Defense and Space

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and spacecraft builder Lockheed Martin Space Systems are troubleshooting the sluggish performance of two propulsion system helium check valves aboard the Juno spacecraft.

An Australian parliamentary committee has called for preparation in case of further delay in the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning program, increasing the possibility of the country ordering more Boeing Super Hornets.

MBDA is encouraging Japan to consider the Boeing F-15 as a potential carrier of the company’s Meteor ramjet missile.

TOKYO—Bell expects Japan to place orders completing its stated requirement for 17 MV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft in the next two years.

An international fleet of unmanned aerial, underwater and surface vehicles is gathered in Scotland for a naval exercise designed to prove unmanned technologies.

MBDA and Saab have begun deliveries of Taurus KEPD 350K standoff missiles to South Korea, as the country moves to increase its order for the weapon.

Taiwanese missile maker Ncsist has begun volume production of the Tien-Kung III air defense system while also working on an improved version.

Up to 14,000 Singaporean troops will train in Australia by 2021 under an agreement signed between the two countries in Canberra on Oct. 13.

The U.S. Navy says it has developed and tested the air show routine the Blue Angels will use when the team takes to the skies with its next aircraft, the F/A-18E Super Hornet, in 2020 or before.

The Japanese defense ministry looks increasingly likely to recommend building an indigenous fighter for service in the 2030s under the designation F-3.

A CNES satellite, in orbit since April, is in the middle of an instrument check phase before attempting to verify Einstein’s theory of general relativity with unprecedented precision—or partially invalidate it.

The French aerospace industry will face dire worker shortfalls if it can’t fix its inability to recruit and train young people.

Now that India has reset the clock on replacing its Ilyushin Il-78MKIs, look to Boeing to enter its 767-based KC-46 tanker and Airbus to try to revive A330 MRTT deal.

Controllers have maneuvered the Jason-2 spacecraft into an orbital slot 162 deg. away from the new Jason-3 satellite, giving weather forecasters and climate researchers a one-two punch.

Planet, a hot San Francisco-based Earth-observation startup that has launched dozens of CubeSat-class spacecraft into low Earth orbit (LEO), will provide daily imagery updates to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

Despite significant cost growth and the risk of additional schedule delays, the Pentagon has decided to move ahead with Raytheon’s GPS ground-control system, the Department of Defense announced Oct. 14.

Amid growing interest in private sector human spaceflight, startup Axiom Space is outlining a road map to develop an industrial “space city” in low Earth orbit based on multiple units of its modular habitat concept.

The observable universe is awash in galaxies, literally.

India is weighing a global tender for an aerial tanker to replace its seven Ilyushin Il-78MKIs after scrapping plans to buy six Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transports.

Japan and Britain are assessing the likely performance of an AESA-equipped Meteor in separate but coordinated studies. Expense and development time are also being weighed.

Cultivating true pilot autonomy in unscripted scenarios takes decades to hone and demands honest assessment of mistakes.

Deemphasis of maneuverability in the 2013 25DMU concept design is one of several signs that the defense ministry’s engineers think Japan’s next fighter should engage its targets at great distance.

Poland opts for Black Hawks after withdrawing from Airbus helicopter deal.

In this week’s Washington Outlook: a White House official looks at continued cooperation with India, including fighter sales; Obama touts Mars exploration; and Southwest Airlines starts flights to Cuba.

The U.S. Air Force has a “validated requirement” to field the latest UTC Aerospace Systems 10-band MS-177A electro-optical infrared reconnaissance sensor on the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk.