India plans to carry out a test flight of its reusable rocket launcher in March in what could be a first step toward affordable access to space technology. The Winged Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD), fitted with solid strap-on thrusters, will fly at five times the speed of sound (Mach 3) to reach an altitude of more than 100 km (61 mi.) within barely 5 min.
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has slipped the launch of its fifth commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station to Jan. 9 at the earliest, following an issue with a thrust vector control actuator that stopped the countdown seconds before liftoff on Jan. 6 from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral AFS.
An unprecedented difference of opinion when it comes to building Notre-Dame-des-Landes regional airport could lead to a major and disproportionate crisis of political confidence and prove to be a financial fiasco.
After spearheading a multimillion-euro funding package for Alitalia, Etihad Airways must now prove it can restore its new equity alliance member to profitability and revitalize its brand.
Although the Lockheed Martin F-35 project will continue to dominate the direction of the global fighter market—and is slated for its operational debut with the U.S. Marines this year—new fighters in China and Russia are also nearing their in-service milestones.
Going Concerns, a new column in Aviation Week, monitors the paradigm shift in the A&D sector. No one can know precisely where things are going, but we’ve seen enough before to know we’re heading somewhere new.
Northrop Grumman aims for production readiness with first development of the APG-83 active, electronically scanned array radar delivered to Lockheed Martin as an F-16 upgrade.
Boeing supports hybrid-electric flight tests; Europe eyes unmanned maritime surveillance; Isaac robot advances composites; budget hike for NASA Aeronautics; electrical accumulator boosts power-by-wire.
The procurement strategy for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s new Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle likely will be released with the fiscal 2016 budget plan.
Business aircraft manufacturers finding that size matters, as offering multiple mid- and large-size cabin models is critical to success as market rebounds.
2014 was a year in which world peace broke out as long as your standard for conflict was declared and open war between nation-states. The actual picture was very different, with two major wars in the Middle East and a European state facing the real threat of being dismantled.
Myriad factors, including geopolitical tensions, a cluster of commercial space setbacks, global airspace safety and programmatic blows mean that 2015 could prove tricky for all aerospace sectors.
The growth potential in many Asia-Pacific markets offers airlines an opportunity unrivaled in any other global region. However, carriers here are also facing the fact that to tap into the expected bonanza, they must remain financially viable in the short term. This is one of the challenges facing most Asian airlines in 2015—growing sufficiently to ensure they can grab their share of the action without creating capacity oversupply. Market data show that the balance tipped too far toward supply in 2014, and now a readjustment is needed.
The Middle East states have varying degrees of influence in defense programs. The U.S. and Russia are poised to benefit, while manufacturers in Europe have been, for the most part, disappointed.
When Congress began to cap Pentagon budgets in 2011, the process of recovering from a decade of failed, delayed and over-budget major procurements was only starting. Ever since, lawmakers and defense officials have been tussling over how to cull older systems to pay for future ones. And more of the same type of wrangling looks likely for 2015.
Much hinges on the outcome of the 2015 elections. In Stephen Harper’s nine-year run as prime minister, his team has attempted a number of ambitious procurements, but overall budget stringency has delayed these efforts. New faces at the helm could help or hinder the procurement process.
