Defense and Space

After years of delays and technical setbacks for Boeing’s KC-46A tanker program, the U.S. Air Force is running out of patience with the aerospace giant.

The British government has waded into the ongoing bidding war between British engineering firm GKN and turnaround specialist Melrose.

Study work is underway on the future primary weapon for the Airbus Tiger attack helicopter.

NASA has been forced to confront another delay in the launching of its planned $8.83 billion, 5- to 10-year James Webb Space Telescope mission.

Thales has entered into a Space Act Agreement (SAA) with NASA to support its development of an unmanned aircraft systems traffic management (UTM) system.

An upgraded version of MBDA’s Brimstone 2 air-to-ground missile will equip Britain’s Eurofighter Typhoon fighters from 2022, Britain’s defense ministry says.

President Trump’s signature on the $1.3 trillion spending bill last week gave the USAF the green light to move forward with re-winging the A-10 Warthog.

Poland has ordered four more Leonardo M-346 advanced jet trainers, a move that will boost its fleet to 12 aircraft.

The Avic Chengdu J-20, in service with Chinese military combat forces, is ready to go to war at any time, says its chief designer, Yang Wei.

Hexcel and Arkema have signed a strategic alliance to develop thermoplastic composites for the aerospace sector.

Philippines maritime surveillance capabilities have been further boosted with the delivery of three Beechcraft C-90 King Airs, gifts from Japan.

AeroVironment has introduced an improved version of its RQ-20 Puma as the Pentagon rekindles its procurement of small unmanned aircraft systems.

Leading edge slats, clamshell aft cargo door with integrated elevon and other changes revealed as Boeing hones airlifter and X-plane blended-wing concepts.

Ukraine and France have signed agreements that could see Kiev buying up to 55 helicopters from Airbus.

Tel Aviv-based Spacecom announced March 26 it will buy the Amos-8 geostationary telecommunications satellite from Maxar’s SSL.

Boeing HorizonX Ventures’ 10th and latest investment, its first outside the U.S., is in Australian startup Myriota.

The launch of India’s second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2, has been postponed from April to October.

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has developed and flown a heavily modified version of its Anka medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned air system.

Raytheon is beginning work on a $575 million U.S. Army contract first won last June, now that a competitor’s repeated protests have been dismissed.

Turkey has carried out the first test firings of its indigenous family of air-to-air missiles with the aim of bringing the weapons into operation by 2020.

The Philippines is preparing to reintroduce ground-based air defense radar coverage.

This is how Lockheed Martin intends to beat the competition in the U.S. Navy’s MQ-25 tanker UAV competition.

Harris CEO Bill Brown talks about new opportunities in space and communications and why the aerospace industry must renew its fight for talent.

Lockheed Martin Skunk Works unveiled a never-before-seen tailless UAV dubbed the X-44A at the Los Angeles County Air Show in California on March 24.

Defense contractors are big winners as a U.S. budget deal supercharges military funding, but commercial contractors could be casualties as a U.S.-China trade dispute escalates. Aviation Week editors weigh in on the implications.