ch-aviation
• Paul Ash
Scheduled air service has resumed at Gulmi in Nepal after a four-month suspension. The available report provides no further details on the carrier, routes or frequency.
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The Pentagon selected KBR’s Firefly system for a pilot program testing defenses against adversarial drones at U.S. military installations. Separately, Hanwha Systems said two laser weapons intercepted all three target drones in a demonstration for the South Korean Army, underscoring parallel efforts to use directed-energy systems against unmanned threats.
Scheduled air service has resumed at Gulmi in Nepal after a four-month suspension. The available report provides no further details on the carrier, routes or frequency.
Reliance Industries pushed back against suggestions that it is trying to keep Elon Musk’s Starlink out of India, saying its satellite venture is itself still awaiting regulatory clearances. The dispute highlights a market-access and licensing question as Starlink’s India plans face scrutiny alongside a local incumbent’s ambitions.
The Northern Mariana Islands tourism authority approved a sole-source contract for a joint marketing campaign with Philippine Airlines. The $400,000 effort will promote air services to the territory during the winter 2026/27 and summer 2027 seasons.
A low-altitude investment subsidiary of Sichuan Airlines Group has signed a purchase agreement with China’s Volant for 20 VE25-100 electric vertical take-off and landing passenger aircraft, with options for an additional 30. The agreement adds a sizable prospective order to China’s emerging eVTOL market.
China Express Airlines Holdings, the carrier’s controlling shareholder, pledged 24,390,247 shares to Huaneng Guicheng Trust on Oct. 13, 2026, to finance equity investments. The transaction puts a block of the airline’s shares behind the shareholder’s investment financing, though the report does not specify the pledge’s value or other terms.
South Korea says it has tested its first domestically developed hypersonic glide vehicle, designed for high-speed maneuverability, precision guidance and extreme heat resistance. North Korea’s missile chief questioned whether the vehicle actually achieved hypersonic flight, according to state media KCNA.
Australia’s Department of Defence announced a A$2.4 billion (about US$1.7 billion) investment over six years for a system to monitor the country’s airspace and coordinate responses to air and missile threats. The system is intended to connect Royal Australian Air Force F-35As with the missile defense network.
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