A California judge has tentatively ruled in favor of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by a former computer specialist who alleged he was singled out in part because of his belief in intelligent design. Superior Court Judge Ernest Hiroshige issued a tentative ruling Nov. 1 saying he was leaning toward…

Panetta cites turning point in Afghan war Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says U.S. military commanders in Afghanistan believe the U.S. and its allies have ìturned the tideî after 11 years of war. In a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, Panetta said the international military coalition has reversed a five-year trend of growing…

Business Pratt & Whitney finds engine-test fraud at sibling plant United Technologies Corp. Pratt & Whitney jet engine unit has found that another United Tech unit fraudulently tested parts of engines for business jets to reduce the odds of further monitoring, Pratt said March 4. Ready Here. United Kingdom says Thales, Airbus to build A400M…

Super Hornet crashes in the Arabian Sea An F/A-18F Super Hornet attached to the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower crashed April 8 in the North Arabian Sea. No one was injured. The Super Hornet encountered an engine failure at 12:20 p.m. local time, the Navy stated in a news release. The incident is under investigation….

U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan at 2,083 As of May 7, 2013, at least 2,083 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to an Associated Press count. At least 1,725 military service members have died in Afghanistan as a result…

Fewer submarines planned in Connecticut The Navy’s top admiral says the Navy plans to keep fewer submarines in Groton, Conn., as the military shifts its focus toward Asia. Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert told The Day of New London that by 2020, the Naval Submarine Base is expected to have two squadrons with six attack submarines…

Danes to buy Sikorsky combat helicopters   Denmark’s Defense Ministry says it will purchase nine Sikorsky Sea Hawk naval combat helicopters for $686 million. Minister Nick Haekkerup said in a statement Nov. 21 that the MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopters built by Sikorsky-Lockheed Martin will be delivered in 2016-2018. The company is a division of Lockheed…

Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel releases annual report   The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel has released its 2012 annual report. This report is based on the panel’s 2012 fact-finding and quarterly public meetings; center visits and meetings; direct observations of NASA operations and decision-making; discussions with NASA management, employees, and contractors; and the panel members’ past…

A U.N. agency that sets global aviation safety standards is moving to prevent aircraft batteries like the one that caught fire on a Boeing 787 last month from being shipped as cargo on passenger planes, people familiar with the effort said. Over the past few days, the members of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s dangerous…