Lockheed Martin F-35

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

International competitors see an uptick in interest for military equipment amid uncertain American trade policy.

According to Aviation Week’s recently released 2026 Military Fleet & MRO Forecast, the F-35 Lightning II represents by far the largest military aircraft program in terms of deliveries over the decade with a at least 1,468 aircraft due to be delivered to 18 different operators.

Patria has begun assembling Pratt & Whitney F135 engines in country as part of Finland’s procurement of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Lockheed Martin has completely cleared the backlog of F-35s that had been parked at its facility in Fort Worth, Texas.

Lt. Gen. Jamie Speiser-Blanchet autographed a fuselage bulkhead of the Royal Canadian Air Force's first F-35 at a ceremony in Fort Worth.

Lockheed Martin will spend $1 billion to stockpile spare parts for the F-35.

Crucial for defense and scarce due to China’s export controls, samarium was recently named the most vulnerable critical mineral by the U.S. Geological Survey.

A series of recent demonstrations have familiarized Boeing F/A-18E/F and Lockheed Martin F-35C pilots with Collaborative Combat Aircraft.

The U.S. Air Force’s training command is set to start flying and maintaining the Boeing T-7A Red Hawk as it builds the initial, small fleet.

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

A look at why Operation Absolute Resolve has implications far beyond Venezuela.

Lockheed Martin delivered 191 F-35s in 2025, setting an annual delivery record for the international stealth fighter, the company announced on Jan. 7.

Deliveries of the F 35A are expected to begin in 2031, with Full Operational Capability targeted for 2035. The service’s Gripen lease has been extended to 2035 to cover the gap.

ReElement Technologies has secured a $200 million investment from Transition Equity Partners to ramp up critical minerals production in Marion, Indiana.

The U.S. military staged one of the most daring, complex and successful military raids in modern history on Venezuela.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says it was “unfair” to banish his country from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program and has called for Ankara to be readmitted to the project.

The U.S. Navy on Dec. 23 announced it was awarding Leonardo UK a $54.3 million contract for ALQ-260 BriteCloud decoys to protect the Pentagon’s F-35 fleet.

Switzerland says it will settle for fewer than 36 Lockheed Martin F-35s to offset program cost growth.

Helsinki is buying the missiles for use with its soon-to-be-delivered Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

Talks on Turkey’s potential reentry into the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program could “yield a breakthrough in the coming months,” the U.S. ambassador to Turkey has suggested.

The integration of the MBDA Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile onto the CTOL Lockheed Martin F-35 has advanced, with ground-based testing beginning.

The UK plans to acquire the GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II to give its Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters a long-desired standoff capability.

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

Despite the possibility of Saudi Arabia receiving the F-35, Boeing’s ambitions for a renewed F-15 sales push in the region may still have merit.