Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Jen DiMascio
The U.S. Air Force has selected Redwire and other select companies to compete to win task orders and contribute to its Advanced Battle Management System.
Space Symposium

By Graham Warwick
Helicopter leasing company Lobo Leasing has signed a letter of intent with Pipistrel that includes deposits for the acquisition of 15 Nuuva V300 hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing unmanned cargo aircraft.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Irene Klotz
The largest commercial procurement of launch vehicles in history has seen Amazon sign contracts for a fleet of up to 83 heavy-lift launchers to send its Kuiper constellation into orbit.
Space Symposium

By Chen Chuanren
Concerned about the military build-up in the Indo-Pacific and threats against Australia, Canberra is spending A$3.5 billion ($2.6 billion) to accelerate deliveries of two types of missile.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Jen DiMascio
Lockheed Martin plans to launch two self-funded satellites by 2023 that could be used in military exercises that year to demonstrate parts of the military’s vision for joint all-domain operations.
Space Symposium

By Graham Warwick
As it works to establish design and manufacturing operations in Montreal, Jaunt Air Mobility has secured two new Canadian investors and advisors, retired Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu and entrepreneur Mitch Garber.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Steve Trimble
The “Modular Advanced Missile” program appears for the first time in the Pentagon’s fiscal 2023 budget request documents.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Graham Warwick
Helicopter and commercial aircraft brokerage Blueberry Aviation has signed an agreement to support Swiss startup Dufour Aerospace in securing launch customers for its Aero2 and Aero3 hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Mark Carreau
The test was scrubbed at 5 p.m. EDT while the Mission Management Team and Launch Control Team assessed their options
Space Symposium

By Graham Warwick
GE Aviation will develop and test a megawatt-class hybrid-electric powerplant under a $5.1 million contract from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory that will further develop technologies applicable to Future Vertical Lift, GE says.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Tony Osborne
The U.S. State Department has approved the sale of an additional eight Block 70 Lockheed Martin F-16s for Bulgaria. A second batch made up of four single-seat F-16Cs and four twin-seat F-16Ds and a package of weapons have been requested by Sofia, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced April 4.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Michael Bruno
Employment in the core U.S. space industry workforce is at a 10-year high, climbing past 2011’s last peak of 149,818 to reach 151,797, according to preliminary 2021 U.S. data cited by the Space Foundation on April 4.
Space Symposium

By Garrett Reim
Lockheed Martin on April 4 released online an open-source interface standard for on-orbit satellite docking.
Space Symposium

By Graham Warwick
Sikorsky is in discussions with the U.S. Army on its requirements for modernization of the legacy UH-60 Black Hawk fleet that will continue in operation after the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft enters service in the early 2030s.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Michael Bruno
Maritime Launch Services, a six-year-old startup looking to operate Canada’s first commercial spaceport and offer low Earth orbit launch services via the Ukrainian Cyclone-4M system, has taken another step toward becoming a publicly traded company in Canada after a reverse merger with an investment group.
Space Symposium

By Graham Warwick
Sikorsky has reached the power-on milestone with its Raider X prototype, but like rival Bell, is awaiting delayed delivery of GE Aviation’s T901 turboshaft to complete assembly of its contender for the U.S. Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance aircraft (FARA) program.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Guy Norris
Almost a year after its ruggedized HPE Spaceborne Computer-2 (SBC-2) was installed on the International Space Station (ISS), Hewlett Packard Enterprise says its advanced artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled processor system has completed 24 research experiments and accelerated data analysis time from months to minutes.
Space Symposium

By Steve Trimble
The award adds a second major piece of the long-term plan to replace Boeing E-6Bs with Lockheed Martin C-130J-30s for the Take-Charge-And-Move-Out (TACAMO) mission.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Tony Osborne
The German Air Force is urging politicians to move ahead with plans to replace its Sikorsky CH-53 Stallion transport helicopters as it struggles to keep the rotorcraft operational.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
Pioneer Aerospace, an experienced manufacturer of parachutes and aerodynamic deceleration systems for NASA space missions, has been acquired by Aviation Safety Resources, a company developing aircraft recovery parachute systems for the advanced air mobility market.
AFA Air Space and Cyber Conference

U.S./Spanish startup Skydweller is to add a hydrogen fuel-cell power system to its extreme-endurance, solar-powered unmanned aircraft under a $14 million contract from the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit in conjunction with the U.S. Navy.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Tony Osborne
The UK Ministry of Defense has ordered the first satellite to support the development of its Minerva constellation, the communications backbone for a family of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites.
Space Symposium

By Jen DiMascio
The company recently tested its Protected Tactical Enterprise Service (PTES), a U.S. Space Force program to develop a ground-based anti-jam capability within the Protected Anti-Jam Tactical Satcom portfolio.
Space Symposium

By Michael Bruno
Astra Space, a small rocket startup that became a publicly traded company last year via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) but which has struggled with successful missions, plans to add turnkey satellite busses to its offering in 2023.
Space Symposium

By Graham Warwick
Hydrogen-electric propulsion startup ZeroAvia has partnered with zero-emission vehicle refueling company ZEV Station to develop a hydrogen refueling infrastructure for airports in California.
Emerging Technologies