Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Bradley Perrett
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) on Dec. 5 flew the second prototype of its LCH civil helicopter, the first to be built in South Korea.
Defense

By Mark Carreau
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission is providing the closest-ever observations of the high temperatures generated by the Sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere.
Defense

By Graham Warwick
China’s EHang has partnered with property developer Heli Chuangxin Real Estate to develop an urban air mobility demonstration project in Guanghzou.

SAAB will provide shoulder-launched disposable AT4 weapon system for Latvian Armed Forces; deliveries in 2021.

Latin American air forces have intensified search efforts to locate the wreckage of a Chilean Air Force Lockheed KC-130 Hercules airlifter that was reported missing Dec. 9.

SpaceX called off a planned cargo run to the International Space Station for NASA on Dec. 4.

THALES ALENIA SPACE won bid to build Nilesat-301 geostationary communications satellite for Egyptian operator NILESAT, based on Spacebus 4000-B2 platform; launch in 2022.

As the U.S. Air Force pursues the idea of a new “Century Series” of fighter aircraft, it is promoting a similar effort for satellites in which the service would create a spacecraft bus with common components and processes that can be customized for individual missions

By Lee Hudson
“We’re using the same philosophy, some of the same expertise, lessons learned, what worked, what didn’t and applying that to the public shipyards,” says Hondo Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition.
Defense

By Michael Bruno
A U.S. district court in Washington has unsealed a six-year-old False Claims whistleblower case against Navistar International, a key provider of Mine Resistant Ambush-Protected ground vehicles.
Defense

By Steve Trimble
The USAF has launched a new acquisition program to replace four Boeing E-4B aircraft with the Survivable Airborne Operations Center weapon system.
Defense

By Lee Hudson
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday released his initial guidance to the fleet Dec. 4.
Defense

By Irene Klotz
SpaceX called off a planned cargo run to the International Space Station for NASA on Dec. 4.
Defense

By Steve Trimble
The DOD has released all but the last $8.5 million of the $250 million military assistance package appropriated for Ukraine, part of $391 million in withheld aid that spawned the ongoing impeachment probe of President Donald Trump, a Pentagon official said on Dec. 4.
Defense

By Michael Bruno
AeroVironment has added to its high-altitude pseudo satellite (HAPS) revenue, executives said Dec. 3, bringing the UAV pioneer’s total to $149 million related to HAPS Mobile, a joint venture with Japanese investor SoftBank.
Defense

By Michael Bruno
Leidos, a heavyweight government services provider, has throttled up its rivalry with defense primes L3Harris Technologies and Raytheon for providing support work to the FAA.
Defense

Piotr Butowski
A short version of the R-77 was called a new air-to-air missile but may be just a stage in the production cycle.

By Molly McMillin
Spirit AeroSystems has completed its first integration of the 767 forward fuselage section, which doubles its labor content on the Boeing platform used as freighters and for the U.S. Air Force KC-46 tanker.
Defense

By Bill Carey
A legal dispute between Lockheed Martin and the U.S. government that held up development of a key F-35 testing system is not currently delaying the effort, says the manufacturer.
Combat Aircraft

By Lee Hudson
The U.S. Air Force’s Enhanced Polar System Recapitalization Payload can transition to the manufacturing phase after successfully completing a critical design review.
Defense

By Mark Carreau
The Hayabusa 2 asteroid sample return mission spacecraft entered the full-scale ion propulsion cruise phase of its return to Earth from Ryugu as planned late Dec. 2 U.S. time, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said.
Space

By Tony Osborne
The introduction of delivery service by drones is facing a challenge of human acceptance, according to surveys by the British Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

By Tony Osborne
Ecuador has ordered six Airbus H145 twin-engine light helicopters for the country’s air force.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Mark Carreau
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has provided publicly released imagery of the Indian Space Research Organization’s Vikram lander crash site and associated debris after the spacecraft attempted an automated soft landing at the Moon’s south pole nearly two months ago.
Defense

By Graham Warwick
BAE Systems has received a DARPA contract to develop a mission planning system that will enable users to call on sensors and weapons on other platforms and in other operational domains to attack pop-up targets.
Defense