indigenous fighter will probably come down to price, putting Korean Airlines at an advantage, according to a government official.

U.S. Air Force makes an effort to regain its technical understanding of complex systems during acquisition as a way to reduce program costs and risks.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is crafting a strategy to leverage the influx of imagery available from the many new information services providers working today.

France seeks European partners for Musis imaging satellite program.

This week is all about unmanned aircraft: using quadcopters on construction sites; 3-D cameras help avoid collisions; UAS get MAD for ASW; “micro” unmanned aircraft certification category proposed; UAS air-dropping UAS.

The Gen-3 helmet display for the F-35 builds on data from flight testing and pilot training to fix shortcomings of the Gen-2 version.

SpaceX has agreed to drop its lawsuit against the U.S. Air Force. In return, the service is vowing to increase the number of launches it plans to compete.

A preview of programs and issues to watch for during the first week of February, when the Pentagon makes its budget request to Congress.

After recent experience in the Gaza conflict, the Israeli military revises tactics for close air support of ground forces.

Critical independent testing report looks at F-35 test priorities and notes that its focus on the Marine Corps’ first operational squadron has a price.