Defense and Space

By Mark Carreau
Advanced versions of NASA’s Space Launch System, the world’s most power rocket, could be used in the long term to carry out a human Mars flyby and dispatch an interstellar probe to study the realm beyond the Solar System, experts say.
Space

By Michael Bruno
Liberty Hall Capital Partners sold the Vancouver, Washington-based supplier to Arcline Investment Management, the parties announced late Oct. 12.
Manufacturing & Supply Chain

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Navy is set to decide a path forward after two rounds of protests have delayed the Next-Generation Jammer Low-Band program.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Steve Trimble
Further development is on hold for the Advanced Composite Rotor Blade for the Boeing CH-47F Block II Chinook, a company official said Oct. 12.
AUSA

By Steve Trimble
Los Angeles-based startup Exosonic will develop a concept for a purpose-built, supersonic unmanned aircraft system (UAS) under a 15-month, $750,000 U.S. Air Force contract, the company announced Oct. 12.
AUSA

By Irene Klotz
The customer slated to launch on the first flight of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket now expects to fly in mid-2022.
Commercial Space

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Army and Sikorsky are in negotiations on what is expected to be the final multiyear procurement contract for the UH-60 Black Hawk, with an award expected early next year.
AUSA

By Michael Bruno
Major small-satellite launcher Rocket Lab is making good on plowing some of its new publicly provided cash haul into bolt-on acquisitions.
Commercial Space

By Irene Klotz
The cargo ship transporting the James Webb Space Telescope arrived in French Guiana on Oct. 12, completing a 1,500-mi. journey that sets the stage for the observatory’s launch aboard an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket on Dec. 18.
Space

By Brian Everstine
The Sikorsky/Boeing Defiant X demonstrator, the team’s entrant for the U.S. Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, has flown to a speed of 247 kt., with the engine showing some limited power left to go faster, the companies said Oct. 12.
AUSA

By Tony Osborne
Airbus has started production of the UK’s new £500 million ($679.5 million) Skynet 6A satellite, which is due for launch in 2025.
Commercial Space

By Tony Osborne
Serbia’s government has said it will soon sign agreements with Airbus to purchase two C295 airlifters and increase its buy of H145 light helicopters.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Brian Everstine
The Pentagon’s new director of research and engineering wants more money for small businesses to mature technology to avoid the vaunted “valley of death” in acquisition and is proposing new leaders within her office to move faster on developing software and lowering sustainment costs.
AUSA

By Steve Trimble
A new 5,000-lb. penetrator has completed a series of release tests, paving the way for the U.S. Air Force development program to enter production later this year.
AUSA

By Tony Osborne
UK space launch startup Skyrora has signed agreements to use the SaxaVord spaceport on the Shetland Islands for satellite launch as early as 2022.
Commercial Space

David Fitzpatrick
The Pentagon should couple a blended-wing body with advanced engines to create a new standard for transport aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Army needs to answer fundamental questions about itself—how it fights, what theaters it needs to focus on, and importantly how it will modernize its weapons systems specifically to counter China—and that process will not be easy, the service’s newest secretary says.
AUSA

By Chen Chuanren
October is an important month for China, both for the People’s Republic and the Republic across the strait, Taiwan.
AUSA

By Steve Trimble
Israeli companies are rolling out a 600-gal. external fuel tank and a fifth-to-fourth-generation communication system as export options for the Lockheed Martin F-35.
AUSA

By Chen Chuanren
Reliability of the 18 Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning IIs embarked on the Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth operating in the Asia-Pacific region have met and sometimes exceed expectations, officials say.
AUSA

By Steve Trimble
Textron Systems has unveiled a new version of the Aerosonde unmanned aircraft system (UAS) with a 25-lb. payload capacity to compete for a U.S. Army
AUSA

By Chen Chuanren
Australia has requested 12 more Sikorsky MH-60R naval helicopters to supplement its existing fleet.
AUSA

By Mark Carreau
Two of the four crewmembers assigned to the upcoming SpaceX Crew-3 Dragon launch to the International Space Station are part of NASA’s “Artemis Team” of 18 freshmen and veteran fliers chosen for the agency’s human lunar return.
Space

By Graham Warwick
U.S. battery startup Lyten is looking to electric aircraft as a potential early market for its energy-dense lithium-sulfur batteries as it scales up to meet expected demand from the automotive industry by 2025-26.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Tony Osborne
Airbus' Zephyr team is also claiming to have set a world altitude record for the HAPS-class of UAS after reaching a height of 76,100 ft.
AUSA