Defense and Space

An autonomy kit designed to convert any rotorcraft to unmanned operation for resupply or other missions is set to be tested by the Marines in 2018.

Orbital ATK is preparing to select a rocket motor for the cryogenic upper stage of its Next Generation Launcher, with a decision expected in the coming months.

Honeywell International is unlikely to pursue another acquisition the size of United Technologies Corp. (UTC).

Blue Origin resumed test flights on Dec. 12, sending its first New Shepard crew module and an upgraded booster on an unmanned, 10-min. ride.

The Dec. 12 launch of four Galileo satellites on an Ariane 5 puts Europe one step away from completing its own positioning, navigation and timing constellation.

Birds are the unquestioned masters of the air and, when it comes to trying to take down small UAVs, researchers are turning to nature for insight.

Cost-cutting needed, as Britain’s defense equipment plans face spending black hole.

Eastern European governments open their coffers for new defense equipment in response to forceful moves from Russia.

The Qatar deal was also good news for MBDA, allowing it to secure a long-awaited first export customer for its Brimstone air-to-ground missile.

France’s budget for military equipment will increase in 2018, but critics contend spending for foreign military operations is not being properly accounted for.

Launch of the mission has been retargeted for no earlier than 10:35 a.m. EST on Friday, the final day for launch before high Sun angles on the space station trigger a 10-day hiatus in vehicle dockings.

Canada has formally launched its long-awaited fighter competition.

NASA has created the legal and regulatory framework for a group of aerospace industry experts to advise the U.S. National Space Council.

Twenty-five European Union members have agreed to take the first steps toward closer defense and security cooperation within the trading bloc.

Hexcel and Alabama are about to unveil a plan to provide additional polyacrylonitrile precursor and carbon fiber for planned production increases of large commercial aircraft.

The U.S. and Afghan military’s new campaign to strike the Taliban’s support structure from the skies is a gamechanger, according to a top general.

President Donald Trump signed the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law Dec. 12.

Honeywell has received a supplemental type certification from the FAA to offer synthetic vision in the Primus Elite Advanced Features software upgrade on Bombardier Global Express business jets.

An unmanned glider that could precisely deliver supplies to clandestine forces and then decompose without leaving tell-tale traces has completed initial flights.

India’s state-run space agency is developing a low-cost small launch vehicle for compact satellites that is set to debut in little more than a year.

China has conducted its first crash test to assess the potential for aircraft damage in an airborne collision with a small UAV.

Eyeing North Korea, Japan plans spending on Aegis at sea and on land, radars and improved PAC-3 interceptors and command and control.

An indigenous anti-ballistic missile system and imported radar appear to have survived a South Korean defense ministry review.

Australian defense spending is to grow at an annual average of 5.8% in the nine fiscal years ending in June 2026. Equipment spending will surge 7.8% a year.

Annual foreign sales of arms and military services by U.S.-based companies jumped 4% to $217.2 billion in 2016, according to a well-known Swedish think tank.