Defense

Spanish defense electronics firm Indra has taken the lead in a European project to develop technologies for the traffic management of unmanned air systems.

Under the deal, Boeing’s HorizonX capital investment arm will inject $20 million into Virgin Galactic in exchange for new shares.

Technology acquisition for a future Taiwanese fighter is at a very preliminary stage. Propulsion and electronic systems are seen as main areas of difficulty.

Companies that can withstand change and disruption may be best positioned to navigate the tumult of the 2020s.

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) for the near-term should apply existing interceptor missiles to shoot down hypersonic glide vehicles and avoid investing in a purpose-built, glide-phase interceptor until the technology matures, a Raytheon executive says.

It is high time the French and German governments launched the demonstrator phase of their joint Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program, Airbus Defense and Space CEO Dirk Hoke and Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier said in an Oct. 7 joint statement.

Airbus says it has successfully performed the dispatch of 80 paratroopers in a single pass using the side doors of its A400M airlifter.

The UK defense ministry says it is considering a purchase of BAE Systems’ Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System (APKWS) II to equip the UK’s future fleet of AH-64E Apache attack helicopters.

Qatar's relations with the US were boosted by a signing spree during a visit by the ruler of the Gulf country to President Donald Trump at the White House.

AIDC was required to roll out the Advanced Jet Trainer this year; it has. It is supposed to fly the trainer next year; it says it will.

NASA astronauts on Oct. 6 successfully initiated a month-long spacewalk campaign to replace batteries on the International Space Station’s nearly 360-ft.-long solar power truss.

The campaign, which also is to include the first all-female spacewalk, likely will extend into December.

Collins Aerospace has been selected to deliver up to 3,018 ACES 5 ejection seats over the next decade to replace the escape systems in five different combat aircraft fleets, the U.S. Air Force announced on Oct 2.

Leonardo Helicopters has partnered with Italian special vehicle company Olmedo to further its work on developing more capable emergency medical service capabilities on its helicopters.

The parallel developments of Ariane 6’s components and launch facilities are progressing on time for a first launch in the second half of next year, according to design authority and manufacturer ArianeGroup.

Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) is to establish an aviation cluster in Jeddah as the company gears up for aerospace programs to serve the needs of the Saudi armed forces and government agencies.

The Philippines has taken delivery of two Elbit Systems Hermes 450 medium-altitude, long-endurance surveillance drones, its defense secretary confirmed.

Relativity Space, which plans to launch satellites using entirely 3D-printed rockets, has closed a $140 million Series C funding round.

Australia is stepping up interest in developing both offensive and defensive capability in hypersonic weapons.

RBAF commander, Major General Hamad bin Abdullah al Khalifah, now has to face up to the challenge of ensuring there are enough aircrews trained to fly when the new F-16s and AH-1Zs arrive.

Pratt to reduce future cost of F-35 engines; China’s new stealth-detecting radar; Italian Air Force, Virgin plan research mission and GPS OCX in testing.

After devoting nearly 20 years to buying “exquisite” weapon systems and operating often in isolation from the U.S. Navy, the Marine Corps will spend the next decade revamping a force structure to use lower-cost platforms and integrate tightly with the naval fleets, Commandant Gen. David Berger said Oct. 3.

French aerospace and defense provider Thales on Oct. 3 raised sales and operating performance forecast for the coming years, with the benefits of recently acquired software security company Gemalto “offsetting a more uncertain outlook in the commercial space market and no growth in transport.”

New-space investing is continuing its heady climb in 2019, with the market’s first vertically integrated holding company, Voyager Space Holdings, announced Oct. 2.

The managing director of Leonardo’s helicopter business says he would like to see a role for European industry in the programs that emerge from the U.S. Army’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL).