Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

GENERAL DYNAMICS LAND SYSTEMS and THALES AUSTRALIA signed MOU to submit a bid in response to Australia’s Land 400 Phase 2 - Mounted Combat Reconnaissance Capability Request For Tender. GENERAL DYNAMICS ELECTRIC BOAT laid keel of the submarine Colorado, 15th Virginia-class sub. Delivery date is August 2017.

/site-files/aviationweek.com/files/uploads/2015/03/asd_03_12_2015_dossierspecs.pdf B-52H Stratofortress Specs (See pp. 6-9 for full B-52 Program Dossier) Designation: B-52H Name:

/site-files/aviationweek.com/files/uploads/2015/03/asd_03_12_2015_dossier11.pdf Definition: The B-52 "Stratofortress" is a U.S. long-range, heavy bomber. It was produced by Boeing and continues to be maintained by the company.

By Michael Bruno
“The future is bright for Sikorsky,” says the CEO of the rotorcraft maker’s parent company, United Technologies Corp. (UTC) – but it is not bright enough to keep it inside UTC.
Defense and Space

By Molly McMillin
Aviation trade groups are opposing proposed operating restrictions at East Hampton Airport in New York.

By Molly McMillin
The global aerospace materials market is expected to increase at a 6.6% compound annual growth rate through 2019, reaching $18.5 billion in value, a new study shows.

By Tony Osborne
Deliveries of the first JAS-39E Gripens to Sweden will now take place in 2019, a year later than previously planned.

By Bradley Perrett
Entry into service of China’s future workhorse space launcher, Long March 7, has slipped again, with the first flight now scheduled for next year.

By Bradley Perrett
Selection is due by the end of March, a government official tells the Chosun newspaper in Seoul.

By Mark Carreau
Three U.S. and Russian astronauts returned to Earth after departing the International Space Station aboard their Soyuz-TMA-14M spacecraft and descending under parachute into central Kazakhstan.

The Zumwalt’s electric drive and other technological improvements underscore the Navy’s efforts to harness energy resources more efficiently at sea, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus says.

By Bradley Perrett
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) says it has verified the viability of long-distance wireless power transmission, which could be used for space-based solar power generation, and will now pursue practical application of the technology.

A diplomatic dispute between Sweden and Saudi Arabia could threaten future defense sales but leaves current deals intact.

French defense procurement agency DGA has selected Airbus Defense and Space and Thales to co-prime design and construction of Europe’s first operational space-based military signals intelligence system.

SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT began final assembly of second S-97 RAIDER at its Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, FL. BRISTOW HELICOPTERS plans April

GenCorp is changing its corporate name to Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, and will undergo a four-year restructuring effort in that propulsion unit. The

By Mark Carreau
Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus hosts a deep ocean of moderate alkalinity that interacts with a hot rocky core, producing hydrothermal conditions similar to those that may have spawned the first living organisms on early Earth, a study shows.

By Tony Osborne
The Turkish government has decided to cease operations with its McDonnell Douglas RF-4E Phantom reconnaissance aircraft following a series of fatal accidents.

Solid-propulsion engineers are evaluating data from the static test of a five-segment solid-rocket booster designed to boost NASA’s planned Space Launch System heavy lifter off the pad when it begins moving human explorers beyond low Earth orbit.

The first 18 Rafale jets are to be built in France. After that, India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. would take over production of the remaining aircraft.
Defense and Space

By Jay Menon
India will conduct a test flight of its reusable launch vehicle this year, marking a significant step toward bringing down the cost of access to space technology.

The U.K.’s Conservative Party may promise to hold defense spending at 2% of gross domestic product before the country’s general election in May, according to Michael Fallon, the secretary of state for defense.

By Tony Osborne
The addition of the Ground-Launched-Small Diameter Bomb could allow the artillery system to hit targets with precision over a longer distance than currently possible with the Multiple Launch Rocket System.

As the U.S. Navy and other organizations study the Arctic more carefully, they will have to rely more on robotic-based research, says Martin Jeffries, Arctic science advisor and program officer for Arctic and global prediction at the Office of Naval Research (ONR).

The Defense Department and U.S. Navy will need to develop new areas of expertise, authorities and planning processes, particularly in areas that span different battle domains, according to a U.S. Naval War College (NWC) game report.