Defense

Speedy V-280 tiltrotor, predicting flutter in real time, airborne wind power, certifying ScanEagle3, and landing UAVs on ships.

Sikorsky’s S-76 autonomy testbed flies military mission profiles in preparation for UH-60 demos under DARPA’s ALIAS program.

Private discussions between the U.S. Air Force and the commercial space launch industry broke onto a public stage on Oct. 27.

Damage from Hurricane Michael to multiple Lockheed Martin F-22s stuck on a Florida U.S. Air Force base also shook the service’s confidence in existing data about the structural integrity of its aging facilities.

Pakistan has announced plans to launch its first-ever human spaceflight mission in 2022, the same year that its South Asian arch-rival India proposes to begin its own manned human space program.

The first flight test aircraft, 39-8 unleashed an IRIS-T short-range air-to-air missile over the Vidsel weapons range earlier in October, Saab announced on Oct. 26.

UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS) has completed a 600-kt. F-16D Viper dual-shot Advanced Concept Ejection Seat-5 (ACES-5) sled test.

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is planning an experiment using a high-energy laser or high-power microwave to conduct precision airborne strike and aircraft self-defense.

An exo-atmospheric SM-3 Block IIA interceptor scored a kill against a ballistic missile target on Oct. 26, marking the second successful test for the developmental weapon in four tries.

Selection of the MQ-9B would make Belgium the second country to choose the Sky Guardian after the UK, which has chosen the platform as the basis for its Protector UAS program.

Comprehensive captive-carry flight-test campaign awaits 747 and LauncherOne combination following successful fit check with rocket and wing pylon.

“It is a lost opportunity to strengthen European industrial cooperation in times when the EU [European Union] is called upon to increase its joint defense efforts,” Airbus said.

Pentagon Comptroller David Norquist will be preparing two fiscal 2020 budgets—one at $700 billion and another 4.5% larger—to illustrate tradeoffs.

Demand for eventual reuse has prompted redesign of China’s Long March 8 space launcher.

Based in New South Wales, the squadron is operating two types of drone, the Boeing Insitu ScanEagle and Schiebel S-100 Camcopter.

Spirit AeroSystems is withdrawing its application for European Commission approval of its acquisition of Asco Industries so it can address a hang-up.

The long-planned second version, intended for launching satellites to geostationary transfer orbit, could be flown next year if development is begun soon, a source says.

Japanese program planners hope the country’s next fighter will make its first flight in 2025, local researchers believe, although separate reports put this target in doubt.

A senior Russian defense official says analysis by the Russian military indicates the swarming drone attack must have been orchestrated by a U.S. Navy P-8 flying off the coast of Syria.

Taiwan’s program to upgrade Lockheed Martin F-16A/Bs to the F-16V standard is running behind schedule, with completion now due in 2023, a year later than previously planned.

“Textron Systems is now positioned to be a global provider of unmanned capabilities across all three domains," President and CEO Lisa Atherton said.

The U.S. should plan for the cost of an unbounded missile competition to encourage Russia and China to negotiate new missile controls.

Defense Department officials continue to lay the framework for a U.S. Space Force and will submit a proposal to the White House in early December.

NASA’s planned return to the Moon with astronauts nurture a range of technologies and capabilities needed to establish an Antarctic-like field station on Mars, according to a recent exploration workshop.

Insitu is moving toward full FAA type certification of its ScanEagle3 unmanned aircraft system by the fourth quarter of 2019.