Defense

Company CEO Hakan Bushke says his company has had “fruitful discussions” with the UK and other partners on FCAS as he presented the company’s 2018 annual results Feb. 15.

The Israeli Air Force has purchased seven Leonardo AW119 single-engine light helicopters to support helicopter training.

The U.S. Navy will hold an industry collaborative exchange in March to improve tactical aircraft programs.

Astronics, a key sub-tier supplier of aircraft passenger seat power and other products to the aerospace and defense industries, has closed the sale of its semiconductor business unit.

NASA is considering buying two more seats on Russian Soyuz capsules flying to the International Space Station.

India will soon begin an ambitious program to develop a Supersonic Omni Role Trainer Aircraft (Sport).

A European satellite has demonstrated a harpoon system designed to capture debris in orbit.

A new plan is forming to solve the plague of physiological episodes for military pilots by monitoring them like engines.

Spain has formally joined France and Germany to support the development of a European Future Combat Air System (FCAS).

Korea Aerospace Industries unveiled the first structural component produced for the KF-X fighter during a Feb. 14 factory ceremony.

NASA’s newly selected SPHEREx mission will survey distant galaxies and the Milky Way to help chart the evolution of the universe and the presence of water and organics.

Airbus has taken yet another financial hit on the development of the A400M, but says it managed to achieve a “significant de-risking” of the airlifter in 2018.

Germany is expected to place a follow-on order for Eurofighters as it looks to replace its older-model Tranche 1 aircraft.

In his first speech as NASA’s deputy administrator, James Morhard emphasized that the space agency’s future depends on private industry partnerships.

Los Angeles-based startup Relativity Space has been granted a patent for a machine-learning technique for its additive manufacturing process.

The U.S. needs to modernize its NC3—the out-of-date and all-but-invisible glue that holds the nation’s nuclear deterrence together.

Hurdles to exporting U.S. UAVs, F-35 MRO contracts, India’s naval utility helicopter program progresses, and a joint missile defense exercise.

SpaceX on Feb. 11 filed a protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office over NASA’s $148.3 million award to ULA to launch its Lucy asteroid explorer.

Long-running efforts to re-establish communications with NASA’s intrepid Opportunity rover on Mars have come to a close.

The U.S. Air Force has announced plans to buy 50 AGM-158C long-range anti-ship missiles from Lockheed Martin for the third lot of low rate initial production.

Boeing and Safran have named their joint venture for auxiliary power units (APUs), calling it Initium Aerospace.

Target Arm is to add autonomous precision navigation to its prototype Talon universal launch and recovery platform for small UAS under a contract from the USAF.

Industry in Denmark, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and the UK have secured component repair work for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

India is taking the next steps toward shortlisting Indian strategic partners and foreign manufacturers to produce 111 Naval Utility Helicopters (NUH).

U.S. Trump administration officials have publicly acknowledged ongoing problems with the export of UAVs that the aerospace industry has voiced for some time.