Weapons Tester Cites Further F-35 Challenges (excerpt)
The Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation has sent fresh shockwaves through the F-35 community. His memo to senior leaders says…
Feature Stories
Fisingapore Inducts New Protected Combat Support Vehicles
Defense-aerospace.com reports that the Fisingapore Army has introduced a new generation of protected combat support vehicles intended to strengthen its military readiness and…
Plane Insanity: Is the US Air Force too old and small to win?
Plane Insanity: Is the US Air Force too old and small to win? Published: / Updated: US Air Force F-22s […]
Russia’s Avangard Glide Weapon Reaches Mach 27, Kremlin Claims
Russia says its new Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle slices through air at Mach 27—about 33 000 km/h. Officers call it a “shift point”…
F-35 Engine Unit Costs Continue to Grow Even As Production Increases
Early F-135 advocates promised a smooth learning curve. They said each production lot would cost less than the one before. Fresh data show…
Press releases
The F-35 Fighter Jet, The World’s Costliest Weapons Program, Just Got More Expensive
The Pentagon just raised the F-35 bill again. Numbers inside its fresh acquisition report point to $438 billion for development plus production. Last…
Russia Will Produce French New Generation Thermal Imagers
Paris—At Eurosatory 2012 Russia’s state arms trader Rosoboronexport and France’s Thales Optronics signed a licence that lets the Vologda Optical-Mechanical Plant build Catherine…
Thales Signs £700 Million Watchkeeper Contract with MoD
The Ministry of Defence has signed a £700 million agreement with Thales UK to develop, manufacture, and support the Watchkeeper unmanned system. The…
Lockheed F-16V, Saab Gripen Compete for Slovakian Order
Slovakia has reached the point of decision after more than a decade of debate over its MiG-29 replacement. Formal offers now sit on…
Editor’s choice
Thales Signs £700 Million Watchkeeper Contract with MoD
The Ministry of Defence has signed a £700 million agreement with Thales UK to develop, manufacture, and support the Watchkeeper unmanned system. The single signature secures every major phase of work, from completing design through initial sustainment, under one integrated schedule.
China’s Expanding Drone Arsenal Reveals Strength of Civil-Military Integration
The first taxi runs of Jiutian’s SS-UAV “drone mothership” at a private airfield in Sichuan on 16 June reflect how far China’s unmanned programs have moved in a single decade. According to industry sources, technicians completed telemetry checks in less than six weeks, after the…
Poland Receives First AH-64D Apaches to Prepare for Guardian Fleet
Three AH-64D Apache attack helicopters landed this morning at the 56th Air Base in Latkowo, near Inowrocław. They taxied to the ramp in quick succession, rotors still spinning while ground crews signaled them into place. Defense officials confirm these aircraft now belong to the 1st…
Latest articles
Weapons Tester Cites Further F-35 Challenges (excerpt)
The Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation has sent fresh shockwaves through the F-35…
Aviation Week Reader Comments Above Story
Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program has drawn thousands of reader remarks on Aviation Week since the…
Milestone for AIR 5391
The Systems Division of Tenix Defence Systems today closed the Critical Design Review for the…
Raytheon Secures $250 Million ESSM Block 2 Production Deal with Japan’s MELCO
Raytheon, an RTX business, has clinched a $250 million direct-commercial-sale contract with Mitsubishi Electric Corporation.…
Bell Textron Delivers First MV-75 FLRAA Virtual Prototype to U.S. Army for Early Testing
Bell Textron has handed the first MV-75 virtual prototype to the U.S. Army, marking a…
How US Defense Contractors Can Win Big in Europe’s €800 Billion Spending Surge
European governments just backed the most aggressive defense-spending target in NATO history. NATO leaders left…
Denmark and Sweden Join NATO’s A330 MRTT Pool in 12-Jet Fleet Expansion
The Multinational MRTT Fleet (MMF) just secured two more Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transports. The…
UK Commits to Purchase 12 F-35A Fighters for NATO Nuclear Sharing Mission
The United Kingdom confirmed it will acquire at least twelve F-35A Lightning II fighters, adding…