Defense

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Air Force has cleared its Boeing KC-46 tanker for worldwide deployments, even though the aircraft is still years away from being considered operational.
AFA Air Space and Cyber Conference

By Brian Everstine
The integration enabled the Ukrainian Air Force to take offline Russian air defenses in a surprisingly short timeline.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Mark Carreau
Using a cadre of advanced technologies, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission is closing in on executing the world’s first-ever attempt at demonstrating whether a spacecraft can slam into an asteroid with enough force to prevent it from destructively colliding with the Earth given adequate warning.
Space

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Air Force wants new input from industry for three key mission areas—electromagnetic spectrum, weapons and its mobility aircraft—looking for emerging tech that can help the service address emerging threats.
AFA Air Space and Cyber Conference

By Irene Klotz
Brian Binnie, who clinched the $10 million Ansari XPrize for the Paul Allen-Scaled Composites team that built the SpaceShipOne reusable suborbital spacecraft, has died, his family announced on Sept. 18.
Commercial Space

By Mark Carreau
NASA launch controllers will implement new procedures as they head into a Sept. 21 launch demonstration test of the repairs to a hydrogen propellant leak that prompted a delay in a second attempt to launch the uncrewed Artemis I test flight of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule.
Space

By Chen Chuanren
France is studying basing options in the Indo-Pacific for its air force assets in anticipation of exercises in 2024.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
An uncrewed aircraft system flew for the first time aided by an advanced artificial intelligence technique developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., a company executive said on Sept. 19.
AFA Air Space and Cyber Conference

Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, who holds the record for the longest single mission in space at 437 days, died on Sept. 7, Roscosmos Corp. reports.
Space

By Jen DiMascio
Astroport Space Technologies is developing a system of baking Moon dust into bricks to create a landing pad on the lunar surface.
Space

By Jen DiMascio
In a little more than a year, a moratorium on new safety regulations to protect people onboard space vehicles is set to expire,
Space

By Mark Carreau
NASA has formally requested proposals from the space industry for long-running, evolvable Human Landing Systems able to support a steady cadence of Artemis-era astronaut missions to the lunar surface.
Space

By Steve Trimble
Embraer has partnered with L3Harris to offer the KC-390 aircraft to the U.S. Air Force with a refueling boom, creating an “Agile Tanker” option alongside the twinjet’s tactical airlift capability.
AFA Air Space and Cyber Conference

By Tony Osborne
Swiss officials have signed a letter of offer and acceptance giving the green light to the country’s procurement of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
The government of Turkey has signed an agreement with Houston-based Axiom Space to fly its first astronaut to the International Space Station.
Space

By Irene Klotz
Hungary is restarting its human space program, with eight finalists undergoing evaluation for a planned flight to the International Space Station.
Space

By Jen DiMascio
The spacecraft, a reusable upper stage that would replace the payload fairing of an Ariane 64, SUSIE is an attempt by European industry to respond to a variety of competitors.
Space

By Brian Everstine
Navy leaders are setting requirements for Collaborative Combat Aircraft to increase the radius of ships, following the MQ-25’s lead.
AFA Air Space and Cyber Conference

By Brian Everstine
The need for speed is emerging as more important than the need for range for air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles.
AFA Air Space and Cyber Conference

By Irene Klotz
Although Russia remains a key and committed partner in the International Space Station program, the country is absent from the International Astronautical Congress.
Space

By Irene Klotz
The test, slated for Sept. 21, will determine if technicians at Kennedy Space Center have successfully repaired a hydrogen leak that scuttled the last launch try.
Space

By Steve Trimble
Bell has selected Sierra Nevada Corp. to design and develop the mission systems for the High-Speed Vertical Takeoff and Landing design that is being offered to U.S. Special Operations Command.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
A cost-saving core platform that shares a common design, engineering and production system and major components with four types of uncrewed aircraft systems optimized for different missions has emerged as General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.’s vision for the U.S. Air Force’s future Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.
AFA Air Space and Cyber Conference

BOMBARDIER delivered first Global 6000 in special mission configuration to USAF as part of contract for up to six.
Defense

By Garrett Reim
SpaceWERX awarded startup ThinkOrbital a Small Business Technology Transfer contract to study how the company’s autonomous robotic arm assembly and electron beam welding system might be used for in-space service assembly and manufacturing.
Commercial Space