One pilot was killed and two others injured Nov. 19 when two U.S. Air Force T-38C Talon trainer aircraft collided with each other on the runway at Laughlin AFB, Texas.
The Affinity Flying Training Services consortium has been awarded a £65 million ($88 million) contract to operate an additional four Beechcraft T-6 Texan II turboprop training aircraft for the UK’s Military Flying Training System.
Korean Aerospace Industries is planning to offer its FA-50 Golden Eagle jet trainer for an upcoming tender in Slovakia, South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration says.
The Japan Air Self Defense Force has opted to participate in the International Flight Training School in Italy and will be sending its pilots for advanced-level fighter training.
The U.S. Air Force’s potential Advanced Tactical Trainer, recently announced in a request for information, is expected to serve as a bridge for pilots graduating from initial training in a T-38, or eventually a Boeing-Saab T-7, before entering the cockpit of an operational fighter.
In an echo of a proposed new U.S. Air Force acquisition program, the U.S. Navy is also now interested in buying a new fleet of advanced training jets to give frontline fighter pilots more training opportunities in a cheaper aircraft.
A path to a more productive pilot training system for the U.S. Air Force may require buying hundreds of the proposed new Advanced Tactical Trainers, which suddenly appeared in an Oct. 12 request for information released by Air Combat Command.
Czech aircraft manufacturer Aero Vodochody has a new CEO following the purchase of the company by a Hungarian businessman. Viktor Sotona, formerly the managing director of Czech multilateration technology company ERA, takes over from Dieter John as of Sept. 30 as part of the change in ownership.
The U.S. Navy recently flew its first exercise using a new Collins Aerospace-produced air combat training system, combining real-world aircraft and ships with virtual threats.
As the U.S. Air Force prepares to base its first F-35As in Europe later this year, the service has increased its ability to train with local nations that fly the aircraft, established a local way to train with live-fire missiles, and even brought in international partners to its air operations center to work more closely together.
The MAG Aerospace AC-208 and Leidos/Paramount Bronco II have been eliminated from the Armed Overwatch competition, leaving three qualified bidders as U.S. Special Operations Command releases a request for proposals as soon as later this week.
Boeing has resolved the “wing rock” issue facing the T-7A Red Hawk trainer, but production is still slowed by ongoing COVID-19-related parts shortages.
Qatar’s first BAE Systems Hawk jet trainers, which will fly as part of a joint Qatari and UK Royal Air Force training squadron, have been formally handed over.
Nigeria has signed up to purchase Fighter Attack versions of the Leonardo M-346 jet trainer, an official with the country’s air force confirmed in a TV interview.
