The Philippine government has cleared the funds for its armed forces to acquire as many as 32 Sikorsky/ PZL Mielec S-70i Black Hawks, just as Manila completes the delivery of its sixteenth Black Hawk.
Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado Province, the setting of an ongoing jihadist insurgency since 2017, has seen a wide range of private and government forces carrying out air operations. Now the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) is weighing in as well.
A small company with a new propulsion technology has won a position on Lockheed Martin’s team bidding for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) contract.
The share price of AeroVironment plummeted more than 27% on Dec. 7 after the defense contractor and UAV specialist throttled back its financial forecast for fiscal 2022, citing supply chain issues, staffing shortages and delayed federal budget making.
Mark Geyer, a former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center who led the early development and initial test flight of the Orion crew capsule, died here Dec. 7 from pancreatic cancer.
A lingering problem with the F-35’s high-tech helmet obscuring the pilot’s vision has prompted U.S. Air Force investigators to call for adjustments to the system, while the service is not following the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps’ effort to retrofit a fix to the “green glow” issue.
The proposed sale of 280 Raytheon AIM-120C-7/C-8 missiles comes after the Biden administration pledged to end U.S. support for offensive military operations by Saudi Arabia against Yemen.
Lawmakers’ compromise version of the fiscal 2022 defense policy bill calls for a large increase to the Pentagon’s budget, providing more aircraft and a big jump in the fund aimed at deterring China.
ArianeGroup will develop a reusable mini-launcher for entry into service in 2026, Bruno Le Maire, French minister of economy and finance, announced Dec. 6.
The FAA has issued Sikorsky a type certification for its Black Hawk helicopter, for the first time enabling civil and commercial customers to buy new-build aircraft, designated the S-70M, direct from the manufacturer.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) will soon begin the testing phase of the Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) program to track ballistic and hypersonic missile attacks on the homeland.
The U.S. Army is planning to deliver 24 of its 35 top modernization priorities by fiscal 2023, and if budget restrictions necessitate it the service will look first at cutting legacy systems and then so-called enduring programs to protect the new ones.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s top funding priority, missile defense for Guam, is likely to slip beyond the required original targeted fielded date of 2026, with the command waiting for the Pentagon’s 2023 budget to outline the way forward.
The U.S. Air Force has cleared the KC-46 to refuel five more aircraft types as part of a rollout of interim capabilities before the tanker is fully operational.
NASA on Dec. 6 presented its 2021 class of new astronaut candidates, six men and four women chosen not only for their diverse professional skills but also their commitment to teamwork.
The U.S. Air Force’s MQ-9 is the only aircraft with the right capabilities for over-the-horizon surveillance and airstrikes in Afghanistan, though the service is phasing out the drone and giving U.S. Central Command fewer aircraft to fly the missions. But CENTCOM’s head of operations said he still agrees with the USAF plan.
The F-35 Joint Program Office is hoping to pick up the pace of deploying its new logistics system in 2022 and take other steps to improve the deployability of the aircraft such as reducing the size of spare packages the jets need.
Safran on Dec. 6 said it has entered into exclusive discussions to acquire Orolia from majority shareholder Eurazeo alongside the company’s founders and management to expand its product line and local country footprints.
The Pentagon’s need for test and evaluation of new weapons systems will soon overtake the department’s capacity, at a time when senior defense officials say fast acquisition of new technologies is critical.
NASA said it intends to issue a sole-source modification to SpaceX’s Commercial Crew Transportation Capabilities contract that would enable the agency to purchase up to three more crew flights to the International Space Station.
