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December 21, 2022

USAF Grounds B-2 Bomber Fleet

Downspirited

The United States Air Force has grounded the entirety of its B-2 Spirit—colloquially Stealth Bomber—fleet, and will inspect all twenty of the enigmatic aircraft in the wake of a 10 December incident in which an in-flight malfunction forced a B-2 crew to make an emergency landing at Missouri’s Whiteman Air Force Base.

Announcement says Acquisition Good for Cutting Costs, Strengthening National Defense

L3Harris Technologies will acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne after all, buying out the company in an all-cash transaction valued at nearly 5 billion. The two companies will bring their respective expertise to the fore, addressing pricing qualms from their biggest government customers. With the civilian-sector space industry growing increasingly competitive by the year, a combined L3Harris/Rocketdyne outfit may allow them to increase the level of competition in the field of rocketry, whether solid motor boosters, scramjets, missiles, or hypersonics.

Vertical Landing SNAFU Makes for Engaging Timeline Fodder

The latest in a line of embarrassing moments for the F-35 ended up on tape this week, racking up more than 8 million views. In the video, an F-35B owned by Lockheed Martin, but operated by a "government pilot" attempted a vertical landing only to bounce, buffet, and crash in plain view of bystanders. The pilot ejected only feet above ground level, remaining airborne for less than 10 seconds before returning to earth. The unidentified aviator was taken to medical facilities and suffered no serious injuries.