Defense

Erickson and Sikorsky have partnered to install Matrix autonomous technology onto the S-64F Aircrane and demonstrate autonomous firefighting capabilities.

MD Helicopters CEO Lynn Tilton has made restoring production of the company’s MD902 twin-engine light helicopter a priority after a nearly decade-long hiatus in production.

The Joint Requirements Oversight Council met this week and its chair shed light on how it is going to reform the Pentagon’s archaic requirements process and will use the Joint All-Domain Command and Control program as its poster child.

Two small companies are reporting progress with their plans for removing debris from orbit.

The NASA-led James Webb Space Telescope faces the prospect of additional delays and cost increases.

Despite development delays, ESA sees the ExoMars 2020 program as key to European progress in exploration technology.

As Pentagon officials come to grips with challenges facing hypersonic boost-glide missiles, air-breathing alternatives are gaining speed.

How will U.S. refuel aircraft?; Poland set to sign for F-35s; Raytheon’s new missile-warning data contract; Russia to export the Mi-38.

News in brief

Brief news items of interest to aerospace & defense professionals.

“We’re committed to see that through and see it through the right way,” new CEO David Calhoun said of the troubled tanker program.

Until the U.S. military’s fragmented communication systems allow the F-35 to share targeting data directly with unconventional partners like Army missile launchers, Lockheed Martin has come up with an interim solution to support an ongoing series of critical operational experiments.

The U.S. Navy has moved forward on the acquisition process to launch development of the upgraded EA-18G Block II soon.

NASA expects to decide in the next couple of weeks whether to begin training two test pilots assigned to crew the upcoming SpaceX Demonstration 2 (Demo 2) mission for a possible extended stay aboard the International Space Station.

Airbus has performed the first wet contacts as it works to prove an air-to-air refueling capability for its C295 turboprop airlifter.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt has formally ordered the “temporary cessation” of nonemergency drone operations.

Russian Helicopters’ new VRT500 co-axial single-engine light helicopter will use Thales FlytX avionics suite.

Sikorsky is moving ahead with plans to offer a radically revamped version of its S-92 heavylift helicopter.

S.A.F.E. STRUCTURE DESIGNS, Las Vegas has US Army contract to supply customized Fall Protection Platforms for CH-46 and CH-47 Chinook helicopters to

Heavylift helicopter OEM Erickson has revealed plans to develop a new version of its S-64 Aircrane.

U.S. National Laboratory facilities aboard the International Space Station set records for crew time and new payloads devoted to scientific research and technology advances in fiscal 2019.

The market for Airbus Helicopters has been stable, Airbus officials say. But rather than growth, the market is for replacement helicopters.

NASA has ordered three Airbus H135 Signature helicopters to replace its current fleet of three Huey 2 aircraft.

The U.S. Air Force is conducting a review of the Space and Missile Systems Center, Space Rapid Capabilities Office and the Space Development Agency to identify roles and responsibilities of these existing organizations.