Industry News

Lockheed Martin has received queries on missile defense systems from customers as North Korea ramps up long-range missile tests, Reuters reported Wednesday. Tim Cahill, vice president of Lockheed’s air and missile defense business, told Reuters that interest in missile defense grew over the past 12 to 18 months and that some countries have placed missile technology on […] More

The Department of Homeland Security has partnered with a team of Battelle researchers in an effort to help explosive and canine experts determine capability gaps in the country’s network of explosives detection canine teams. The Regional Explosives Detection Dog Initiative, led by DHS’ advanced research project agency, aims to provide information on threat materials and tactics that can […] More

Romanian Defense Minister Adrian Tutuianu has signed a letter addressed to the U.S government that expresses the European country’s intent to buy Bell Helicopter-built attack helicopters. Tutuianu, Romanian Prime Minister Mihai Tudose and other senior government officials discussed the planned purchase with Bell Helicopter representatives at a meeting held last week, the Romanian government said in […] More

Lockheed Martin will build a space instrument that will work to collect data on the planet’s vegetation health and carbon cycle as part of the Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory mission. Lockheed said Tuesday it expects the GeoCARB instrument to launch aboard a commercial geostationary orbit satellite as a payload by 2022 to measure carbon dioxide, methane, […] More

Industry participants in the U.S. Air Force‘s OA-X light attack aircraft demonstration are eyeing a separate opportunity to sell light attack planes to the U.S. Special Operations Command, Defense News reported. The Air Force released a presolicitation notice on FedBizOpps in July to gain industry feedback on “platform-agnostic” light attack aircraft technologies that can address the needs […] More

Kratos Defense and Security Solutions is scheduled to begin production of unmanned aerial vehicles for an unidentified government customer by the end of the third quarter, FlightGlobal reported Tuesday. Kratos President and CEO Eric DeMarco told audience at the Jefferies 2017 Investor Conference that he expects the “confidential” UAV program to help increase Kratos’ drone […] More

A Chemring Countermeasures USA subsidiary has won a potential five-year, 30.8 million contract from the U.S. Navy to manufacture up to 1,260,638 simulator flares designed for use by pilots and ordnance technicians. Chemring’s Kilgore Flares business will produce the SM-875/ALE training flares at a company facility in Toone, Tennessee, and is scheduled to finish work […] More

Rhoads Industries has been awarded a three-year, $49 million contract by the U.S. Army to fabricate, install, test, maintain and remove U.S. Navy shipboard machinery systems and related components. The Defense Department said Tuesday the company will perform contract work through Aug. 7, 2020, at multiple test sites and buildings located at the Naval Surface Warfare […] More

Northrop Grumman has integrated the last defense layers of a sun shield system built to protect optics and instruments of the James Webb Space Telescope from heat. The company said Monday its aerospace systems business designed the sun shield layers that will work to help reduce the temperatures between cold and hot JWST components. Huntsville, Alabama-based NeXolve manufactured the […] More

American Electric Power has awarded a contract to Vencore‘s research arm to provide continuous monitoring service in support of AEP’s advanced metering infrastructure. Vencore Labs will pilot its SecureSmart platform that will work monitor and analyze AEP’s wireless field networks; boost visibility into system operations; and optimize the electric utility company’s capacity to protect its AMI and distribution […] More

Expenditures related to research and development work on an Aerojet Rocketdyne-built liquid oxygen/kerosene-based propulsion system have amounted to approximately $228 million as of June 30, Space News reported Monday. Aerojet Rocketdyne is one of the two companies that won “other transaction” agreements from the U.S. Air Force in 2016 to develop the AR1 rocket as an alternative […] More