Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

Additional funding will allow the Sikorsky CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter program to continue developmental testing after several deficiencies were identified.

The Polish government has entered negotiations to purchase up to 32 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

The Italian government has frozen plans to continue development of Piaggio’s P.1HH Hammerhead unmanned air system just weeks after agreeing to save it.

NASA’s search for commercial alternatives to send an Orion capsule on a flight test around the Moon revealed an interesting configuration for future lunar missions: pairing a SpaceX Falcon Heavy with a ULA upper stage.

Japan’s Hayabusa 2 probe successfully released a plastic explosive charge onto the boulder-strewn surface of its target asteroid Ryugu late April 4.

South Korea’s first two operational Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightnings will go into service next month, the defense ministry said following their arrival in the country.

Elbit Systems of America will buy Harris Corp.’s night-vision business for $350 million when the latter closes its merger with L3 Technologies, the companies announced April 5.

NORTHROP GRUMMAN has $22m U.S. Air Force contract for T-38 and F-5 sustaining engineering.

Turkish Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu says its receipt of Russia’s S-400 air defense system is “a done deal.”

The request for information (RFI) provides the competitive field with the first glimpse of the Army’s detailed requirements for replacing the 40-year-old UH-60 design.

Triumph Group, a major sub-tier provider of aerostructures is considering a sale or divestiture of its Aerospace Structures business unit.

The Russian Defense Ministry received the first serial Ilyushin Il-76MD-90A heavy transport aircraft (serial number 0109) in a handover April 2 at the Ulyanovsk-based Aviastar-SP facility.

The U.S. Air Force has awarded a roughly $42 million contract to Sierra Nevada for A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft maintenance and training for the Afghanistan Air Force through 2023.

The U.S. F-35 program executive officer has revealed to Congress that future potential foreign military customers for the fifth-generation fighter include Romania and Poland.

SpaceX ignited a methane-burning Raptor engine attached to the base of its prototype Starship vehicle on April 3.

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is asking Congress for another $108 million for hypersonic and ballistic space sensor development in fiscal 2020.

A new upgrade for the B-1B fleet will fully integrate the Northrop Grumman/Rafael Litening targeting pod into the cockpit displays.

Shareholders of L3 Technologies and Harris Corp. approved the merger of their two companies in separate votes April 4, keeping the deal on track to close by midyear.

The U.S. Navy has revealed a new schedule to Congress for the Next-Generation Air Dominance program analysis of alternatives, which may fly alongside the F-35.

Israeli manufacturer Rafael’s next defense prize in Brazil is a weapons upgrade package for the army’s and navy’s fleet of utility helicopters.

Leonardo Helicopters and Lockheed Martin have carried out the first flight trials of the EH101 Merlin naval helicopter fitted with the Crowsnest airborne surveillance and control system.

Brazil’s locally developed ground-launched cruise missile is now scheduled to complete testing two years late in 2020, an Avibras sales executive says.

Australia has lifted its defense budget by a nominal 3.2% to A$38.6 billion ($27.3 billion) for the fiscal year beginning in July 2019.

A $95 million Israeli spacecraft has slipped into an elliptical lunar orbit in preparation for a touchdown attempt on the Moon’s surface on April 11.

Preparations for a potential no-deal Brexit have cost the UK aerospace industry as much as £500 million ($660 million), analysts have suggested.