Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Virgin Galactic will become the first major publicly traded new-space provider Oct. 28 when its shares become available on the New York Stock Exchange.

A Taiwanese company plans to enter the market for light space launches with what it says will be 10% of the costs of current major operators.

Arianespace is offering a rideshare mission to the Moon in 2023 aboard its new Ariane 6 rocket.

RAYTHEON announced delivery of first high-energy laser counter-drone system.

Collins Aerospace has been selected to deliver up to 3,018 ACES 5 ejection seats over the next decade to replace the escape systems in five different combat aircraft fleets.

SAAB is partnering with VRICON on new 3D global terrain and elevation database for aircraft.

Japanese startup SkyDrive has raised $14 million to advance development of its fly/drive electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) vehicle.

Eight teams will participate in a virtual competition, the AlphaDogfight Trials, under DARPA’s Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program.

A key component in the U.S. Air Force’s strategy to develop advanced domestic rocket engines has completed testing, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) announced on Oct. 23.

Lockheed Martin is moving forward with the design of a new re-entry vehicle for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program, the company announced.

French regional-aircraft startup VoltAero has upgraded its Cassio 1 hybrid-electric propulsion testbed with motors from Safran Electrical & Power in preparation for a new phase of flight testing to begin in the second half of November.

As many as 30 former French Air Force A-27 Tucano trainers could be imported into the U.S. to support Airborne Tactical Advantage Company’s (ATAC) selection for the U.S. Air Force-contracted air services program.

Nanoracks plans a late 2020 first-ever mission launch to demonstrate an in-space structural metal cutting technology.

Boeing’s Defense, Space and Security unit boosted the company’s revenues by $7 billion for the third quarter of 2019, giving some positive news to counter the continuing headwinds facing the commercial division over the grounding of the 737 MAX and delays to the 777X.

Surveillance data provider Aireon and the Cocesna air navigation services agency have signed an agreement to deploy space-based automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) in six Central American countries.

The European Defense Agency (EDA) is urging member states to begin developing requirements for automated aerial refueling (AAR).

The South Korean air force is putting the Korean Air MUAV surveillance drone through operational testing, aiming at entering the type into regular service in 2020, a program source said.

Russia’s RAC MiG says it is marketing the export version of its MiG-35 fighter aircraft to African countries.

The Romanian Air Force has deployed four IAR330 Puma helicopters in support of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali.

UPS Flight Forward, the package carrier’s drone subsidiary, has announced new retail, pharmaceutical and health care partners for its planned delivery service.

Under a NASA contract, electric aircraft developer Ampaire is studying the feasibility of modifying the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter to hybrid-electric propulsion.

The first mission has a customer, Japanese battery maker NGK, which wants to test a product on the Moon.

Arianespace is offering a rideshare mission to the Moon in 2023 aboard its new Ariane 6 rocket, Stephane Israel, CEO of the European launch service company, announced Oct 22.

Top Aces will apply to import 29 used F-16s to the U.S. after being named as one of seven companies selected to compete for a $6.4 billion U.S. Air Force program for adversary air and close air support services, a company executive says.

A USAF C-12 aircraft is testing high-speed connectivity with SpaceX’s Starlink sat network, with additional inflight demos aboard a C-130 and other aircraft on tap, SpaceX says.