Aircraft & Propulsion

The Japanese ministry of defense reportedly has come to an agreement with the relevant U.S. manufacturers and agencies after costs spiraled.

Serbia’s president has said the country’s armed forces will be bolstered by the arrival of 30 new helicopters during 2022 and 2023.

Romania wants to acquire up to 32 of the Norwegian Lockheed Martin F-16AM/BMs that Oslo has up for sale as it introduces the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Sikorsky will vie with Airbus and Leonardo to meet the UK’s New Medium Helicopter requirement which calls for 36-44 aircraft.

The U.S. Air Force’s AFWerx innovation unit has narrowed the competition down to 11 companies for its challenge to identify potential high-speed vertical takeoff and landing concepts for special operation missions.

From Beijing to Jakarta, a guide to the likely developments regarding combat aircraft in the region.

The rotorcraft industry’s 2021 is summed up more easily by the things that did not happen, rather than those that did.

Europe’s defense cooperation is changing face as a new era of centrally stimulated collaboration gets underway.

After years of reliability issues, Australia has finally decided that it will prematurely retire its entire fleet of 47 NHIndustries/Airbus NH90 helicopters, designated locally as the MRH-90 Taipan, almost a decade earlier than planned. Instead, it has contacted the U.S. government for advice on the potential sale of 40 Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks.

The two main entrants for the U.S. Air Force’s “bridge tanker” are not the only ones anxiously awaiting requirements for the program, with Congress in the final version of the fiscal 2022 defense policy bill calling for details on what the service wants, its acquisition strategy, and plans for the future KC-Z tanker before moving forward.

Congress in the compromise fiscal 2022 defense policy bill is ordering a new, comprehensive look at problems with pilot breathing systems starting with the F-35.

National evaluations put the F-35’s military capability well ahead of its competitors, Helsinki says.

U.S. Defense Department strikes a balance between raising tensions with Beijing and its case for urgent modernization.

Two new, classified unmanned aerial system (UAS) programs in the U.S. Air Force portfolio aim to build on momentum from existing efforts such as Skyborg and Loyal Wingman, and the service’s top civilian wants both fighters and the service’s next-generation bombers to direct them in a fight against a modern enemy.

The order for 80 Rafales announced Dec. 3 benefitted from an acceleration in discussions that had begun more than a decade ago.

The Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) has taken delivery of its first pair of Bell 505 light helicopters, which were quietly acquired earlier in 2021.

A highly modified variant of the MQ-1C Gray Eagle-Extended Range (GE-ER) has demonstrated the ability to take-off in less than 500 ft., offering a new option for operators seeking a long-endurance unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that does not require a traditional runway.

Over the next decade, countries around the globe will need 3,787 new aircraft, opportunities worth $135 billion to aerospace companies.

Forecasts, snapshots and aircraft to watch.

Turkey’s vision of becoming one of the world’s great arms exporters is being boosted by the country’s UAV technologies.

Hypersonic test vehicle and oversize carrier aircraft developer Stratolaunch has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency to provide a high-speed target and threat replicating capability.

The UK has recovered the wreckage of a Lockheed Martin F-35B that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea as it attempted to take off from the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier in November.

India’s chief of defense staff, Gen. Bipin Rawat, and 12 others were killed when their Mi-17V5 helicopter crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu, southern India.

Kuwaiti government and military officials were present for a hand-over ceremony in Turin where Leonardo has been assembling the fighters.

The Philippine government has cleared the funds for its armed forces to acquire as many as 32 Sikorsky/ PZL Mielec S-70i Black Hawks, just as Manila completes the delivery of its sixteenth Black Hawk.