Defense

As their nearly six-month mission to the International Space Station draws to a close, four NASA SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts praised their experience with Axiom-1, the first U.S. all-private astronaut mission to the ISS, and predicted there will be more missions to come.

A four-decade-old Boeing 747-200 simulator that was headed for disposal has been refurbished to train the U.S. Air Force’s Doomsday plane pilots as part of an effort to increase the overall readiness of the four-plane E-4B Nightwatch fleet.

The second phase of DARPA’s Glide Breaker program will seek to conquer the problem of operating a divert and attitude control system on a kill vehicle traveling at hypersonic speed within the atmosphere, the agency says in a newly released solicitation.

Israeli officials say an experimental laser weapon has shot down a series of small projectiles, rockets and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in

Rafael has successfully completed a series of ground-breaking tests with a high-power laser interception system, ‘Iron Beam’, against steep-track threats.

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

A 12-year sales campaign for the optionally piloted Firebird failed to attract a production order.

Capella Space has unveiled new software features that automate analysis of images captured by its synthetic aperture radar satellite constellation.

A hydrogen leak halted NASA’s third attempt to fuel the first Space Launch System rocket at the launchpad on April 14.

Ukraine has added “heavy drones” made by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. to an urgent shopping list of advanced weapons to fight against Russian invaders.

Russia's TASS news agency report ends a day of speculation about the status of 12,490-ton vessel.

The U.S. State Department has approved a potential sale of 12 Bell AH-1Z attack helicopters to Nigeria worth an estimated $997 million.

Russia has agreed to send a Belarusian citizen to space, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko announced after a meeting with Russia President Vladimir Putin at Vostochny Cosmodrome on April 12.

Poland has accelerated its Narew short-range air defense program, with the aim of introducing the first elements into service this year.

The U.S. Air Force’s surprise plan to cut to its buy of Sikorsky HH-60W helicopters comes as the service is conducting an internal, wargames-based review of what the future of the combat search and rescue mission will become.

As a result of progress in procurement, legacy fleets will be retired. More than 12,000 military aircraft are expected to be withdrawn from service over the next decade.

As the service looks to cut KC-10s and KC-135s, it is expressing more confidence in the KC-46 despite continued deficiencies in its development.

A Lockheed Martin-designed, all-electric laser shot down multiple aerial targets during February tests at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, the

The status of the Russian Navy’s Black Sea flagship is unclear after Ukrainian forces claimed to have severely damaged the warship with shore-based anti-ship missiles.

Speaking alongside Sweden’s Prime Minister, Magdalena Andersson, in Stockholm on April 13, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin told journalists that “everything had changed after Russia’s invasion [of Ukraine].”

The International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (IADE) will be held from 11 to 15 May 2002 at the International Airport of Djerba Zarzis in Tunisia.

Indonesian defense prime PT Pindad and Safran are discussing potential local assembly of the AASM air-to-ground modular weapon that will equip the Southeast Asian country’s future Dassault Rafale fleet.

Spirit’s reengining work; South Korea earmarks transport aircraft, missile funds; F-35A flying hours drop; and Draken gets RAF contract.

The ulterior aim of critics’ inflation focus is not economics but the strategic choices the Pentagon’s budget request implements.

First U.S.-backed private mission to the ISS is a turning point in the ongoing commercial development of space.