Defense

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Air Force is looking to move quickly on the possible purchase of Boeing’s E-7A Wedgetail by sending test officials to the UK and working with Australia on their programs to meet required test points before a buy is decided.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Michael Bruno
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine can significantly alter mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Western aerospace and defense (A&D), several seasoned experts said recently at separate events, including Aviation Week’s Raw Materials and Commercial Aviation Supplier conferences.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Aviation Week Staff
Russian State Space Corp. Roscosmos formally canceled the launch of 36 OneWeb satellites aboard the Soyuz 2.1b rocket that had been slated to lift off on March 4 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Space

By Steve Trimble
Satellites detected GPS interference on the border between Ukraine and Belarus shortly before Russia invaded on Feb. 24, according to data released on March 4 by commercial space company HawkEye 360.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

SAMI is set for its largest participation yet in the inaugural edition of the World Defense Show from 6-9 March in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
Aerospace

By Thierry Dubois
Further requests from Airbus are delaying the signing of a contract for the demonstration phase of the Future Combat Air System, according to Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Brian Everstine
Fighters, tankers, intelligence and surveillance, and uncrewed aircraft are on high alert at 30 locations.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble, Piotr Butowski
Russia's week-old war has been harder and costlier than Moscow expected, presaging a prolonged, brutal conflict in Ukraine.
Budget, Policy & Operations

Steven Pifer
Putin’s false pretext for war will stain Russia’s reputation for decades.
Missile Defense & Weapons

Russia’s invasion has reawakened Western democracies and shown the limits of brute force.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Graham Warwick
Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.
Aerospace

By Garrett Reim
The U.S. Space Force’s plan to replace its Space Based Infrared System of satellites took another step forward as prime contractors Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman selected payload providers for their next-generation satellites on March 1.
Space

By Thierry Dubois
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is forcing the French ministry of armed forces to rethink some plans, from a satellite launch to the use of large military transports.
Space

By Guy Norris
Long-running U.S. interest in the potential application of pressure-gain combustion to high-speed propulsion is stepping up to a new level with the award of a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory contract to Pratt & Whitney for a rotating-detonating engine demonstrator.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Brian Everstine
U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall is confident one of his key priorities—the development of a UAS that will fly along with an advanced fighter—is realistic in the near term based on multiple efforts in the U.S. and Australia.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. military on March 1 established a deconfliction line with the Russian Ministry of Defense aimed at avoiding incidents in the airspace over Eastern Europe amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Maksim Pyadushkin, Irene Klotz
Russia will stop supplying RD-181 engines, which are used on Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket, to the U.S. in retaliation for economic sanctions imposed in response to the conflict in Ukraine.
Space

By Steve Trimble
A solicitation for a $334 million hypersonic demonstrator missile is now in industry hands, with responses due to the Air Force Research Laboratory in May and contract award in December.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Brian Everstine
The first U.S. Air Force B-21 Raider test aircraft has started ground evaluations, and the sixth example of the next-generation bomber has started production, the service announced March 3.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Air Force wants to make it easier to export some of its highest-end air-to-air weapons to ensure close partner nations can have the most advanced missiles so that their F-35s, for example, can be effective.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Michael Bruno
Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO Eileen Drake has recruited several more industry and military luminaries in an effort to present a full board of directors who would push off Executive Chairman Warren Lichtenstein and his dissident slate of financial sponsors ahead of the embattled propulsion provider’s annual shareholder meeting.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
NASA is partnering with HeroX crowdsources to seek proposals for implementing various aspects of the overall challenge of recycling and disposing of waste during deep-space missions.
Space

MAPP TECHNOLOGIES, MO signed a multi-year LTA with Collins Aerospace to supply F-35/F-22/T-7A and legacy military landing gear components.
Defense

By Maksim Pyadushkin, Irene Klotz
OneWeb board members voted on March 3 to suspend launches of its broadband satellite constellation from the Russian-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Space