Defense

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Army has delayed key milestones for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program by up to four years, budget and solicitation documents show.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Guy Norris
Start-up launch vehicle and satellite developer Phantom Space has emerged from stealth mode with a purchase agreement for more than 200 rocket engines from Colorado-based propulsion company Ursa Major.
Commercial Space

By Garrett Reim
MDA has made the first commercial sale of its Canadarm3 robotic arm technology to Axiom Space.
Commercial Space

By Guy Norris
Aviation Week flies aboard Northrop Grumman’s reengined L-1011 TriStar carrier aircraft for a simulated rocket launch.
Defense

By Jen DiMascio
A way to transfer fighters to Ukraine; NGAD’s collaborative wingman; DARPA studies HAWC lessons learned; and Russia launches Angara 1.2.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
A Boeing CST-100 spacecraft was due to be transported to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex-41 on May 4 in preparation for a third attempt to reach the International Space Station for an uncrewed flight test.
Space

By Mark Carreau
In NASA’s first congressional hearing on its $26 billion 2023 budget request—an 8% percent increase—Administrator Bill Nelson expressed confidence in a continuing partnership with Russia to operate the International Space Station.
Space

By Tony Osborne
Poland has said it will protect Slovakia’s airspace should the latter decide to ground its fleet of MiG-29s and transfer the fighter aircraft to Ukraine.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Tony Osborne
Offshore helicopter operator Bristow Group is to purchase British International Helicopters (BIH) in its first major acquisition since restructuring and merging with Era Group in 2020.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
After successfully launching a 34-satellite rideshare mission from New Zealand, a Rocket Lab helicopter crew snared the returning first-stage booster mid-air for the first time, then released the rocket into the ocean for retrieval by ship.
Commercial Space

By Guy Norris
Developed for Pegasus air launch, the L-1011­—world’s last operational TriStar—is pivoting to high-speed test and launch vehicle markets.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
A shift to automated tools is being relied upon to transform a major weakness of the F-35 development program into a possible strength.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Garrett Reim
NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program has chosen 110 U.S. small businesses to further develop their technologies via Phase II awards.
Space

Aviation Week Staff
The Russian Aerospace Forces conducted the first operational launch of a light Angara 1.2 rocket from Plesetsk spaceport in the northern part of the country on April 29.
Space

By Brian Everstine
The Pentagon is sending new rotations of fighter aircraft to NATO’s eastern front as the U.S. and other allies continue to airlift large amounts of aid into the region for Ukraine.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Brian Everstine
The technology driving the new, unmanned collaborative aircraft that will fly alongside the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance fighter is so ready that the service can skip any risk reduction activities and head straight into engineering and manufacturing development, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall says.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
A century after the U.S. Navy commissioned the USS Langley (CVN 1) as the first American aircraft carrier in March 1922 over fierce internal
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Matthew Jouppi
If in past years the U.S. Air Force was hedging its bets on notional, more affordable aircraft designs, it is now embracing the strategy of high-end air power to counter China, placing its dollars behind the F-35 fighter, the B-21 bomber and the future Next Generation Air Dominance fighter family.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Matthew Jouppi
The service will focus on platforms to counter China including the B-21, NGAD and the F-35.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Garrett Reim
French satellite startup Prométhée has contracted with NanoAvionics to build a hyperspectral nanosatellite demonstrator. The ProtoMéthée-1 will be based on NanoAvionics’ 16U nanosatellite bus M16P and would be a forerunner to plans to launch a 20-satellite constellation by 2025, Prométhée said on April 29.
Commercial Space

By Brian Everstine
Lockheed Martin is demonstrating how it can integrate U.S. Army land-based air defense radars into longer-range systems such as the U.S. Navy’s Aegis, with a specific eye on the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) high priority of defending Guam.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Steve Trimble
A proposal for a new DARPA program would fund four new flight tests of a scramjet-powered cruise missile to build on lessons learned from the ongoing Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept, the agency says in budget planning documents.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Mark Carreau
Axiom Space has signed an agreement to provide a United Arab Emirates professional astronaut with a six-month tour of duty aboard the International Space Station.
Space

By Steve Trimble
DARPA has secretly tested a hypersonic Tactical Boost Glide system as a risk-reduction effort for the U.S. Air Force’s Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Mark Carreau
During an April 28 spacewalk, Russian cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev enabled the first motion of the European Space Agency’s 37-ft. robot arm, a multipurpose manipulator that was launched to the International Space Station in July 2021 as part of the Russian Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module.
Space