Defense

Aero Engine Corp. of China has produced turbine-engine parts in ceramic matrix composite, a material that offers low weight and high resistance to temperature.

Poland will complement its F-35 buy with more F-16s and a loyal wingman unmanned system.

UK-owned F-35B fighters landed on the HMS Queen Elizabeth II for the first time on Oct. 13 off the Atlantic coast of Florida to initiate operational testing the new aircraft carrier.

As the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting set to begin on Oct. 14 in Washington DC, the service’s leadership has embarked on the most ambitious modernization agenda for the aviation branch in over 40 years.

Boeing has demoted Dennis Muilenburg on the board of directors, and giving the chair seat to the company’s leading independent director, David Calhoun, in the wake of the 737 MAX fiasco. Muilenburg will remain president and CEO.

Although the identity of the new owner has not yet being revealed, Stratolaunch has announced that it has “transitioned ownership and is continuing regular operations.”

NASA astronauts Drew Morgan and Christina Koch advanced a month-long, five-spacewalk effort to replace aging power storage batteries along the International Space Station’s (ISS) vaulting solar power truss on Oct. 11 with a nearly 7-hr. excursion.

Avic is emphasizing the adaptability of the Z-20 utility military helicopter, as the Chinese army presents the type for close inspection for the first time.

A UAS appears to be the most likely candidate to replace the Merlin Mk. 2 as the next host platform for the Crowsnest AEW radar or a follow-on system.

The Pentagon will deploy additional U.S. forces and equipment to Saudi Arabia to defend the nation against Iran.

British aerospace trade association ADS has written to senior government ministers in a bid to urgently clarify post-Brexit trading agreements.

Norway has begun reviewing long-term defense plans proposed by its chief of defense as the country beefs up its defenses in the face of new threats.

Raytheon and United Technologies shareowners “overwhelmingly” approved all shareholder proposals necessary to complete the merger of UTC’s aerospace businesses, comprising Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney, with Raytheon.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and SpaceX Founder Elon Musk appeared to be mending fences during a joint Oct. 10 news briefing.

Sikorsky is advancing tests of a UH-60A modified with fly-by-wire flight controls, paving the way for introducing increasing levels of autonomy to its Black Hawk optionally piloted vehicle.

Triumph Group’s continued breakup to the benefit of TECT Aerospace rolled on Oct. 10 with a deal over Triumph’s Nashville, Tennessee, assembly operations.

NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer mission satellite was successfully launched late Oct. 10.

In a draft budget proposal, the Space Development Agency (SDA) is asking Congress for more than $11 billion over five years to plan, design and deploy large constellations of satellites.

Sales of military aircraft and weapons to Turkey would be prohibited and the country’s arms industry would be sanctioned under new legislation that supports the embattled Kurdish population, two U.S. senators say.

Storied aerospace and defense supplier Ducommun announced Oct. 10 that it has acquired Nobles Worldwide, a designer and manufacturer of high-performance ammunition handling systems for military aircraft, helicopters, ground vehicles and shipboard systems.

The prototype for the U.S. Air Force’s low-cost, Loyal Wingman concept sustained damage after completing a third flight test on Oct. 9 at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) says.

In a comment that comes closest to acknowledging a likely slide in the launch target for NASA’s Artemis-1 Space Launch System (SLS) test flight, Ken Bowersox, the acting associate administrator for human exploration and operations, says the mission may not lift off until as late as mid-2021.

As commercial space operations prepare to ramp up to new levels across the U.S., the FAA says it remains on track to issue updated launch and re-entry regulations by the third quarter of 2020.

The U.S. Army confirmed on Oct. 9 that plans are set to conduct the first test flight of the Precision Strike Missile (PRSM) program later this month.

Poland has laid out yet another new plan for the modernization of the country’s armed forces, with the aim of spending 524 billion zlotys ($133 billion) on equipment through 2035.