Tag: Plans

MBDA Plans $5.8B Investment, 2,800 Hires as Missile Demand Soars

Breaking Defense reports, “European missile giant MBDA plans hire 2,800 new workers and invest €5 billion ($5.8 billion) over the next five years to increase weapons production, CEO Eric Béranger said on Thursday. In comments that often sounded like a victory lap, Béranger stated that ‘MBDA has attained an unprecedented strategic dimension as one of the instrumental pillars of rearmament in Europe,’ a claim he based off of three key figures: that MBDA’s 2025 revenues amounted to €5.8 billion ($6.7 billion), that the order intake was €13.2 billion ($15.2 billion) of which 70 percent came from European customers, and the order backlog was worth €44.4 billion ($51.3 billion).”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)

ESA Plans Dedicated Crew Dragon Mission to ISS in 2028

Space News reports, “The European Space Agency plans to charter a SpaceX Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station to give more flight opportunities for its astronauts. At the conclusion of a meeting of the ESA Council on March 19, the agency said member states endorsed a project called ESA Provided Institutional Crew, or EPIC, to send a European crew to the ISS on a Crew Dragon in early 2028.”
Full Story (Space News)

NASA Plans Early Return for Four ISS Crew Members After Medical Incident

Ars Technica reports, “NASA officials said Thursday they have decided to bring home four of the seven crew members on the International Space Station after one of them experienced a ‘medical situation’ earlier this week. The space agency has said little about the incident, and officials have not identified which crew member suffered the medical issue. James ‘JD’ Polk, NASA’s chief health and medical officer, told reporters Thursday the crew member is ‘absolutely stable’ but that the agency is ‘erring on the side of caution’ with the decision to return the astronaut to Earth.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

Duffy to Announce Plans to Build Nuclear Reactor on Lunar Surface

Politico reports, “Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will announce expedited plans this week to build a nuclear reactor on the moon, the first major action by the former Fox News host as the interim NASA administrator. NASA has discussed building a reactor on the lunar surface, but this would set a more definitive timeline and come just as the agency faces a massive budget cut. The move also underscores how Duffy wants to play a role in NASA policymaking.”
Full Story (Politico)

Blue Origin Unveils Plans for Enabling Long-Term Human Presence on the Moon

SPACE reports, “Blue Origin has begun revealing how it plans to establish itself as a provider of hardware to enable long-term human stays on the moon. One newly unveiled key element is the “Transporter,” a vehicle that can be launched on a single Blue Origin New Glenn rocket into low Earth orbit. It will harvest leftover propellant from the booster’s second stage and then haul the hydrogen and oxygen to lunar orbit.”
Full Story (SPACE)

Vertical Aerospace Announces Development of Long-Range Hybrid Air-Taxi Variant of its VX4

Reuters reports, “Vertical Aerospace said on Monday it is developing a long-range hybrid-electric variant of its air-taxi VX4, aiming to expand into commercial markets including defense and logistics. U.S.-listed shares of the British electric aircraft firm rose more than 6% before the bell.”
Full Story (Reuters)

 

Video

VX4 eVTOL Test Flight
Vertical Aerospace

Boeing to Test MQ-28 Ghost Bat Missile in Late 2025 or Early 2026

Aviation Week reports, “Boeing plans to fire an air-to-air missile from its MQ-28 Ghost Bat uncrewed combat aircraft demonstrator late this year or early next, as part of an effort to accelerate the system’s development, says Steve Parker, acting head of BoeingDefense, Space and Security. Boeing has now flown 102 missions with the system it has designed and built in Australia. The system ‘is really maturing,’ Parker told reporters here at the Avalon Australian International Airshow.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Airbus Expects Next Jet Will Be ‘Evolutionary Not Revolutionary’

Reuters reports, “Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said on Tuesday the planemaker’s next single-aisle jet would be ‘evolutionary rather than revolutionary’, but that this could include an open-rotor engine such as one being studied by supplier CFM. The head of the world’s largest planemaker was speaking at the start of an event aimed at focusing attention on ongoing innovation following the company’s decision last month to delay development of a radical hydrogen-powered regional aircraft.”
Full Story (Reuters)