Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

GENERAL ATOMICS AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMS INC. has $123.3m U.S. Air Force contract for four MQ-9 unmanned air vehicles, four Mobile Ground Control Stations, spares, and support equipment for the Netherlands.

Attendees at the 4Gamechangers Festival in Vienna on April 9-11 will be able to take a flight in EHang’s multicopper electric-vertical-takeoff-and-landing air taxi.

A senior defense official said the Pentagon decided to request the purchase of Boeing F-15EXs to maintain diversity in the industrial base.

Two NASA astronauts on March 22 completed the first in a pair of spacewalks to replace aging batteries on the International Space Station.

Reusability for SpaceX means bringing the first stage of its Falcon 9 launch vehicle back to a vertical landing on land or a ship at sea. For Europe, it could mean capturing the rocket stage while it is still in flight.

The UK's defense ministry has signed off on a long-awaited contract to purchase five E-7 airborne early warning aircraft from Boeing in a $1.98 billion deal.

India’s national space agency is collaborating with its French counterpart to build a satellite network to step up surveillance of Indian waters.

Citing the accelerating pace of discovery in science and technology, DARPA is launching a new approach to rapid projects.

MBDA conducted first Brimstone 3 firing at Vidsel Trials range in Sweden, launching against pickup truck target in temperatures below -30C.

On March 21 the Kazakhstan Border Guard announced a firm order for one Airbus C295 transport aircraft.

View the Aviation Week Forecasts: Western Military Tanker Aircraft In-Service Fleets 2018-2028 chart in PDF format.

LOCKHEED MARTIN has $264.7m U.S. Navy contract for operation and technical services for South Korea’s F-35 Lightning IIs.

Brazil and the U.S. have signed an agreement that may pave the way for U.S. access to space launches from Alcantara Launch Center.

India’s defense R&D agency has successfully tested its latest indigenously-developed man-portable anti-tank guided missile (MPATGM).

The U.S. Air Force’s next tanker aircraft will probably be autonomous, the service’s top acquisition official says.

Sikorsky and Boeing accomplished the delayed first flight of the SB-1 Defiant high-speed helicopter on March 21 at West Palm Beach, Florida.

The quad-national EuroMALE UAS program looks set to secure the lion’s share of €500 million ($567 million) in funding from the European Union.

A pair of Bombardier Global 6000 business jets have been delivered to Turkey in readiness for conversion into standoff jammer (SOJ) platforms.

Turkish Aerospace has completed the surprise first flight of a twin-engine version of its Anka medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAV.

NASA has outlined a three-step strategy for achieving a sustained human return to the Moon’s surface by 2028.

The Philippines Air Force will return at least one grounded UH-1 helicopter to service within five weeks as the service begins receiving parts donated by Japan.

The Defense Department has found that the top 10 states by total defense spending in fiscal 2017 received accounted for $239.7 billion of $407 billion total tracked that year.

NASA’s 2020 budget proposal seeks a $109 million investment in a Mars sample return mission.

Leonardo is working with Simplex Aerospace to develop a new firefighting-capable version of its C-27J Spartan turboprop airlifter.

The Swiss government is to split state-owned aerospace and defense company RUAG into two separate operating units, one of which will later be privatized.