Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

This is the final issue of Aerospace Daily & Defense Report in 2016. The next issue will be dated Jan. 3, 2017. In the meantime, subscribers can visit

AIRBUS HELICOPTERS and THALES TDA ARMEMENTS have Occar contracts covering upgrade of 24 French Tiger HAD aircraft to Mk. 2 configuration. BOEING has $207.5m U.S. Navy contract for 51 full-rate production Lot 90 Harpoon weapon systems, components, and spares for Egypt (20); Korea (19); and Brazil (12).

Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa will take over as India’s chief of air staff on Dec. 31 following the retirement of Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha. Dhanoa will be the 25th chief of the IAF since India’s independence in 1947. The appointment was formally announced Dec 17. He was commissioned in the IAF in June 1978 as a fighter pilot. The Air Marshal has mainly flown the MiG-21 but has experience across the entire spectrum of IAF fighter aircraft, from the Jaguar to the MiG-29 and Su-30 MKI.

A new Chinese satellite will give China an independent way to monitor carbon dioxide levels worldwide.

The Pentagon has selected Boeing to develop a tactical pod for a laser weapon system planned to one day equip the U.S. Air Force’s fighter aircraft.

The company plans to launch either a Roketsan UMTAS anti-tank weapon or the Cirit 70mm lightweight missile from one of the prototype Hurkus-As before the IDEF 2017 defense show in Istanbul.

The new deal for 30 of the advanced jet trainers would follow previous orders for 66 aircraft in 2004 and 57 in 2010.

n 140 characters, President-elect Donald Trump has registered U.S. interest in re-entering a Cold War-style nuclear buildup to counterbalance Russia, tweeting that the U.S. must “greatly strengthen and expand” its strategic arsenal.

AIRBUS HELICOPTERS INC. has U.S. Army contract worth up to $967m over five years for spare parts, material and engineering support for UH-72A Lakota helicopters.

Ukraine’s defense and space establishment continues to move away from its prior reliance on Russia’s industrial base with the rollout of the first prototype of Antonov’s An-132 transport aircraft. The Dec. 20 ceremony in Kiev included President Petro Poroshenko as well as officials from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The aircraft, made without Russian content, can fly at 28,000 ft., with a payload of 9.2 tons. It uses two Pratt & Whitney 150A engines and Dowty’s six-bladed R408 propeller system. Honeywell is providing avionics.

North America In November the Pentagon awarded Lockheed Martin $1.3 billion to continue production of the next batch of F-35s as negotiations drag on to finalize a huge contract worth up to $7.2 billion for 90 aircraft. The $1.3 billion will cover costs incurred on long-lead work for the 10th batch of F-35s under a contract vehicle known as an undefinitized contract action. As Lockheed awaits the final Lot 10 contract award, the cash will help ensure there are no gaps in the production line.

The U.S. State Department has approved a potential Foreign Military Sale of Boeing’s P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft for Norway.

An Ariane 5 ECA launched two satellites into geostationary transfer orbit from Europe’s Kourou.

Bell Helicopter and Sikorsky/Boeing could usher in a new era for military rotorcraft in 2017 when they fly their competing V-280 Valor and SB-1 Defiant technology demonstrators.

Field Aviation has partnered with a Turkish corporation to develop a new special mission aircraft platform based on the Bombardier Challenger 605 business jet.

JAXA launched the Exploration of energization and Radiation in Geospace (ERG) satellite aboard the second Epsilon Launch Vehicle at 8:00 p.m.

Lockheed Martin has finished assembly of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite S (GOES-S) weather satellite.

The U.S. Navy is preparing for possible cancellation of the new system planned to catch incoming aircraft on its next-generation of Gerald R. Ford-class carriers after costs for General Atomics’ Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) more than doubled since 2009.

British defense firm QinetiQ has purchased the target drone manufacturing business of Meggitt for £57.5 million ($71.04 million).

Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands have inked a treaty that allows the joint air policing of all three nations’ airspace.

The Russian navy has received its first modernized Kamov Ka-27M antisubmarine warfare helicopter, manufacturer Russian Helicopters says.

Lockheed Martin Ventures said Dec. 19 it led a series-B investment round in San Diego-based IQ-Analog.

Raytheon Southwest Asia System Co., Andover, Massachusetts, was awarded a $7,891,848 modification (P00008) to foreign military sales (Kuwait) contract W31P4Q-16-C-0022.

Where does the world's most expensive weapon system stand as it heads into 2017?

UK-based satellite operator Inmarsat and the European Space Agency have completed a first series of test flights for Iris Precursor, a project aimed at improving air traffic management over European airspace through satellite-based datalink communications.