The Aerospace Industries Association is celebrating 100 years of service in 2019 and mapping out the next century of progress in aerospace and defense. "One thing we do know, and it seems to resonate when we talk about this, is that when our industry is successful, what's good for our industry is good for the American economy," AIA President and CEO Eric Fanning says.

Middle East nations are showing interest in the T-X trainer developed by Boeing and Saab. "We are getting quite a few inquiries about T-X and when would it be available," Boeing's Mark Ballew said at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference.

Raytheon is predicting sustained demand from the UAE for Rolling Airframe Missiles. The company recently delivered RAM launchers for eight UAE ships.

Lockheed Martin says its F-21 is right for India and is pitching a plan to build it locally with Tata Advanced Systems. India is considering options for a more than $15 billion fighter jet program, including the Boeing F/A-18, Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab Gripen and Dassault Rafale.

Boeing's strategic decision to develop smaller commercial jets is paying off, and the success of the 787 Dreamliner is a prime example. "Boeing's win carries an important lesson: imitative, incremental innovation is a losing strategy," Joe Cahill writes.

NASA's drone traffic management system will be tested at facilities in Nevada and Texas. Drones will fly this spring around Reno and in the Corpus Christi area this summer.

Boeing soon will enter negotiations with Air India and Jet Airways regarding the 777X as a replacement for aging 777 passenger jets. Boeing could replace more than 20 777 models between the two carriers.

Honeywell's new hybrid-electric engine for vertical takeoff and landing applications will be on display at Heli-Expo. The engine is well-suited to urban air mobility applications, Honeywell says.

Elementary girls in an Arkansas school district are being introduced to STEM by learning how to program and fly drones. The goal is to encourage more girls to follow STEM career paths, program facilitator Wade Ward says.

Astroscale's ELSA-d satellite will launch next year as a service to push retired satellites out of orbit. Astroscale has raised $50 million in venture capital on its mission to address the growing problem of space junk.