Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

U.S. AIR FORCE delivered four F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft from Ogden Air Logistics Complex to the Indonesian air force March 14.

Biofuel blends can reduce the particle emissions that form contrails by 50-70%, according to the results of NASA-led research flights.

Boeing is ramping up production of the AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopter from five to eight aircraft per month.
Defense

With 100 small satellites soon to begin full-up operation as a commercial Earth-observation constellation, Planet has learned a number of valuable lessons.
Defense

By Thierry Dubois
The dual-payload launch of Brazilian and South Korean communications satellites on an Ariane 5 has been postponed indefinitely due to the ongoing strikes in French Guiana.
Defense

With Leonardo’s North American arm replacing Raytheon as prime, the T-100 bid for the U.S. Air Force’s coveted $16 billion T-X contract will come in at a lower price, according to a top company executive.
Defense

By Mark Carreau
Liftoff had been planned for no earlier than March 27 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
Defense

By Bradley Perrett
Boeing has begun training rotorcraft aircrew members for the Australian armed forces under a 25-year contract.
Defense

By Michael Bruno
A member of Congress is calling for an inquiry into TransDigm's well-known practice of driving up prices on proprietary parts it provides to customers, including some in products for the U.S. Defense Department.
Defense

By Thierry Dubois
French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has green-lighted the development of the F4 standard for the Dassault Rafale, thus pushing the fighter’s continuous improvement plan further.
Defense

EMBRAER A-29 Super Tucanos arrived at Kabul Air Wing, Afghanistan, March 20, to be used by the Afghan air force for various combat operations.

The planned launching of Orbital ATK’s seventh NASA-contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station has moved from March 24 to no earlier than March 27.

View the Dassault Rafale C Spec Showcase chart in PDF format.

The director of the Air National Guard says retiring the F-15C/D and replacing it with upgraded F-16s is one option being considered as part of the fiscal 2019 planning process that started last fall.
Defense

By Mark Carreau
NASA is prepped to lay the groundwork for the installation of the second of two U.S. International Space Station commercial docking ports with a series of spacewalks.
Defense

The potential order for up to 19 additional F-16s could be a lifeline for Lockheed’s Fighting Falcon line, which is facing possible shutdown this year after deliveries to Iraq are completed.
Defense

By Michael Bruno
One of the defense industry’s chief antagonists feels like he has a new lease on his professional life, as well as a new mandate to drive the hardest bargains possible out of defense contractors.
Defense

By Mark Carreau
NASA has been slow to effectively match an aging, far-flung infrastructure and workforce with its future mission needs, the agency’s Inspector General says.
Defense

By Tony Osborne
Air accident investigators probing the loss of an Irish coast guard Sikorsky S-92 believe the aircraft’s tail boom may have struck rocks.
Defense

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services slammed Lockheed Martin’s F-35 for cost overruns and schedule delays just one day after company executives touted progress on the program.
Defense

The company is working with the Navy to establish specific test objectives for the Aegis demo, but it probably won’t involve a live intercept test.
Defense

The powerful chairmen of the Senate and House Armed Services committees are sounding the alarm over an increasingly likely year-long continuing resolution (CR) that could have devastating effects on military readiness.
Defense

By Jay Menon
India hopes to launch its much-awaited Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk. 3 heavy rocket carrying the GSAT-1 satellite by May.
Defense

By Jen DiMascio
The U.S. Navy is expected to release the final systems requirements for its Carrier-Based Aerial-Refueling System—otherwise known as the MQ-25—any day.
Defense

Under a full-year continuing resolution for fiscal 2017, the U.S. Air Force would be $1.3 billion short of what it needs to fully fund flying hours and weapon system maintenance, among other readiness needs.
Defense