Industry News

BAE Systems has kicked off a series of simulation-based tests on F-35 and Typhoon aircraft that the U.K.’s military will start to operate in 2018. An E3D Sentry crew worked to send datalink-transmitted tasks for the F-35 aircraft to engage ground targets and for the Typhoons to destroy air threats as part of the exercise, said Monday. Tony Hall, […] More

BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin are bidding to secure F-16 modernization contracts with international customers as U.S. and European military organizations turn to upgrade work instead of new orders amid decreased funding, Reuters reported Monday. Sarah Young and Andrea Shalal report that the global market for F-16 upgrades is worth $10 billion over the next decade. John […] More

Emirates Airlines announced Tuesday that it has signed a $13 billion, 12-year OnPoint solution agreement with GE for the maintenance and complete overhaul of the new line of GE9X engines powering its 150 Boeing 777X aircraft. The OnPoint solution contract is part of a larger arrangement announced at the 2013 Dubai Air Show, providing Emirates with 300 […] More

NASA has awarded a potential $145 million contract extension to Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies for continued support of the agency’s engineering work on hardware and software for spaceflights and ground systems. The Mechanical Systems Engineering Services II/A Bridge contract extension includes $110 million in base funds and a $35 million option that covers four months of work. SGT […] More

The Huntington Ingalls-built amphibious assault ship “America” left the company’s shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi on its maiden voyage ahead of the scheduled Oct. 11 commissioning in San Francisco. “America” is built for a crew of between 1,200 and 1,900 sailors including space for Marine helicopters, F-35 jets and other aircraft, Huntington Ingalls said Friday. “The sailors and Marines serving aboard […] More

An industry team comprising of Boeing and Saab plans to build a customized military training aircraft in pursuit of the Air Force‘s T-X contract, Defense News reported Sunday. Aaron Mehta writes that Chris Chadwick, president and CEO of Boeing’s defense business, said the alliance is designing a trainer that would look different from the Saab […] More

Raytheon expects to obtain approval from a U.S. military client by the end of 2014 after the company completes developmental testing on its helicopter-mounted shooter detection system, Defense News reported Sunday. Aaron Mehta writes Raytheon developed the Boomerang Air system based on its Boomerang and Warrior X ground-based technologies. Roy Azevedo, Raytheon’s vice president for advanced concepts and technology, […] More

An Orbital Sciences-built spacecraft took off Sunday from Wallops Island, Virginia for the International Space Station, carrying nearly 3,300 pounds of technology and scientific cargo. Orbital and NASA launched a Cygnus cargo capsule aboard an Antares rocket at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility at 12:52 p.m. Eastern time, NASA said Sunday. The Sunday launch marks […] More

The Federal Aviation Administration and NASA will collaborate with three companies to demonstrate a technology intended to prevent unmanned drones from colliding with other planes in airspace, Aviation International News reported Friday. Bill Carey writes that the FAA and NASA plan to conduct flight tests of a commercial drone equipped with a detect-and-avoid system at […] More

Raytheon has completed a guided flight test of its SeaGriffin missile to demonstrate the weapon’s semi-active laser guidance system and newly-added imaging infrared seeker. The SeaGriffin missile took flight from an integrated surface launch system in London and provided command and control operators for target verification before homing in on a strike, the company said Monday. The company said […] More

Aerojet Rocketdyne and Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., announced recently that they have completed a study on the development of a common upper stage service for NASA, designed for enhanced performance of NASA Launch Services and paving the way for additional missions. The new common upper stage has the potential to be integrated onto several […] More

Jason Small, global digital manager for corporate communications at Verizon Enterprise Solutions, says that understanding the strategic value of information technology is essential when making an IT request. Enterprise leaders should bring IT early into planning discussions and highlight the return on investment for technology, Small wrote in an article published Thursday. He believes that […] More