The Launch Merger Inches Forward: Boeing and Lockheed Martin have a Federal Trade Commission-approved draft agreement that would permit the two companies to proceed with their plan to merge rocket launch services into a new venture, the United Launch Alliance. However, there are conditions. Both companies are reviewing the agreement provisions.
A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 suffered an engine failure flying over Africa in May 2023, forcing the drone’s pilot to down it in the ocean where it was not recovered, according to a new Air Force report. The cost of the mishap was more than $21 million.