Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

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By Michael Bruno, Guy Norris
Whether the deal would be good for the aerospace and defense (A&D) sector increasingly is being called into doubt, based on growing reactions from industry insiders.
Defense and Space

Engineers at NASA continue to work toward developing the advanced Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) in time for the first Space Launch System (SLS) mission with a crew, and have until late this summer to decide if it can be done.
Defense and Space

By Jen DiMascio
A Lockheed Martin official remains optimistic that the F-25 program is on track to begin initial operations on schedule in August or by December of this year.
Defense and Space

By Jen DiMascio
The U.S. Air Force’s Long-range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) has a designation: the B-21.
Defense and Space

By Bradley Perrett
Australia has decided on early replacement of the Airbus Tiger attack helicopter, apparently regarding the type as not worth the expense of modernization.
Defense and Space

By Jay Menon
Russia’s Rostec State Corporation expects to soon sign a contract for the delivery of an additional batch of 48 Mi-17V-5 helicopters to India.
Defense and Space

Propellant troubles have forced SpaceX to abort the launch of the SES-9 commercial communications satellite for the second day in a row.
Space

Releasing pictures online of potential radar sites in the South China Sea could strengthen China’s operational strength there, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) says.
Defense and Space

China’s continued weapons buildup on artificial island features could give the country much greater control of the South China Sea and its trading lanes, says Adm. Harry Harris, the Pacific Commander for the U.S.
Defense and Space

With the amount it spends on service contracts, lawmakers should look at requiring more Defense Department reporting for those transactions, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says in a recent report.
Defense and Space

ELBIT SYSTEMS’ Helicopter Skylens Wearable head-up display completed test flights in final configuration mode in day/night ...

Boeing said Feb. 24 that Leanne Caret will be promoted to president and chief executive officer of the company’s ...

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House Republicans got scant support Feb. 25 for the details of their going-in plan to avoid a repeat of the space-policy upset that followed President Barack Obama’s decision to kill the Constellation family of deep-space human-exploration vehicles, but won endorsement for the basic idea from a pair of NASA veterans who lived through it.
Defense and Space

By Mark Carreau
With his U.S. record-setting 340-day mission to the International Space Station drawing to a close, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly can rest assured his next assignment is to reacclimate to life on Earth.
Defense and Space

Iridium Communications Inc. has nixed plans to launch its first two Iridium NEXT satellites on a Russian Dnepr rocket in April, opting instead to lift a batch of 10 new-generation spacecraft atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 in July.
Defense and Space

By Bradley Perrett
Australia is widening its options for sustaining its wing of strike aircraft into the 2030s to include unmanned systems, with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lighting no longer considered the default choice.
Defense and Space

By Bradley Perrett
Australia will employ an additional 1,700 people in intelligence, cyber and related fields as it strives to maintain what it calls decision-making superiority over possible adversaries.
Defense and Space

By Bradley Perrett
Australia has increased its planned force of Boeing P-8 Poseidons from eight to 15 as a part of a policy of bolstering its maritime power that also includes a commitment to 12 submarines, a figure that was previously in doubt.
Defense and Space

By Bradley Perrett
Australia will prepare for a capability in missile defense by upgrading surveillance and command systems as a basis for the possible acquisition of interceptor systems.
Defense and Space

By Graham Warwick
With its definition of small UAVs covering weights up to a fairly hefty 55 lb., and under pressure to treat lighter or “micro” UAVs differently, the FAA has chartered an aviation rulemaking committee (ARC) to recommend how such vehicles should be regulated.

Delays in development of Safran’s Silvercrest engine cost the company a one-time €654 million ($720 million) charge last year, helping drive operating profit for 2015 down more than 12% to €1.7 billion.
Defense and Space

LOCKHEED MARTIN has $45.5m U.S. Air Force contract for support to increase F-22 flight hours. Work to be performed at Fort Worth, complete by Dec. 31, 2016. GENERAL DYNAMICS’ AN/PRC-155 MUOS-Manpack Radio and MUOS Communications Network Connect were validated by U.S. Army for use in Pacific theater. LOCKHEED MARTIN has contract for two new TPS-77 radars for Romania.

The U.S. Air Force is accounting for part of known delays and cost overruns for its GPS III next-generation operational control segment, known as OCX. In its fiscal 2017 budget request, the service has requested $393 million, an increase of $171 million. Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall next month will make his “quarterly deep dive” of the program, after which it will be formally rebaselined and the budget for fiscal years beyond 2017 will be worked out, according to Maj. Gen. Roger Teague, the director of Air Force space program acquisitions.