Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Bill Carey
UPS Flight Forward, the package carrier’s drone subsidiary, has announced new retail, pharmaceutical and health care partners for its planned delivery service.

By Graham Warwick
Under a NASA contract, electric aircraft developer Ampaire is studying the feasibility of modifying the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter to hybrid-electric propulsion.

By Bradley Perrett
The first mission has a customer, Japanese battery maker NGK, which wants to test a product on the Moon.
Defense

By Irene Klotz
Arianespace is offering a rideshare mission to the Moon in 2023 aboard its new Ariane 6 rocket, Stephane Israel, CEO of the European launch service company, announced Oct 22.
Defense

By Steve Trimble
Top Aces will apply to import 29 used F-16s to the U.S. after being named as one of seven companies selected to compete for a $6.4 billion U.S. Air Force program for adversary air and close air support services, a company executive says.
Defense

By Irene Klotz
A USAF C-12 aircraft is testing high-speed connectivity with SpaceX’s Starlink sat network, with additional inflight demos aboard a C-130 and other aircraft on tap, SpaceX says.
Defense

By Bill Carey
Brazil’s Department of Airspace Control has installed South America’s first “remote tower” at an air base in Rio de Janeiro, using a system based on Frequentis visualization technology.
Defense

By Bill Carey
The Aireon space-based surveillance system has been integrated into the air traffic control automation platform used by Brazil’s Department of Airspace Control.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
France wants a weapon capable of high-supersonic speeds while the UK would prefer a subsonic weapon with low-observable attributes. Without an agreement, industry officials question whether the FC/ASW studies will be able to proceed.
Defense

By Graham Warwick
Utah’s Transportation Department plans to collaborate with Singaporean startup NEO Aeronautics on testing and potential deployment of its Crimson S8 eVTOL personal air vehicle.

By Tony Osborne
GKN Aerospace says it has designed, manufactured and delivered a midscale demonstrator tool to support the development of a composite wing spar for Airbus’ Wing of Tomorrow program.
Defense

By Irene Klotz
Startup Blue Origin’s bid to build NASA’s human lunar lander system will include industry behemoths Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, as well as Draper Laboratory.
Defense

By Graham Warwick
Under a NASA contract, electric aircraft developer Ampaire is studying the feasibility of modifying the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter to hybrid-electric propulsion.
Defense

By Bradley Perrett
The Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) will static test the complete third stage of its KSLV-II space launcher within a few months, with a static test of the first stage to follow in 2020 ahead of the planned first flight in 2021.
Defense

By Mark Carreau
NASA’s Office of Protective Services has accepted a series of recommendations from the agency’s inspector general that support more centralized oversight of NASA security.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
Flight testing of the five-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing platform is proceeding apace at the Oberpfaffenhofen airfield near Munich.

By Graham Warwick
Drone delivery service Zipline has demonstrated its medical delivery capabilities in joint military exercises involving the U.S. Marine Corps and Australian Defense Force.
Defense

This week sees the International Astronautical Congress get underway in Washington.

MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES completed System Requirements Review for NASA’s lunar Gateway Power and Propulsion Element.

Endeavor Robotics Inc., Chelmsford, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $25,500,000 modification to contract W56HZV-19-D-0031 to procure reset, sustain, maintain and recap parts for Robot Logistics Support Center technicians.

By Mark Carreau
NASA’s first all-female spacewalk, conducted Oct. 18 by astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir, is a sign of increasing diversity among the space exploration community, the two women said.
Defense

By Michael Bruno, Sean Broderick
Wall Street came down hard on 737 MAX manufacturers Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems after an internal Boeing pilot conversation over the 737 and its maneuvering characteristics augmentation system became public.

By Marhalim Abas
The Philippines defense department will decide in December on the type of multi-role fighter (MRF) aircraft to be purchased by the air force, its chief says.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
Lithuania has become the latest Eastern European country to select the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk for its rotary-wing requirements.
Defense

By Mark Carreau
Longstanding planetary protection practices should be re-evaluated and updated regularly given the growing interest in international and commercial planetary exploration, advances in astrobiology and new small spacecraft technologies, according to a NASA-sponsored study.
Defense