Back to news

September 28, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

SpaceX handed loss in challenge over Air Force contract

Joey Roulette

(Reuters) - A federal judge plans to deny SpaceX's challenge to U.S. Air Force contracts awarded to its rivals, writing in a Thursday court filing that the Pentagon properly assessed the development of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's Starship rocket system as “too risky and expensive.”

Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp in its year-long lawsuit had accused the Air Force of unfairly awarding development contracts to Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and other competitors for new rocket systems in 2018.

But in a ruling that was briefly posted online by the court before being sealed, the judge found no wrongdoing by the Air Force in denying the company funds to help develop Starship, a reusable rocket system that Musk envisions will send satellites to orbit and one day ferry humans to the moon and Mars.

Judge Otis D. Wright II gave the parties a week-long window to change his mind before entering judgment.

https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN26G2MA

On the same subject

  • Three European air forces approve performance benchmarks for next-gen fighter jet

    May 28, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    Three European air forces approve performance benchmarks for next-gen fighter jet

    By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — The air forces of Germany, France and Spain have agreed on a set of performance benchmarks to help their governments guide the development of a next-generation fighter jet set to fly in 2040, the German military announced Tuesday in a statement. The document, approved earlier this month, is meant to help officials identify what features from a collection of 10 possible system architectures are worth keeping when the time comes to settle on a path forward for the Next-Generation Weapon System, or NGWS. That system, with the manned next-gen fighter at its heart, is slated to become the central element of the Future Combat Air System, or FCAS, the most ambitious and expensive weapons program in mainland Europe. As envisioned, a small fleet of attack and surveillance drones, or “remote carriers,” would accompany each jet, and all elements would be interlinked by an artificial intelligence-powered “combat cloud,” according to a project description. The 10 different system architectures for NGWS currently in the mix lean in different directions — for example, when it comes to armaments, maneuverability and range of the main jet and its companion drones, the German Bundeswehr statement explained. The three air force top officials — Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz of Germany, Gen. Philippe Lavigne of France and Javier Fernandez of Spain — also agreed on a “Common Understanding Connectivity,” a guide for connecting national systems into the future FCAS scenario. The document will enable the program's partner nations to “synchronize” their respective development programs, according to the German statement. The industry leads for the Future Combat Air System program, Airbus of Germany and Dassault of France, unveiled a mock-up of the future fighter jet at the Paris Air Show last year. The plan is to begin testing a prototype in 2026. Earlier this year, France and Germany formally kicked off the next phase of the overall program, with each government contributing $85 million toward the development of technology demonstrators. German lawmakers, who fear an overtly strong French industry influence in the FCAS program, have linked the project to progress on the Main Ground Combat System, another highly visible bilateral program aimed at building a common battle tank. France has the lead on the next-generation fighter, while Germany leads the tank project. The German parliament's strategy of keeping a close watch on the aerial program by approving only relatively small tranches of money has Dassault CEO Eric Trappier worried about the ability to hit deadlines, French newspaper La Tribune reported last week. Speaking before a French Senate committee in mid-May, Trappier proposed a Franco-German programming law to ensure a more rapid development pace, according to the newspaper. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/05/26/three-european-air-forces-approve-performance-benchmarks-for-next-gen-fighter-jet/

  • U.S. Air Force’s T-7A Program Flies Into Turbulence | Aviation Week Network

    June 28, 2021 | International, Aerospace

    U.S. Air Force’s T-7A Program Flies Into Turbulence | Aviation Week Network

    A new delay and a design problem raise questions about Boeing’s digital approach to T-7A design.

  • Greece approves purchase of 35 Blackhawk helicopters from US-sources

    April 3, 2024 | International, Aerospace

    Greece approves purchase of 35 Blackhawk helicopters from US-sources

    ATHENS, April 3 (Reuters) - Greece has approved the purchase of 35 UH-60M Blackhawk helicopters from U.S defence contractor Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), opens new tab in an effort to modernize its armed forces, two people with knowledge of the deal told Reuters.

All news