Defense and Space

The U.S. Air Force plans to increase the program of record for its KC-46 refueling tanker as it looks to accelerate a follow-on next generation replacement.

Denmark is considering repatriating some of its F-35 Joint Strike Fighters currently used for pilot training in the U.S.

Officially forming on March 12, Leonardo's space business becomes one of five business areas representing each of the warfighting domains: land, air, sea, cyber and space.

The integration will allow the Navy to experiment with autonomous capabilities as it continues developing concepts for crewed-uncrewed teaming capabilities.

USAF is upping procurement spending on the B-21 Raider, though not as much as originally expected because of a favorable negotiated price with Northrop Grumman.

The Osprey fleet has since at least 2010 been plagued by an issue of hard-clutch engagement in the proprotor gearbox, which has caused multiple incidents.

The parachute-assisted splashdown of the four fliers occurred at 5:47 a.m. EDT, following atmospheric re-entry in the skies over the U.S. midwest and southeast.

Satellite crowding and military conflict create new dangers in space.

Turkish aero-engine developer Tusas Engine Industries (TEI) has successfully spooled up the country’s first indigenous turbofan engine.

A new engine for the U.S. Army’s attack and utility helicopter fleets will take another two years to achieve a preliminary flight rating.

The U.S. Navy is pushing back much of its research and development spending for its next-generation F/A-XX fighter.

The White House on March 11 unveiled a $25.4 billion spending plan for NASA in fiscal 2025.

SSC is researching development of a constellation of next-generation scout spacecraft to investigate adversary satellites in and around the GEO belt.

The U.S. Army will seek to reduce funding in fiscal 2025 for a hypersonic missile program on the cusp of being fielded as part of an overall $185.9 billion budget proposal.

The U.S. Navy will see its total aircraft procurement dip in fiscal 2025 compared to the previous year’s request.

The U.S. Air Force wants to spend $2.81 billion for development of its Next Generation Air Dominance manned aircraft.

The ARRW is currently deployed to Andersen AFB, Guam, where it is expected to be tested on a B-52 soon.

The Pentagon on March 11 rolled out its $849.8 billion budget request for 2025.

Procurement of the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation T-7 trainer is set to begin in fiscal 2025, but at half the number originally expected.

The service announced last month it would cancel the FARA program after spending $2 billion on development of competitive prototypes from Bell and Sikorsky.

The U.S. Air Force is changing course again on plans for its Boeing F-15EX Eagle II in the service’s fiscal 2025 budget request.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi hailed the milestone event by India’s 26-year-old nuclear weapons program.

SpaceX's Crew-7 Dragon spacecraft departed the ISS with a four-person crew on March 11 for a parachute-assisted splashdown off the Florida peninsula.

Ministers Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Tom Tugendhat say that while defense spending of rivals is rising rapidly, that of the UK has only risen by 28% recently.

Chinese defense expenditure will remain at around 1.2% of GDP, although aspects of wider defense spending are understood to not be included in that official figure.