Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Tony Osborne
Finland has taken the first steps toward its procurement of the Lockheed Martin F-35 with the signing of agreements for the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) and industrial participation.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Graham Warwick
Another shoe has dropped in the competition to supply the U.S. Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA), with Sikorsky and Boeing selecting Honeywell’s 7,500-shp HTS7500 engine to power their contender, the Defiant X coaxial rigid-rotor compound helicopter.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Michael Bruno
GKN Aerospace announced Feb. 10 that it will shut down its St. Louis manufacturing center in 2023, shuttering the home of one of the area’s largest manufacturing sites and a sizable supplier to nearby Boeing.
Supply Chain

By Jen DiMascio
An inflight anomaly prevented an Astra Space rocket from delivering four small research satellites to orbit, according to NASA.
Commercial Space

Karem Aircraft is studying a version of its optimum speed tiltrotor concept aimed at providing a common solution to both U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Future Vertical requirements, although both continue to evolve.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
Northrop Grumman’s upcoming 17th NASA-contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station includes a more than 2,000-lb. payload to support future human deep space exploration and address issues on Earth like cancer treatment.
Space

By Tony Osborne
The U.S. State Department has approved a potential sale of Boeing F-15 Advanced Eagles to Indonesia, just hours after Jakarta closed a deal with France for Dassault Rafales, making an F-15s buy uncertain.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Jen DiMascio
In a discussion of upcoming competitions, Boeing Defense, Space and Security CEO Leanne Caret confirmed that the company will offer its E-7 Wedgetail for the U.S. Air Force’s search for a replacement for the E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
Elbit Systems’ StarLiner medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft system has received type certification from the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel, approving the aircraft to fly in civil airspace.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Graham Warwick
Volocopter has secured a commitment for up to $1 billion in financing to build its fleet of electric vertical takeoff and landing passenger and cargo vehicles.
Advanced Air Mobility

By Graham Warwick
In a move that will significantly expand the production of sustainable fuels in the U.S., LanzaJet has entered into an agreement to build a 120 million gal.-a-year facility southwest of Chicago.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
Hydrogen supplier Air Liquide and Airbus have signed a memorandum of understanding with Korean Air and the operator of Incheon International Airport to study the development of infrastructure required to support the deployment of hydrogen-powered aircraft.
Emerging Technologies

By Tony Osborne
Boeing is proposing its P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to meet a Canadian multi-mission requirement, but it is unclear whether the aircraft will be seriously considered by Ottawa.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Tony Osborne
Norway is considering canceling its contract for NH90 helicopters after the revelation that deliveries of upgraded aircraft could be delayed until 2024.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Graham Warwick
Boeing has begun routine use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in its commercial-aircraft flight operations, with Epic Fuels to supply 2 million gal. of blended fuel for its Washington state and South Carolina operations through 2022.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Chen Chuanren
China is planning to conduct at least 50 rocket missions and place over 140 spacecraft in orbit in 2022.
Space

By Chen Chuanren
Hungary is inviting space experiments from Singapore to be part of the research agenda for the astronaut it will send to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2024.
Space

By Graham Warwick
U.S. startup Odys Aerospace has secured $12.4 million in seed funding to build a subscale demonstrator of an unconventional hybrid-electric aircraft that combines vertical takeoff and landing capability with high cruise efficiency to provide regional range at low operating cost.
Emerging Technologies

By Tony Osborne, Chen Chuanren, Thierry Dubois
Dassault’s Rafale has scored another major export contract with the sale of 42 aircraft to Indonesia.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Graham Warwick
Singapore-based private aviation charter company Yugo has partnered with U.S. startup Electra.aero to develop an air mobility network in the Asia-Pacific region.
Singapore Airshow

By Steve Trimble
A settlement agreement between Embraer and the Brazilian Air Force will cut in half a proposed reduction in KC-390 deliveries and stretch out remaining deliveries for another seven years.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Brian Everstine
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved the resumption of nine Defense Department advisory committees including the Defense Innovation Board, and has tapped former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to lead that key group.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
Industry officials have one last chance to influence the U.S. Army’s strategy for acquiring a family of vehicles, payloads and mission systems for Air-Launched Effects, scheduled to become operational in fiscal 2025.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Senate on Feb. 9 voted 93-2 to approve the nomination of Douglas Bush to be the assistant secretary of the U.S. Army for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Brian Everstine
Raytheon Intelligence & Space announced Feb. 9 that it has finished thermal vacuum testing of the payload for the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Geosynchronous Earth Orbit Block 0 program, ensuring the satellite’s sensor payload can survive in space.
Space