Industry News

Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and other arms manufacturers on Monday commended at the Farnborough Airshow in the U.K. the U.S. government’s move to ramp up international weapons sales through a weapons export policy, Reuters reported Tuesday. Weapons makers added that they expect defense spending in Europe to rise in the coming years. The State Department on Monday […] More

The Norwegian defense ministry has demonstrated an anti-ship missile system developed by a partnership of Raytheon and Norway-based Kongsberg Gruppen. Raytheon said Monday the ministry test-fired the Joint Strike Missile from an F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft to showcase the weapon’s ability to shift in course and avoid decoy targets as it flew at a low altitude. The […] More

Lockheed Martin and Arconic have signed a two-year partnership agreement to develop materials and processes for the production of aerospace and defense technology platforms. Both companies aim to create lightweight material and metal three-dimensional printing systems in a push to help industry advance structures that are not yet available on the market, Arconic said Monday. […] More

Huntington Ingalls Industries and the U.S. Navy launched Friday the service branch’s future Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer Frank E. Petersen Jr. at a company shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. HII said Monday the ship, designated as DDG 121, was transferred to a floating dry dock with a rail car system, then the structure was moved away from the pier and ballasted down […] More

BAE Systems‘ U.S. arm will invest $45.5 million to establish manufacturing and office facilities in Huntsville, Ala., as part of an expansion initiative. The company said Monday it plans to expand its offices on Discovery Drive and build a facility at Cummings Research Park that will include spaces for engineering development, manufacturing and laboratories to support […] More

A Raytheon-developed seeker technology has entered the operational testing phase following completion of an operational test readiness assessment this spring. StormBreaker, formerly called the Small Diameter Bomb II, is designed to help U.S. Air Force pilots hit moving targets from standoff ranges even in low-visibility operations, Raytheon said Monday. Operational test flights are scheduled to begin this summer. USAF […] More

BAE Systems and Wesco Aircraft Holdings have renewed a multiyear agreement that allows the latter to continue providing supply chain management services for certain F-35 components. Wesco said Monday it will help manage hardware and chemicals used to produce the fighter aircraft’s tails and aft fuselage under the terms of the contract. The Valencia, Calif.-based company also […] More

Lockheed Martin and Israel-based Rafael Advanced Systems have partnered to market the latter’s Smart, Precise Impact and Cost-Effective missile guidance kits to the U.S. The companies will work to determine the potential markets and corresponding requirements for the kits under a co-signed memorandum of understanding, Lockheed said Monday. The SPICE autonomous, air-to-surface kits are designed […] More

L3 Technologies has announced it will demonstrate a new weapon systems synchronization approach on Tuesday at the 2018 Farnborough International Airshow. The company said Friday it will perform Manned-Unmanned Teaming, the integration of different combat systems in aims to reduce sensor-to-shooter time and boost situational awareness. The approach works to facilitate the sharing of high-bandwidth […] More

Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing’s global services business, has said he is working with the heads of the Chicago-based aerospace firm’s defense and commercial segments to find new growth opportunities, AINonline reported Friday. Deal said he collaborates with CEO Dennis Muilenburg; Leanne Caret, president of Boeing’s defense, space and security segment; Greg Smith, chief […] More

Lockheed Martin has issued a request for information as it considers whether to recompete the F-35 aircraft’s communications, navigation and identification equipment and electronic warfare platform in order to reduce the systems’ lifecycle costs, Defense News reported July 10. “We’re evaluating right now the RFI responses and determining if it’s a good time to go do […] More