Defense

Airbus has described 2026 as a “year of testing” for the latest addition to its portfolio, the H140 twin-engine light helicopter.

Hypersonic test company Stratolaunch has completed back-to-back launches of two Mach 5-plus, rocket-powered Talon-A vehicles from two different carrier aircraft in the space of just fourteen days.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants the military to do a proper requirements assessment for a potential next-generation fighter.

A proposal to increase the size of the B-21 Raider program of record depends on getting U.S. Air Force approval to accelerate deliveries.

European missile-maker MBDA has secured a backlog of orders now valued at around €44 billion ($52 billion), joint venture partner BAE Systems disclosed Feb. 18.

BAE Systems' sales growth generated in Europe is poised to accelerate after with the business there now surpassing the British defense company’s sizable Saudi Arabian activities.

Speed and range are becoming more central to Europe’s weapons plans.

Aging aircraft, potential new fighter buys and a long-discussed service merger leave the Royal Saudi Air Force at a strategic inflection point.

Production of JetZero’s BWB demonstrator is underway, beginning with assembly of the pressurized cockpit section and forward fuselage.

The new B-26 Marauder, a twin-engine bomber commissioned by the U.S. Army Air Corps, appeared on our cover dated Feb. 1, 1941, as part of an advertisement for Pratt & Whitney’s newest and most powerful engine, the Double Wasp.

Carpenter Technology's current president and chief operating officer Brian Malloy will become chief executive officer July 1.

Spain has added a signals intelligence capability to its General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) fleet.

Growth across all aviation sectors contributes to elevated risk in terminal-area airspace and requires a multi-pronged approach to ensure safety, FSF says.

The U.S. Air Force is now planning for its first missile pad test launch of its next intercontinental ballistic missile next year.

Raytheon will team with the U.S. photonics engineering group G&H to domestically produce thin film lithium niobate wafers following its win of an AFRL contract.

Canada will prioritize domestic businesses for the award of an estimated C$180 billion in military procurement contracts over the next 10 years.

3D printing has yet to turn aircraft production on its head.

An air-launched missile-carrying UAS developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for DARPA’s LongShot project has been designed the X-68A.

The EU plans to establish what it calls a Military Mobility Transport Group in a move that could be a boon to Airbus by paving the way for more A400M orders.

Safran's diversification in suppliers of titanium billets and forgings is sufficiently well underway for the manufacturer to do without Russian titanium, its CEO says.

Slovakia is considering the purchase four more Block 70-model Lockheed Martin F-16s to add to the 14 it has already acquired.

BAE Systems will transform the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) II with dual-mode seekers to make the 2.75-in.-dia. guided rocket more effective at shooting down volleys of large numbers of one-way attack munitions.

A Boeing 757 adapted to test sensors for the trinational Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) has completed its first flights equipped with a new fighter nose fairing.

Editors are joined by analyst Sash Tusa to discuss the fallout of the Munich Security Conference and Saudi Arabia's World Defense Show.

The service’s special operations forces are arguing for their relevance as upgrade plans evolve.