The competition was to design a four-seat electric general-aviation aircraft that would be competitive with piston-powered aircraft when it entered service in 2020.
With the U.S. Navy focusing on replacing its Ohio-class nuclear-powered strategic missile fleet, the Senate confirmed the current naval nuclear propulsion program director earlier this month as the next chief of naval operations (CNO).
Two spacewalking cosmonauts marched through 11 tasks outside the International Space Station’s Russian segment on Aug. 10 while colleagues inside tested food grown in space for the first time.
In agreeing to pay $37.2 billion for specialty metals and parts supplier Precision Castparts, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett signals his confidence that demand for large commercial jets will continue to outpace global economic growth.
India’s plan to acquire 16 S-70B Seahawk helicopters from Sikorsky is likely to slip further as the U.S. company lobbies to raise the price of the long-delayed deal.
China’s reef development may be part of an Asian trend, but the country’s activities have considerable military potential, according to a recent Rand Corp. analysis.
Research sponsored by the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) could yield a more effective way to utilize bandwidth to accommodate large numbers of simultaneous users.
While opportunity exists for U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs, there is still doubt about the availability of resources, says Michael Petters, CEO for Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding, the nation’s leading naval shipbuilder. Petters cites opportunity in undersea unmanned systems and points to the recent new LPD acquisition as examples of the potential for U.S. Navy work, but also calls attention to funding questions.
While opportunity exists for U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs, there is still doubt about the availability of resources, says Michael Petters, CEO for Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding, the nation’s leading naval shipbuilder. Petters cites opportunity in undersea unmanned systems and points to the recent new LPD acquisition as examples of the potential for U.S. Navy work, but also calls attention to funding questions.
U.S. AIR FORCE completed first F-35A aerial-refueling certification flight with an Italian air force KC-767A tanker July 29 over California, completing 25 boom contacts and transferring 16,000 lb. of fuel. LOCKHEED MARTIN delivered another C-5M airlifter to the U.S. Air Force at Travis, AFB, CA, on Aug. 5, six weeks ahead of contracted delivery date.
Aerospace and defense (A&D) companies are continuing to divest lower-margin businesses such as IT services, according to an analysis of second-quarter global A&D merger & acquisition (M&A) activity by PwC. During the quarter, there were eleven deals worth more than $50 million, with a total value of $3.9 billion, including six divestitures. Deals were down but total value increased compared to the first quarter, which recorded eight deals worth $8.5 billion.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Aug. 31-Sept. 2—AIAA Space and Astronautics Forum and Exposition (Space 2015), Pasadena Convention Center, Pasadena, California. For more information go to www.aiaa-space.org
The U.S. Air Force is taking a major step forward in its long-desired plan to begin replacing the E-8C Joint Stars air-to-ground surveillance fleet with the release of three competitive contracts to develop next-generation concepts.
Airbus Group thinks industry should put aside its rivalries and work together to advance the technologies required for a hybrid-electric 100-seat airliner.
Little by little spacecraft are becoming a little more "livable" with useful technologies and amenities that may help to bring future months-to-years long explorations of deep space destinations possible.
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.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN reorganized Aerospace Systems business, appointing Chris Hernandez vice president of new research, technology and advanced design organization; Mary Petryszyn vice president of new global business development organization; Tom Pieronek vice president of basic research, reporting to Hernandez. Hernandez and Petryszyn will report to Aerospace Systems head Tom Vice.
On Aug. 1, Russian Air Force, Air Defense and Space troops were merged into a new service called Aerospace Forces. The single command will have responsibility for aviation, air and anti-ballistic missile defense, space-tracking systems, and launching and operating Russia’s military spacecraft. The Russian defense ministry says the creation of the Aerospace Forces reflects the fact that the center of gravity for military action is shifting to aerospace.
The Kremlin announced Aug. 5 that the presidents of both countries made a joint decision to terminate the deal over the phone. “The dispute over the Mistrals is considered to be fully settled in Moscow,” reported the Kremlin press service.
Proposals by Internet giants Amazon and Google on how low-altitude airspace could be redesigned and managed to enable large-scale operations by small unmanned aircraft systems have met a cautious response from the organizations likely to be most affected.
RAF sources told Aviation Week the Typhoons were not using the full capability of their weapon systems and that in the “realistic operational” scenarios conducted during the exercise, the Typhoon performance was superior.
