Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Steve Trimble
Lockheed Martin on Dec. 10 completed the first flight test of the company’s candidate for the U.S. Army’s next long-range, ground-launched ballistic missile.
Defense and Space

By Graham Warwick
Canadian seaplane airline Harbour Air has flown a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver converted to electric propulsion and powered by a 540-kW (750-hp) motor developed by MagniX.

By Bill Carey
The company behind the MyRadar smartphone app has launched a first, experimental cubesat designed to monitor aircraft signals from space and support a rapid response capability by rescue organizations.
Defense and Space

By Lee Hudson
House and Senate fiscal 2020 defense authorization bill conferees have reached an agreement that includes establishing a new U.S. Space Force.
Defense and Space

By Tony Osborne
The French Air Force has declared an initial operational capability (IOC) with the F3-R upgrade for the Dassault Rafale combat aircraft.
Defense and Space

By Tony Osborne
Latin American air forces have intensified search efforts to locate the wreckage of a Chilean Air Force Lockheed KC-130 Hercules airlifter that was reported missing Dec. 9 during a flight to Antarctica.
Defense and Space

By Bradley Perrett
The Japanese government may allocate at least ¥30 billion ($280 million) for programs related to the proposed Future Fighter in the coming fiscal year.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Michael Bruno
British jet engine maker Rolls-Royce said Bradley Singer, the COO of activist investor ValueAct Capital and Rolls-Royce’s largest shareholder, left the board of directors Dec. 9.
Defense and Space

By Tony Osborne
Britain’s Royal Navy has commissioned the second Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales.
Defense and Space

By Lee Hudson
The U.S. government halted deliveries of the F-35 for 15 days because the Defense Contract Management Agency found comingling of titanium and Inconel fasteners.
Defense and Space

By Molly McMillin
Recent layoffs at Textron Aviation and Gulfstream Aerospace are signs that the manufacturers are being “appropriately cautious” about their outlook for orders and production, analysts say.
Defense and Space

By Michael Bruno
Lockheed Martin is looking to new government interest in follow-on modernization upgrades of the F-35 to drive future business returns.
Defense and Space

By Bill Carey
Standards organization RTCA has announced that it has formed a committee of industry and government experts to develop requirements for counter-unmanned aircraft systems to protect airports and other sites from rogue drones.

By Mark Carreau
NASA is assessing possible options to keep on schedule the Artemis initiative of achieving an accelerated return to the Moon’s surface with human explorers in 2024 even if lawmakers again fail to come together on a 2020 federal budget, agency Administrator Jim Bridenstine says.
Defense and Space

By Tony Osborne
Czech aerospace firm Aero Vodochody has flown the second prototype of the L-39NG jet trainer.
Defense and Space

By Tony Osborne
Saab has flown the first series production JAS 39E Gripen NG fighter destined for the Swedish Air Force.
Defense and Space

By Tony Osborne
Six companies and consortia have been awarded contracts to develop high-level technical concepts for NATO’s Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (AFSC).
Defense and Space

By Molly McMillin
Dowty Propellers, a division of GE Aviation, has opened a new production facility, repair operation and headquarters in Brockworth, England.
Defense and Space

By Steve Trimble
MiG Corp. has confirmed that a new family of high-speed unmanned aircraft systems is in development to partner with the MiG-35 and other manned aircraft during combat missions.
Defense and Space

By Mark Carreau
The six-member International Station crew greeted the second of back-to-back U.S. and Russian cargo capsule deliveries early Dec. 9.
Defense and Space

By Tony Osborne
The largest UAV yet produced in Turkey, with a maximum take-off weight of five metric tons, the Akinci took to the air from Corlu airport, west of Istanbul.
Defense and Space

By Michael Bruno
The global defense sector will remain robust in 2020, with global defense budgets expected to grow at least 3-4% and bring total spending up to almost $2 trillion, Deloitte predicts in a new report.
Defense and Space

By Lee Hudson
U.S. Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett believes the government should declassify some information related to challenges in space so that the public is aware of what is at stake.
Defense and Space

By Lee Hudson
The Air Force does not know how much the KC-46 fixes will cost until a design is validated.
Defense and Space

MD HELICOPTERS has completed delivery of 30 MD 530F Cayuse Warrior helicopters to the Afghan Air Force.