Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

The fourth satellite of the U.S. Air Force’s Space Based Infrared System constellation has achieved “first light,” beaming back its first images to Earth.

A C-130H cargo aircraft assigned to the Puerto Rico Air National Guard crashed in Savannah, Georgia, on May 2 and “there were fatalities,” the USAF said.

Harris, one of the top 15 suppliers to the F-35, is eyeing more work on the Joint Strike Fighter.

Textron Systems has unveiled a hybrid rotary/fixed-wing vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft system (UAS).

Intel is carving out a growing niche in the commercial unmanned aircraft market.

Sierra Nevada Corp. and Textron Aviation have renewed their commitment to the U.S. Army’s Fixed-Wing Utility Aircraft (FUA) program.

Engineers have completed performance testing of a prototype nuclear fission reactor capable of producing 1 kW of electricity, NASA said.

India’s first indigenously-developed light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas has successfully test-fired an air-to-air beyond visual range missile.

A congressman is confident that a $350 million NASA appropriation will pay for a second Mobile Launch Platform for the Space Launch System at KSC.

“E.I.S Aircraft Operations is a high-growth business which provides airborne training at a disruptively low price,” Qinetiq CEO Steve Wadey said.

Dynetics’ victory over General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for the Darpa Gremlins Phase 3 program has given air vehicle supplier Kratos cause for celebration.

Insitu has launched a commercial, exportable and certifiable version of its ScanEagle long-endurance unmanned aircraft system (UAS).

LOCKHEED MARTIN has $828.7m U.S. Army foreign military sales contract for Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems for Finland, South Korea, Romania.

The U.S. Navy has awarded Scientific Research Corp. of Atlanta a $92.4 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I) engineering, integration and installation aboard new construction ships, the Pentagon has announced.

Vet Industrial Inc., Bremerton, Washington, is awarded $9,046,229 for firm-fixed-price task order N4425518F4134 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N44255-17-D-4007) for the construction of a multistory nuclear repair facility at Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton.

L3 Technologies on May 1 signed a deal to sell its Vertex Aerospace, Crestview Aerospace and TCS businesses for $540 million cash.

As the U.S. Air Force embarks on a major re-engining of the Boeing B-52H, its leadership is under no illusions about the difficulty of the task at hand.

A U.S. Navy project to airlift bomb-disposal robots by unmanned helos and remotely operate them is heading toward a key flight demo in June.

AeroVironment will incorporate vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) technology from a commercial drone developer into its next generation of tactical UAS.

Key aerospace and defense supplier TransDigm is signaling a relatively new era with a new CEO and potential tweaks to its merger and acquisition (M&A) strategy.

Low-cost launch company Rocket Lab says it remains on track to conduct up to eight Electron missions by the end of 2018.

Aerospace and defense supplier Arconic descended into turnaround territory after a financial update that spurred a nearly 17% drop in its stock price.

Missile manufacturer MBDA used the Berlin ILA Airshow to reveal the weapon it believes could go on to arm future versions of the Tiger attack helicopter.

The Greek government has signed agreements with Washington to upgrade part of its F-16 fleet to the F-16V standard.

The Japanese finance ministry is urging the government to consider buying foreign alternatives to the increasingly costly KHI C-2 airlifter.