The U.S. Army is expected to bear the brunt of budget cutbacks when the Pentagon’s spending plan is finally rolled out, and that could require some bold moves including ending what the service had said is its top aviation procurement priority.
The Swiss government claims that its future fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35s will have similar noise levels on an annual basis than its current fleet of fighters, despite the aircraft being measured as 3 dB louder during takeoff than the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet.
Jordan has been cleared to buy up to 16 Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters in a deal worth up to $4.21 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said on Feb. 3. The proposed deal, if signed by Jordan, would make the Arab kingdom the sixth customer for the latest version of the F-16.
The U.S. Air Force finally has an acquisition boss, as the Senate is moving to approve more of the pending Defense Department nominations that have been waiting for months.
A long-range U.S. special operations raid in northwestern Syria resulted in the death of the leader of the Islamic State group and the destruction of a specialized Sikorsky MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter after a significant mechanical issue rendered it unsafe to complete the mission, officials announced Feb. 3.
Italy appears to be moving toward the creation of a joint Air Force and Navy unit to fly the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) version of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
An internal dispute at the highest ranks of Aerojet Rocketdyne has broken into the public eye in the wake of Biden administration opposition to its takeover by Lockheed Martin.
The Pentagon is planning a new National Defense Science and Technology strategy, informed by the department’s upcoming National Defense Strategy, to guide how it will more quickly and effectively develop new systems for the military.
The Pentagon on Feb. 2 confirmed the U.S. and NATO are offering Russia access to missile defense sites in Europe, along with more transparency about exercises and bomber flights to the region, in an effort to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine.
The U.S. military will send fifth-generation fighters to the United Arab Emirates as that country is facing increased attacks from rebels in the region, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced following meetings with Emirati leaders.
Indian defense spending is set to rise by 4.4% next year with the new budget plan emphasizing investment in indigenous programs and the local industrial base.
Then-Vice Adm. Mat Winter, the former head of the F-35 Joint Program Office, introduced a new framework more than four years ago that would guide the Lockheed Martin fighter’s follow-on modernization program with a grand new vision for a software-enabled weapon system.
Belgium has committed to around €10.2 billion ($11.4 billion) in additional defense spending over the next eight years, with procurements of helicopters and special forces aircraft to follow.
Russia’s buildup of forces near Ukraine, including the deployment of combat aircraft and ballistic missiles, is at a scale not seen since the Cold War, and top U.S. and NATO officials are continuing to press the Kremlin to draw down and trying to make room for diplomacy.
The Pentagon has stood up new efforts to reduce civilian casualties following high-profile incidents across the Middle East in which civilians were killed in U.S. airstrikes, with a new mitigation plan expected within 90 days.
The U.S. Air Force plans to approve the redesign of the KC-46 tanker’s troubled remote vision system without an independent assessment of how ready the technology is and a plan for how it will mature, and a government watchdog is urging the service to slow its approval to avoid becoming financially responsible for more possible problems in the future.
