Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Mark Carreau
The crew of the International Space Station (ISS) initiated the scheduled deployments of 16 CubeSats over three days early Oct. 5.
Defense and Space

By Tony Osborne
Britain will invest in a new fleet of Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) unmanned air systems, Prime Minister David Cameron has announced.
Defense and Space

By Tony Osborne
The Astraea (Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation & Assessment) program just completed 18 months of work on a virtual certification process, but has no funding in place for its next phase.
Defense and Space

By Jay Menon
Antrix Corporation Ltd., the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), has been ordered by an international tribunal to pay compensation and damages totaling $672 million to Devas Multimedia Pvt. Ltd.
Defense and Space

NORTHROP GRUMMAN has $3.2b U.S. Air Force contract for development, modernization, retrofit, sustainment for all

Lockheed Martin’s space fence program has cleared its U.S. Air Force critical design review, including plans for

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is continuing to voice concerns he raised when he was the Pentagon’s acquisition chief over the continuing trend of mergers, acquisitions and consolidation involving major defense contractors. “What I said then, and still believe, is that it was important to avoid excessive consolidation in the defense industry, to the point where we did not have multiple vendors who could compete with one another on many programs,” he says.

FORECAST INTERNATIONAL predicts 1,304 light military rotorcraft (<15,000 lb. each) will be produced worldwide from 2015-34; production valued at $19.9b in constant U.S. dollars. Annual production projected to increase from 171 units in 2015 to 223 in 2016, then decrease, reaching a low of 68 units in 2022 and 2023.

To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Oct. 6-7—SpeedNews 20th Annual Business & General Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference, Jonathon Club, Los Angeles, California. For more information go to http://events.aviationweek.com/current/public/enter.aspx

After being the monopoly rocket supplier to the U.S. government for national security launches for nearly 10 years, the tables have turned for United Launch Alliance.
Space

By Graham Warwick
Having flown its S-97 Raider high-speed rotorcraft a second time, Sikorsky is looking forward to the merger with Lockheed Martin and to working closely with the defense giant on missionizing the light tactical helicopter for potential customers.
Defense and Space

By Graham Warwick
The Kestrel Maritime ViDAR system has been developed by Australian computer-vision software company Sentient and ScanEagle sensor supplier Hood Technology for installation on the Block D version of the UAV now deployed with most customers.
Defense and Space

By Graham Warwick
Hybrid-airship developer Aeros plans to freeze the configuration of its ML866 66-ton-payload cargo airship by year’s end. Work underway includes developing test articles for structural components and the buoyancy-management system.
Defense and Space

By Graham Warwick
Calspan has received a $1.57 million contract to provide a next-generation variable-stability system (VSS) for a Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter flown by the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School (NTPS) at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland.
Defense and Space

By Graham Warwick
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have developed a new polymeric fuel additive that could reduce the intensity of post-impact explosions, potentially without adversely affecting engine performance.
Defense and Space

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is still voicing concerns about the trend of mergers, acquisitions and consolidation involving major defense contractors.
Defense and Space

Programs
Though the bulk of ULA’s work is still with the U.S. government and will remain so for years to come, CEO Tory Bruno is posturing the company to be more competitive in the commercial market.
Space

By Tony Osborne
The U.K. defense ministry is looking at expanding its presence in the Middle East with a possible new naval facility in Oman.
Defense and Space

The growing cost of the aircraft carrier CVN 78 Gerald R. Ford is the result of bad business decisions, a recent GAO report says.
Defense and Space

Researchers backed by NASA and the U.S. military will have access to some data from Italy’s
Defense and Space

HARRIS CORP. has $390m contract for two-channel hand-held radios with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a two-month continuing resolution Sept. 30 that funds the

By Graham Warwick
Hard on the heels of its stunning images of the shockwaves produced by a supersonic aircraft via air-to-air schlieren photography, NASA has released similar images taken from the ground and using the Sun as the background.

By Mark Carreau
Russia’s Progress 61 resupply capsule sprinted toward an Oct. 1 rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station following a successful liftoff.
Defense and Space

A CR lasting longer than the one now in place until Dec. 11 would slice the number of F-35s the Pentagon plans to buy in its next production lot.
Defense and Space