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Payload • Payload Staff

Europe’s Top 5 Space Moves of 2025: Sovereign Tech, New Partners and Dual‑Use Hardware

In 2025 Europe accelerated its drive for sovereign space capabilities, investing in homegrown technology, building new international partnerships, and reclassifying commercial systems as dual‑use hardware suitable for defence roles. The shifts reflect coordinated policy and industrial moves to reduce reliance on non‑European providers.

2025-12-25T05:35:31.747178-08:00

The Intercept

Congress advances pilot program allowing federal payment of defense contractors' interest despite Pentagon opposition

2025-12-24T20:21:16.549007-08:00

GeekWire

U.S. drone restrictions could pivot manufacturing to Seattle

2025-12-24T10:22:34.652671-08:00

Defense One

Congress Demands Details, Holds Funding for Proposed Space Force Special Operations Command

2025-12-17T14:28:59.881009-08:00

News Timeline

Payload

Europe’s Top 5 Space Moves of 2025: Sovereign Tech, New Partners and Dual‑Use Hardware In 2025 Europe accelerated its drive for sovereign space capabilities, investing in homegrown technology, building new international partnerships, and reclassifying commercial systems as dual‑use hardware suitable for defence roles. The shifts reflect coordinated policy and industrial moves to reduce reliance on non‑European providers.

2025-12-25T05:35:31.747178-08:00

Europe’s Top 5 Space Moves of 2025: Sovereign Tech, New Partners and Dual‑Use Hardware

The Intercept

Congress advances pilot program allowing federal payment of defense contractors' interest despite Pentagon opposition Congress advanced a pilot program permitting the federal government to pay defense contractors' interest costs, upending an 80‑year prohibition and moving forward over explicit Pentagon objections. The limited measure could shift financing burdens across primes and subcontractors on major weapon and sustainment contracts.

2025-12-24T20:21:16.549007-08:00

Congress advances pilot program allowing federal payment of defense contractors' interest despite Pentagon opposition

Federal News Network

USAF abandons broad re‑optimization while Army and Marines accelerate force transformations This year the U.S. Air Force has abandoned most of its recent 're‑optimization' changes, reversing sweeping organizational and China‑focused initiatives, while the Army and Marine Corps continue major transformation efforts — the Army launching one of its largest aviation and force‑structure realignments in decades.

2025-12-24T12:47:32.550990-08:00

USAF abandons broad re‑optimization while Army and Marines accelerate force transformations

GeekWire

U.S. drone restrictions could pivot manufacturing to Seattle New U.S. restrictions on foreign-made drones are pushing demand toward trusted domestic suppliers and could deliver a major manufacturing opportunity to Washington state. Brinc Drones' CEO says Seattle's existing drone companies, aerospace talent and supply-chain ecosystem position the region to scale production as firms relocate or expand domestically.

2025-12-24T10:22:34.652671-08:00

U.S. drone restrictions could pivot manufacturing to Seattle

AirInsight

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Embraer pivots to the E2 family as E175 demand fades under frozen US scope limits With U.S. scope-clause caps frozen since 2012 constraining regional-jet uptake, Embraer is shifting its commercial strategy away from the waning E175 and toward the E2 family as the company’s primary growth path. The decision will reshape product, sales and fleet-planning priorities.

2025-12-24T06:02:14.218014-08:00

Embraer pivots to the E2 family as E175 demand fades under frozen US scope limits

Payload

Top Civil‑Space Stories of 2025: Budget Cuts, Staff Reductions and Leadership Turmoil 2025 was a chaotic year for civil space, driven by major budget cuts, workforce reductions and leadership turnover across agencies, forcing program delays, reshaped priorities and strained international partnerships. This roundup highlights five defining civil‑space developments that altered exploration and science timelines and risk profiles.

2025-12-24T05:40:51.822823-08:00

Top Civil‑Space Stories of 2025: Budget Cuts, Staff Reductions and Leadership Turmoil

Reuters

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India clears Shankh Air, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress to challenge IndiGo–Air India duopoly Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said the government has issued no‑objection certificates to Al Hind Air and FlyExpress, joining Shankh Air (already cleared) as new carriers. The move — prompted by massive IndiGo cancellations — aims to break the IndiGo/Air India Group duopoly and add domestic capacity next year.

2025-12-24T04:38:19.938439-08:00

India clears Shankh Air, Al Hind Air and FlyExpress to challenge IndiGo–Air India duopoly

Unmanned Airspace

US agencies and law enforcement agree shared C‑sUAS detection and mitigation best practices Senior U.S. agency and law‑enforcement leaders met December 11 during a symposium to establish shared best practices for detecting and mitigating counter‑small uncrewed aerial system (C‑sUAS) threats. Hosted by JTF‑NCR/MDW at Joint Base, the session aimed to align detection‑to‑response methods across jurisdictions.

2025-12-18T02:46:05.421837-08:00

US agencies and law enforcement agree shared C‑sUAS detection and mitigation best practices

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Policy & Regulation News

Europe’s Top 5 Space Moves of 2025: Sovereign Tech, New Partners and Dual‑Use Hardware

Congress advances pilot program allowing federal payment of defense contractors' interest despite Pentagon opposition

U.S. drone restrictions could pivot manufacturing to Seattle

Congress Demands Details, Holds Funding for Proposed Space Force Special Operations Command

News Timeline