Many small suppliers announced executive changes and overhauls in their latest quarterly reports. “It’s turned out to be a year of restructuring,” says one.
NASA has cleared five more companies to bid for upcoming lunar payload flight service contracts, including SpaceX, which is offering its Mars-class reusable Starship vehicle.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Nov. 18 sustained a protest by Blue Origin of the U.S. Air Force’s National Security Space Launch procurement.
Subaru expects to have production facilities for the Bell 412EPX helicopter ready before April 2021 for a licensed manufacturing program underpinned by a Japanese army requirement.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) plans to develop and demonstrate a range of new tactical capabilities for its family of unmanned air vehicles as part of an ongoing initiative to align more closely to the U.S. Defense Department’s shift to a near-peer National Defense Strategy.
U.S. House lawmakers in a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) derided an “irresponsible proposal” to have federal air marshals operate counter-drone systems near airports.
Lockheed Martin is trying to shorten the delivery time for Japan’s two Aegis Ashore systems in response to the government’s desire for as quick a program as possible, a company representative said.
An Emirati and South African joint venture building precision guidance kits for dumb bombs is working on a range extension program to be able to reach targets well in excess of 120 km (75 mi.).
Despite tensions between Gulf Cooperation Council states, the Iranian missile threat requires regional cooperation as the “best shot to defend the UAE is not always from the UAE. It may be Qatar or Oman,” says U.S. Air Force chief of staff Gen. David Goldfein.
U.S. Air Force is pursuing the idea of a new “Century Series” for satellites in which the service would create a spacecraft bus with common components that can be customized for specific missions.
The U.S. Navy is sounding the alarm over how an extended continuing budget resolution in fiscal 2020 would affect the military’s aircraft carrier fleet and aviation readiness.
European Space Agency and NASA astronauts Luca Parmitano and Drew Morgan successfully initiated a complex series of spacewalks outside the International Space Station on Nov. 15, working ahead of schedule to begin a thermal control system overhaul on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS).
Lower deliveries caused by the Boeing 737 MAX grounding, as well as a union strike, and new program costs combined to cut into Canadian aerostructures provider AvCorp Group’s latest quarterly earnings, the company revealed Nov. 15.
The Pentagon has outlined a plan to increase F-35 Autonomic Logistics Information System usability by September 2020 and believes it can be achieved without requesting additional funding from Congress.
As the U.S. Army researches hydrogen-fueled vehicles ranging from rescue trucks to unmanned aircraft, the service has awarded General Atomics a contract for a high-pressure hydrogen generation system to support refueling in the field.
The Czech defense ministry is looking for offsets of 30% of contract value in favor of its national industry as it prepares to sign a U.S. Foreign Military Sale for military helicopters from Bell.
