Defense and Space

UK-based satellite operator Inmarsat and the European Space Agency have completed a first series of test flights for Iris Precursor, a project aimed at improving air traffic management over European airspace through satellite-based datalink communications.

If it did jump into the race, Textron would be the sixth entrant in an already heated battle to produce 350 or more high-performance trainers.

Boeing’s next-generation T-X took off for the first time Dec. 20, making its milestone first flight just weeks before the U.S. Air Force expects to formally kick off the competition for a new trainer fleet.

Seattle-based Spaceflight Industries intends to complete the expansion of its recently introduced BlackSky global intelligence platform by the end of the decade.

A Japanese spacecraft designed to study the interaction of solar storms and Earth’s magnetic field is functioning as planned after launch early Tuesday on an Epsilon launch vehicle from the Uchinoura Space Center.

India has plans to launch up to 2,500 small satellites in the next five years to cater to burgeoning space requirements.

Avic has flown the AC352 helicopter, its variant of the Airbus H175, employing a Safran engine instead of the Pratt & Whitney Canada turboshaft of the original version.

The U.S. Air Force bought the legacy presidential aircraft from Boeing for just $249 million back in 1986 but expects to spend $3.2 billion on the new Air Force One.

The Pentagon is preparing for a delay of up to seven months in the F-35s development program and projecting cost growth of $530 million.

Momentum is building behind a propulsion upgrade of the 1960s-vintage, nuclear-armed Boeing B-52H Stratofortress, with Boeing proposing an eight-for-eight swap for engines designed to power regional jets in the 17,000-19,000 lb.-thrust range.

Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. is set to provide $1 billion of a $1.2 billion capital fund for OneWeb Ltd. to use in developing technology and building a constellation of at least 720 low Earth orbit communications smallsats to extend Internet connectivity worldwide.

Bell-Boeing MV-22 Ospreys assigned to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in Okinawa, Japan, have returned to flight less than a week after one of the aircraft clipped the refueling hose of an Air Force C-130 during a routine refueling and crashed.

The European Space Agency and Thales Alenia Space last week signed a contract that secures the European portion of the ExoMars 2020 mission.

Controllers are moving the EchoStar XIX broadband satellite to its geostationary operating position at 97.1 West Long. following its Sunday launch.

The first of two Gulfstream G550 Conformal Airborne Early Warning aircraft have been delivered to Italy as part of a reciprocal bilateral deal that saw Israel purchase 30 M346 jet trainers.

John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, U.S. Marine Corps aviator and Washington lawmaker, drew praise for his life’s accomplishments during a weekend memorial service at Ohio State University.

Bad weather appears to have been a factor in the fatal crash of an Indonesian Lockheed Martin C-130H Hercules on Dec. 18, air force Chief of Staff Agus Supriatna says.

Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa will take over as India’s chief of air staff on Dec. 31 following the retirement of Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha.

The Missiles Defense Agency validated the shipborne Standard Missile-6 against a medium-range ballistic missile in a significant test off the coast of Hawaii.

Italy has become the first operator of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to base the aircraft outside the U.S.

The Russian air force’s new transport aircraft, the Ilyushin IL-76MD-90A, is preparing for its final tests prior to delivery.

U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs will operate alongside UK F-35s from Britain’s new Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier in 2021.

Bulgaria is looking for new and secondhand fighters to replace its air force’s aging Soviet-era fleet.

Britain and France are to begin work on the development of a joint Unmanned Combat Air System demonstrator in late 2017.

The Chinese navy has conducted a live-fire exercise for a battle group centered on the aircraft carrier Liaoning, acknowledged by the service as not yet ready for war.