Defense and Space

President Donald Trump on June 18 directed the Pentagon to establish a “Space Force” as a sixth branch of the U.S. armed forces.

Airbus has handed over the first public service versions of its H175 super-medium twin-engine helicopter to launch customer Hong Kong Government Flying Service.

So far, so good for NASA when it comes to 2019 U.S. congressional appropriations in support of a White House directive to return to the Moon.

A U.S. DOD decision to transition the Afghan Air Force from the Russian-built Mi-17 to U.S.-made Black Hawk helos has been criticized in a congressional report.

The Polish defense ministry says it is still actively pursuing the purchase of new utility helicopters to replace Soviet-era models, but it says air defense and naval requirements have taken a priority.

India’s national space agency is hoping to launch its next mission—an Earth observation satellite and up to 30 small satellite co-passengers—in August.

DARPA targets hypersonic defense; USAF wants reusable hypersonics; an unmanned KC-46A tanker? Liebherr/GM team on fuel-cell APU, and UK drone BVLOS milestone.

The trade spat between the world’s largest economies and aviation marketplaces is revving up.

An industry consortium aiming to standardize on-orbit satellite servicing technologies says it has figured out how to work together.

Darpa is tackling the next seemingly unstoppable peril—hypersonic weapons being developed and deployed by Russia and China.

The occasion of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works’ 75th anniversary celebration on June 14 came during a time of transition for its leadership.

India’s home-developed Rustom-2, a medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV meant to strengthen homeland security, will be ready for military deployment by 2020.

Feedback on its initial F135 engine upgrade proposal prompted P&W to include increased power and thermal management capability in its Growth Option 2.0 upgrade package.

A heavily redacted document posted by the Air Force acknowledges an April contract award to develop an air-launched missile.

Northrop has received a contract worth up to $189.2 million to support four RQ-4A Block 10 unmanned aircraft for up to another 42 months.

The German defense ministry has signed off on a leasing arrangement with Airbus to operate the IAI Heron TP medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV.

NASA’s directorates are striving by September to reach a consensus on preliminary requirements for the human-tended Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway.

On its 75th anniversary, we look at the legendary organization’s storied history through the past pages of AW&ST.

The enduring fascination with Lockheed’s Blackbird means that, even 19 years after it last flew, there continues to be a seemingly insatiable appetite for more coverage of this legendary aircraft.

The EU has rejected Britain’s requests to maintain industrial involvement and use the PRS signal of the Galileo sat navigation system after exiting the union.

Satellite and wireless networking services provider Viasat has bought Horsebridge Defense and Security, a support company for deployable secure networks.

Germany proceeds with Israeli UAV, Qatar to use Sniper pods on Rafale, India seeks support for Apache sale, and Philippines desires more FA-50s.

A likely cash infusion from Congress would come as the fighter program prepares for a full-rate production decision in 2019.

NASA has lost contact with its long-lived Mars rover Opportunity as a near-global dust storm encircles the planet.

AEW for amphibious forces that lack the coverage of carrier-based E-2D Hawkeyes is the top requirement for the Marine's planned MUX expeditionary UAS.