Defense and Space

Explore Mars Inc., finds urgency in a Mars sample return mission as well as new communications relay and reconnaissance assets in orbit around the red planet.

Uber has announced new partnerships, and its partners have revealed new vehicle concepts.

The USAF intends to award contracts to Lockheed and Northrop to build five sats that will form the basis of an interim space-based missile warning system.

India has built a prototype of the “Quadruple Canisterized Inclined Launcher” that will allow warships with space constraints to launch the BrahMos missile.

Aircrew are still reporting dangerous, unexplained physiological episodes in the cockpit. And the service still has no idea why.

Passive optical seeker is set to upgrade three existing weapons with GPS-denied navigation and automatic target recognition.

France has the lead role in the Franco-German future combat air system, but some, including the country’s financial watchdog, question equality of roles.

The Pentagon has resumed accepting deliveries of F-35 aircraft from Lockheed Martin following an agreement on who would cover the cost of a production error.

Negotiations are under way with potential customers that are ready to overhaul old aircraft from different air forces.

Japan has issued two requests for proposals for intelligence and electronic warfare aircraft, one for the navy and one probably for the air force.

A labor union representing nearly 600 United Launch Alliance (ULA) employees rejected a final contract offer and started the week by marching on picket lines.

Boeing has pledged to deliver the first KC-46 tanker to the U.S. Air Force later this year with a software upgrade to the remote camera system.

France and Germany have given a green light to start a midlife update of the Airbus Tiger attack helicopter.

Raytheon will be a “key partner” in developing a 50-mi. unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) flight corridor in New York State, the company announced May 3.

Canada’s Viking Air has formally launched its CL-415 Enhanced Aerial Firefighter (CL-415EAF) conversion program.

BAE Systems is preparing for the potential rapid transition, from demonstration to production, of a low-cost optical seeker that will equip precision-guided munitions with the ability to navigate autonomously when GPS is denied and to automatically detect, identify and home onto fixed, moving and relocatable targets.

The U.S. State Department has approved a likely German purchase of six Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules airlifters through the Foreign Military Sales system.

The Pentagon is already using cutting-edge machine learning to identify objects on the battlefield.

Acquisitions remain a priority at defense and federal services provider CACI International.

NASA's SpaceX-contracted Dragon resupply mission capsule departed the International Space Station (ISS) and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on May 5.

House lawmakers are considering draft legislation that would stop short of restricting the delivery of the F-35 to Turkey, despite increasing concern on Capitol Hill about strained relations with the Eurasian nation due to its purchase of an advanced Russian air-defense system.

A sporty-looking black-and-white Falcon 9 rocket was rolled out to Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for a static engine hotfire before SpaceX’s newest booster, known as Block 5, lifts off on its debut flight.

Lockheed Martin’s proposal for Japan’s next fighter program is based on the F-22 Raptor, says the Nikkei newspaper.

Airbus Aerial has completed missions mapping and inspecting runways using drones and is now offering the service to airports worldwide.

The Advanced Turbine Engine Company is heading into a preliminary design review on the Alternate Concept Engine, a next-generation U.S. Army engine initiative.