SPACE reports that NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei will remain on the ISS until March, setting a new 353-day-long record for a spaceflight by an American astronaut. The prior record was held by Scott Kelly for a 340-day flight.
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Tag: Air Forces
UAVs Increasingly Used by Air Forces Worldwide
Aviation Week reports that as of 2021, “over 4,000 so-called Group 3-5 UAVs – systems with a maximum takeoff weight in excess of 55 lb. – are in service, with Aviation Week Network figures showing that figure increasing to over 5,200 by 2031, an increase of 30% over the next 10 years.”
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Anduril’s YFQ-44A Drone Wingman Prototype Makes First Flight
Breaking Defense reports, “Defense tech startup Anduril’s prototype bid for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program achieved its first flight, the service announced [Friday]. The YFQ-44A drone flew ‘at a California test location’ at an undisclosed time today, the Air Force said in a press release. The drone is the second to reach the flight testing stage for the Air Force’s drone wingman program, following General Atomics’s YFQ-42A that took off for the first time in August.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)