Business Rolls-Royce wins engine order from U.S. lessor CIT Britain’s Rolls-Royce has won a contract to supply engines to power 23 Airbus aircraft ordered by U.S. leasing company CIT Aerospace, it said May 22. Boeing defense chief sees rising R&D, margins Boeing’s defense division expects to continue growing its research and development spending and operating…

Unclaimed veterans’ remains laid to rest in Calif. The unclaimed remains of 35 military veterans and two military wives have been given formal military burials in Northern California. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat says the remains, some left unclaimed for decades, were escorted by 120 motorcycles from Santa Rosa to the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery…

REDONDO BEACH, Calif. -†The U.S. Navy has selected Northrop Grumman for the initial phase of the Solid State Laser Technology Maturation (SSL-TM) program. SSL-TM is a research and development project to mature solid-state, high-power laser weapon systems and components for ship defense. This selection is the first step in the development of a Prototype Laser…

The U.S. Army awarded a contract to General Dynamics C4 Systems for 10 vehicle-mounted Tactical Ground Station Lot D systems with an option for 11 additional systems. The TGS system is part of the Distributed Common Ground System-Army, the Army’s primary deployed system for posting, processing and distributing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance† information in real…

A Defense Acquisition Board approved full-rate production of Raytheon’s Standard Missile-6. Once operational in 2013, the SM-6 will provide U.S. Navy vessels extended range protection against fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles. “SM-6 is a game-changing, transformational fleet defense missile, and we’re on track to reach initial operating capability this year,”…

United Airlines announced May 21 a capacity purchase agreement for SkyWest Airlines, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of SkyWest, Inc., to operate 40 Embraer 175 aircraft under the United Express brand. SkyWest,†Inc. will purchase the 40 76-seat aircraft with deliveries in 2014 and 2015. These aircraft are in addition to 30 Embraer 175 aircraft that United…

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki recently announced that the Department’s Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task Force will publish a comprehensive draft report in the Federal Register for public feedback and comment. The report describes how the Department of Veterans Affairs has been, and will continue to address the concerns of Veterans who deployed…

The Air Force Research Laboratory has found a winning strategy for solving real world problems facing the war fighter. Each year AFRL poses a clearly defined problem to several universities and service academies, challenging them to compete for a “best solution” based upon certain criteria including system weight, ruggedness, time to employ, effectiveness, cost and…

The U.S. Air Force launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., during an operational test at 6:27 a.m. PDT, May 22. Col. Brent McArthur, the 30th Space Wing’s Vice Wing Commander, was the launch decision authority. The launch team, under the direction of the 576th Flight Test Squadron, included crew…