“This is a broad and in a way campaign-like approach to strengthening our own supply chain and enabling multiple sources, really for even beyond our company for our industry, which I think is important,” Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet said of his firm’s endeavor to field a new solid rocket motor supplier.
By Michael MarrowGA-ASI’s MQ-9B: The right UAV for persistence, power, and performance
When assessing the state of the art of unmanned aerial systems, it’s critical to be very clear about what various aircraft can and can’t do – and could never do.
After failed bid to buy Aerojet Rocketdyne, Lockheed is “endeavoring… to create another supplier,” CEO Jim Taiclet told lawmakers.
By Michael Marrow
The Federal Trade Commission formally made a second request for information last month as it evaluates antitrust concerns associated with L3Harris acquiring one of only two major suppliers of solid rocket motors for the Pentagon.
By Michael Marrow
“The near-term future of Aerojet depends on which faction within the company succeeds in asserting control,” said defense consultant Loren Thompson. But ultimately, he added, the long-term future of the company will be contingent on finding a new buyer “with big pockets.”
By Valerie Insinna
“I see a great expansion in capability that will come as a result of this,” Anderson said of SpaceLogistic’s first robotic on-orbit servicing mission.
By Theresa Hitchens
The Air Force is buying a static version of AUDS for base defense, mounted in a CONEX shipping container for ease of transport and set-up. For the Army, Northrop is proposing to integrate AUDS onto the workhorse Stryker vehicle.
By Colin Clark
Future inevitability of quantum computers is a security problem today
‘Store Now, Decrypt Later’ attacks must be thwarted now with Zero Trust cybersecurity.
As the US tightens its terms for financing the Israeli military, one of America’s closest allies is beginning to sell its weapons to the US, instead of the other way around.
By Arie Egozi
WASHINGTON: The Afghan Air Force is about to get a powerful new weapon in what is shaping up to be a bloody year in the 17-year-old war against the Taliban. On Friday, the U.S. Air Force announced an $86 million deal with an American defense contractor Orbital ATK to supply single-engine, turboprop AC-208 airplanes to…
By Paul McLeary
Wall Street investors and Wall Street analysts, along with the Department of Justice, are pondering Disney’s massive acquisition of much of 21st Century Fox, a consolidation that may reshape the entertainment industry landscape. While defense mergers rarely involve anyone’s favorite movies and are financial dwarves compared to ones like 21st Century Fox and Disney, they remain…
By M. Thomas Davis
A Virginia federal court has thrown out a suit by Orbital ATK, basically arguing that while the company’s arguments might have some merits, the court did not have the legal right to cancel a DARPA program. Orbital ATK is building a system it believes competes directly with the DARPA program, known as Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous…
By Colin Clark
You may want to read the headline a few times just to make sure you’re not missing the point. Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft and another one of those billionaires who’ve gotten very excited about the space launch business, wants to fly a really huge plane — built of composites, powered by six 747 engines,…
By Colin Clark
WASHINGTON: Faced with a lawsuit by Orbital ATK and congressional concerns that its robotic satellite servicing program may violate the National Space Policy, the Office of Secretary of Defense has launched a review of the DARPA program. The news was included in an afternoon DARPA press release announcing the contract award to Space Services Loral (SSL),…
By Colin Clark WASHINGTON: A robot satellite repair system under development by DARPA has drawn the baleful glances of half-a-dozen congressmen and a lawsuit to block it by aerospace company Orbital ATK. The technology, known as Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites, would offer enormous benefits to both the National Reconnaissance Office, operator of our spy satellites, as well as the…
By Colin Clark
We believe this “steady as she goes” approach is fraught with risk. The first risk is to schedule.
By Robin Rand and Michael Fortney