Defense

News In Brief.

The UK defense ministry has confirmed that Tekever has secured a contract to replace the British Army’s fleet of Thales Watchkeeper uncrewed aircraft systems.

A second UK-designed collaborative combat aircraft design has emerged to compete for the Royal Air Force’s emerging Storm Fighter program.

ZeroAvia’s senior leadership still believes future zero-emissions flight will be fueled by hydrogen.

The FAA’s radio altimeter (RA) upgrade mandate sets Dec. 30, 2030, as the deadline for commercial aircraft and will give other affected operations, including Part 135, until Oct. 31, 2034.

Lockheed Martin targets India, Latin America and U.S. demand as C-130 deliveries return to normal.

Frankenburg partners with BAE Systems and Roxel to accelerate affordable, mass-produced short-range air defense missiles.

Tekever wins sole-source contract for British Army’s Watchkeeper replacement, aiming to deliver advanced ISR capabilities with up to 24 systems by 2030.

FAA's proposed supersonic rule could expand overland testing, benefiting Starfighters Space and future high-speed aircraft.

Airbus opens UK helicopter academy as police expand H135 fleet under modernization and workforce development initiatives.

Archer unveils hybrid autonomous VTOL programs targeting defense and civil markets, leveraging Midnight technology and Anduril partnership.

Indonesia finalizes a M-346F purchase, expanding defense ties with Italy and modernizing its trainer fleet.

Turkish Aerospace Industries and Lockheed Martin look set to restart assembly of Black Hawk helicopters in Turkey after a hiatus.

Germany is exploring a military launch site to strengthen sovereign, resilient and responsive space launch capabilities.

Tekever has unveiled a new rotary wing uncrewed air system which it hopes will help it secure a chunk of the growing uncrewed heavylift multi-copter market.

Listen in to hear about Brontanax, GCAP, howling Hongdus and more as Aviation Week defense editors break down what they learned at the Farnborough Airshow.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

BAE Systems’ self-funded autonomous aircraft will give the Royal Air Force its first operational experience with collaborative combat aircraft.

As Canada joins GCAP as an observer, governments and industry are working out how to manage the next steps in this ambitious fighter program.

European procurement spending has surged more than 160% since 2021.

Odys partners with ST Engineering to develop hybrid eVTOL cargo drones, expanding range and capabilities for uncrewed aircraft and logistics solutions.

On July 23, RTX reported better-than-expected results for the second quarter of 2026.

JetZero expects to select Z4 engines within a year as blended-wing demonstrator nears first flight.

Pratt & Whitney’s aftermarket sales have driven a 50% rise in second-quarter operating profit for the RTX subsidiary.

Dassault prepares Rafale F5 development featuring AI, UCAV integration and advanced systems despite pending French approval.