Since BAE has performed overhauls on the 33 aircraft since delivering them to the RAAF between 1999 and 2001, the new contract with the defense department means it will be responsible for all maintenance of the aircraft.

Japanese defense technologists are working on an anti-aircraft missile guidance system that would better handle stealthy targets by predicting their movements. By calculating where a maneuvering target will be, the system can detect low-radar-cross-section aircraft at longer ranges and optimize the flight path of the missile, says the defense ministry’s Technology Research and Development Institute (TRDI). The work is part of a TRDI technology-acquisition program for future Japanese air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles.

A year before its delayed first flight, the largest of China’s new family of space launchers is progressing through testing. The propulsion systems of the two core stages and the booster have now all been fired.