Defense

By Brian Everstine
U.S. defenses shot down four armed small drones in two days at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, with the attempted attacks occurring on the two-year anniversary of an American drone strike in the country that killed a key Iranian military leader.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Tony Osborne
Spain’s defense and interior ministries have jointly ordered 36 Airbus H135 twin-engine light helicopters as part of a stimulus package for Spanish industry.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Irene Klotz
Flight controllers overseeing the newly launched James Webb Space Telescope breezed through the deployment and positioning of the observatory’s five-layer, tennis court-sized sunshield, completing what was considered the most technically complicated part of the mission ahead of schedule.
Space

LEONARDO, Italy acquired 25.1% stake in Germany's HENSOLDT (sensors for defense/security applications) from Square Lux Holding II for €606m.
Defense

By Thierry Dubois
Completion of the key trial will represent a milestone in the protracted development of the medium- to heavy-lift launcher.
Space

By Tony Osborne
The NH90 joint venture is racing to improve platform availability as Australia mulls Black Hawk plans.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Chen Chuanren
The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Boeing a contract for the upgrade of Japan Air Self Defense Force Boeing/Mitsubishi F-15G Eagles to the Japan Super Interceptor standard, ending more than two years of changing definitions and price negotiations.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Mark Carreau
The European Space Agency has backed the Biden administration’s commitment to extending International Space Station operations through 2030.
Space

By Steve Trimble
A new initiative by the Biden administration has thrust the U.S. defense industry to the forefront of a national campaign to emit no more greenhouse gases than are removed from the atmosphere by 2050.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Chen Chuanren
Japan’s Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry Co. are planning a 2023 mission to launch what they claim to be the first orbiting wooden satellite.
Commercial Space

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. and Israeli Ministry of Defense on Dec. 30 formalized a deal for 12 Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopters and two additional Boeing KC-46 Pegasus refueling tankers.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Michael Bruno
Addman Engineering, the additive manufacturing rollup under private equity investor American Industrial Partners, has acquired Castheon, a refractory metals maker that has partnered with spacecraft-providing companies, the companies announced Jan. 3.
Commercial Space

By Michael Bruno
Large U.S. defense prime contractor L3Harris Technologies has reorganized to include just three main business divisions, with Aviation Systems and its top unit executive no longer part of the company’s structure.
Commercial Space

By Irene Klotz
After successfully unfurling the James Webb Space Telescope’s tennis court-sized sunshield, flight controllers on Jan. 3 completed tensioning three of the shield’s five diamond-shaped membranes.
Space

By Steve Trimble
Last year’s delivery total of 142 raises overall fleet deliveries to 753 aircraft, with 397 — or about 53% — coming in the last three years alone.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Chen Chuanren
The Royal Thai Air Force is considering purchasing as many as eight Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning IIs as part of its modernization to replace its aging fleet of Northrop F-5E/Fs and F-16A/Bs.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Maxim Pyadushkin
The new Persei booster for Russia’s Angara 5A heavy rocket failed to deliver a dummy payload to its final geostationary orbit.
Space

By Graham Warwick
Heart’s subscale flyer; high-speed VTOLs; Toray’s hydrogen tank; electric suppliers; hydrogen drones.
Emerging Technologies

By Steve Trimble
A 13-year project pays off with Brazil’s first hypersonic-speed flight test.
Space

By Richard Aboulafia
The industry grew 7.5% in 2021, and 2022 should see a very strong 22% expansion.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Irene Klotz
The reconfiguration of the James Webb Space Telescope continued on Dec. 30 with the removal of covers that protected the observatory’s delicate sunshield for launch, setting the stage for the deployment of a five-layer, tennis court-sized structure needed to passively cool the telescope for its science program.
Space

By Tony Osborne
The Netherlands has become the latest country to declare its F-35 fleet operational.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Irene Klotz
“There’s 344 things that now have to work perfectly,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a post-launch interview.
Space

By Mark Carreau
NASA and Roscosmos continue to pursue an astronaut/cosmonaut crew exchange agreement for Soyuz and NASA Commercial Crew launches to the International Space Station.
Space

By Chen Chuanren
A new Inmarsat I-6 F1 satellite was successfully put into orbit by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on Dec 23.
Commercial Space