The rising demand for small satellites is aligning with rapid growth in companies such as Virgin Orbit, Vector, Rocket Labs and others. Plus, Aviation Week editors assess prospects for sending humans to suborbital space this year.

As the U.S. military confronts an alarming spike in non-combat related aviation accidents, it falls to the services’ sustainment enterprises to take a hard look at safety and maintenance processes. U.S. Air Force Sustainment Center Chief Lt. Gen. Lee Levy joins Aviation Week editors to discuss the recent mishaps, how incorporating new technology like additive manufacturing and robotics can help make maintenance more efficient, and how to get control of F-35 sustainment costs.

In the three-way race to make an unmanned carrier-based tanker aircraft, Boeing, General Atomics and Lockheed Martin have revealed new design details, including their choice of engine, and in one case, the ability to carry weapons.

President of CAE’s Defence & Security Group Gene Colabatistto joins Aviation Week Editors Lara Seligman and Graham Warwick to discuss innovative ways contractors can help combat the U.S. Air Force’s acute pilot shortage, both in the manned aircraft and Remotely Piloted Aircraft community.

Artificial intelligence, augmented reality and other new digital technologies are infiltrating aerospace and defense businesses faster than expected, a new report claims. More than 80% of leading executives expect to see AI systems working alongside their human employees in just the next few years, and 70% plan for it to take two years or less for new and emerging technology adoption overall. Half of them report already investing in related tech including AI, Internet of Things connectivity, robotics and autonomous machines. In the latest Check 6 with Accenture, Senior Business Editor Michael Bruno discusses these forecasts with John Schmidt, managing director and the global aerospace and defense lead at Accenture, and Mark Miller, another managing director who leads Accenture’s Technology Advisory Practice for Communications, Media and Technology in North America.

Editors Guy Norris and Graham Warwick discuss unveiling of tailless UAV and SpaceX’s unique testing strategy