ANAHEIM, Calif. Avionics equipment systems company Astronautics Corporation of America reports that its AeroSync Max, a wireless air-ground communications system (AGCS), was chosen by engineering systems and technology provider Nova Systems for more than 20 additional installations on its airborne C4ISR [command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] mission systems solution for Leonardo AW139/189 and Sikorsky S-92 helicopters deployed in a search-and-rescue (SAR) role with customers in Europe.

DÜSSELDORF, Germany. Rheinmetall won a contract to provide its Skyranger air defense system to Austria's military, with the value of the contract in the mid-three-digit million-euro range and deliveries set to begin in 2026, the company announced in a statement.

LONDON, England. The UK Ministry of Defence launched the UK Defence Drone Strategy, a new initiative backed by a £4.5 billion investment over the next decade, aimed at rapidly equipping the UK Armed Forces with advanced uncrewed systems, the MoD announced in a statement.

SAN DIEGO, California. Cubic Defense won a contract from Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) for the ongoing maintenance, upgrade, and support of the Full Motion Video (FMV) System, dubbed KnightLink, for the MH-60 Sierra (MH-60S) helicopter fleet, the company announced in a statement.

MARIETTA, Georgia. The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) received the first C-130J-30 Super Hercules tactical airlifter equipped with the Block 8.1 upgrade, according to a statement from Lockheed Martin. This upgrade is part of a broader effort to enhance the interoperability and capabilities of the Super Hercules fleet in the Nordic region and across Europe.

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) awarded artificial intelligence (AI) aviation technology company Beacon AI a Phase 2 prototype Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement under which Beacon AI will enhance its AI copilot assistant to optimize aircraft operations and improve aircraft route selection.

THOUSAND OAKS, California. Teledyne FLIR Defense will send 800 SkyRanger R70 Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) to Ukraine on behalf of the Canadian government, the company announced in a statement.

LYNNWOOD, Wash. Kongsberg Discovery won a contract awarded a contract with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to rapidly deliver HUGIN autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) capabilities for the U.S. military, a move that could lead to the U.S. Navy acquiring HUGIN Endurance and HUGIN Superior deep-water AUV systems.

ASHBURN, Va. Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions offers the XMC-529 AMD Ultrascale+ MPSoC XMC mezzanine card, part of the company's line of Enhanced TrustedCOTS plug-in modules designed to bring addtionally secure processing to rugged deployed VPX-based systems. 

ROME. Aerospace and defense firm Leonardo has accepted a project from the Italian Ministry of Defense (through the contractual agency Teledife) that intends to use supercomputers, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), and cloud computing aboard a constellation of what it calls "cybersecure" satellites orbiting the earth. 

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. DornerWorks reports that AFWERX [a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory and the innovation arm of the Air Force] granted it a $1.2 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award focused on a virtualization solution to address pressing cybersecurity challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF).

LITTLETON, Colorado. Lockheed Martin has cleared for launch the Pony Express 2 mission, aimed at demonstrating the enhancement of Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) from space, the company announced in a statement.

FALLS CHURCH, Virginia. BAE Systems has completed its acquisition of Ball Aerospace from Ball Corporation following an announcement on Feb. 14, the company announced in a statement.

MCLEAN, Virginia. Intelsat will develop and test multi-orbit satellite communications (SATCOM) systems on various U.S. Air Force aircraft after winning a $9 million contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory, the company announced in a statement.

MELBOURNE, Florida. The Department of Defense launched five L3Harris Technologies missile tracking satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, supporting the Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) program and the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 0 (T0) Tracking Layer program, the company announced in a statement.