Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Tony Osborne
The U.S. State Department has approved a potential sale to Spain of Sikorsky MH-60R anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare helicopters.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Kim Minseok, Chen Chuanren
North Korea conducted its 10th missile test on the morning of March 16, although the mission ended in failure shortly after launch, South Korean officials said.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Chen Chuanren
Cablex, Crystalaid, Ferra, Levett, Lovitt, Nupress and Quickstep Holdings all inked memorandums of agreement with Boeing ahead of the JP9102 down selection.
Space

By Graham Warwick
Collins Aerospace is to develop a specialized cargo loading system for the N3.8T large unmanned cargo aircraft under development by Natilus.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Graham Warwick
Universal Hydrogen (UH2) and fuel-cell powertrain developer H3 Dynamics have partnered to develop zero-emission propulsion systems for unmanned aircraft, air taxis and new-design regional aircraft.
Emerging Technologies

By Bill Carey
Advanced air mobility vehicle developer Joby Aviation said March 15 that it is nearing completion of the application process to obtain an FAA Part 135 air carrier certificate.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Mark Carreau
NASA has agreed to address so-called insider cybersecurity threats to its unclassified programs in response to an audit conducted by the agency’s inspector general.
Space

By Irene Klotz
Less than five weeks after technical issues thwarted Astra Space’s first commercial mission, the Alameda, California, startup returned to the launchpad March 15 with a successful flight for another paying customer.
Commercial Space

By Michael Bruno
Flow-control products and services provider Circor has announced it is in talks for a possible sale of all or part of the company, and also that it rescinded its financial reports for 2019-20 due to its Pipeline Engineering business unit.
Supply Chain

By Mark Carreau
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei set a new record for the longest single spaceflight by an American on March 15 while aboard the International Space Station.
Space

By Steve Trimble
Three companies will each build 42 small communications satellites to support a new constellation of U.S. military reconnaissance and missile tracking
Space

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. government has approved plans to export Boeing F-15EX fighters to Egypt, the head of U.S. Central Command told lawmakers March 15. “In the
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
Slovakian startup AeroMobil is briefing potential investors on its plans to set up the first door-to-door aerial ridesharing service in the U.S. using a four-seat drive/fly vehicle.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Garrett Reim
MDA has been awarded a $269 million contract by the Canadian Space Agency to complete preliminary design of the Canadarm3 robotic arm for Gateway, a space station planned for lunar orbit.
Space

By Irene Klotz
George Nield, who oversaw commercial spaceflight for the FAA before becoming a private consultant, is among five paying passengers slated to ride on Blue Origin’s next flight of its New Shepard suborbital system, with liftoff targeted for March 23.
Space

By Mark Carreau
Despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s Roscosmos space agency has assured the U.S. that NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei will be returning to Earth from the International Space Station as planned aboard the Soyuz MS-19 that is set to land in Kazakhstan on March 30.
Space

By Steve Trimble
The head of U.S. Pacific Air Forces favors choosing the Boeing F-15EX to replace two squadrons of aging F-15C/D fighters at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
After spending a decade building up a portfolio of low-cost unmanned aircraft systems aimed at disrupting the low end of the market for autonomy in military aviation, Kratos Defense is now taking aim at the burgeoning market for hypersonic vehicles.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Tony Osborne
Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo is planning to invest around €300 million ($328.6 million) annually over the next five years to modernize its production processes and develop new products and technology.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Bill Carey
A city police department that was an early adopter of using drones for law enforcement purposes in the U.S. recently surpassed 10,000 missions.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

By Tony Osborne
Germany is now set to purchase Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to partially replace the country’s aging Panavia Tornado fleet.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Graham Warwick
Two U.S. Air Force pilots have become the first to conduct crewed test flights of an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft under the service’s Agility Prime program.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Tony Osborne
Pictures of the MIUS prototype fuselage in assembly at the company’s facility in Istanbul were published online by the company’s chief technology officer.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
Sweden has joined the growing list of European countries set to hike defense spending in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Chen Chuanren
The first of three Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Block 30 (I) Global Hawks arrived in Japan March 12, more than three years after the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract was signed in November 2018.
Budget, Policy & Operations