Missile Defense & Weapons

Russia buys interim fighter-bombers; GA-ASI to vie for MQ-9 replacement; KC-46 RVS testing coming; COVID-19 contractor relief bill?

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

A consortium of Belgian, French, German, Italian and Polish companies and research institutes has been selected to begin research on electromagnetic railguns.

In response to the novel coronavirus, the U.S. military was forced to think outside the box on how to produce pilots.

A scramjet-powered missile developed under the joint DARPA/U.S. Air Force Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) program was destroyed in a recent test accident, Aviation Week has learned.

Camp Simba in Kenya and Al Asad Air Base in Iraq both came under attack in January in a way that dramatized the wide range of vulnerabilities facing U.S. air bases around the world.

The U.S. Air Force and Department of Energy have qualified the B61-12 tailkit for the F-15E.

An inadvertent disclosure on an Army social media site reveals an advanced new concept already in flight testing.

A satellite laser communication terminal developed by General Atomics’ Electromagnetic Systems division will be demonstrated in orbit in 2021, the company says.

A planned, sole-source $9.9 million contract will support a new Missile Defense Agency High-Power Microwave Testbed with Raytheon’s technology.

The successful test was performed June 3 at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, and collected data that will be used to refine signal processing algorithms.

The Space Development Agency is moving forward with plans to put on contract the initial phases of its ambitious next-generation U.S. Defense Space

A nearly year-long setback for the Tactical Boost Glide program will cause a similar delay for the U.S. Air Force’s AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, the U.S. Government Accountability Office says.

An extended-range anti-radiation missile developed by the U.S. Navy performed a captive-carry test on June 1, paving the way for flight testing to

China is reaping rewards from investment in air-to-air missiles, exports are beginning to follow.

The demonstration showed the potential targeting range of the 15-year-old weapon system, with one missile fired at a target 90 km (60 mi.) away and the second at a target 400 km away.

Leonardo says it has completed flight testing for the latest phase enhancement upgrade for the Eurofighter Typhoon, paving the way for the delivery of active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar-equipped aircraft to Kuwait.

Technology is rapidly shaping new generations of Western air-to-air missiles, as the need to outrange adversary weapons grows.

New experiments show the concept works, but is the "Arsenal Plane" the answer to the Air Force's capacity problem?

BAE says the successful firings at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona show the weapon can allow mounted and dismounted units to engage soft and lightly armored targets.

U.S. Navy’s training system search; Finland seeks export OK for fighters; an Army SHORAD slowdown; and satellite sensor design advances.

Air-to-air missiles once helped shape fighter aircraft, now they drive size of fleets as longer-ranges missiles hold foes at length.

U.S. federal agencies have formally petitioned the FCC to reconsider its order allowing Ligado Networks access to spectrum near GPS.

Six U.S. military bases are gearing up to receive adversary air services from industry with the possibility of a European expansion.

The U.S. Army Interim Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense program is a few months behind schedule because of a combination of software challenges and the spread of the novel coronavirus.