Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

The U.S. Army and defense industry is eagerly awaiting the outcome of an extended bidding war for a long-range, high-speed rotorcraft.

The U.S. Navy’s first carrier-based, autonomous refueling aircraft has had “growing pains,” a Boeing executive says, as the production phase begins.

A program aimed at identifying cost savings inadvertently led to a major performance improvement for the Lockheed Martin stealth fighter.

The U.S. military services are looking for a range of autonomous aircraft—from expensive high-end aircraft to less costly lower end systems. Aviation Week editors discuss what industry is offering, particularly for mid-range attritable systems, and some of the complications involved with cultivating the new technology.