Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

LEONARDO conducted first flight of first of eight upgraded Brazilian Navy Super Lynx Mk. 21B helicopters at its facility in Yeovil, England, on Sept. 28.

After a slow start to nominating senior civilians at the Pentagon, President Donald Trump is on track for putting names forward, though he lags past presidents when it comes to those hires taking office.

Fleet Snapshot: Italian Air Force

To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. For a complete list of Aviation Week Network’s upcoming events, and to register, visit www.aviationweek.com/events (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Oct. 3-4—Drone World Expo, San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, California. For more information go to http://www.droneworldexpo.com/

After an aborted launch seconds before liftoff early last month, an Ariane 5 on Sept. 29 placed the Intelsat 37e and BSAT-4a satellites into geostationary orbit.

Bell Helicopter intends to eventually push its V-280 Valor next-generation tiltrotor prototype to 300 kt. airspeed, up from its basic design speed of 280 kt.

The new Lone Star Flight Museum is no stranger to adversity—or the drive to overcome it.

Uber has hired NASA engineer Thomas Prevot to head its airspace team.

Boutique services provider Polaris Alpha bought Solidyn Solutions on Sept. 27 for an undisclosed amount, executives announced Oct. 2.

Scientists have begun to assess a recent intense radiation event at Mars.

A U.S. Navy training squadron has paused flight operations after a fatal crash of a T-45 Goshawk in East Tennessee that left two pilots dead.

Ride-hailing giant Uber is focusing its efforts to develop an urban air transport network on airspace access and ground infrastructure.

India has approved the sale of a 10% stake in its military airframer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) through an initial public offering (IPO).

BOEING has $41.5m U.S. Defense Logistics Agency contract for F/A-18 E/F spare parts.

An Indian Air Force (IAF) trainer aircraft crashed in the southern state of Telangana Sept. 28, the latest in a series of air mishaps for the country’s military.

“Clearly a lower tax rate is beneficial for most of the stocks we cover,” said Canaccord Genuity A&D analyst Ken Herbert.

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg has voiced support for President Donald Trump’s tax reform initiatives, calling them a "big enabler."

Bell Helicopter has completed assembly of the first two AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters for the Pakistan Army.

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk has unveiled BFR, a new methane-fueled reusable space transportation system.

India requires at least 75 additional satellites by 2021 to meet the country’s growing demand for space-based research and applications, according to the country’s space agency.

NASA and ROSCOSMOS signed an agreement Sept. 27 at International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia, pledging continued research on Deep Space Gateway-type concepts. PATRIA HELICOPTERS AB has €7.1m ($8.3m), four-year contract to maintain Norwegian Armed Forces’ Bell 412 helicopters.

North America

If the White House is looking to cut costs on the Air Force One program by ditching the ability to refuel in flight, Congress may overrule it. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) asked Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford at his reconfirmation hearing about the U.S. Air Force’s decision.

The planned launch of NASA’s $8.8 billion James Webb Space Telescope is slipping from October 2018 to between March and June of 2019.

Belgium’s involvement in the Dutch-led new European Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport Fleet will result in the fleet size growing to eight aircraft.