Defense

From SpaceX’s recent successes to Palantir’s coming public stock offering, newcomers are making noise in A&D, but looks can be deceiving.

A year-old proposal to reform the U.S. Air Force fighter pilot training pipeline is restructuring its acquisition approach again.

The UAV concept Grom joins a growing number of Russian UAVs now in production or in development.

The U.S. Air Force is offering up to $1.5 million for a system to help female aircrew relieve themselves while flying.

The European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk. 2 will provide the UK Typhoon fleet with electronic attack and warfare capabilities beyond the ECRS Mk. 1 sensor for the German and Spanish air forces.

A study contract will be awarded to P&W to identify a solution to a known thrust deficiency that affects Lockheed Martin F-35Bs in hover on hot days.

SOCOM officials have warned the program will be unaffordable if the Army sticks to its plan to defer upgrades for about 540 CH-47F Block 1s for five years.

EDGE has appointed the presidents of three clusters, with Dr Fahad Al Yafei as President of Platforms & Systems, Hamad Al Marar as President of Missiles & Weapons and Khalid Al Breiki as President of Mission Support.

UAE-based Marakeb Technologies and KSA-based Prince Sultan Defense Studies & Research Center (PSDSARC), have signed a collaboration agreement for the development of unmanned vehicles in the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) region, to serve the Armed & Security Forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

On Sept. 1st the U.S. Department of Defense published the latest version of its annual report detailing recent developments in Chinese military

HAWC tests to resume; Opening MQ-9 possibilities; Phased-array antenna for satellites tested; Will Greece buy Rafale?

The latest version of the Northrop Grumman solid rocket motor assigned to NASA’s Space Launch System Moon rocket roared to life Sept. 2 for a full-duration, 2-min. ground test firing at company facilities in Promontory, Utah.

Industry was anticipating an award for the Minuteman III replacement in August, but a Pentagon official said a contract announcement should occur before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.

The 28th Test and Evaluation Squadron dropped 10 BLU-136 Next Generation Area Attack Weapons (NGAAWs) Increment II from Lockheed Martin F-16Cs on the Nellis Test and Training Range from July 8-24.

Three Mars mission launches in July kicked off a promising and challenging decade for the exploration of the red planet, one potentially setting the stage for a global human exploration campaign in the 2030s.

The U.S. Air Force wants Congress to create a “global fight” account in the budget to pay for efforts like International Space Pitch Day in which the U.S. and UK intend to invest $1 million for cutting-edge space innovations.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) and Spain’s Sener Aerospacial are developing an underwing pod that will enable European customers of the MQ-9 Reaper and SkyGuardian to fit sovereign sensors to the unmanned air system.

News in brief

Brief news items of interest to aerospace & defense professionals.

The Lockheed Martin and Raytheon variants of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept have completed captive carry tests, a military official said.

BOEING delivered the first MH-47G Block II Chinook to US Special Operations Command (SOCOM); it is under contract to manufacture 23 more for SOCOM.

INTEGRATED POLYMER SOLUTIONS acquired MAST TECHNOLOGIES, CA, which produces RF/microwave/EMI absorbing materials for military aircraft.

Nuclear weapons figured prominently among the revelations contained in the Pentagon’s latest annual report on China’s military capabilities, which was released Sept. 1.

When Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) launched its regional jet program in 2008 it faced a relatively crowded market. This included two large

The duo won firm-fixed price contracts for the Tranche 0 Transport Layer, which consists of 20 satellites that will feed into the U.S.’s missile warning system.