Aircraft & Propulsion

Airbus Helicopters has secured a long-awaited contract to develop and upgrade French and Spanish Tiger attack helicopters.

To improve the ground situational awareness of the Singapore Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defense has acquired the Rafael/Aeronautics Orbiter 4 UAS under the close-range unmanned aerial systems program.

European Union plans to transfer Warsaw Pact-era combat aircraft to Ukraine appear to have faltered after the Eastern European governments operating them said they would not be handing over the aircraft.

After a decade of deliberation, Abu Dhabi has opted to buy a Chinese platform for its future jet trainer.

Lack of FAA approval has held back the H160’s entry into service.

Using C-130s as floatplanes and cruise missile launchers is part of AFSOC’s latest pivot to Asia.

The Pentagon is exploring ways to deconflict U.S. and Russian aircraft as airspace over Ukraine continues to be contested, though so far there has not been interest from Moscow as the invasion continues.

The European Union has said it will provide fighter jets to Ukraine as part of a €450 million ($502.3 million) support package of lethal aid.

Ukrainian aircraft maker Antonov deferred comment after multiple officials and news outlets reported that the An-225 Mriya heavy airlifter was destroyed during fighting at an airport near Kyiv.

Germany is pledging to create a €100 billion ($112.7 billion) fund for defense investment this year and is promising a dramatic uptick in annual defense spending in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Roscosmos will suspend launches of Soyuz rockets from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana in response to European Union sanctions on Russia, the CEO of the Russian space corporation Dmitry Rogozin said Feb. 26.

Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer Antonov said on Feb. 25 that the current status of the An-225 Mriya is unknown after more than 30 hr. of fighting at its home airport.

How KC-46 pilots, boom operators are teaching themselves the tanker’s new tricks.

Stratolaunch’s Roc retracted and extended its landing gear for the first time on the 385-ft.-wingspan carrier aircraft’s fourth test flight from Mojave, California, on Feb. 24.

The signing of the global contract for the four-nation Eurodrone program on Feb. 24 brings to an end nearly a decade of lobbying by industry for governments to fund a European MALE UAS program.

Look to Syria to learn how U.S. and Russian forces handled congested airspace.

Serbia has become the latest country to adopt Airbus’ C295 twin-turboprop airlifter, contracting for two aircraft for use by the Serbian air force.

An ongoing radar upgrade could result in a roundabout way of increasing the airspeed of the Boeing B-52H fleet by nearly 8%.

The U.S. Air Force has retired the first of 16 Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (J-Stars) surveillance aircraft, the service announced on Feb. 22.

The surprise decision follows the appearance of the jet trainer at last year’s Dubai Airshow, and would make the UAE the first Middle Eastern customer for the platform.

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has wrapped up two months of low-temperature tests of the Light Armed Helicopter (LAH), ticking off another item as it aims to complete evaluation tests by June this year.

BAE Systems has been awarded a A$1.5 billion ($1 billion) contract by Canberra to upgrade and lengthen the service life of the Royal Australia Air Force (RAAF) Hawk 127 lead-in fighter trainer through 2031.

The UK is facing further delays to the integration of MBDA’s Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile onto the Lockheed Martin F-35.

Emirati defense manufacturer Edge Group says it has developed a swarming drone capability designed to overwhelm an adversary’s defenses.

Indonesian airframer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) plans to improve its aircraft assembly capabilities and is in “constant discussion” with Airbus on building C295 turboprops for export from Indonesia.