Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Mark Carreau
A new assessment of radar data from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter affirms a likely presence of subglacial liquid water with a hyper saline concentration at the Martian south pole.
Space

By Tony Osborne
NATO’s Multinational Multirole Tanker Transport Fleet (MMF) is to receive a ninth Airbus A330 Multirole Tanker Transport (MRTT) after Luxembourg increased its participation in the initiative.
Aircraft & Propulsion

Selected U.S. military contracts from the past week.
Defense

News in brief
Defense

Brief news items of interest to aerospace & defense professionals.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
Narrow approval clears way for Switzerland to replace F/A-18 Hornets and F-5 Tigers starting in the mid-2020s.
Air Dominance

By Steve Trimble
A picture released by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems shows the Sparrowhawk aircraft as a wing store on an MQ-9 Reaper UAS.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Michael Bruno
Impresa Aerospace, a supplier to OEMs and Tier 1 military and commercial aircraft manufacturers, has entered U.S. bankruptcy protection and could be taken over by its predominant private equity owner, Twin Haven Capital Partners, according to a Sept. 24 court filing.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Lee Hudson
The U.S. Marine Corps is in the middle of an analysis to determine how it will alter its F-35 program of record to comply with the National Defense Strategy, according to a service official.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
The U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) will launch a pair of upcoming GPS-III satellites on previously flown Falcon 9 rockets, saving taxpayers nearly $53 million and setting the stage for future reuse missions under SpaceX’s Phase 2 National Security Space Launch contract.
Space

By Michael Bruno
Curtiss-Wright plans to buy Pacific Star Communications, a private provider of tactical communications solutions for battlefield network management, for $400 million in cash, the companies announced Sept. 24.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steve Trimble
Raytheon will start building the first pieces of a Microwave Technology Testbed as a new defense against hypersonic missiles under a $9.79 million
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Michael Bruno
DynCorp International, a provider of military logistics and aviation services to federal agencies, will be acquired by Amentum Holdings in a deal expected to close by year’s end.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
In a first-ever assessment of its economic impact, NASA reports its overall exploration, science and technology development activities generated a $64.3 billion benefit in 2019, supporting 312,000 jobs nationwide that contributed an estimated $7 billion in federal, state and local taxes.
Space

By Graham Warwick
Bye Aerospace is looking to advances in battery technology for future six- and nine-seat all-electric aircraft it plans will follow the two- and four-seat eFlyer 2 and 4 now in development.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Tony Osborne
A consortium of Airbus Helicopters and rotary-wing operator Heli-Union has been contracted to provide a fleet of helicopters to perform flight testing for the French defense materiel agency, the DGA.
Aircraft & Propulsion

The U.S. Army is preparing for staff talks with the U.S. Air Force next week that will include explaining the results of Project Convergence, a six-week experiment testing key modernization technologies and weapon systems.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Mark Carreau
NASA’s first attempt to obtain samples from an asteroid and return them to Earth is set to reach a critical stage on Oct. 30 when the Osiris-Rex spacecraft is scheduled to touch down on Bennu.
Space

By Tony Osborne
Green aviation start-up ZeroAvia has completed the first flight of its hydrogen fuel cell-powered Piper M350 test aircraft.
Emerging Technologies

By Graham Warwick
Swedish startup Heart Aerospace has unveiled the electric propulsion system for its planned 19-seat regional airliner, the ES-19.
Emerging Technologies

Fleet Snapshot
Defense

Brief news items of interest to aerospace & defense professionals.
Defense

Calendar of upcoming events of interest to the aerospace & defense industry.
Defense

News in brief
Defense

By Graham Warwick
In 2018, seeing the crop of potentially disruptive startups pursuing new forms of aerial mobility, Boeing formed NeXt. Now it is moving to shutter NeXt as swiftly as it can.
Aircraft & Propulsion