Defense

By Graham Warwick
Australia’s Electro Optic Systems has demonstrated technology that is key to tracking and moving space debris in low Earth orbit that uses a laser-generated guide star and adaptive optics to remove atmospheric distortion and increase the laser power on target.
Space

By Mark Carreau
Former NASA astronaut and U S. Air Force test pilot Jack Fischer has joined with the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership (BAHEP) to provide the emerging Houston Spaceport with TexSpace, a future nonprofit focused on facilitating innovation within the space enterprise.
Commercial Space

By Michael Bruno
OrbComm, the low Earth orbit constellation provider of industrial connectivity services whose roots date to 1990s commercial space efforts, will be acquired by GI Partners, a U.S.-based investor in data infrastructure businesses, in an all-cash deal worth around $1.1 billion, including net debt.
Commercial Space

By Thierry Dubois
The EU, the European Space Agency and their member states should convene in a high-level summit next year and define a European ambition in space, says Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s new director general.
Space

By Irene Klotz
The Biden administration is requesting $24.7 billion for NASA for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, a 6.3% hike over the agency’s current funding level.
Space

By Mark Carreau
Russia’s Soyuz MS-18 capsule carrying NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov docked to the International Space Station early April 9.
Space

By Lee Hudson
U.S. President Joe Biden has proposed a $715 billion fiscal 2022 budget for the Pentagon, and most notably the new request ends the decade-old separate funding account known as overseas contingency operations, according to the Office of Management and Budget.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Thierry Dubois
Development and construction are scheduled for 2026-36, including main component and hull assembly in 2031-34. Sea trials will start in 2036.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Greece has inked an amendment to its order for NH90 transport helicopter as it looks to restore military capabilities hollowed out by the country’s economic crisis.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
South Korean President Moon Jae-in says his country’s aerospace sector could become the world’s seventh largest by the 2030s, thanks to capabilities nurtured through the development of its first indigenous fighter.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
A newly validated interceptor fills a void between the Barak 8 and Arrow 2 in Israel’s air-and-missile defense portfolio.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Tony Osborne
After losing Australia to Boeing’s Apache, could a refreshed Airbus Tiger make inroads in the attack helicopter market?
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
Israel’s new surveillance aircraft bucks trend of distributed operations, defines new standard for multifunction intelligence collection.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Mark Carreau
NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts initiative has awarded $5 million in grants to seven innovators, among them a Jet Propulsion Laboratory researcher investigating the possible construction of a lunar far side radio telescope using wire mesh embedded in an impact crater by small climbing robots.
Space

By Irene Klotz
Rocket Lab plans to conduct its second parachute-assisted booster splashdown next month, as it works to evolve the Electron small satellite launch vehicle into a reusable rocket, the company said on April 8.
Commercial Space

By Lee Hudson
The U.S. Space Force intends to establish a Space Systems Command this summer, pending the nomination and Senate confirmation of a three-star commander.
Space

By Maksim Pyadushkin
The launch of the Luna-25 automatic lander planned for October will mark Russia’s return to lunar exploration.
Space

Aviation Week Staff
The Japanese defense ministry has suspended spending on the upgrade of the F-15J fighter due to cost overruns, according to multiple news reports.
Aircraft & Propulsion

The UK and Qatar have been working together with combined delivery of Hawk and Typhoon flight training activity in support of the two countries close defence ties.
Maintenance & Training

By Thierry Dubois
Philippe Baptiste, an engineer by training with experience in science, industry and politics, is to succeed Jean-Yves Le Gall at the helm of French space agency CNES after the country’s parliament approved the nomination.
Space

By Jen DiMascio
ARRW booster fails test flight; KAI submits transport aircraft plan; France’s latest A-400M and Valkyrie drops Altius-600UAS.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Guy Norris
New propulsion system test site under construction for larger Hermeus hypersonic turbine-based combined-cycle engine.
Program Management

Randy Starr
The Pentagon needs a task force that can share best practices across services.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Air Force have checked a key box on the list of post-contract award activities for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program, the company said on April 7.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Lee Hudson
A group of bipartisan lawmakers are cautioning the U.S. defense secretary on signing off on all combatant commander requests at the expense of military readiness.
Budget, Policy & Operations