Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

France's $1.2 billion plan to invest in French Guiana has been deemed insufficient by the protesters whose strikes have brought Arianespace launches at Kourou’s spaceport to a halt.
Defense

By Jen DiMascio
BlackSky Spectra is enlarging its network to include a fleet of additional Airbus satellites to make it “the largest network of high-resolution sensors accessible from an online catalog."
Defense

The milestone was 11 years in the making.
Defense

The new three-star deputy chief of staff for space will serve as an advocate for space on the Air Staff, which the Air Force hopes will speed decision making and increase responsiveness to emerging threats.
Space

COLORADO SPRINGS—Igor Komarov, director general of Russia’s Roscosmos state space corporation, agrees with other non-U.S.
Defense

LOCKHEED MARTIN has $273.5m Missile Defense Agency (MDA) contract for MDA Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) Lot 9 Interceptors and $11.8m MDA contract for Thaad spares for United Arab Emirates. ROCKWELL COLLINS has $142.4m U.S Navy contract for procurement of the Tactical Combat Training System Increment II through November 2022.

This week sees the Space Foundation’s annual National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, as well as the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space conference near Washington

Propulsion engineers at Aerojet Rocketdyne are banking on their company’s long experience building large rocket engines to see its AR1 kerosene engine as the logical replacement for the Russian RD-180 to launch future U.S. national security payloads.
Space

By Michael Bruno
Several representatives of leading-edge aviation and commercial space companies marched to Capitol Hill on April 4 to try to catch up lawmakers on what is needed in the next FAA reauthorization measure—assuming Congress can provide it.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
Sikorsky is claiming that its CH-53K King Stallion would be a cost-effective option if it was selected to meet an upcoming German requirement for a heavy-lift helicopter.
Defense

By Mark Carreau
Orbital ATK, United Launch Alliance and NASA are targeting April 18 for the launch of Orbital’s seventh NASA-contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station.
Defense

By Thierry Dubois
The two candidate sites just north of the planet’s equator are believed to be at a suitably low level so that there is sufficient atmosphere to help slow the landing module’s parachute descent.
Defense

The midlife upgrade being planned for the U.S. Navy MH-60 “Sierra” and “Romeo” Sea Hawk fleets will include new rotor blades and engine improvements to boost speed, range and lifting capacity.
Defense

Boeing Phantom Works sees its joint development of the TX next-generation training aircraft with Saab as how it would approach the development of future front-line fighters.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Jen DiMascio
The new Space Fence will be the world’s largest S-band digital array radar, capable of seeing objects the size of a marble in low Earth orbit.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
Czech aerospace firm Aero Vodochody has declared itself ready to return the L-159 light attack aircraft to production.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
Swedish aerospace and defense firm Saab has carried out a successful flight test of its JAS-39 Gripen fighter run on rapeseed oil-based biofuel.
Defense

By Jay Menon
India will soon buy more than 100 additional Barak-I missiles from Israel for about 5 billion rupees ($77 million).
Defense

By Jay Menon
India plans to launch five communications satellites by December.
Defense

Jim Downey, co-founder of The EnCore Group, has received the third annual Gilbert W. Speed Award for outstanding leadership and collaboration across the global aerospace and defense supply chain. Downey founded C&D Aerospace in 1972, growing it to a 4,000-employee, $400 million enterprise before selling the business in 2005. In 2011, he launched the EnCore Group. EnCore employs more than 800 people in Southern California and Mexico.

NORTHROP GRUMMAN has $29.7m U.S Navy contract for depot maintenance services in support of 44 Navy and Marine Corps Reserve F-5N/F aircraft through March 2018. LEONARDO announced order from Pakistan for undisclosed number of additional AGUSTAWESTLAND AW139 intermediate twin engine helicopters; deliveries starting in early 2018.

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.)

Boeing has adapted amusement park zipline technology to the emergency egress system on its CST-100 commercial crew vehicle.
Space

By Tony Osborne
Britain’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency has formally commenced search-and-rescue operations with the Leonardo AW189.
Defense

Aviation Week has won top honors in the Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards, the business-to-business media equivalent of the Pulitzer Prizes. Aviation Week won “top brand/overall editorial excellence” in the largest category. And it won the “Grand Neal,” the recognition of the best among winners in all categories the Neal Awards cover—such as best series, best technical content and best website.