Defense

With a combined annual supply chain and outsourced budget of $9 billion, the leaders of the future L3 Harris Technologies defense and aerospace services giant will rein in those costs to help reach at least $500 million in savings over three years, the company’s COO-designate said Nov. 29.

German air rescue organization ADAC Luftrettung is to study the feasibility of using Volocopter eVTOL aircraft as air shuttles for emergency doctors.

Boeing and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) signed a cooperative agreement that covers commercial and military aviation, in Israel and globally.

A decade-long pursuit of a forward-firing gun system for the Bell Boeing V-22 tiltrotor aircraft is moving toward a flying experiment.

Details of SpaceX’s planned inflight abort test of the Crew Dragon spacecraft in 2019 have been revealed.

Under DARPA’s Concerto program, BAE Systems demoed a multifunction RF system that could simultaneously perform radar, comm relay and electronic attack in a payload that could be carried on a Group 3 UAV.

India’s national space agency has successfully put into orbit its first Hyper Spectral Imaging Satellite (HysIS).

New Rocket, Ltd. of Israel anticipates the flight readiness of a new green, in-space propulsion system by the end of the first quarter of 2019.

Russia’s newest light transport aircraft; Egypt may buy $1 billion in Apache helos; the impact of Elbit’s IMI acquisition and Malaysia’s drone squadron.

Executives assert the new UTC, unveiled in late November, is positioned for the long-haul in A&D, not just against any one OEM or aircraft.

Nigeria has signed a tentative agreement to order 12 Sierra Nevada/Embraer A-29 light attack aircraft after a long and controversial acquisition process.

Cobham remains in “sensible discussions” with KC-46 prime contractor Boeing over suspended payments due to past issues with its refueling system for the tanker.

The U.S. government has asked Lockheed Martin and potentially other defense companies to boost their missile-making capacity.

The U.S. will reassess Turkey’s continued F-35 participation as one of eight partner nations should it buy Russia’s S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile system.

The first prototype of the Ilyushin Il-112V light transport was rolled out Nov. 27 at the Voroznezh-based VASO facility, a subsidiary of Russia’s UAC.

Boeing and the U.S. have agreed to back a proposed Japanese upgrade program for F-15s, as Tokyo also reportedly plans to buy 100 more F-35 Lightnings.

Kenyan Treasury Secretary, Henry Rotich, has revealed the previously undisclosed acquisition of two or three Alenia C-27J Spartan tactical transport aircraft and an undisclosed number of Agusta Westland AW139 helicopters (thought to be four). Jon Lake reports.

Newly infused with Rockwell Collins, United Technologies announced late Nov. 26 it will spin off non-aerospace business units Carrier and Otis.

The newly posted Pacific Air Forces chief is getting smart on space systems and says there will be an increase of space planners in two combatant commands.

The U.S. Navy is seeking an autonomous cargo-unmanned aerial system and will host an experiment in March to transport a 50-lb. payload.

India’s space agency plans to launch its HysIS Earth observation spacecraft this week, along with 30 smaller piggyback satellites from eight countries.

Boeing has received a new contract to deliver A/MH-6 primary airframe structures to U.S. Army Special Forces, but a bitter legal dispute with the original supplier is continuing.

A Canadian audit says pilot and engineer retention are limiting the capability of the RCAF’s CF-18 Hornet fleet.

NASA’s InSight lander touched down on the flat, wide expanse of Mars’ Elysium Planitia on Nov. 26, wrapping up a seven-month, 300-million-mile (480-million-km) journey.

The topic of human spaceflight risk arose during a Q-&-A session with the crew of a Soyuz MS-11 slated to launch to the ISS on Dec. 3.