Defense One reports that, “L3Harris Technologies has entered an agreement with Brazil’s Embraer to convert KC-390 cargo planes into aerial tankers that can refuel U.S. combat planes in flight.” According to L3Harris Chairman and CEO Chris Kubasik, the “goal is to create a tactical tanker that can fly closer to the front lines in a war with a peer competitor and refuel all types of U.S. military planes.”
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Tag: Cargo
Russia Launches Cargo Mission to ISS
SPACE reports that Russia launched the Progress 81 freighter “atop a Russian-built Soyuz rocket at 5:32 a.m. EDT (0932 GMT) from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where the local time was 2:32 p.m. in the afternoon.” Progress 81 “is carrying about three tons of food, propellant and equipment up to the International Space Station (ISS)” where it will dock at 9:02 a.m. EDT. NASA spokesperson Sandra Jones said, “It was a perfect launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Video
Progress 81 Cargo Ship Launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome – June 3, 2022 (NASA via YouTube)
Sierra Space, Spirit AeroSystems Partner on Dream Chaser Cargo Modules
Space News reports that Sierra Space announced Tuesday “a strategic partnership with aerospace manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems for production of cargo modules for its Dream Chaser vehicles.” Spirit “will assist in the development and production of Shooting Star, the cargo module attached to the aft end of the Dream Chaser lifting body vehicle.” The Shooting Star module “will support future cargo missions to the International Space Station under Sierra Space’s contract with NASA, and for other applications.”
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Airbus Introduces Beluga Cargo Fleet
Aviation International News reports that Airbus “is launching its own cargo airline operation to capitalize on rising air freight demand and the ability of its Beluga transporters to carry super-sized loads.” By 2024, “the new Airbus Beluga Transport service will use five of the A300-600-based BelugaST widebodies for ad hoc charters carrying large, heavy items for industries including, aerospace, energy, and maritime, as well as conducting military and humanitarian missions.” Airbus Beluga Transport conducted its first charter flight in December, “flying an unspecified large rotorcraft from Airbus Helicopters’ manufacturing plant at Marignane in the south of France to an undisclosed customer in Kobe, Japan.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)
SpaceX Dragon Cargo Ship Lands Off of Florida Coast
SPACE reports that the Dragon CRS-24 “cargo ship splashed down today (Jan. 24) in the Atlantic Ocean at 4:05 p.m. EST (2105 GMT), off the coast of Florida near Panama City.” The SpaceX cargo ship “returned nearly 5,000 pounds (2,267 kilograms) of science to Earth, including a ‘cytoskeleton’ that studies cell signaling in humans, and returning a 12-year-old light imaging microscope being retired after more than a decade of use in orbit.”
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US Air Force Completes Program That Allows it to Transform Cargo Planes into Bombers
The Daily Mail (UK) reports that the US Air Force “has successfully completed an experimental program to rapidly transform cargo planes into bombers, massively enlarging its firepower capabilities should an armed conflict break out.” The program allows the C-17 Globemaster III and the C-130 Hercules to be converted into bombers. After “two years of experiments, the Air Force successfully tested its first parachute-missile launcher from a transport plane above the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in March.” According to “PopularMechanics.com, the Air Force believes it can fire as many as 32 cruise missiles on one cargo flight.” The “300 C-130 Hercules and more than 222 C-17 Globemasters the Air Force currently operates would dramatically expand its offensive capabilities.”
Full Story (Daily Mail)