Defense and Space

Drawing up a concept that emphasizes weapon load and endurance over maneuverability, designers at the Japanese defense ministry have come up with an aircraft that is longer than the F-22 and has a considerably greater wingspan.

USAF is “aggressively” pursuing a long-range, stealthy unmanned surveillance aircraft to go places its high-altitude Lockheed Martin U-2S and Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk cannot.

After Donald Trump’s surprise election as president, the top aerospace trade group has a lot to do.

America’s aerospace trade association said it is preparing for a “challenging” policy arena in both Washington and around the world.

In an environment where a Tweet can move markets, the head of the Aerospace Industries Association is urging companies to stick to the facts.

Airbus’ C295W offering has triumphed in Canada over the Leonardo C-27J and Embraer KC-390.

Airbus Helicopters has begun flight testing the first of 18 naval NH90 Sealion helicopters planned for Germany’s air arm.

Mars One, which proposes to become the first publicly traded venture to colonize the Red Planet, has delayed its proposed human settlement timetable.

Japan’s proposed indigenous fighter would be larger than the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and is designed around the carriage of missiles the size of the MBDA Meteor.

The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale of AH-64E Apaches to the United Arab Emirates and CH-47F Chinooks to Saudi Arabia.

U.S., Canadian and Australian military forces will gain additional satellite communications bandwidth with the Dec. 7 launch of an upgraded Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) spacecraft from Cape Canaveral on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV.

The Russian armed forces have rearmed one brigade with the newest modification of the Buk medium surface-to-air missiles.

Tom Kennedy outlines why he thinks the U.S. Air Force will want the kind of low-risk T-X trainer Raytheon is offering.

In this week’s roundup: Saudi Arabia on the verge of getting highly advanced F-15s, Russia’s land forces take delivery of an upgraded Buk SAM, Chile buys six S-70i Black Hawks and Russia prepares to export its Alligator helicopter.

A spending bill for early 2017 answers some of the Obama administration’s top procurement wishes—including allowing full production of aerial refueling tankers.

Small, agile and responsive, Houston Precision Fasteners (HPF) is one of an estimated 1,200 small businesses scattered across the U.S. that play limited yet significant roles in the development of NASA’s Space Launch System exploration rocket and its primary future payload, the Orion crew capsule.

India has successfully launched Resourcesat 2A—the country’s latest Earth observation satellite.

The Chilean government has signed a contract with Sikorsky to purchase six S-70i International Black Hawks to fulfill a requirement for a new fleet of medium helicopters.

Sikorsky is on pace to begin testing the new-generation HH-60W combat rescue helicopter ahead of schedule.

Beechcraft Corp. has announced enhancements to its King Air 350 special mission platform for higher performance.

The U.S. Army is looking for ways to re-engine its General Electric T700-powered Sikorsky UH-60M/Vs and Boeing AH-64E Apaches faster.

NASA picked Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) for a $127 million contract to build the bus for its planned Restore-L spacecraft-refueling mission.

Raytheon CEO Tom Kennedy is adamant that the company’s T-100 offering for the U.S. Air Force’s T-X competition is a must win for the company.

Nothing seems to bring NASA’s many science and technical pursuits together like the search for life beyond Earth, agency chief scientist Ellen Stofan says.

Boeing said late Dec. 6 it has struck a deal to buy Liquid Robotics, which makes autonomous maritime systems and is the developer of the Sharc Wave Glider ocean surface robot.