Defense

With the support of a newly appointed associate administrator, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has expressed confidence that his agency can achieve an accelerated return to the Moon’s surface with human explorers by 2024.

Red 6, a California-based start-up synthetic training specialist, is being backed by Lockheed Martin to accelerate development of the company’s ATARS (Airborne Tactical Augmented Reality System).

Boeing officials are monitoring the impact to a long-delayed KC-46 capability milestone caused by COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions to Cobham wing aerial refueling pods.

Northrop Grumman said on June 18 that the critical design review is complete for the U.S. Navy’s Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range.

Lighter and more capable helmet-mounted display systems are on the shopping list of the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Army as an upgrade for the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G and new equipment for the F-15EX and Future Vertical Lift (FVL) rotorcraft.

Airbus Defense and Space CEO Dirk Hoke has called on Britain to look for closer defense cooperation with Europe after Brexit.

The planned launch of the Perseverance Mars 2020 rover from Cape Canaveral on July 20 is intended to help set the stage for sending astronauts to the red planet in the 2030s.

From a competition among the world’s militaries to create weapons that can hit targets 1,000 mi. away within minutes, to innovations that could enable rapid civilian travel from New York to Hong Kong and multi-stage access to space, the pursuit of hypersonic technologies are pushing the limits of national budgets and the laws of physics.

AVIATION WEEK NETWORK forecasts that maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) demand for Western-designed scout helicopters will remain flat over the

Satellites and interceptors for hypersonic defense are in development, but fielding strategy remains mostly unfunded.

A nearly $1 billion upgrade breathes new life into old F/A-18C/Ds as the replacement selection process continues.

The Spanish government has signed protocols with local members of industry paving the way for their involvement on the European Future Combat Air System.

Leonardo Helicopters has secured European Union Aviation Safety Agency certification for the Safran Aneto 1K-powered version of the AW189 super-medium helicopter.

The FAA is investigating low-flying military helicopter operations in restricted airspace and over protesters on Washington, D.C., streets on June 1, but its work will be limited to providing findings to the other agencies involved.

Boeing on June 17 delivered the first F/A-18E/F Block III to the U.S. Navy to launch a yearlong testing campaign on a new configuration with around a $60 million flyaway cost that is currently being offered to five foreign air forces.

LONDON—Washington and London have reached an agreement on technology safeguards that paves the way for the use of U.S.-developed space launchers from UK soil.

Gulfstream Aerospace has sold its last commercially available Gulfstream G550 large-cabin, ultra-long-range business jet, clearing the way for production of the iconic jet to wind down, the company announced June 17.

The Pentagon has released a new Defense Space Strategy providing a framework for the U.S. military to achieve “desired conditions” in space over the next 10 years.

BOEING delivered first two F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet flight test aircraft (single-seat E model and two-seat F model) to US Navy; upgrades include

Germany’s plans to upgrade Berlin’s fleet of Eurofighters with the Captor-E active electronically scanned array have been given a green light by lawmakers.

Tokyo will not countenance the risk of boosters from anti-ballistic-missile interceptors falling on civilian land.

Germany has begun to hunt for a new maritime patrol aircraft after canceling a planned modernization of its Lockheed P-3C Orion fleet.

Airbus is to lead a consortium to secure a tender to run the UK’s military satellite communications network.

Joel Montalbano will become acting NASA International Space Station program manager, effective June 26, the agency said.

Acting Pentagon Comptroller Elaine McCusker, who raised concerns in 2019 about the legality of the U.S. freezing aid to Ukraine, has resigned.