Looking Back at 2018: Military Aircraft

Saab’s GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft made it first flight on March 18. A modified Bombardier Global 6000 business jet equipped with Saab’s Erieye ER phased-array radar, the system combines air, maritime and ground surveillance in one platform. Launch customer is the United Arab Emirates.

Lockheed Martin flew the final developmental test flight in the 17-year F-35 system development and demonstration (SDD) program on April 11. The F-35 completed more than 17,000 flight hours over the SDD program on more than 9,200 test flights. Initial operational test and evaluation began in December 2018.

The F-35 made its combat debut in May, when Israeli Air Force F-35Is struck targets in Syria. The U.S. combat debut came in September, when U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs struck a target in Afghanistan. By the end of 2018, F-35s were operating from home bases in the U.S., Australia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Norway and the UK.

Russia ordered the first batch of 12 production Su-57 stealth fighters in June 2018, with the aircraft scheduled to enter service in 2019. Initial aircraft will be powered by Saturn AL-41F1 engines, with the more advanced “Item 30” engines now in flight testing planned to become available in the early 2020s.

The UK unveiled the £2 billion Future Combat Air Systems Technology Initiative on July 16 to prepare for a new fighter to enter service by 2035. The work will be performed by Team Tempest, comprising the Royal Air Force, BAE Systems, Leonardo, MBDA and Rolls-Royce, which will develop technology for an adaptive-cycle “three-stream" engine.

New Zealand in July announced plans to purchase four Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft for delivery from 2023 to replace the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s six P-3K Orions. South Korea also selected the P-8A to replace its P-3Cs, with an initial order for six expected in 2019.

Boeing won the competition to produce the U.S. Navy’s MQ-25 Stingray carrier-based unmanned aerial-refueling aircraft on Aug. 30, defeating General Atomics and Lockheed Martin. The initial $805 million contract covers four development aircraft. Plans call for a total of 72 MQ-25s, expected to cost $13 billion, with initial operational capability scheduled for 2024.

Boeing, teamed with Saab, won the U.S. Air Force T-X advanced jet trainer competition on Sept. 27, defeating Leonardo DRS with the T-100 and Lockheed Martin/Korea Aerospace Industries with the T-50A. Worth up to $9.2 billion—less than half the Air Force’s cost estimate—the contract covers 351 aircraft, 46 simulators and ground equipment, with initial capability scheduled for 2023.

The UK’s first of two new Royal Navy aircraft carriers, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, conducted sea trials with Lockheed Martin F-35Bs off the U.S. East Coast in September-October. The ship’s first deployment is scheduled for 2021 with a limited number of UK F-35s and some U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs.

Czech Republic manufacturer Aero Vodochody rolled out the modernized L-39NG trainer/light-attack aircraft on Oct. 12. The new-production aircraft is reengined with a more powerful Williams FJ44-4M turbofan and has an updated cockpit, lighter airframe and wet wing with more hardpoints.

The first Ilyushin Il-112V light tactical transport rolled out at United Aircraft Corp.’s VASO aircraft plant in Voronezh on Nov. 27. Powered by two 2,800-shp Klimov TV7-117ST turboprops, the aircraft is planned to replace the Russian Air Force’s Antonov An-24 and An-26 light transports beginning in 2021.

Spain in December announced it would join the Franco-German Future Combat Air System program and participate in a two-year definition study for a next-generation European fighter to enter service in 2040. Dassault will lead Airbus in studying the aircraft, and Safran will lead MTU on the engine.

Capitalizing on delays to deliveries of Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tankers to the U.S. Air Force, Lockheed Martin in December signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus to offer aerial refueling services to U.S. customers using the A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport. Under the agreement, the companies will also work together to meet requirements for the next generation of tankers.