Aviation Week & Space Technology

Fit checks for the triple-core booster, a practice propellant load and finally one or more static test fires will pave the way for long-awaited debut flight

Perhaps the most significant change to Japanese military policy will be breaking the iron ratios by which the armed forces share the defense budget.

Fifteen years after it first tried to market solar-powered high-altitude UAVs, AeroVironment signs development deal for “pseudo-satellites.”

While the consumer drone world attempts variations on the quadcopter form, the software and sensors are what will lead to something bold.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

Upcoming aviation and aerospace industry events and Aviation Week Network events

Thirteen improvised systems, each carrying 10 small bombs, were launched against the Khmeimim Air Base. Russian units took control of six and shot down seven.

Crossover narrowbody jets, with quieter, more efficient engines, could impinge on turboprop market.

If the defense budget wins enough support to pass, it would represent an increase of only about 2% over the Obama baseline.

Readers responded to nearly every article in the Aerospace & Defense 2018 edition. Topics include military outlooks for Canada, Turkey and Russia; the F-35; progress in civil and military engines; and MRO spending.

Aviation Partners Boeing has promoted Mike Stowell to president and CEO from executive vice president and chief technology officer. He succeeds Bill Ashworth, who is leaving the company.

The Falcon 9-launched satellite is rumored to have reentered after what SpaceX says was a successful launch.

He walked on the Moon, commanded the inaugural shuttle mission and was the first person to fly on six space missions. He also headed NASA’s astronaut office and was an outspoken advocate for astronaut safety.

Pratt & Whitney’s Executive Director for Advanced Programs and Technologies James Kenyon joins Aviation Week’s Guy Norris and Graham Warwick to talk about adaptive engines and high-speed propulsion from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ Scitech conference in Kissimmee, Florida.

Japan moves ahead with potential purchase of SM-3 Block 2A, U.S. Army takes first step to buying new Airbus Lakota helos, new questions about Indonesia’s AW101 purchase and Mexico considers U.S. weapons for its ships.

“We have to move at the speed of business, not the speed of bureaucracy,” says 45th Space Wing Commander Wayne Monteith.

Demand is strong for converting the newer narrowbody aircraft for cargo use, but supply can be a problem.

After doubling production last year, Kratos' target drone business is set for another expansion after capturing the Army’s MQM-107 replacement program.

Studies show missile guidance law closely mimics how peregrine falcons track and catch their prey in flight.

Shareholders of public A&D companies have always been expected to benefit from U.S. tax law changes, but another list of potential winners is emerging.

As Airbus takes control of the Bombardier C Series, there is no clarity about the manufacturer’s next moves.

Though belly capacity increasingly helps meet the demand, there is still a need for widebody freighters.

Aviation Week predicts that the global engine MRO market will increase in value by nearly one-third during the next decade, with strong demand anticipated from the Asia-Pacific region.

The Russian S-400 deal is signed, but Ankara is continuing to pursue joint European air defense studies.

Propulsion for quiet supersonic airliners, industry’s digital transformation and GE’s vision for additive manufacturing are the topics discussed by Aviation Week’s Guy Norris and Graham Warwick in the first of three Check 6 podcasts recorded live from the exhibit floor at AIAA’s SciTech 2018 conference in Kissimmee, Florida.