Defense

The Global Combat Air Program continues to make quiet progress despite appearing to be in contract limbo.

Planet Labs is trying to get a new satellite production facility in Germany operational before year-end, though timing is somewhat linked to securing approvals.

The day that China will outspend the rest of Asia on defense has slipped into the 2030s. Here’s why.

Large defense companies and startups alike are challenging the de facto duopoly of Northrop Grumman and L3Harris-owned Aerojet Rocketdyne.

Following a banner year of satellite launches and two reusable launch attempts, China appears poised to demonstrate more cutting-edge tech on orbit in 2026.

The U.S. military is opening a second acquisition track for affordable and mass-producible missiles.

The U.S. Navy wants to develop a new, compact air-to-air missile using emerging highly loaded grain solid rocket motor energetics.

Denmark is increasing its military activity in Greenland and may send combat aircraft there amid the U.S. government’s interest in acquiring the island.

Divergent regional trends in global defense spending are a further reminder that this defense market boom is different from those seen in recent decades.

France has yet to find a ride to space for its twin-nanosatellite “Yoda” demonstration program for geostationary patrol against potential unfriendly spacecraft.

NH90 crews from France and Spain will be the first to benefit from an upgraded helmet-mounted sight that will also unlock planned upgrades for the rotorcraft.

Open Cosmos received Ka-band spectrum rights through Liechtenstein as the European space tech company prepares to deploy an LEO broadband satellite system.

Upcoming European Defense Fund-backed projects will validate hypersonic glide vehicle data while narrowing Europe’s options for a future interceptor.

Astro Mechanica’s hybrid-electric powerplant operates as a turbofan, turbojet and ramjet.

Startup sees space-based radar as cheaper than aircraft-based AWACs.

The need to refresh and bolster air forces in Southeast Asia outpaces the urgency for action.

25 Years Ago in Aviation Week The cover of Aviation Week & Space Technology’s Feb. 19, 2001, issue featured an artist’s concept of Northrop Grumman's Pegasus X-47A unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) flying over the U.S. Navy's test facility at China Lake, California.

A recent series of ground tests validated a rotation detonation ramjet linked to a supersonic inlet for the first time.

The Department of Defense will invest $150 million to produce gallium in Louisiana.

The Defense Department has unveiled a new strategy meant to hasten the adoption of new artificial intelligence technologies.

Luminary Cloud, a U.S. startup applying artificial intelligence to physics-based engineering simulation, has expanded its range of design models.

President Donald Trump’s new attack on defense industry shareholder awards and executive pay will be problematic for the entire sector.

Blended wing body (BWB) startup JetZero says development of its full-size demo will accelerate following a successful Series B financing round.

Startup Array Labs is attempting to develop formation-flying radar satellites to study the feasibility of conducting “persistent, wide-area” airborne moving target indication missions from space.

Sierra Nevada Company has used its own funding to buy another Bombardier Global 6500 for the U.S. Army’s future ME-11B surveillance aircraft fleet.