Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

The Senate has passed an $857 billion minibus package that includes $675 billion in defense funding for fiscal 2019 and signals Congress may avoid a shutdown.

The U.S. Air Force may formalize plans for a B-52J upgrade variant of its venerable bomber.

Another round is underway in the battle over the Israeli Air Force’s planned purchase of new aerial refueling aircraft to replace its aging Boeing 707 tankers.

Russian Helicopters’ upgraded Mi-26T2V heavylift helicopter has debuted at the Army 2018 show near Moscow.

Students at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have flown a quadcopter drone entirely powered by sunlight.

LOCKHEED MARTIN has $356.3m U.S. Army contract for Close Combat Tactical Trainer Manned Module modernization.

The Pentagon has notified Congress it will use roughly $2.7 million in fiscal 2018 funding to purchase counter-unmanned aerial system equipment.

View the Fleet Snapshot: Turkish Armed Forces Aircraft chart in PDF format.

Vice President Mike Pence is pointing to 2024 for human occupation of the Lunar Orbiter Platform Gateway (LOP-G).

The DOD has notified Capitol Hill of an updated “concurrency” cost estimate for F-35 low rate initial production lots 1-12 that has declined by 2%.

Eight years after its first flight, the Sukhoi Su-57 fifth-generation fighter finally has its first order from the Russian military, along with the MiG-35.

Russian Helicopters unveiled an upgraded Mi-28NE Night Hunter attack helicopter at the Army 2018 show in Moscow.

Lockheed Martin reportedly has proposed a F-22 derivative with a new wing and great range for Japan’s requirement for a fighter for the 2030s.

Israel Aerospace Industries is offering an upgrade package for UH-60 Black Hawk operators and armed forces that can't buy next-generation replacements.

The goal of the European mission is to improve local weather forecasting while enhancing studies of long-term climate change.

HARRIS CORP. has $14.2m U.S. Navy contract for 143 Lot 42 fiber channel network switches for the F/A-18E/F/G, four for the E-2D, 28 for Kuwait and five for Australia.

The decision to merge Russia’s Rostec and United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) already has been made.

Echodyne said the FCC has certified its compact, electronically scanning radar designed for use on unmanned aircraft systems.

NASA’s upcoming ICESat-2 mission promises to place the Earth’s coldest regions, the cryosphere, under unprecedented laser scrutiny from orbit.

Raytheon filed a bid protest with the GAO after the U.S. Navy selected L3 and Northrop Grumman to conduct a tech demo for the low-band frequency of the Next Generation Jammer.

The DOD notified Congress it will use $2.7 million in fiscal 2018 funding to buy counter-unmanned aerial system equipment for coalition partners backing the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan.

Northrop Grumman is to flight test an RF comm link that can provide fiber-like data capacity from high-altitude surveillance aircraft direct to FOBs.

Rafael plans to offer its Spike anti-tank missile for the Australian Army to carry aboard its helicopters.

Indonesia has deployed an Airbus AS 365N3+ Dauphin light helicopter to Lebanon to support the U.N. peacekeeping mission there.

Sat-based surveillance system developer Aireon and the Irish Aviation Authority have started preregistration for the Aircraft Locating and Emergency Response Tracking service.