Defense

By Guy Norris
Under a Space Act Agreement with NASA, space company Virgin Galactic is to develop a training program for private astronaut missions to the International Space Station.
Space

By Mark Carreau
Startup Space Perspective is looking to early 2021 to begin test flights of a high-altitude balloon with a pressurized capsule from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), with an eye toward carrying commercial passengers and research payloads.
Space

By Steve Trimble
Frustrated by declining funding for advanced technology programs, a key U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee hinted on June 21 that control of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) could be stripped from the Pentagon’s Research and Engineering (R&E) branch led by Undersecretary Michael Griffin.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Steve Trimble
A panel of U.S. lawmakers wants the U.S. Navy to start integrating a hypersonic missile on the Zumwalt-class DDG 1000 destroyer fleet next year.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Bradley Perrett
Japan is considering installing at least one Aegis system on a pontoon, following the decision on June 15 to halt a program to build two batteries on shore, the Jiji news agency reports.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Tony Osborne
An AESA radar has been in Eurofighter road map for more than a decade, but partner nations have been reluctant to make the investment.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

Selected U.S. military contracts for June 15 U.S. AIR FORCE The Boeing Co., St. Louis, has been awarded a $13,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite
Defense

Brief news items of interest to aerospace & defense professionals.
Defense

By Jen DiMascio
House lawmakers take issue with future reductions in procurement of the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, which they say would leave the U.S. Navy more than one carrier air wing short of its requirements, and have instructed the Pentagon to keep buying the twin-engine fighters.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Lee Hudson
A House panel would allow the U.S. Air Force to keep fewer B-1 bombers in its inventory and slowly divest the mobility fleet as the KC-46A comes online.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
A panel of U.S. lawmakers is seeking to add several new strings to the U.S. Air Force’s authorization for moving forward with the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) and to block retirements of several aircraft that now perform the mission.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Lee Hudson
The U.S. Navy has concluded that a combination of aircraft, flight gear and human conditions caused a spike in physiological events on T-45 and F/A-18 aircraft in 2017 that persuaded flight instructors to boycott their duty to train student pilots.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Jen DiMascio
U.S. Navy fixes EMALS issue; AARGM-ER clears design review; Germany reviews P-3 replacements; China’s quantum key advancement.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
Britain’s seventh frontline Eurofighter Typhoon unit—also its first joint unit with Qatar’s Amiri/Emiri Air Force—has begun flight operations.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Tony Osborne
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has signed off on the certification of Airbus Helicopters’ five-bladed H145 twin-engine light helicopter.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Bradley Perrett
Chinese scientists have taken a large step toward a theoretically secure communication technology, demonstrating quantum key distribution (QKD) between ground stations via a satellite.
Commercial Space

By Michael Bruno
The winnowing of the defense industrial base may have worried government leaders before the COVID-19 outbreak, but it has one major benefit now: the lower tiers of defense suppliers are proving stronger, according to a new report from a major credit rating agency.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Michael Bruno
Lockheed Martin’s new CEO is looking to bring more high-technology and telecommunications innovations to the Pentagon’s leading contractor, including more artificial intelligence and 5G efforts, as well as exploring networked solutions for government customers.
Budget, Policy & Operations

This webinar took place June 19, 2020 and sponsored by Siemens. Christian Brose, a former majority director of the U.S. Senate Armed Services
Defense

By Lee Hudson
The U.S. Navy has determined the problem with the electromagnetic aircraft launch system that forced the USS Gerald R. Ford to return to port first appeared in the power handling system, but an investigation is still ongoing to determine the cause.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Bill Carey
The near-term solution to resolving whether Ligado Networks’ planned 5G towers threaten GPS reception may be to appoint an independent, third-party engineering firm or laboratory to make an objective assessment.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Brief news items of interest to aerospace & defense professionals.
Defense

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

By Daniel Urchick
AVIATION WEEK NETWORK forecasts that from 2020 to 2029, Western-built commercial airliners performing military C4ISR (command, control, communications
AWIN Knowledge Center

Conferences and events for professionals in the aerospace and defense community.
Defense