Defense and Space

Leonardo has begun flight trials of the third prototype AW609 commercial tiltrotor as it targets certification of the high-speed rotary-wing aircraft by 2018.

NASA’s Satellite Servicing Products Division is counting on SpaceX’s CRS 10 resupply mission to the International Space Station to help kick off two years of autonomous rendezvous and docking system technology development.

The European Space Agency’s Aeolus science satellite is ready for the two remaining phases of tests that will ensure it can measure “slices” of winds from a 320-km orbit.

Fly-by-wire control system issues challenged F-15SA service entry.

In this week’s roundup, Malaysia’s coast guard will own UAVs, Belgium joins U.S. space situational awareness efforts, U.S. Navy to buy one fewer MQ-4 Triton and a South Korean Foreign Military Sale for Raytheon missiles.

A propeller-driven AEW indicated by a mockup would probably need catapults, which would be hard to justify unless China plans several carriers with catapults.

The AW159 Wildcat looks well-placed to win the order for 12 helicopters, which could lead to contracts for a further 42.

Engineers at FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) want to see how a Falcon 9 test on Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center works out before clearing the SpaceX launcher for its first flight from the historic pad. George Nield, associate administrator for commercial space transportation, said Wednesday there are a number of procedural issues as well with the first use of the leased NASA facility for a commercial mission.

Of the 263 MV-22s already delivered, about one in four on average is structurally different in some way, causing headaches for maintainers and upsetting the parts supply chain.

The U.S. Marine Corps is reporting that almost two-thirds of its F/A-18 strike fighters were down due to maintenance in December, an alarmingly high number.

The F-35’s autonomic logistics information system is not compatible with the IT systems being used at government aircraft depots where the fighter and its components are repaired.

Lockheed Martin could sue the Pentagon over the F-35’s recent production awards, the Joint Strike Fighter prime contractor’s top financial officer said Feb. 8.

NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility remained closed Feb. 8 to assess damage from a major tornado that struck a day earlier.

The probably intentional revelation of a mockup similar to the Northrop Grumman E-2D Hawkeye suggests Beijing plans a substantial fleet of aircraft carriers.

NASA’s heavy-lift Space Launch System picked up a pair of potentially significant endorsements on Feb. 7.

Developing the ability to exchange fire-control information over different data links without translation is a key element of a new Office of Naval Research (ONR) technology demonstration for which Raytheon has received an $11.8 million contract.

Thailand is going ahead with a controversial order for submarines from China that is probably driven in part by a desire for closer relations with Beijing.

Something about ancient Mars is not adding up, and it’s not for lack of trying.

H0LiCOW, an international collaboration of astronomers, has developed an independent estimate for the Hubble Constant.

Airline profits may ease as fuel costs rise, the business jet market is likely to get “less bad,” and signs bode well for defense sector growth.

Introducing new, lighter helmet posed challenges for manufacturer Martin-Baker’s F-35 ejection seats.

The supersized Raytheon/MHI Standard Missile-3 Block 2A is on track for deployment in 2018 following a successful intercept test.

Air National Guard MQ-9 Reaper units could soon be flying more observation missions along the U.S. border.

A Japanese space experiment designed to demonstrate a method of de-orbiting man-made space debris failed to deploy a key test component.

India plans to launch a new navigation satellite in the second half of this year to replace an Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System spacecraft experiencing technical problems.