Defense and Space

By Irene Klotz
Israel Aerospace Industries is adding a miniaturized, 1,500-lb. geostationary communications satellite to its product line.
Space

By Steve Trimble
A breakthrough agreement fast-tracked approvals for F-35As and MQ-9Bs to the UAE, but finalizing those deals could still take years.
Dubai Airshow

By Tony Osborne
Norway’s defense materiel agency has signed a 3.95 billion krone ($470 million) contract to acquire an undisclosed number of the missiles.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Kim Minseok, Chen Chuanren
South Korean defense agencies and manufacturers are in the exploratory stages of developing manned-unmanned teaming to operate alongside KF-21 fighter.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
With the initial Space Launch System (SLS) assembly now complete at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the agency is looking to a Feb. 12-27 launch window for its uncrewed Artemis I test flight to the Moon.
Space

Conferences and events for professionals in the aerospace & defense community.
Defense and Space

By Brian Everstine
Lockheed Martin was by far the largest recipient of defense contracts in fiscal 2020 after receiving a 60% increase in Defense Department funding when compared to fiscal 2019, the Pentagon announced Oct. 21.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Tony Osborne
Boeing says it is in discussions with Middle Eastern countries about a light attack version of its T-7 Red Hawk jet trainer, one of a number of opportunities the company’s defense business is pursuing in the region.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
More NATO members have joined alliance efforts to develop new-generation ground-based air defense systems.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Graham Warwick
Korea Aerospace Industries has unveiled plans to develop commercial and military versions of an electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicle, in passenger and unmanned cargo variants.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Mark Carreau
Russia’s Progress MS-17 cargo capsule carried out a successful autonomous redocking with the International Space Station’s Russian segment Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module early Oct. 22 to complete a nearly 29-hr. relocation to set up Nauka propellant line leak checks.
Space

By Jen DiMascio
South Korea’s stealth plans; U.S. steps toward the E-7; Assembling Safran engines in Texas; and Army signs deal for SAR data integration.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Jen DiMascio, Michael Bruno
The consensus from the Aviation Week DefenseChain Conference was that defense primes and suppliers are about to see their world turned on their heads.
Defense and Space

By Steve Trimble
In an echo of a proposed new U.S. Air Force acquisition program, the U.S. Navy is also now interested in buying a new fleet of advanced training jets to give frontline fighter pilots more training opportunities in a cheaper aircraft.
Light Attack and Advanced Training

By Brian Everstine
The fiscal 2023 budget process will drive discussions on opening up weapons negotiations with Russia and China, with a specific goal of more transparency to avoid miscalculation, the head of the House Armed Services Committee said Oct. 21.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Maxim Pyadushkin
The successful mission of a Russian movie crew to the International Space Station (ISS) Oct. 5-16 suggests the state space corporation Roscosmos is poised to resume a space tourism program. But despite the busy delivery schedule at the end of 2021, new space travelers are likely to fly Russian ships no earlier than 2023.
Space

By Brian Everstine
Climate change will harm military readiness at home through extreme weather events as climate-related stressors create further instability, possibly leading to additional conflicts, multiple U.S. governmental agencies claim in reports released Oct. 21.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
The failed test is one of a series of over the past year marring the Pentagon’s portfolio of boost-gliding and air-breathing hypersonic weapons.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Brian Everstine
NATO will make “significant improvements” to air and missile defenses as part of an overall plan aimed at deterring Russia, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Oct. 21.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Navy has announced the completion of successful tests of “advanced hypersonic technologies” on three sounding rockets launched from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, on Oct. 20.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Graham Warwick
Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.
Aerospace

By Irene Klotz
Ahead of NASA’s selection of up to four proposals to support development of commercial space stations, a team led by Nanoracks unveiled plans on Oct. 21 for a four-person outpost called Starlab, with initial operational capability expected by 2027.
Commercial Space

By Thierry Dubois
The French ministry of armed forces is poised to improve its military communications with the upcoming launch of the Syracuse 4A satellite.
Space

By Thierry Dubois
An Ariane 5 heavy launcher is to send the SES-17 satellite into orbit during the night of Oct. 22-23 local time at Arianespace’s Kourou, French Guiana, spaceport, as Thales seeks to capture half of the crucial North American inflight connectivity market.
Space

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Space Force has taken the next step to create a "deterrence layer" of orbital space vehicles that will keep track of enemy spacecraft.
Space