Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Brian Everstine
The NASA- and Northrop Grumman-developed observatory is “probably the most significant engineering feat of our time,” Northrop CEO Kathy Warden tells Aviation Week.
Space

Global commercial helicopter operator Bristow Group has signed a letter of intent with Elroy Air to order up to 100 Chaparral hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing uncrewed cargo aircraft for logistics, health care and energy markets.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Tony Osborne
Ireland plans to raise national defense spending almost 50% by 2028 to meet an increased level of ambition for the country’s armed forces.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Defense Department has requested high-level configuration proposals for a Blended Wing Body (BWB) that can be 30% more efficient than the aerodynamics of the Boeing 767 and Airbus A330 and combine with a new generation of propulsion technology to reduce fuel burn more than 60% by 2030 compared to the current technology.
Multi-Mission Aircraft

By Graham Warwick
Germany’s Elektra Solar has begun flight testing its two-seat electric ultralight Elektra Trainer.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Mark Carreau
NASA and its partners promise there will be much more to come from the just-commissioned James Webb Space Telescope, following the release of its first five science images on July 12.
Space

By Tony Osborne
A Leonardo official says the company hopes to find additional orders for its AW101 three-engine heavy helicopter as a potential replacement for Russian-built platforms.
Farnborough Airshow

By Steve Trimble
Rotorcraft manufacturer Bell says the 360 Invictus helicopter is 90% complete and released pictures of the first competitive prototype carrying a full load of weapons.
Farnborough Airshow

By Steve Trimble
Russian state news agency TASS describes the so-called Zmeevik missile, which means “Serpentine,” as an “aircraft carrier killer."
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Graham Warwick
Israeli startup AIR has conducted the first hover tests with a full-scale prototype of its AIR One personal electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Graham Warwick
French hybrid-electric aircraft startup VoltAero has called for increased coordination among European airworthiness authorities on recognition for experimental aircraft to facilitate the demonstration of electric aircraft across borders.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Garrett Reim
Aerospace company Thales Group, mobile phone chip maker Qualcomm Technologies and telecommunications company Ericsson plan to test and validate low Earth orbit satellite-based 5G network technologies for mobile phones.
Connectivity

By Chen Chuanren
Canada’s CMC Electronics (CMC) will upgrade the avionics of the Republic of Korea Air Force's KAI KA-1 light attack turboprops.
Light Attack and Advanced Training

By Chen Chuanren
Volocopter plans to launch commercial air taxi services in Singapore by 2024.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Mark Carreau
President Biden unveiled the first image marking the start of the James Webb Space Telescope’s long-anticipated initial science campaign on July 11 that featured a stirring, full-color view of the now-vast universe from its earliest and not previously witnessed era.
Space

By Garrett Reim
The U.S. Space Force has awarded Northrop Grumman Space Systems a $22.1 million contract for the Rapid On-orbit Space Technology Evaluation Ring (Rooster), a ridesharing spacecraft that will be used to demonstrate on-orbit refueling technology and other prototypes.
Space

By Graham Warwick
Universal Hydrogen has inaugurated its European engineering design center and headquarters at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport and displayed the ATR 72-500 regional tur
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
A new production forecast by the U.S. Defense Department (DOD) predicts initial yearly deliveries of 48 to 72 hypersonic missiles powered by air-breathing engines.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Steve Trimble
Lockheed Martin’s Aculight division in Bothel, Washington, announced on July 11 that it has delivered the Laser Advancements for Next-generation Compact Environments (LANCE) subsystem to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Graham Warwick
German startup Nex Aero has taken the wraps off plans to develop a longer range electric vertical takeoff and landing air taxi powered by gaseous hydrogen and fuel cells.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Graham Warwick
Australia’s aviation regulator has outlined a long-term vision for the integration of drones and air taxis into the country’s aviation system, envisioning highly automated advanced air mobility by the mid-2030s.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Tony Osborne
The French Air Force has retired the Dassault Mirage 2000C from operational service, leaving just three variants of the delta-winged fighter in French service.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Victoria Moores
Dublin-headquartered lessor SMBC Aviation Capital has written off the full value of 34 aircraft stranded in Russia.
Airlines & Lessors

By Brian Everstine
Boeing is fielding more interest in its CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter in Europe, with two more nations inquiring about the aircraft after the company and Germany announced a deal in early June.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Turkey’s Defense Procurement Minister says the air force will begin fielding indigenous air-to-air missiles later this year.
Missile Defense & Weapons