Defense and Space

NASA is ethically obligated to provide its astronauts with lifetime health care, current and former U.S. spaceflight record holders and medical experts told the House Science space subcommittee June 15.

Swedish aerospace and defense company Saab says it is ready to partner with India’s state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) to upgrade India’s indigenously-developed Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

As the U.S. Marine Corps continues to develop its own new large UAV, dubbed “MUX,” the service sees the Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout as a good short-term gap-filler, says Col. John Barranco, the service’s unmanned systems cell lead.

Airbus Helicopters has begun the first firing trials of its Hforce generic weapons system.

Turkish industry has formally started work to pave the way for delivery of locally manufactured T-70 Black Hawks starting in 2021.

From Boeing’s difficulties on the tanker program to its shift toward fighter sustainment and upgrades, Aviation Week editors analyze their recent conversation with Leanne Caret, CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security.

U.K. missile maker MBDA has scored a small but significant victory in its long-running campaign to secure a U.S. customer for Brimstone.

Due to safety concerns about nearby urban areas—as well as increased public awareness following last year's Shoreham Airshow crash—the Red Arrows team will be limited to flypasts only.

Malaysia welcomes its third A400M airlifter; India prepares to export BrahMos missiles; U.S. Navy to complete communications satellite constellation; U.S. Apaches begin strikes in Iraq.

NASA’s Spacecraft Fire Experiment, Saffire-1, appears to have burned for several minutes June 14, long enough to generate thousands of images for researchers.

Due to safety concerns about nearby urban areas—as well as increased public awareness following last year's Shoreham Airshow crash—the Red Arrows team will be limited to flypasts only.

U.S. Special Operations Command is taking an interest in a small glide munition from the maker of the mushroom-cloud-generating "Mother Of All Bombs."

The MH-60S has experienced at least 92 mishaps since the beginning of fiscal 2009.

Pratt & Whitney is revealing new details of a proposed upgrade plan that could cut F-35 fuel burn by as much as 7%.

U.K. missile maker MBDA has scored a small but significant victory in its long-running campaign to secure a U.S. customer for Brimstone.

KUALA LUMPUR—Deliveries of Malaysia’s four Airbus A400M Atlas airlifters should be complete this year, following acceptance of the third aircraft June 9.

What is the industry’s long-term approach to global warming, the talent chase and new competition?

U.S. Air Force secretary Deborah Lee James has again voiced her concern about maintaining competition within the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program until a suitable substitute for the Russian RD-180 rocket engine is available.

Forecasting costly and potentially deadly high-energy solar storms could improve with the deployment of small-spacecraft constellations, some experts say.

Orbital ATK’s latest Cygnus cargo capsule departed the six-person orbiting science lab early June 14 primed for a much-anticipated fiery encore.

Discussions are ongoing about what type of penalty should be levied on Boeing for missing a contractual timeline to deliver 18 operational KC-46A Pegasus tankers.

Contracts to design an unmanned aircraft that will decompose and disappear within 4 hr. of delivering a payload have been awarded to design and prototyping house Dzyne Technologies and electronics and materials specialist Palo Alto Research Corp. (PARC).

With the MV-22 Osprey proving its worth in operations thus far, program officials are looking for the next set of missions and modifications they say will make the aircraft even more valuable to the future U.S. military force.

The Royal Netherlands Air Force has redeployed its two F-35A Joint Strike Fighters back to the U.S. after the international debut of the aircraft at the air force’s Open Dagen air show.

The MV-22 tiltrotor Ospreys are offering the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy more flexibility than they have with other aircraft, but adapting operations to those new opportunities is creating some logistical support challenges,