Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

In observance of the year-end holidays in the U.S., Aerospace Daily & Defense Report will not publish again until its Jan. 2, 2018, issue.

Things are looking up for Boeing, with the aerospace firm scoring two major international deals just days before the end of a tumultuous year.

JPATS LOGISTICS SERVICES LLC has $2.2b U.S. Air Force contract for Joint Primary Aircraft Training System T-6 contractor operated and maintained base supply services.

India has lost 35 defense aircraft and 14 military pilots in crashes in the last three years, the country’s government says.

Boeing also could provide greater marketing clout for sale of Embraer’s military products, namely the KC-390 and Super Tucano.

Embattled TransDigm Group will sell its recently acquired Schroth Safety Products seat belt provider to the business unit’s own management and a private equity investor.

New Shepard's Dec. 12 test flight afforded the three minutes of microgravity needed for a dozen commercial, medical and educational experiments.

The U.S. is entering the second year of growth in its defense budget as it reorients to counter strategic threats from a nuclear-armed North Korea and challenges from China and Russia.

The FAA has granted Boeing an amended type certificate for the aerial refueling derivative of its 767 freighter aircraft, the 767-2C.

The Korea Aerospace Industries LCH-LAH civil and military helo is on track for prototype assembly in 2018 after the conclusion of the critical design review.

The owners of Piaggio Aerospace are investing $302 million in order to stabilize the business and complete the development of the P.1HH Hammerhead UAS.

BOEING has $7.7m U.S. Air Force contract for C-40B/C engineering support services.

The Airbus-built GOCI-II ocean color imaging instrument has completed four months of testing at the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) test facility in Daejeon, South Korea.

The No. 1 and No. 3 makers of large commercial aircraft, Boeing and Embraer, are in talks to formally align, although the Brazilian government appears to be the main hurdle, the companies and financial analysts said Dec. 21. The basis of any combination remains “under discussion,” the companies said in a joint statement, and it would have to be approved by the Brazilian government and regulators, the two companies’ boards and Embraer’s shareholders.

Boeing’s attempt to double the range of its air-launched AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile has hit a snag after two attempted flight tests flopped.

Although the new stealth fighter is not yet ready to move to full-rate production, the Pentagon’s number two civilian is pressuring Lockheed Martin to drive efficiencies into the supply chain now.

The U.S. Air Force says the Boeing B-52H bomber’s Pratt & Whitney TF33-103 engine is “not sustainable past 2030” and must be replaced.

Leonardo has launched an AIM-9L Sidewinder air-to-air missile from its M-346 as part of ongoing trials to prove the type’s light attack credentials.

A Japanese decision to acquire two U.S. Aegis Ashore systems will offer national coverage against North Korean ballistic missiles but not until 2022–23.

Airbus Helicopters has redelivered the first of 36 Tiger attack helicopters to be converted from HAP to HAD standard back to French Army Aviation.

Germany is set to make its Eurofighters operational in the ground-attack role beginning in January 2018.

India has lost 35 defense aircraft and 14 military pilots in crashes in the last three years, the government says.

LOCKHEED MARTIN has $73.3m U.S. Navy contract for one Aegis weapon system Mk. 7 in support of DDG 127.

The International Space Station (ISS) resumed six-person operations early Dec. 19, as Russia’s Soyuz MS-07 docked to deliver Russia’s Anton Shkaplerov, NASA’s Scott Tingle and Japan’s Norishige Kanai to conclude a five-day crew exchange.

NASA has narrowed from 12 to two the number of mission candidates under consideration for the agency’s fourth $1 billion New Frontiers class of planetary science missions.