Defense and Space

By Lee Hudson
For five years, Lockheed Martin delivered F-35 spare parts that were not ready for installation and the U.S. Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) is seeking compensation.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
Pratt & Whitney is campaigning for an F-15EX engine competition, but an 18-month integration process for the F100-PW-129 revealed in a new U.S. Air Force acquisition document kept the company out of consideration for Lot 1 production.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
Air Combat Command (ACC) released an “invitation to propose” to companies for the Reforge Proof of Concept program last week, with bids expected based on the T-50 and M-346 advanced jet trainers.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
DARPA indirectly confirmed the supplier of the critical OpFires upper stage in a July 17 contract award to Lockheed Martin for $7.45 million.
Defense and Space

CASCADE AEROSPACE was contracted to perform structural inspections/maintenance on a C-130B for Bangladesh Air Force.
Defense and Space

By Tony Osborne
Industry and government discussions for the development of a UK-led future combat air system, Tempest, have moved to the trilateral level, industry leaders have announced.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
An international team of astronomers has directly imaged a very young, Sun-like star with multiple large planets—a first that may help astronomers better understand how our Solar System’s planets formed and evolved.
Space

By Steve Trimble
A request for proposals for the Regional Glide Phase Weapon System contract has been delayed since April as the Missile Defense Agency continues to review performance requirements, including data from recent hypersonic testing.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Graham Warwick
Space situational awareness provider LeoLabs is to locate its fourth space radar in Costa Rica.
Space

By Maxim Pyadushkin
The Russian Navy has laid the keels for two new helicopter carriers that are replacing planned French Mistral-class helicopter landing docks.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
Over 20 years, demand on the F/A-18 and EA-18G electrical power generation system led to low readiness levels for the entire fleet.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Jen DiMascio
U.S. “repositions” Turkish F-35s; Airbus wins UK Skynet contract; Germany’s new Sigint aircraft; and Northrop delivers GEM 63 boosters.
Aircraft & Propulsion

News in brief
Defense and Space

Brief news items of interest to aerospace & defense professionals.
Defense and Space

Program Dossier: Xian H-6
Defense and Space

By Tony Osborne
British defense firm Qinetiq says it has carried out the UK’s first manned/unmanned teaming demonstration, operating a semi-autonomous multicopter unmanned aircraft system from an Airbus H125 light helicopter.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Guam's current Thaad system will not provide the kind of 360-degree defensive coverage that Guam will need, making the purchase of the land-based system a top priority, PACOM's chief says.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Steve Trimble
The Air Force Research Laboratory on July 21 awarded a $93.4 million task order to Raytheon to kick-off Phase 2 of the Miniature Self-Defense Munition demonstration program.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Lee Hudson
The Office of Management and Budget has released its annual heartburn letter for the defense authorization bill that threatens a presidential veto if the measure stands in its current form.
Budget, Policy & Operations

ASTRONICS was selected by Bell Textron to supply CorePower airframe electrical generation and power distribution systems to support its Future Long
Defense and Space

By Lee Hudson
The Senate has confirmed U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael Loh to serve as the 13th Air National Guard director.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Tony Osborne
Emirati defense firm Edge is to purchase Lockheed Martin’s share in the Advanced Military Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Center (AMMROC).
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Tony Osborne
Germany is to purchase three Bombardier Global 6000 business jets to carry out its signals intelligence (SIGINT) mission.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
NASA astronauts Chris Cassidy and Bob Behnken teamed July 21 for their fourth and final planned spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS) over the past month.
Space

By Steve Trimble
Rolls-Royce will supply the engines and infrared suppression system for the Bell V-280 tiltrotor proposal to the U.S. Army for the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program, the engine manufacturer announced on July 21.
Budget, Policy & Operations