Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

By Graham Warwick
South Africa’s Paramount Group says a newly announced U.S. version of its Mwari multimission aircraft is aimed at a wide range of potential missions.
Defense

Beechcraft King Air 350s modified by Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) could form the basis of the Kuwaiti Air Force’s first dedicated airborne surveillance fleet.
Defense

By Mark Carreau
Aerojet Rocketdyne's RS-25 rocket engine throttled up to its highest thrust level yet—113% of its original design level—during a 260-sec. test firing.
Defense

Astronomers are incensed to learn that the Trump administration is moving to cancel the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST).
Defense

The Pentagon’s proposed reintroduction of a nuclear sea-launched cruise missile is not expected to happen for another “seven to 10 years,” the department says.
Defense

The U.S. Air Force hopes to get its T-6 Texan II trainers back in the skies by Feb. 26 with some interim measures in place to ensure pilots are not breathing potentially toxic air during flight, as engineers continue investigating what is wrong with the aircraft’s oxygen system.
Defense

By Jay Menon
The Saras light transport aircraft has completed its second test flight in two months, rekindling hopes of a revival of India's civil aircraft program.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
Bell Helicopter has dropped the term “Helicopter” from its name in a radical rebranding.
Defense

Sikorsky has begun final assembly of the U.S. Air Force’s first future Combat Rescue Helicopter, the HH-60W, in Stratford, Connecticut, the company says.
Defense

In the run-up to the Air Force Association's annual air warfare symposium, Secretary Heather Wilson says the service is looking to pivot from the counterterrorism fight in the Middle East to preparing for a potential clash with China.
Defense

NASA’s aging Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), which doubles as a communications relay for the Curiosity and Opportunity surface rovers, is undergoing a troubleshooting session following a Feb. 15 low battery voltage event.

Leidos, Reston, Virginia (W5J9CQ-18-D-0001); and General Dynamics One Source, Fairfax, Virginia (W5J9CQ-18-D-0002), will share in a $200,000,000 hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract for noncommercial technical services to assist in coordination, integration, and synchronization of geospatial information requirements and standards across the U.S. Army

ISRAEL AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES, U.S. Missile Defense Agency and Israel Missile Defense Organization completed flight test of the Arrow 3 weapons system Feb. 19 at test site in central Israel.

By Bill Carey
The Flight Safety Foundation is calling on the ICAO to expedite the development of global standards for regulating small drones.
Defense

As the USAF launches a new program to replace the B-52H's TF33 engines, turbofan manufacturers are getting serious about their propulsion system offerings.
Defense

By Bradley Perrett
Japan will expand its planned fleet of F-35s by at least 20, possibly forgoing local assembly to economize in buying the next batch, Reuters says.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
The British government is drawing up a long-awaited future combat aircraft strategy which could outline how Britain will replace the Eurofighter Typhoon.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
The U.S. State Department has given the green light to a Dutch request to upgrade its existing fleet of Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters.
Defense

By Mark Carreau
Liftoff of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket carrying GOES-S from Cape Canaveral s scheduled during a two-hour window that opens at 5:02 p.m. EST March 1.
Defense

By Jay Menon
India is planning to launch its second space observatory—Astrosat-2—to conduct further studies in astronomy and astrophysics.
Defense

Sikorsky’s pre-award protest over the U.S. Air Force’s UH-1N Replacement competition is being interpreted by some as the Lockheed Martin-owned company “freaking out” about Sierra Nevada Corp.’s competing “Force Hawk” proposal.
Defense

By Mark Carreau
Bigelow Aerospace plans to stand up the Bigelow Space Operations venture and exercise a cooperative agreement with Casis.
Space

The USAF has decided to buy F-35s more slowly because of snowballing retrofit costs and several critical milestones that have not been completed.
Budget, Policy & Operations

View the Leader Spotlight: U.S. Air Force Brig Gen. Lance Bunch in PDF format.
Defense

India’s state-run military aircraft maker HAL is ready to transfer the tech of its Dhruv helicopter to a local private manufacturer for commercial production.
Defense