Defense and Space

Nine companies picked by NASA last year as eligible to fly small payloads to the surface of the Moon have been notified that NASA is looking for its first ride.

The U.S. Navy's next-generation Ford-class aircraft carrier will experience at least a three-month delivery delay to the operational fleet because of issues with its nuclear powerplant.

President Donald Trump on March 26 called on NASA to land U.S. astronauts on the Moon within five years, Vice President Mike Pence said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has nominated Air Force Gen. John Raymond to lead U.S. Space Command as the Pentagon shifts how it plans to fight in space.

NASA is postponing for now plans to carry out the first all-female spacewalk due to a scarcity of properly sized spacesuit elements on the International Space Station.

The FAA has published a nearly 600-page draft of proposed regulations to streamline space launch and re-entry licensing requirements for U.S. companies.

The U.S. State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of the General Atomics MQ-9B SkyGuardian unmanned air system (UAS) to Belgium.

UPS and drone delivery system developer Matternet have announced the launch of a new service to deliver medical samples by drone.

Increased reach of naval air-defense systems means F-2s attacking with ASM-3 need to stand off farther from the target. The missile will be modified.

The U.S. successfully executed a the first “salvo engagement” with its Boeing-led Ground-based Midcourse Defense System on March 25, using two interceptors to engage a target.

Boeing’s 767-based tankers use a version of the pitch augmentation system that grounded the 737 Max 8 fleet, the manufacturer and U.S. Air Force officials say.

Within the next six months, Lockheed Martin plans to launch a cubesat mission to demo a software-defined sat architecture that will allow a spacecraft to change missions while on orbit.

The USAF, Marine Corps, Navy and National Nuclear Security Administration have all submitted fiscal 2020 unfunded priorities lists to Congress.

Morocco looks set to standardize its combat aircraft fleet on the F-16, with plans to upgrade its current inventory of the Lockheed Martin fighter and top-up its order.

Traditionally, the development of new engines comes ahead of that for new airframes, but the U.S. Army has taken a different approach.

Nav Canada began space-based tracking of aircraft flying in the eastern part of its Edmonton flight information region (FIR) on March 25.

Leonardo will assemble light and medium helicopters in Algeria beginning in 2021 following the creation of a joint venture.

An Italian think tank is calling on Italy to join Britain’s Tempest sixth-generation fighter development project.

India’s state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. has rolled out its 16th Tejas Light Combat Aircraft in the initial operational clearance (IOC) configuration.

The aircraft are part of a $3.1 billion contract that India signed with Boeing in September 2015 for the procurement of 8 Chinooks and 22 AH-64E Apache helicopters.

Indonesia plans to buy six Viking Air CL-415 amphibians for firefighting operations, the country’s air force chief said.

Comac tests fuel-cell power; DLR to capture rockets in flight; Fluidic flight control; DARPA’s “Disruptioneering”; UAM in Austria.

To sell young people on flight, keep them in the cockpit and appeal to their sense of duty. U.S. security depends on it.

A senior defense official said the Pentagon decided to request the purchase of Boeing F-15EXs to maintain diversity in the industrial base.

Two NASA astronauts on March 22 completed the first in a pair of spacewalks to replace aging batteries on the International Space Station.