An Ariane V rocket lifting off from Kourou, French Guiana, boosts into orbit the SES-2 communications satellite, which hosts USAF’s first payload on a commercial satellite. The experimental Air Force payload, dubbed Commercially Hosted Infrared Payload (CHIRP), also is the first wide-field-of- view infrared staring payload in space.
BAE Systems has received a contract from Lockheed Martin to install an upgraded Block 4 electronic warfare system into new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, as well as to retrofit some older jets.
