The U.K. defense ministry is sponsoring a firing trial of MBDA’s Brimstone 2 air-to-ground missile from an AH-64E Apache as it mulls whether the weapon will be become the primary armament of a planned fleet of the upgraded attack helicopter.
L-3 has started wing modification work on Virgin Galactic’s decommissioned 747-400, “Cosmic Girl,” the mother ship for the company’s LauncherOne small satellite launch service.
China appears to have too few conventional intermediate-range ballistic missiles for even attacks on the most crucial targets, raising the possibility that the numbers of such weapons will be increased, a report says.
The next new U.S. fighter might not enter service for 30 years, but may not be needed before then if the Pentagon invests in modernization of the “5th-generation” F-22 and F-35, the head of Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works says.
U.S. and European thought leaders in air traffic management are confident that civil unmanned air vehicles will drive the architecture of the next-generation ATM system.
Although the U.S. Navy continues to be plagued by breathing issues reported by pilots flying F-18 line aircraft, the described severity of those issues is decreasing, according to service officials.
The commerce panel’s bill, issued March 9, calls for a variety of changes and upgrades to FAA programs, but nothing as drastic as the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s proposal in February to separate the FAA’s air traffic control and modernization roles to a new non-profit, non-share government-chartered corporation.
The Navy has developed and started to field two major improvements for the F-18 aircraft line breathing systems that service officials say are making a difference for air crews and helping to cut down on hypoxia or other similar episodes.
While the Navy has been investigating reports of possible breathing-related incidents across the spectrum of F-18 aircraft, certain types of issues or causes seemed to related to aircraft type, service officials say.
U.S. plans to sell Pakistan another eight F-16s may have survived a congressional challenge, but Lockheed Martin still faces a gap in the production line before the aircraft are delivered in 2019.
Integration with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s logistics software program may delay the U.S. Air Force’s ability to declare the platform ready for operations on Aug. 1 as scheduled.
“The number is going to be in the billions; there’s no doubt about that,” Gen. John Hyten told the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee March 15. “But exactly where it comes out I don’t know."
New NASA science projects packed away for launching to the International Space Station late this month will attempt to further the agency’s deep space exploration ambitions.
Components for the first LM-100J commercial freighter version of Lockheed Martin’s C-130J Hercules airlifter are being manufactured, with final assembly to begin in Marietta, Georgia, later this year.
NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate has picked four concepts for generating electricity from dim sunlight at low temperatures for more study aimed at powering spacecraft without nuclear power sources in deep-space regions that normally require them.
Lockheed Martin’s acquisition of Sikorsky Aircraft last year will play a significant role in the giant defense contractor’s pre-existing goal of deriving a quarter of its annual revenue from international sales, according to Lockheed’s chief executive.
A failure by helicopter pilots to monitor instruments and make use of onboard automated systems were key factors in the loss of a CHC Scotia-operated AS332L2 Super Puma off the Shetland Islands in 2013, U.K. crash investigators have concluded.
