Defense and Space

NASA’s Journey to Mars envisions a U.S. role in a human “return to the Moon,” even if not in the same sense the agency carried out six spacecraft landings under the agency’s banner during the Apollo era.

The Air Force is considering measures to ensure that communications sent over the Wideband Global Satcom constellation are more secure.

India is on track to launch its first solar mission to study the Sun’s outermost layers and hopes it will take place in the next two years.

The Spanish government and Airbus Defense and Space have formalized an agreement to postpone the delivery of 13 of Spain’s 27 planned A400M airlifters.

Europe’s €430 million ($455 million) LISA Pathfinder mission has been postponed due to a technical issue on the Vega light launcher.

Three of XCOR Aerospace’s founders have left the company to set up a new firm – Agile Aero – offering “short schedule vehicle prototyping services.”

Boeing has closed out C-17 deliveries and seven decades of aircraft production in Long Beach, California.

Boeing has closed out C-17 deliveries and seven decades of aircraft production in Long Beach, California.

Capt. Richard Prest, Commander Task Force 72 and Commander Fleet Air Forward, makes sure the intelligence keeps flowing in the Western Pacific.

Likely enlargement of Australia’s frigate force will add pressure to eventually add a third replenishment ship to the Royal Australian Navy, a Canberra, Australia, think tank says.

Russian Helicopters has delivered the first prototype of an Arctic transport rotorcraft to the Russian defense ministry.

Acquisition reform requires speed, resources, commercial pricing—and a little “plain English.”

The German government plans to send Panavia Tornados for operations over Syria in response to a French request for assistance following the terror attacks on Paris earlier this month.

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) may add language to appropriations bill that would help ULA use the Atlas V to compete for future launches.

Poland’s new government is moving to cancel two key defense tenders agreed by the previous administration.

Russia sells China Sukhoi fighters and special ops helicopters; Indian army scraps Nishant UAV; manned-unmanned teaming demo in South Korea; U.S. sells three Global Hawks to Japan.

From no-fly zones in Syria to the potential return of F-22 production, presidential candidates are talking tougher about defense.

Ashton Carter’s Defense Innovation Unit, Experimental, is quite small and has no budget to speak of.

While the Strategic Defense and Security Review published on Nov. 23 appears to be good news, the government’s pledges appear to do little more than paper over gaping cracks in military aircraft capabilities left by previous reviews.

F-35 SUPPORT: The U.S. Navy has awarded United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney, Military Engines, East Hartford, Connecticut, a $214.5 million

Aerospace Daily & Defense Report's Defense Market Intelligence Notes highlight the global goings-on of the aerospace industry.

The Russian defense ministry says that no warnings of airspace infringement were received by the crew of a Sukhoi Su-24 fighter bomber shot down by Turkey.

Russia plans to strengthen its forces in Syria with increased air defenses and a larger fighter jet presence, after Turkish F-16s downed a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M tactical bomber near the Syrian-Turkish border on Nov. 24.

The U.S. Air Force erred in making some past performance determinations in a recent contract award for F-15 support service in Saudi Arabia, the GAO says.

China and Vietnam took strides toward a better relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent trip to Vietnam, but the visit apparently did not derail Vietnam’s plans to bolster its security relationship with Japan.