China

The Long March 8A rocket lifted off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Wenchang, Hainan, on Feb. 11 at around 5:30 p.m. Beijing time.

Valued at $26.3 million, the orders included 200 medium-altitude, 100 heavyweight and 100 lightweight logistics drones.

The metals are crucial inputs for a wide variety of defense systems, and the U.S. has limited domestic reserves and stockpiles.

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

Direct flights between India and mainland China may be allowed to resume soon thanks to an agreement between their respective governments.

Licenses will now be required by Chinese manufacturers that wish to export 20 products that use tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, indium and molybdenum.

The December quarter was notable by TransDigm’s standards for not including any new M&A deals.

Eve Air Mobility has conducted the first test of the pusher propulsion motor on its full-scale prototype electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicle.

Chinese satellite startup Ada Space Technology has filed preliminary paperwork to go public.

Even if the Middle East is no longer the only game in town for defense exports, it still has ample appetite for advanced equipment, from drones to transports.

Unveiled at the Zhuhai Airshow in November, the CH-YH1000 is a medium-altitude multipurpose aircraft for civil and military missions.

A crippling lack of key indigenous infrastructure and skills continues to hold back India’s defense industry, despite rising investment.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency plans the fifth mission for the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H3 rocket on Feb. 1.

The 2,000-kg (4,400-lb.) gross weight electric aircraft received its Chinese type certificate in March 2024.

The onset of the pandemic and a 2020 border clash that heightened tensions between China and India resulted in the prolonged suspension of all scheduled routes.

President Donald Trump’s State Department has announced that the U.S. export control system authorized a whopping $318 billion in foreign arms sales in 2024.

The third stage was lost about 3 sec. after ignition, triggering the rocket's self-destruct mechanism.

The Hyderabad-based Defense Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL) ran an active-cooled scramjet combustor for 120 sec.

Singapore’s Changi Airport saw China at the top of its 2024 rankings, with the country taking the top spot in the passenger and cargo segment.

The country’s major carriers have hundreds of aircraft on order or pending, and big airport projects are underway.

China’s Sichuan Lingkong Tianxing Technology on Jan. 20 unveiled its Yunxing family of supersonic aircraft, alongside the Jindou-400 supersonic engine.

The Department of the Air Force, in a report released Jan. 13 that looks at its future, paints a picture of space as becoming a cold or potentially hot battlefield.

The leader of the U.S. Air Force and Space Force in 25 years will have some new tools.

China’s electric first; Europe’s regional certification; Dutch LH2 demo; and South Korean eVTOL.

Readers write about China and supply chain, terrain technology, Orion’s heat shield, helos over the Hudson and the AW&ST digital edition. Plus: Behind the Scenes in Australasia.