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Saab GlobalEye
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.
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Lockheed Martin F-35
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.
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Lockheed Martin F-35
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.
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Sukhoi Su-57
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.
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Team Tempest
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.
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Boeing P-8A
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.
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Boeing MQ-25
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.
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Boeing T-X
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.
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HMS Queen Elizabeth
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.
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Aero L-39NG
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.
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Ilyushin Il-112V
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.
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France/Germany Future Combat Air System
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.
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Lockheed Martin/Airbus A330 MRTT
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.
From business-jet-based airborne early warning, the F-35’s combat debut and Boeing’s bounceback to another chance for Airbus to enter the U.S. aerial refueling market, we look at key events in military aviation in 2018.
See also: