Aircraft & Propulsion

The Swedish Air Force is to receive its first Saab JAS-39 Gripen Es on Oct. 20.

The French Navy has selected the Pilatus PC-24 light business jet as a replacement for its long-serving Dassault Falcon 10 business jet utility aircraft.

Baykar’s Kizilelma uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV) has completed its first weapon releases just days after beginning carriage tests.

The UK government-sponsored Future Flight Challenge officially came to an end in 2024, but on Sept. 29 the follow-on Future Flight Program announced a £4.4 million slate of awards.

L3Harris will offer airborne and electronic warfare variants of the ground-based Vampire counter-UAS now fielded in Ukraine, company executives say.

Taiwan is doubling down on efforts to build a multifaceted uncrewed systems ecosystem, the defense ministry says in a new report.

Ireland has taken delivery of a dedicated transport variant of the Airbus C295 airlifter, giving the country a dedicated tactical airlifter for the first time.

German lawmakers have approved spending on an additional top-up order for Eurofighter combat aircraft and a crucial upgrade path for the fighter.

Hoverfly Technologies, a manufacturer of tethered drone systems for the defense sector, has secured $20 million in a Series B funding round.

South Korea has multiple modernization programs on the agenda to add to its current fleet.

The U.S. Department of Defense has invested a total of $79 million in two companies mining critical minerals in Alaska.

Sikorsky is considering how to modify U.S. Air Force HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopters to fly VIP transport and continuity-of-government missions.

Faced with a persistent pilot shortage, the U.S. Air Force in 2022 set a demanding goal of training 1,500 pilots per year to chip away at the issue.

The Canadian government now is keeping options open for making a final decision on the fate of completing a plan to buy 88 Lockheed Martin F-35As.

The UK wants to demonstrate operations of a turbine-powered, fixed-wing, short takeoff and landing autonomous collaborative platform from a Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier.

Sweden has formally placed its order for the Embraer C-390, becoming the sixth European nation to commit to the airlifter.

As flight testing progresses to larger sizes, Sikorsky has renamed its Rotor Blown Wing family of vertical-takeoff-and-landing uncrewed aircraft the Nomad.

Sikorsky expects the award for the 11th, and likely final, UH-60 Black Hawk order from the U.S. Army in late 2026 as the service reviews aviation plans.

India’s air force chief has expressed optimism that domestic industry will be able to deliver a new-generation indigenous combat aircraft in the 2030s.

The U.S. Air Force is pressing to field a next-generation aerial refueling system by as soon as 2036, to justify production extension of the Boeing KC-46.

Australia has taken delivery of the first pair of Boeing AH-64E Apaches, marking the beginning of the end for its army’s Airbus Tiger attack helicopters.

Boeing has handed over the first of eight planned P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to the German Navy.

Carrier operations are proceeding, but the UK’s Lockheed Martin F-35 program still faces major capability gaps.

Madrid’s funding package positions Airbus at the center of Spain’s contribution to European defense autonomy.

The defense technology startup developing low-cost glide and guidance systems for ultra-long-range precision strikes has raised $3 million from investors.