Defense

By Kim Minseok
North Korea is planning an active year of military technology research, including plans to build a prototype hypersonic glide vehicle, begin production of a military reconnaissance satellite and develop a new UAV, according to North Korean state media.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Michael Bruno
FAA and NASA have pledged to coordinate their standards and to work together on commercial space launch and re-entry, point-to-point suborbital transportation, spaceports, airspace design and a host of other issues now that the era of commercially licensed human spaceflight has begun.
Program Management

By Steve Trimble
Deliveries to the Raytheon division should begin this year under the order, according to a CPI news release.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Guy Norris
Virgin Orbit will make a second attempt to reach orbit with the LauncherOne small satellite rocket on Jan. 13, with backup launch windows available later in the month in the event of a delay.
Commercial Space

By Steve Trimble
As calls grow for President Donald Trump to resign or be removed, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi discussed with Gen. Mark Milley how to prevent Trump from gaining access to the authentication codes required for launching nuclear weapons.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Tony Osborne
The first of 55 modernized Dassault Mirage 2000Ds has been delivered to the French Air Force.
Aircraft & Propulsion

As 2020 was a bumper year for fighter aircraft across the MENA region, Jon Lake looks at this, and various other, defence matters.
Defense

By Irene Klotz
Following its record-setting 26 launches in 2020, SpaceX kicked off the new year with delivery of the Turksat 5A broadband satellite into orbit on Jan. 7.
Space

Aviation Week Staff
Lockheed will provide MHI with system integration support, defense ministry says.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.
Aerospace

By Thierry Dubois
Arianespace is willing to operate microlaunchers if the opportunity arises, either as a way to meet demand or as proof of concepts for heavier launchers, CEO Stephane Israel said.
Commercial Space

By Mark Carreau
A new bipartisan authorization bill is critical to NASA’s path forward under the Joe Biden administration, according to former U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn, the Oklahoma Democrat who chaired the U.S. House space and aeronautics subcommittee until her re-election defeat and the swearing in of a new Congress earlier this week.
Space

By Irene Klotz
NASA Associate Administrator Stephen Jurczyk, the agency’s highest-ranking civil servant, will take on the role of acting administrator following the departure of NASA chief Jim Bridenstine on Jan. 20.
Space

By Tony Osborne
The United Nations is calling on member states to reduce the potential risk of civilian aircraft being shot down while flying in conflict zones or regions of military tension.
Airports & Networks

By Steve Trimble
The decision announced on Jan. 7 allows the contractors to move forward with developing the satellites in Tranche 0 of the future Tracking Layer.
Space

By Lee Hudson
The Democrats will take the reins of power in Washington on Jan. 20 when President-Elect Joe Biden is sworn into office, as the party will control both the House and Senate as well. But does this mean a reduction to the defense budget is inevitable?
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
The Counter-Small UAS Strategy published on Jan. 7 sets the stage for spending decisions on new programs in future budgets aimed at tackling the difficult problem of identifying hostile small UAS.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
The first-ever flight demonstration of the Golden Horde program’s autonomous payload for munitions was only partially successful, but marks a long-awaited first step for collaborative weapons technology.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Irene Klotz
Virgin Galactic has completed post-flight inspections and root cause analysis of last month’s thwarted suborbital flight test of SpaceShipTwo, the company said on Jan. 7.
Commercial Space

By Steve Trimble
The demonstration on Dec. 16 from Laguna Army Air Field, Arizona, may offer a low-cost alternative to controlling large UAS on long-range missions if satellite communications are unavailable or jammed.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Steve Trimble
Landmark flight on one of Air Force’s oldest designs paves way for use of artificial intelligence in military aircraft and spacecraft.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Jen DiMascio
Stratcom may revamp nuclear airborne command post; Lockheed’s next OPIR tranche; GlobalEyes for UAE; and Romanian mission for MQ-9s.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Germany joins race for European vertical smallsat launch competing with Norway, Sweden, Portugal and the UK.
Commercial Space

By Tony Osborne
The UK, Italian and Swedish governments have signed a trilateral memorandum that paves the way for the three countries to jointly develop the next-generation Tempest combat air system to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon and Saab Gripen.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
France is buying three E-2D airborne early warning aircraft for a maximum of $2 billion from the U.S. Navy, making the country the second international customer of the carrier-capable aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion