Defense

Australia’s Ministry of Defense has confirmed interest in buying additional Boeing CH-47F helicopters a day after a surprise notification of such a deal by a U.S. agency.

The engine manufacturers developing the powerplant for the manned fighter component of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) are to create a joint venture to develop the engine.

NASA and SpaceX late April 29 delayed for a second time the planned undocking and splashdown of the four Crew-1 Dragon astronauts from the International Space Station due to high winds.

Sweden is proposing to replace Finland’s F/A-18 Hornets on a virtual one-for-one basis by offering 64 Gripen fighters for Helsinki’s €9 billion ($10.9 billion) HX fighter requirement.

Up to five test runs of the rotorcraft are planned by May 4.

First mission is to send an uncrewed Orion capsule into lunar orbit.

Dave Calhoun is giving himself a dual mandate of returning Boeing to financial eminence while reinstalling engineering prowess. The gambit could decide the embattled company’s fate.

The less-remembered third Apollo 11 astronaut also helped to establish the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

Finland fighter bids submitted; Air Force One’s costs rise; Pentagon’s R&D nominee; and Top Aces win renewal.

Northrop Grumman hit a proverbial home run with its first-quarter 2021, reporting outsized revenue and earnings, as well as providing a slightly higher forecast for the whole year.

Stratolaunch’s six-engine Roc carrier aircraft returned to the air on April 29, just more than two years after making its flight debut in 2019, with a 3-hr., 14-min. test sortie from the company’s Mojave Air & Space Port facility in California.

The U.S. Air Force has started canvassing industry for interest in reactivating the external hardpoints on the B-1B fleet, with integration of non-nuclear hypersonic missiles likely to follow.

Australia could receive four new Boeing CH-47F helicopters transferred from the U.S. Army inventory under a Foreign Military Sale, the Defense Security and Cooperation Agency said on April 29.

With mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in aerospace and defense expected to ramp up this year in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, another private equity (PE) group is jumping into the market.

EUMET, Munich was formed by MTU Aero Engines and Safran Aircraft Engines to oversee development/production/support of new engine, in partnership with

The EU’s 2021-27 budget for space activities has received its final approval, from members of the European Parliament.

Even with the adverse impacts of the novel coronavirus on the airline industry, the U.S. Marine Corps is still losing the competition for pilots and maintainers.

Canadian adversary air operator Top Aces has been awarded a renewed contract to provide training for the German Air Force.

Arianespace’s Vega light launcher placed six satellites into orbit on April 28 in a successful return to flight that was crucial for the program.

China has launched the first module of its new Tiangong (Heaven’s Palace) space station.

Finland has received the best and final offers from governments in the bidding for the country’s HX fighter contest.

A newly formed company is planning to offer aggressor training services with Mirage 2000s that it hopes to receive by year-end.

After a brief pause to send the SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA last week, SpaceX on April 28 resumed launching its Starlink broadband constellation into low Earth orbit.

The new arrivals temporarily boosted station staffing to 11 people for the first time since 2010.