Defense

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

An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Carrier Air Wing 11 operating from the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) crashed in the Philippine Sea on June 18
Defense

By Molly McMillin
Textron plans to lay off nearly 2,000 employees at its TRU Simulation + Training, Textron Aviation and Industrial divisions to cut operating expenses as it restructures in response to challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said in a Securities & Exchange filing June 18.
Business Aviation

By Lee Hudson
The Defense Department is assessing additional U.S. Air Force and Navy depots for F-35 repair and testing work to reduce sustainment costs of the fifth-generation fighter.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Lee Hudson
An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to Carrier Air Wing 11 operating from the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) crashed in the Philippine Sea on June 18.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
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.
Space

By Guy Norris
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).
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Steve Trimble
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.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
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.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Steve Trimble
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.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Tony Osborne
Airbus Defense and Space CEO Dirk Hoke has called on Britain to look for closer defense cooperation with Europe after Brexit.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Mark Carreau
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.
Space

By Jen DiMascio, Graham Warwick, Steve Trimble, Guy Norris
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.
Defense

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

By Steve Trimble
Satellites and interceptors for hypersonic defense are in development, but fielding strategy remains mostly unfunded.
Missile Defense & Weapons

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

By Tony Osborne
The Spanish government has signed protocols with local members of industry paving the way for their involvement on the European Future Combat Air System.
Budget, Policy & Operations

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

By Sean Broderick
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.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
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.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
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.
Space

By Molly McMillin
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.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
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.
Space

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
Defense

By Tony Osborne
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.
Aircraft & Propulsion