Defense

The U.S. Air Force has shared some details about what it wants to see in its next airlifter, targeting an aircraft with about the same performance as a Boeing C-17.

Israel Aerospace Industries says it has completed the enhancement program for Sri Lanka’s Kfir fighter.

The U.S. Air Force is moving forward with a plan to install an over-the-horizon radar for homeland defense on two sites in Oregon.

Spanish aerospace and defense companies have bandied together like their German counterparts to create a united industrial front to urge their government to move with pace to define a future fighter program in the wake of the demise of the cooperation with France.

Boeing has decided not to bid on the U.S. Navy’s next-generation trainer competition, a surprise move by the company that was seen as a favorite.

The coming NATO summit in Ankara is likely to generate a push for more clarity around what space capabilities will be needed in the future, the alliance’s top military officer said.

Florida-based Starfighters Space is seeing an uptick in U.S. defense interest in hypersonic defense testing.

Greece has chosen Embraer’s C-390 airlifter to replace its long-serving Lockheed C-130 Hercules.

The U.S. Army/NASA/Bell XV-15 tiltrotor made quite a splash during its 1981 Paris Air Show debut. The cover of our June 29, 1981, issue featured the aircraft hovering over the runway at Le Bourget Airport at the end of a flying demonstration at the show.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

Germany says planning is underway for what comes next after its fighter partnership with France fizzled.

U.S.-based AeroVironment and Ubiqconn Technology of Taipei have signed an MOU to develop a common UAV controller for a variety of drones operated by the Taiwanese military.

The Pentagon faces a rising bill in its goal to increase the Lockheed Martin F-35’s availability, which has continued to fall far below targets, a new watchdog report says.

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.