With the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act report requirement for maritime security strategy placing an emphasis on the South China Sea and East China Sea, some senators want a better of idea of what the U.S. plans to do about Chinese actions in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
UNMANNED SYSTEMS CAUCUS was re-launched on Capitol Hill by Reps. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) and Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.) to educate lawmakers on commercial applications of unmanned systems, industry trends and regulatory issues. AIRBUS HELICOPTERS’ H145 (formerly EC145 T2) is making Brazilian debut in month-long demonstration tour visiting São Paulo, Curitiba, Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro; will be shown to civilian, offshore, government, military operators.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the chairman of the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee, may try to loosen a congressional restriction on purchases of Russian-made RD-180 engines used to send military and intelligence satellites into orbit on Atlas V launch vehicles. Last year, in response to Russia’s takeover of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, lawmakers cut off the purchase of additional RD-180 engines. Congress also directed the military to start an engine-replacement program to find a permanent replacement for the RD-180 by 2019.
U.S. astronauts could be flying to the International Space Station (ISS) on Russian Soyuz capsules as late as the end of 2020, under a modification in NASA’s previously announced plans to procure six more Soyuz seats as a backup to the U.S.-built commercial crew vehicles now under development.
Helicopter manufacturers expect Malaysia to order rotorcraft for at least search and rescue (SAR) missions in 2016-2020, possibly adding military functions to the requirement.
While the U.S. Navy still expects delivery of the CVN 78 Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier in about a year, there is still one potential showstopper: successful testing of the advanced arresting gear (AAG).
A new diesel generator simulator recently delivered to Pearl Harbor naval facilities by the TechSolutions program at the Office of Naval Research (ONR) will help train sailors working on the U.S. Navy’s most advanced attack submarine generators, Navy officials say.
After eyeing a low-cost launch opportunity on a Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) rocket, Airbus Defense and Space has selected an Ariane 5 to lift its second European Data Relay System (EDRS) spacecraft to geostationary orbit in the first quarter of 2017.
Germany is backing away from the global arms export trade, China is closer to becoming a net exporter, and the U.S. and Russia are almost neck and neck in providing the most weaponry abroad.
The restructuring of Italian aerospace and defense conglomerate Finmeccanica is already having a positive effect on the company’s results, CEO Mauro Moretti says.
With concrete accomplishments in the previous year, the U.S. Navy’s Ohio-class submarine replacement program (ORP) looks to be in good shape, according to the recent annual report of Pentagon reviews by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
GENERAL ATOMICS has $132m U.S. Army contract for 19 Gray Eagle UAVs, 19 Satcom Air Data Terminals, spares & support equipment, due May 31, 2017. Meanwhile, Predator/Gray Eagle fleet reached 1m cumulative flight hours – 90% in combat – on Feb. 20 after flying 78,606 sorties; first flight occurred in Palmdale, CA, on Feb. 2, 2001.
NASA’s inspector general has warned the agency that it may be moving too fast on developing the ground infrastructure for launching its planned heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion crew capsule.
