India plans to purchase 36 Rafale jets in fly-away condition “as quickly as possible,” though both the Indian and French governments said further negotiations are still underway.
While the U.S. Marine Corps awaits the delayed first flight of its CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter, Sikorsky is using test vehicles for additional tasks on the ground to make the best use of the schedule slippage.
The U.S. Marine Corps is preparing for its first and only operational testing period for the F-35B in advance of declaring initial operational capability for the stealthy, single-engine fighter as early as July.
Australia’s E-7 Wedgetails are about to be fully operational—but not finally operational. The latter status will probably be reached the day before it is retired, because the type will always be subject to upgrades.
Arms exports from companies in EU member states taking a hit as governments think twice about approving deals with Russia and countries in the Middle East
U.S. Air Force Secretary discusses creating an apples-to-apples comparison of ULA and SpaceX launch cost, embracing public-private partnerships for a new rocket engine and developing trust with new market entrants.
Pratt & Whitney is ramping up retrofits to operational F135 engines with a fix to the problem that led to a catastrophic engine fire last year in the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter, and aims to modify the entire fleet by the first quarter of 2016.
With four bidders in the running, the U.S. Air Force is confident the competition will drive cost down to an affordable level, despite high design expectations.
Cut unwisely now and pay dearly later is the message from U.S. Defense Department science and technology leaders, who fear spending caps threaten development of advanced capabilities that will be needed in future decades.
While KAI is confirmed as preferred bidder for KF-X development, the role of Lockheed Martin looks unclear. Airbus may yet be asked to join the program to protect it from a U.S. export veto.
As the Australian government raises defense spending to 2% from 1.6% of GDP, room is opening up to extend a campaign of military aviation renewal that by now should be coming to an end. Candidates include armed UAVs and top-up orders for transports and tankers.
Test pilots say the F-35 can be cleared for greater agility as a growth option based on the results of basic fighter maneuvers against an F-16 and earlier flight-envelope evaluations.
As the Netherlands gets ready to fly its F-35s in 2019, senior commanders are thinking about how to fill a technological training gap between the Talon and the Lightning II.
Saab, through its local South African company, Saab Grintek Defence (Pty) Ltd has received follow-on orders from Hindustan Aeronautic Limited (HAL), India, for serial production of an integrated electronic warfare self-protection system for installation on the Indian Army's and Air Force's Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv. The orders have a total value of approximately R940million.
The U.S. Air Force is balancing between losing capability and meeting an urgent request to equip Air National Guard Lockheed Martin F-16s assigned to homeland defense with active electronically scanned array radars to detect small radar cross-section targets, such as cruise missiles.
