The April release of documents for a draft request for proposals on a future nationwide public safety communications network marked another step in the government’s push to further examine how it can make greater use of commercial technologies. Also in April, Defense Department announced its own move to explore the commercial sector’s offerings in April with the release of Better Buying Power […] More

NASA and Orbital ATK confirmed that the Dawn probe has made it into orbit around the Ceres dwarf planet after a 7.5-year journey. Ceres’ gravity captured the Orbital ATK-built spacecraft Friday at 4:39 a.m. Pacific time, NASA said Friday. Dawn took off in September 2007 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and initially encountered Vesta, orbiting the […] More

Exelis is set to launch the company’s new global aviation services business and exhibit a suite of integrated services at the 2015 World ATM Congress from March 10 to 12 in Madrid, Spain. The new aviation business spans voice-over-Internet-protocol communication products, air traffic queue optimization service, airport and airlines operations management tools, terrestrial aircraft surveillance […] More

L-3 Communications CEO Michael Strianese has said his work as chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association involves continued efforts to work with Congress and the Defense Department in areas such as budget cuts and innovation. Strianese told Defense News in an interview posted Saturday that AIA seeks to stop sequestration and its impact on U.S. technological advantage due to a lack of investments in research and […] More

United Launch Alliance will announce on Wednesday a collaboration with Blue Origin to develop and offer a rocket engine for U.S. space programs, Reuters reported Monday. Andrea Shalal writes the partnership seeks to replace Russian-made RD-180 engines that are used on ULA’s Atlas V rockets to lift off U.S. military satellites. Frank Kendall, the Defense […] More

Commercial and government efforts are underway to build unmanned and autonomous underwater vehicles that can be used for naval warfare, environmental research and recovery mission, National Defense Magazine reports. Yasmin Tadjdeh writes that Michael Toscano, president and CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, believes that UUV technology has limitless applications and will […] More