Defense and Space

Donald Trump’s election to the White House means change is coming to the A&D world, but practically no one—maybe not even the president-elect—knows exactly what those changes will be.

President-Elect Donald Trump retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flyn to be his National Security Adviser.

Repairs are complete on the last of 13 U.S. F-35As affected by a cooling lines issue, and all have returned to normal flying operations.

Aircraft from VFA-147 “Argonauts” should embark on the USS Carl Vinson in 2021.

Thanks to the Nov. 17 launch by an Ariane 5 rocket of four Galileo satellites, the European space industry has further built confidence in its ability to progress toward more autonomy, despite glitches onboard previously launched Galileo spacecraft.

The crew set a duration record for Chinese human spaceflight.

The State Department has approved the long-awaited proposed sales of Boeing F-15s and F/A-18s to two Persian Gulf states.

the Pentagon is hosting a “Hard Kill Challenge” for industry and government entities to demonstrate novel approaches for swatting small UAVs.

Malaysia has no plans to economize by buying Chinese combat aircraft, despite a budget squeeze that is forcing the Southeast Asian nation to defer equipment purchases.

After years of declining research efforts, defense primes and aerospace OEMs are repositioning to become the perfect partners for startups via corporate venture capital projects.

While the flight needs of the U.S. Army and Navy could not be more dissimilar, the expectation for positive results through simulation and training upgrades is common.

China's Casic says its KZ-11 can hurl 1 metric ton to a 700-km (430-mi.) sun-synchronous orbit, exactly the same that CASC attributed last year to Long March 6.

Aurora Flight Sciences and Sikorsky complete autonomy demonstrations under Phase 2 of DARPA’s ALIAS cockpit-automation program. Both are now bidding for Phase 3, to mature selected technologies for transition to potential customers—military and commercial.

In this week’s Washington Outlook: Heritage Foundation on military options for new administration; Trump may back bilateral space ties with China; and the flood of new UAV pilots.

The Australian P-8 Poseidon is due to arrive in November, heralding a decade of change.

The House Armed Services Committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.), has cautioned the incoming Donald Trump administration against raising the defense budget much beyond current levels.

A trio of U.S., Russian and European astronauts launched to the International Space Station Nov. 17 for what promises to be a demanding six months aboard the orbiting science lab.

Columbia, Maryland-based Applied Defense Systems will develop cloud-based software for automated orbit analysis, maneuver planning and collision avoidance for OneWeb.

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas , who tops President-Elect Donald Trump’s short list to lead the Defense Department, is urging the U.S. Air Force to retire the aging B-52 bomber and instead buy enough copies of Northrop Grumman’s next-generation B-21.

The deployment will take place shortly after the U.K. declares its initial operational capability (IOC) for maritime operations from the ship, which is currently scheduled for the end of 2020.

If the Trump administration endorses the move, this “space situational awareness” function long filled by the U.S. Air Force could be taken over by the FAA in 5-6 years, the agency says.

Lockheed Martin could soon begin ramping up production of the AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile in Troy, Alabama.

Britain’s Royal Air Force is planning to create an eighth front-line Eurofighter Typhoon squadron in the early 2020s.

The U.S. State Department has approved the Foreign Military Sale of up to 26 Certifiable Predator B UAVs for the UK’s Protector program.

A New Zealand program to replace six Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion maritime patrollers should be completed by 2026, according to an acquisition plan published on Nov. 16.