Defense

In August, the U.S. Army selected Kord to lead its directed energy initiative, including developing a 50-kW-class laser weapon for Stryker combat vehicles.

The Philippines Navy has inducted into service three new missile-armed boats, boosting its capability to fight insurgents and smugglers.

The defense ministry has sought funding to modify one ship in fiscal 2020. It will need to be ready when F-35Bs arrive, probably in fiscal 2024.

Senate appropriators demand Air Force transition plan for adaptive engine technology.

NASA has agreed to buy six more Orion capsules for lunar sorties beginning in 2024.

The F-35 program will double over the next few years--a fact the Pentagon must consider before entering a performance-based logistics contract, U.S. Air Force acquisition chief Will Roper tells Aerospace DAILY.

Though modest, the Australian participation could advance a key area of growing global interest in the Moon--identifying and mining in situ resources.

The large number of Asia-Pacific prospects, plus others elsewhere, raises the likelihood that one contract or another will come up before Bell finishes making long-lead parts for AH-1Zs under current contracts, probably around 2021.

The French Air Force is counting on the tanker for in-flight refueling of its Airbus H225M Caracal transport rotorcraft.

Safran Helicopters, ZF Luftfahrttechnik (ZFL) and MT-Propeller have teamed up to develop the powerplant derived from Safran’s Ardiden 3 turboshaft.

HMS Prince of Wales is expected to operate off the coast of North East Scotland for several weeks.

The U.S. Air Force’s premier fighter development program calls for disrupting the aerospace business models.

Aero closing in on closing L-39NG contracts for Senegal and LOM Praha.

The U.S. Navy intends to bring the MQ-25A Stingray unmanned refueling tanker to an aircraft carrier in fiscal 2022 or 2023, according to an official.

The aircraft, a public service mission version for Italy’s Guardia di Finanza (Financial Police), was handed over during a ceremony at the company’s facility in Verigiate, near Milan, on Sept. 20.

“There was a high possibility that the fire spread due to the static electricity generated by oxygen dripping from the engine exhaust port during the propellant filling operation,” MHI said in a statement Sept. 20.

The proposed regulations bolster the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews certain transactions involving foreign investment in America to determine the effect of such transactions on national security.

The Pentagon says a continuing resolution would delay implementation of new technology development and procurement efforts such as the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW).

AirAsia has rolled out the first eight aircraft with a new onboard Wi-Fi system which it intends to deploy across the rest of its narrowbody and widebody fleets.

A test asset for the MQ-25 unmanned tanker completed the first test flight on Sept. 19 at an airport in Illinois, the U.S. Navy and Boeing announced.

In an exclusive interview, Air Force acquisition chief Will Roper lays out a plan for a new way to make a “century series” of aircraft. Aviation Week editors Steve Trimble, Lee Hudson and Jen DiMascio process what that might mean for the military and current manufacturing base.

The first MQ-4C Triton deployment overseas appears set to begin within weeks.

Infrastructure spending is a hot-button issue ahead of next year’s presidential election. The president may win the issue, for reasons important to A&D.

The new acting director of the Space Development Agency anticipates the release of its first draft solicitation “imminently.”

The House voted 301-123 on Sept. 19 to pass a stopgap continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded through Nov. 21, and the Senate is expected to vote on the measure next week.