Defense

Efforts to find and fix small leaks aboard the International Space Station continue.

BOEING received $1.7b USAF contract for sixth production lot of 12 KC-46A tankers and has now been contracted for 79 (42 delivered).

Japan has joined the space agencies of Canada and Europe in formally partnering with NASA in the development of a lunar-orbiting, human-tended Gateway.

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing a $1.6 billion contract modification for 12 KC-46A tanker aircraft and anticipates the work will wrap up in April 2023.

The allegations concerned five contracts with the Navy and two contracts with Special Operations Command to support UAS over an eight-year period ending in 2017.

Sweden will retain around 40 Saab Gripen C/Ds fighters into the 2030s as part of the country’s enhanced defense plans, ministers have revealed.

A Harbin Y-12-II transporter from the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) crashed in the Tsavo East national game reserve in the east of the country yesterday. All four on board – two passengers and two crew – died in the accident.

Ask the editors: The C-5 and C-17 may seem dated and the A400M is small, but these aircraft still fulfill the needs of military missions.

The U.S. Air Force’s premier hypersonic weapon failed to complete a scheduled booster flight test in 2020.

A newly created “European launcher alliance” will gather the European Commission, the European Space Agency, EU member states and the launcher industry to work out a road map for future European launchers, the EC has announced.

As the system integrator for the intermediate-range OpFires missiles, Lockheed’s Missile and Fire Control division completed a preliminary design review during Phase 3a.

Exotrail has conducted an in-orbit demonstration of its miniaturized electric thruster, paving the way for the propulsion of nanosatellites.

The UK’s defense equipment plans continue to be unaffordable, auditors have warned, with estimates suggesting a shortfall of up to more than £17 billion ($23.1 billion) over the next 10 years.

Rolls-Royce will study the potential of nuclear power for future space exploration under a new contract with the UK Space Agency.

Leonardo’s AW139 twin-engine medium helicopter has been ordered by Colombia’s air force for VVIP duties.

After a one-day weather delay, SpaceX’s upgraded Dragon resupply capsule departed the International Space Station early Jan. 12 for a first-ever commercial atmospheric re-entry and parachute descent off the Florida coast with a 4,400-lb. scientific and equipment return payload.

France has lifted the lid on the development of a hybrid inertial navigation system that can take star readings in daylight.

Brief news items of interest to aerospace & defense professionals.

MHI is forming an F-X development team at its Aichi plant, several unnamed Japanese government sources tell the Kyodo newswire.

Countering small unmanned aircraft systems poses a puzzling challenge for the Pentagon.

The first program under JCO’s new architecture is now about to be launched by the Air Force.

The first set of six new solar arrays for the International Space Station is being prepared for launch in May, setting the stage for a 20-30% jump in power generation for commercial and research activities aboard the orbital outpost.

Adverse weather Jan. 11 prompted SpaceX to delay the first-ever attempt by a NASA-contracted commercial International Space Station resupply mission to return to Earth for an Atlantic Ocean splashdown off Florida’s east coast with a 5,200-lb. cargo that includes science experiments.

The U.S. Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center is funding GA-EMS to develop another set of hypersonic projectiles fired from a railgun, along with the necessary guidance and control electronics.

NASA’s Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer, or SPHEREx, space telescope has completed its Phase C preliminary design review, clearing the way for detailed design work as well as hardware and software development.