Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Steve Trimble
A design change of the Bell 360 Invictus was driven by the release of the U.S. Army ’s list of requirements for mission systems, the company’s CEO said Oct. 7.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Michael Bruno
A new U.S. Justice Department initiative unveiled this week could mean lawsuits against federal contractors that try to hide cybersecurity attacks, as well as rewards for whistleblowers.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Michael Bruno
CAES, the former Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions now under private equity, has announced construction of its new additive manufacturing (AM) operations in Exeter, New Hampshire, for the 3D-printed radio frequency (RF) products partnership that the U.S. company unveiled earlier this year with SWISSto12.
Commercial Space

By Irene Klotz
A 12U cubesat housing a nearly 900-sq.-ft. solar sail system developed by NASA will launch on a Rocket Lab Electron rideshare mission in mid-2022 for a trial run in low Earth orbit.
Space

By Brian Everstine
The Space Development Agency’s transition to the U.S. Space Force should not add additional bureaucracy because the agency is already going as fast as companies can move to bring new systems to space and unnecessary oversight would slow down that process, the SDA’s leader said.
Space

By Chen Chuanren
Israel Aerospace Industries has provided more details about the features and capabilities of the Proteus Advanced Systems’ Blue Spear anti-surface missile, adapted from the company’s Gabriel V missile.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Graham Warwick
A project to demonstrate low-carbon production of sustainable aviation fuel from corn stover—the leaves and stalks left in fields after harvesting—has been funded by the U.S. Energy Department.
Emerging Technologies

By Michael Bruno
Muon’s small satellites will focus on dense, scientific-grade measurements of the atmosphere, ocean, and land processes.
Commercial Space

By Michael Bruno
Texas took the top spot in the consultancy’s annual Aerospace Manufacturing Index rankings thanks to union-leading scores in subcategories including industry, economy and tax policy.
Manufacturing & Supply Chain

By Graham Warwick
Identifying advanced air mobility as a target market, Solvay has introduced a new thermoset composite resin system while ramping up its capacity to meet growing demand for thermoplastic composites.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Brian Everstine
Boeing on Oct. 6 handed over the 48th KC-46 to the U.S. Air Force, the latest delivery in a year that has seen several missed deadlines due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and a lingering problem of foreign object debris inside the tankers.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
NASA has reassigned astronauts that were to have flown on the first crewed flight test and first planned operational flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner to the International Space Station (ISS) as the company continues to work through a propellant valve issue that delayed a second attempt at an uncrewed test flight.
Space

By Steve Trimble
Lockheed Martin has delivered a 60-kW-class, high-energy laser prototype for an upcoming demonstration on board an AC-130J gunship, a company official said on Oct. 6.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Tony Osborne
Leonardo is relaunching its Agusta brand to market its VIP helicopter products.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
China’s EHang has displayed its EH216 two-seat multicopter in Spain for the first time as it announced a collaboration with the Spanish National Police to explore potential uses for autonomous air vehicles in emergency and security missions.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Graham Warwick
Germany-based air taxi operator Air2E has signed a purchase deposit agreement with Bye Aerospace for the eight-seat, all-electric eFlyer 800.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Air Force will have a shortage of Pratt & Whitney F100-220 and F100-229 engines that power F-15s and F-16s through at least April 2024 as the service focuses sustainment resources on higher priority problems with the F-15 Eagle fleet, a new report says.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Chen Chuanren
Estonia has become the first customer of the Proteus Advanced Systems’ Blue Spear anti-ship missile, opting for the land-based variant.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Tony Osborne
Switzerland’s defense minister has warned that an initiative by political opponents to prevent the country from buying the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter could leave the country without a fighter jet capability.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Graham Warwick
Inmarsat and U.S. startup Xwing have signed a memorandum of understanding to pursue development of a dedicated satellite communications terminal and associated services for autonomous aircraft.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Graham Warwick
The U.S.-Spanish startup completed a series of closed-loop autonomous-control flight tests as it continues development of a long-endurance unmanned aircraft based on the Solar Impulse 2 (SI2) solar-powered round-the-world aircraft.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Chen Chuanren
Speaking at the AviationWeek Asia Aerospace Leadership Forum, the Executive Vice President of Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) said the country has “tremendous interest” in eVTOL development.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Graham Warwick
IARPA's Resilience program aims to develop power sources to extend the function of vertical-takeoff unmanned aircraft by providing a burst of power for vertical landing at the end of a long flight.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Irene Klotz
The upgrades should help prevent issues encountered during previous flights, including a debris strike that damaged a drogue parachute used during the descent of the Crew-1 mission in May.
Space

By Bill Carey
The fifth-generation “Anthem” suite represents a step change in integrated avionics systems, the manufacturer says.
Business Aviation