Defense and Space

A day after India launched an air strike against alleged terror camps in Pakistan, Islamabad claims to have shot down two Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-21s.

Airspace over Pakistan and a large swath of northwestern India has been closed to commercial flights after a series of air strikes ratcheted up tensions between the two countries.

The Indian Air Force used the Rafael Spyder air defense system to shoot down a Pakistani UAV in western India.

Lockheed Martin still has a monopoly on all of the DOD's hypersonic weapons efforts included in the latest contract modification of up to $846 million for the U.S. Navy’s intermediate range Conventional Prompt Strike weapon system flight test demo.

The current situation is combustible enough for defense analysts and planners to ponder how Venezuela might affect the 2019-21 outlook for the sector.

Much as Saab created an enlarged Gripen, India’s defense technology agency wants to lengthen the HAL Tejas and give it the F414 engine.

Boeing, for the first time, has reached offshore to develop a military aircraft specifically intended for sale globally.

Boeing Airpower Teaming System is a fighter-like unmanned aircraft specifically designed to be exportable globally.

Kaman Aerospace has a slew of new tech projects in its research and development pipeline as the downsized company tries to reposition for growth this year.

Northrop Grumman still sees a path to offering the APG-83 radar as an upgrade for the U.S. Marine Corps’ F/A-18C/D fleet despite Raytheon and U.S. Navy statements that suggest the competition is over.

Boeing and Embraer expect to close their deal-making over commercial and defense aircraft JVs by year’s end, they said after Embraer shareholders OK'd the deals.

Airbus has completed upgrades on the first of 15 Spanish Air Force Eurofighters.

FlightSafety International is entering a new realm of aviation activity—offering fundamental hands-on instruction for aspiring civilian drone operators.

The head of Stratcom implored Congress on Feb. 26 to establish a separate combatant command for space instead of having the new entity reside under his control.

The Israeli Defense Forces has an urgent operational need for a new heavy helo, but the selection process has been slowed by an ongoing a corruption probe.

NASA plans to introduce a new International Space Station sensor experiment designed to study interactions in the Earth’s upper atmosphere.

Operational introduction of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning in Australia is so far going more smoothly than expected.

Australia is likely to decide within a few months whether its General Atomics MQ-9 should be common with those of the U.S. or British air forces.

A U.S. agency has produced the first low-yield nuclear warhead.

India has test fired its indigenously developed Quick Reach Surface-to-Air Missile (QR-SAM), intended for service with the country’s air force and army.

Berlin is concerned about Riyadh’s war in Yemen and the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Technologies from F-22 and F-35 are added to F-16 to entice India. But the MiG-35, Su-35 or Rafale could minimize fleet fragmentation.

Australia expects to launch a second experimental defense satellite next year, building on the reliable performance of one that went into orbit in November 2017.

The size of the global Western civil turbine rotorcraft fleet is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 1.6% over the next 10 years, Aviation Week Network’s 2019 Helicopter Forecast says.

The USAF has revealed its life cycle cost estimate—$18.5 billion—for the new helos to guard nuclear missile sites and transport VIPs around Washington.