Defense

The Senate Armed Services Committee on June 11 approved its version of the 2027 defense policy bill with new restrictions on defense industry.

France has announced the order for its next-generation nuclear cruise missile with MBDA, targeting service entry in 2035.

Eight leading German defense and aerospace companies are urging their government to decide on the path forward for a future combat aircraft before year’s end.

Consortium partners working on the European Hypersonic Defense Interceptor (HYDEF) project have settled on a single missile concept.

Airbus is experimenting with aerodynamic adaptations that could transform the performance of its conventional helicopters.

U.S. and Australian fighter pilots will have the technical ability to take turns flying the same MQ-28, a Boeing official says.

The UK’s defense ministry is in disarray after the departure of two ministers concerned about the government’s unwillingness to provide more funding for defense.

Germany is scrambling to quickly address a need for deep-strike weapons amid uncertainty about an earlier plan to rely on U.S. systems in the near term.

LITEF is developing technologies to make GPS receivers resilient to spoofing, in addition to the less challenging jamming threat.

As Europe pursues its goal of becoming more autonomous in space, ESA is exploring whether its Ariane 6 rocket could to take astronauts to orbit.

A glitch that caused a YFQ-42 Dark Merlin aircraft to crash in April came from a newly designed, high-performance autopilot developed for the CCA prototype, GA-ASI President David Alexander tells Aviation Week.

Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works has revealed a one-way attack drone entirely additively manufactured and robotically assembled by partner Divergent Technologies.

Rohde & Schwarz is looking to begin flight trials for its new multi-domain secure communications network architecture as early as next year, with the goal of having key elements customer-ready by the end of the decade.

Boeing’s KC-46 progresses through critical upgrades and mission growth as the service looks long term.

U.S.-based aerospace companies have submitted proposals to participate in the next phase of the FAA’s Continuous Low Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) program.

LeoLabs has deployed its new Scout-S transportable radar to the Indo-Pacific that has already tracked multiple Chinese spacecraft, the space domain awareness company announced June 10.

A U.S. Air Force classification change to the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program could give a boost to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.’s (GA-ASI’s) marketing campaign in Europe.

Honeywell Aerospace is studying the potential evaluation of autonomous flight systems on a fixed wing flying testbed.

The U.S. Air Force needs to create a comprehensive assessment and plan to improve the sustainment of its aerial refueling tanker, a new watchdog report says.

The House Appropriations Committee on June 10 released its take on the fiscal 2027 defense spending bill, providing a slight cut to the Pentagon’s request.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. has proposed the MQ-9B SeaGuardian to backfill for a U.S. Air Force Reaper shortage.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says France and Germany are set to agree on new defense cooperation efforts next month despite their split on a future combat aircraft.

Momentum is building with Diehl Defense for a potential integration of its IRIS-T short-range air-to-air missile on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

MTU Aero Engines is urging the French and German governments to take “necessary steps” to preserve the expertise and industrial capabilities created to support the development of an advanced powerplant for a European sixth-generation combat aircraft.

The European Space Agency has awarded Thales Alenia Space a contract to develop and build the Copernicus Sentinel-1 Next Generation Earth-observation satellite.