Defense

Getting the spacecraft and technicians to the Tanegashima Space Center for launch preparations was extra challenging due to travel quarantines, workplace shutdowns and health issues stemming from COVID-19.

In the latest rendition of Pentagon musical chairs, the White House announced April 24 the intent to nominate Shon Manasco to serve as Air Force under

The release of the second draft on April 24 by the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center moves the competition closer to a formal bidding phase scheduled to begin later this year.

The world’s largest defense contractor has issued another round of accelerated progress payments to its supply chain.

Ask the Editors: Defense Editor Steve Trimble responds.

The handover to the military came after six months of ground and flight trials performed by UAC employees at the Kazan Aviation Plant.

The Grumman C-2A has entered a planned fleet retirement process, beginning with the last flight in March.

The delivery completes a 15-year, 608-aircraft production run.

For KAI’s KUH-1 Surion helicopter program specifically, the delivery schedule and planned production quantities remain unchanged, a spokesperson says.

Underpayment by Indonesia toward development of the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-X has prompted urgent discussions in South Korea, media there report.

NASA appoints executive to oversee CASIS, reorganizes commercial programs.

The U.S. Army does not anticipate fielding delays for any new major weapons systems because of the spread of the novel coronavirus even though two prime contractors, BAE Systems and Boeing, have shuttered facilities.

Russia’s S7 Group has shelved its Sea Launch space program, the group’s owner Vladislav Filev confirmed.

Encouraged by progress in the Commercial Crew program, NASA should nonetheless expand planning for staffing the International Space Station long-term to provide options, NASA’s safety oversight panel said on April 23.

The U.S. Air Force completed a second round of Skyborg tests in March on a new flying testbed aircraft, but further flights are on hold due to schedule disruption caused by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the service announced on April 22.

An order for U.S.-made Super Hornet fighters by Germany could lead to “massive, lasting harm,” to the German defense industry, Airbus has warned.

The chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force was misinformed in his April 22 criticism of a harsh assessment by the U.S. Government Accountability Office about the acquisition strategy for the Advanced Battle Management System, a senior GAO official said on April 23.

Britain’s Royal Navy is postponing the sailing of the HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier for a planned training deployment so that its crew can be tested for COVID-19.

The U.S. Navy has been forced to delay work on two multibillion-dollar aircraft carriers to focus on ensuring that the USS John F. Kennedy can accommodate the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter when the warship is delivered.

China’s EHang has partnered with the city of Hezhou in Guangxi province to build the first dedicated vertiport for its autonomous air vehicles.

A Northrop Grumman-supplied cockpit upgrade for the U.S. Army’s UH-60 fleet has passed a key testing milestone ahead of a planned full-rate production decision, the company announced on April 22.

AVIATION WEEK NETWORK estimates that at the end of 2019, there were 894 Western-designed military aircraft performing maritime missions. Over the next

How Lockheed exceeds expectations; Italians may buy AW169; U.S. Air Force fuel-saving solution; Russia studies light fighter.

News in brief