Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Steve Trimble
Elbit Systems announced on Feb. 18 the winning of a $670 million contract that it could describe only cryptically as a “defense solution” for a country in the Asia-Pacific region.
Defense and Space

By Mark Carreau
Roscomos cites unspecified medical issues in its decision to replace both freshman cosmonauts due to launch to the space station in April.
Defense and Space

By Steve Trimble
China is testing an intercontinental-range hypersonic glide vehicle similar to Russian’s deployed Avangard system, U.S. Air Force Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy said in written testimony submitted to Congress.
Defense and Space

By Sean Broderick
As airlines grapple with capacity shortages created by the Boeing 737 MAX grounding or a sudden over-supply because of COVID-19-related schedule reductions, lessors are supporting their mitigation plans, including matching customers in both categories and moving aircraft between them.
Air Transport

By Tony Osborne
The Super Hornet is the last of the five Western types participating in the trials.
Defense and Space

By Michael Bruno
Cadence Aerospace, a private equity-backed rollup of highly complex structural and engine component and assembly businesses, on Feb. 18 announced the acquisition of Premier Processing
Defense and Space

By Tony Osborne
Plans for a satellite launch center on Britain’s Shetland Islands have been boosted by £2 million ($2.6 million) in funding from a private equity firm.
Defense and Space

By Thierry Dubois
Rocket Factory Augsburg, part of Germany’s OHB group, is progressing toward the first flight of its mini-launcher late next year.
Defense and Space

By Mark Carreau
NASA is awarding eight competitively selected U.S. university teams nearly $1 million in grants to develop lunar payload concepts for the study of permanently shadowed regions of the Moon that could contain significant deposits of water ice.
Defense and Space

Selected U.S. military contracts for Feb. 10 U.S. AIR FORCE SigmaTech Corp., Colorado Springs, has been awarded a hybrid labor hour and firm-fixed
Defense and Space

News in brief
Defense and Space

Brief news items of interest to aerospace & defense professionals.
Defense and Space

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Air Force’s acquisition chief said Feb. 18 that he expects a congressional backlash over how a recent revamp of the Next Generation Air Dominance procurement strategy could drive up the average procurement unit cost (APUC) of a sixth-generation fighter.
Defense and Space

By Lee Hudson
The service says there are sufficient quantities of the airborne system to support the National Defense Strategy.
Defense and Space

By Tony Osborne
Spanish industry now is organizing itself behind national coordinator Indra Sistemas to support the various work pillars, which include development of a next-generation fighter and unmanned remote carriers.
Defense and Space

By Mark Carreau
Often characterized as host to an uninhabitable runaway greenhouse environment, Earth’s neighboring planet Venus nevertheless offers a compelling destination for planetary scientists.
Defense and Space

By Bradley Perrett, Sean Broderick
SYDNEY and WASHINGTON—The U.S. government may not renew General Electric’s export license to supply CFM Leap-1C engines to Comac—a move that could
Air Transport

By Irene Klotz
SpaceX has signed an agreement with Space Adventures, a Washington-based space travel company, to market a Crew Dragon orbital spaceflight for four privately paying passengers.
Defense and Space

By Maxim Pyadushkin
The Russian military has confirmed the first order for the Forpost-R reconnaissance unmanned aircraft—a significantly redesigned variant of Israel Aerospace Industries’ Searcher.
Defense and Space

By Alan Dron
Spanish technology company Indra is introducing artificial intelligence (AI) to its air traffic control (ATC) remote towers to allow a greater degree of scrutiny of both air and ground movements.
Air Transport

By Steve Trimble
Pratt & Whitney is protesting a U.S. Air Force plan to award a sole-source contract to GE Aviation for F110 engines to power a future fleet of F-15EX fighters.
Defense and Space

By Mark Carreau
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station successfully grappled Northrop Grumman’s 13th NASA-contracted Cygnus resupply capsule early Feb. 18.
Defense and Space

By Tony Osborne
Singapore is to collaborate with Airbus on the development of the A330 Smart Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) in a partnership that will roll out automated aerial refueling capabilities for the aircraft.
Defense and Space

By Tony Osborne
Leonardo has retrofitted two Beechcraft King Airs with its Airborne Tactical Observation and Surveillance mission system for maritime patrols.
Defense and Space

By Tony Osborne
BAE Systems has flown the first full-scale prototype of its PHASA-35 solar-powered high-altitude pseudo-satellite unmanned air system in Australia.
Defense and Space