The Air & Space Brief: Space laser-drone test; New tanker buy; Tourists to ISS; and more...
Tara Copp | June 21, 2021
The Air & Space Brief: Space laser-drone test, Air Force’s new tanker buy, Axiom Space tourism; and more...
Good morning and welcome to Defense One’s Air Force and Space Force newsletter, a weekly look at the events and headlines shaping military aviation and aerospace policy.
Directing an MQ-9 via space laser: The Space Development Agency is going to test whether it can communicate between low-Earth orbit satellites and MQ-9 Reapers via laser, agency head Derek Tournear tells Patrick Tucker in an exclusive interview set to stream Tuesday at the Defense One Tech Summit.
Bridge tankers: The KC-46 is still not ready to go, and the Air Force needs to retire older KC-135 and KC-10 refuelers. So last week it announced it is seeking proposals for a “bridge tanker” that must be operational by 2029. The new contract could at last allow Airbus to enter America’s strategic tanker market, Marcus Weisgerber reports.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/06/air-space-brief-space-laser-drone-test-air-forces-new-tanker-buy-axiom-space-tourism-and-more/174837/
