Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

The University of North Dakota, Harris Corporation and the Northern Plains UAS test site have completed initial field testing of a ground radio control system that supports drone flights beyond the operator’s visual range.

The Czech airframer says it is committed to completing development and delivering its new L-39NG jet trainer despite financial difficulties.

TEXTRON AVIATION DEFENSE LLC has $15.4m U.S. Air Force contract for continued support for reconstitution of 15 T-6A aircraft.

The Israeli defense ministry will submit a formal request to the U.S. for the purchase of Boeing KC-46A aerial refueling aircraft “in a matter of days.”

An experimental Israeli spacecraft faltered minutes before a planned landing on the surface of the Moon.

The U.S. Army said plans to lock in the design of the operational version of the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft within three to six months after first flight of the prototype.

When asked for an example of how the U.S. Air Force is speeding space acquisitions, senior leaders tend to point to the Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared program to upgrade the service’s missile warning constellation. But staying on that accelerated acquisition path may depend on more funding than usual up front.

Britain’s aerospace industry has cautiously welcomed the European Union’s approval to postpone the UK’s exit from the European Union by six months.

Thailand has conducted its first firing of a Chinese-made YJ-83 anti-ship missile in a naval exercise on April 5.

Facing a budget crunch, the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) may downgrade a long-standing helicopter requirement from anti-submarine to utility capability.

Continental Aerospace Technologies says it has invested in Ampaire, Inc., a tech innovation firm developing electric aircraft and electric propulsion system concepts.

The architecture is based on repurposing hardware developed for Orion, including structural components and the propulsion system from its European-built service module.

USAF Secretary Heather Wilson expects to get feedback from the Army, Navy, Office of the Secretary of Defense and the NRO on the five-year Space Force plan.

NASA is awarding Planet a multimillion-dollar agreement to provide the space agency with Earth observation data to track essential climate variables.

The U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center may partner with the nascent Space Development Agency (SDA) by providing launch and contracting services.

Aerojet Rocketdyne’s road to financial recovery may have become harder now that Spruce Point Capital has issued a report arguing the California missile and space propulsion provider is overvalued.

Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade has canceled the re-engining of the Beriev Be-200 amphibious aircraft with Russo-French SaM146 engines.

The Space Development Agency (SDA) plans to issue a request for information this summer followed by a draft solicitation by the end of the fiscal year on a future space architecture.

AUSTRALIA will receive eighth BOEING P-8A Poseidon, to serve as long-term fatigue management aircraft, at RAAF Base Edinburgh in mid-June.

Rafael and Embraer are discussing equipping the Brazilian company’s KC-390 aircraft with the Israeli company’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems.

Frequentis and Sunhillo Corporation have announced a new system that connects drone operators with civilian and military ATC facilities.

The B-1B, C-5M and KC-135 fleets are now scheduling maintenance actions using algorithms designed to predict failures based on its condition in real-time.

Alphabet Wing on April 9 announced the launch of a commercial drone delivery service in the suburbs of Canberra, Australia’s capital.

The National Space Foundation’s (NSF) Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project has unveiled the first-ever image of a supermassive black hole.

Responsive launch, defending U.S. satellites in geosynchronous orbit and a proliferated satellite constellation in low Earth orbit may all be tools for defending against adversaries in space, but the nation needs to keep all options open through funding all avenues, according to the U.S. Air Force’s acquisition executive.