Boeing has announced two major defence awards: a nearly USD 4.7 billion FMS contract to supply 96 AH-64E Apaches to Poland, and a USD 2.47 billion U.S. Air Force order for 15 KC-46A tankers, expanding global fleets of both platforms.
Lockheed Martin, General Atomics ASI and L3Harris have completed flight demonstrations in Nevada showing an F-22 pilot issuing in-flight commands to an unmanned aircraft using open-architecture interfaces, software-defined radios and a pilot vehicle interface. The test took place at the Nevada Test and Training Range.
Take a drive around the Boneyard, the largest concentration of military aircraft in the world. All retired, many will be scrapped for parts but some remain ready enough to be recalled.
The U.S. Air Force has already flown multiple prototypes of the new F-47 fighter, which is part of the Next Generation Air Dominance program that includes uncrewed loyal wingman drones and new adaptive engines. It is planned to be cheaper than the F-22, with a larger fleet and an export version.
Romania has signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance for 32 F-35A aircraft that are expected to cost around $6.4 billion. Romania already operates the Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter and has become the 20th member of the club of F-35 operator countries.
A total of 168 KC-46A tankers are on contract around the world with the latest order for the aircraft worth $2.38 billion. The order for the P-8A worth $1.6 billion brings the number of aircraft on contract to 207, of which 135 have been ordered by eight other countries.
F-35C fighters from the U.S. Marine Corps’ VMFA 314 squadron aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln conducted multiple strikes on Houthi weapons storage facilities in Yemen. The F-35C stealth fighter model has longer, folding wings and, like the F/A-18, is designed to be launched from the catapults of aircraft carriers, allowing it to carry heavier payloads than the F-35B.
The nomination of a television program co-host with credentials lighter than a feather, for the senior cabinet position of Secretary of Defense, will make it easier to side-line or remove senior military officers whom Trump has said he would fire for being ‘woke.’
Boeing issued a ‘global No Technical Objection (NTO)’ confirming there are no technical issues to any Boeing-built defence aircraft and derivatives operating on synthetic aviation turbine fuels at the maximum allowable limit of a 50-50 blend with conventional fossil fuels.
The latest round of military aid worth USD 150 million is the Biden administration’s 60th tranche of aid since August 2021, including artillery and ammunition from its own inventories, in addition to purchases of air defence systems worth USD 2.2 billion for Ukraine.
Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said on Monday that the raised alert status was due to a combination of factors and not related to a single threat, potentially impacting the safety and security of service members stationed in the European theatre.
A Qatar Emiri Air Force F-15QA (Qatar Advanced) will be present and displaying at the airshow. The F-15QA model has been key for the most recent evolution of the aircraft into the latest F-15EX fighter.
Indonesia has also recently placed orders for a total of 42 Dassault Rafale fighters. But the F-15EX is very different — being in a much higher weight class, to begin with. The export version of the aircraft delivered to Indonesia will be designated the F-15IDN.
The acquisition of the S-400, differing points of view on the war in Ukraine, eye-watering costs, a domestic 5th gen fighter program and never having operated any U.S. fighter aircraft are some of the reasons why India can’t and shouldn’t consider the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
The U.S. is the only country to send fighter aircraft to Aero India 2023. Other U.S. fighters at Aero India 2023 include two Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets and two Lockheed Martin F-16s.
