Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, May 25, 2018

The debut launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket will not count toward the seven successful flights required by NASA before it clears the new booster to fly astronauts, the agency said on May 23....More

India’s national space agency is targeting the launch of the GSAT-11 communication satellite for late June, after recalling the spacecraft from the launch site for additional checks. GSAT-11, a hefty 5,870-kg (12,940-lb.) satellite designed to provide a capacity of 12 gigabits per second, has been cleared for launch after a series of technical checks...More

Move over “The Last Starfighter.” A new online game could revolutionize the way the U.S. Air Force finds and recruits young pilots....More

Aerojet Rocketdyne plans to test fire the main engine for Boeing’s Phantom Express spaceplane 10 times in 10 days in June....More

BAE Systems’ Advanced Hawk development aircraft has achieved many of its goals. But interest from India, its primary potential customer, appears to have waned....More

LOCKHEED MARTIN has $282m U.S. Army contract for Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Support Center post-production support for the U.S., Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, and Republic of Korea....More

President Donald Trump on May 24 signed a space policy directive overhauling regulatory requirements for U.S. commercial space launches, remote sensing spacecraft and other ventures in Earth orbit and beyond....More

The Dutch-led team that examined the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 says the surface-to-air missile system belonged to Russian armed forces....More

NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has resumed drilling rock after more than a year’s hiatus....More

The UK government is providing £10.7 million ($14.3 million) in funding toward two research programs led by Rolls-Royce....More

German industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp, which has aerospace and defense businesses worldwide, may be the latest aerospace and defense player to become the target of an activist shareholder well known to the sector....More

AVIATION WEEK NETWORK forecasts that over the next 10 years 402 western-designed scout helicopters will be delivered, including both newly built aircraft and aircraft remanufactured for their new roles. At the same time 495 such helicopters will be retired....More