Defense Aviation Highlights Of 2023

A high-altitude balloon that originated in China was shot down by a U.S. Air Force Lockheed Martin F-22 off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4 after it had entered U.S. airspace near the Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28 and drifted across North America carrying an intelligence-gathering payload.

The first Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 was delivered to the Royal Bahraini Air Force on March 10 from the new F-16 final assembly line in Greenville, South Carolina. The first of 16 for Bahrain, the aircraft is the first of 147 new-build Block 70/72s on backlog for seven countries.

Turkish Aerospace Industries’ (TAI) Hurjet advanced jet trainer made its first flight on April 25. Powered by a single General Electric F404, the Hurjet is the first crewed jet aircraft developed in Turkey and follows the Hurkus turboprop trainer. The Hurjet is planned to replace Turkey’s Northrop T-38s.

Turkey’s TAI TF-X indigenous fighter prototype was rolled out and formally named the Kaan ("king") on May 1, when the first flight was planned by the end of 2023, powered by a pair of General Electric F110 engines. Deliveries to the Turkish Air Force, to replace its F-16s, are planned to begin in 2028.

Iran’s first indigenous light military transport aircraft—the Simorgh—made its initial flight on May 30. Developed by the Iran Aviation Industries Organization, the aircraft is derived from the 50-seat IrAn-140 regional turboprop assembled locally under license from Ukraine’s Antonov in the 2000s.

The first of three Boeing T-7A Red Hawk engineering and manufacturing development aircraft made its delayed first flight on June 28, arriving at Edwards AFB, California, to begin testing in November. Boeing won a $9.2 billion contract to supply 351 T-7s in 2018, when service entry was planned for 2024.

In August, the U.S. Air Force Operational Energy Office awarded startup JetZero a $235 million cost-sharing contract to build a full-scale blended wing body demonstrator for flight in 2027. The aircraft is intended as a precursor to proposed midsize commercial airliner and military tanker/transport derivatives.

L3Harris and BAE Systems delivered the first EC-37B, a Gulfstream G550 outfitted with electronic attack equipment from the EC-130H Compass Call, to the U.S. Air Force in September. The Air Force plans to “cross-deck” systems from existing EC-130Hs to at least 10 EC-37Bs.

Lockheed Martin in October exited the competition to replace the U.S. Air Force’s fleet of Boeing KC-135 tankers, disbanding the LMXT team offering a version of Airbus’ A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT). Airbus is now pursing the program on its own with a U.S.-produced A330 MRTT.

Israel Aerospace Industries’ Arrow 3 interceptor made its combat debut on Oct. 31 by successfully shooting down a long-range ballistic missile over the Red Sea, likely launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen. Israel Defense Forces first deployed the Arrow 3 in 2017.

The U.S. Air Force’s Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider made its first flight Nov. 10, flying from Palmdale to Edwards AFB in California to begin testing. Northrop was awarded the B-21 development contract in October 2015 and rolled out the first aircraft on Dec. 2, 2022.

Brazil’s Embraer capped an eventful year for export of its C-390 Millennium transport with the December selection by South Korea to supply three aircraft. This followed selection by the Czech Republic in October and Austria in September. The first exported C-390 entered service with Portugal in October.

Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) partner nations planning a sixth-generation fighter—Italy, Japan and the UK—on Dec. 14 agreed to create a UK-based international government organization to run the program. An industrial joint venture is set to follow in 2024 with joint development to be launched in 2025.