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Northrop’s Talon IQ Flies First Mission With Shield AI’s Hivemind Autonomy

Lawrence Garrett — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 15:05:59 +0000

The Defense Post reports, “Northrop Grumman’s Talon IQ modular testbed, equipped with Shield AI’s Hivemind as its digital brain, has completed its first partner mission autonomy flight in Mojave, California. Following its single‑day hardware‑in‑the‑loop test, Hivemind successfully directed Talon IQ to execute combat air patrol and target engagement in the flight before the aircraft swapped back to Northrop’s Prism autonomy software.”
Full Story (The Defense Post)

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Advancing the Field: Luminary Cloud Announced New Physics AI Models at AIAA SciTech Forum

Lawrence Garrett — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 15:01:27 +0000

FROM THE INSTITUTE
Luminary Cloud, an AIAA Corporate Member, announced the release of three new physics AI defense models designed to dramatically expedite U.S. defense technology development while at AIAA SciTech Forum 2026. “The new physics AI models are intended to complement simulation technology, and instead of giving execution times in hours, they will provide answers in less than a second,” said Juan Alonso, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder, Luminary Cloud. “This is a significant acceleration of engineering workflows, which is made possible by the very large data sets we are able to create with GPU-native physics solvers and by the revolution in Physics AI methods.”

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NASA Seeks SmallSat Mission Concepts Using Adaptive Sensing and Edge AI

Lawrence Garrett — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 15:00:29 +0000

Military Aerospace reports NASA’s “Earth Science Technology Office is seeking submissions for the agency’s Space to Soil Challenge, an initiative focused on advancing adaptive sensing and onboard processing technologies for small satellite (SmallSat) missions supporting land resilience applications.”
Full Story (Military Aerospace)

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U.S. Army Demonstrates Counter-UAS Capability Using AH-64E Apache

Lawrence Garrett — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 14:55:23 +0000

Aerotime reports, “The US Army’s 12th Combat Aviation Brigade (12th CAB) has used the AH-64E Apache in a counter-drone role during an exercise in Germany, in what the unit described as a first for the European theater. In a release published on March 19, 2026, the brigade said that soldiers from the 2-159th Attack Battalion had used the helicopter’s existing weapons to engage and destroy drones in air-to-air engagements during Operation Skyfall at the Grafenwoehr Training Area.”
Full Story (Aerotime)

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Japan Conducts First Flight of New EC-2 Electronic Attack Platform

Lawrence Garrett — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 15:44:22 +0000

Aviation News Daily reports, “Japan has officially commenced flight testing for its new EC-2 Stand-Off Jammer aircraft, a specialized electronic warfare platform designed to neutralize enemy sensors from a distance. The aircraft successfully completed its first flight on March 17, 2026, marking a critical milestone in the modernization of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s electronic combat capabilities.”
Full Story (Aviation News Daily)

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Artemis Moon Missions Take Center Stage at Wichita Engineers Week Banquet

Lawrence Garrett — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 15:42:46 +0000

FROM THE INSTITUTE
It’s the first mission to bring humans to the moon in more than fifty years, and Alicia Dwyer Cianciolo is leading a team that will ensure the astronauts with the Artemis program land safely and precisely on the moon’s surface. Cianciolo, an AIAA Associate Fellow, spoke with engineers representing a number of societies at the annual Wichita Council of Engineering Societies Engineers Week Banquet in February. The speech detailed the Artemis project, the various missions, and her team’s role in setting the requirements and ensuring the human landing systems meet those requirements.

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SpaceX Tests V3 Starship Booster in Key Pre-Launch Milestone

Lawrence Garrett — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 14:57:07 +0000

SPACE reports SpaceX “conducted a static fire test” with the first stage of its V3 Starship on Monday (March 16), a milestone moment for this bigger, more powerful megarocket. “It was the first-ever static fire for a Version 3 (V3) vehicle — the latest iteration of Starship, which SpaceX is developing to help humanity put boots on the moon and Mars.”

Full Story (SPACE)

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Wisk Aero Unveils Second Gen 6 Autonomous eVTOL Prototype

Lawrence Garrett — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 17:16:03 +0000

Aviation International News reports, “Wisk Aero has rolled out the second flight-test example of its sixth-generation autonomous eVTOL aircraft. The full-scale prototype, registered as N607WA, is expected to make its first flight in the coming weeks. The Boeing subsidiary said it remains on track to bring the pilotless, four-passenger electric air taxi into commercial service by 2030.”
Full Story (Aviation International)

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Firefly’s Alpha Rocket Resumes Flights, Successfully Reaches Orbit

Lawrence Garrett — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 15:51:19 +0000

Aviation Week reports, “Firefly Aerospace has returned to flight after nearly one year, ready to resume its mission to bring additional launch capacity to hungry U.S. government and commercial space customers. The Alpha launch vehicle took off March 11 from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg SFB in California at 5:50 p.m. PDT, following several attempts scrubbed due to high winds and atypical sensor readings. But with the weather and sensors finally cooperating, the small-lift rocket carried its cargo to orbit at last.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Video

Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket returns to flight. (Launch takes place at the 00:29 mark)
VideoFromSpace; YouTube

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Faculty Advisor Spotlight: Michael Denn, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Lawrence Garrett — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 15:34:45 +0000

FROM THE INSTITUTE
Michael Denn, an Instructor of Mechanical Mechatronics Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) who serves as the faculty advisor for the AIAA SIUE Student Branch, was one of six faculty advisors selected to receive the 2025 AIAA Faculty Advisor Award. Denn was recognized for his outstanding and dedicated efforts in establishing and guiding the student branch. He played a pivotal role in supporting the formation process and mentoring the organization through its inaugural semester, laying a strong foundation for long-term success.

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