Clara Nguyen, Author at DEFENSE-AEROSPACE

U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Ashley Talley

The Trump Administration Nominates Jason Hinds to Lead USAFE at the Three-Star Rank

President Donald Trump sent the nomination of Lt. Gen. Jason T. Hinds to the Senate on September 29 to command U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa. The billet is redesignated at the lieutenant general grade, so Hinds would not receive a

October 21, 2025

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jeffery Stevens

Air & Missile Defense Systems

NATO Moves to Field Counter-Drone Systems Within Months to Oppose Russian Airspace Incursions

Gen. Ingo Gerhartz urged deployment timelines counted in months for counter-drone units across allied territory, using public remarks at the Warsaw Security Forum on Sept 29-30 to press the point. He now commands NATO’s Joint Force Command Brunssum and paired the schedule

October 9, 2025

Aircraft

F-15EX at Selfridge – Runway Realignment, KC-46 Beddown and What Congress Must Fund

Michigan's Selfridge Air National Guard Base will receive 21 F-15EX Eagle II fighters. Deliveries begin in fiscal 2028. The move keeps a fighter mission at the 127th Wing once the A-10 retires. The timeline runs tight and the base still lacks several

September 2, 2025

Air & Missile Defense Systems

RTX Demonstrates AN/SPY-6(V)4 Radar Tracking in First Live Maritime Test at Pacific Missile Range Facility

The U.S. Navy and Raytheon, an RTX business, have completed the first live maritime test of the AN/SPY-6(V)4 radar at the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands, Hawaii. The event produced real world data on air and surface target tracks and confirmed

August 26, 2025

Aircraft

US Air Force Relocates 31 F-16s to Osan Air Base for Two-Year Super Squadron Test

The Air Force is transferring F-16s and personnel from Kunsan Air Base to Osan Air Base to form a second "super squadron" in South Korea. The service describes the transfer as temporary and tied to a defined year-two trial.

August 11, 2025

Joint Exercises / Special Ops Training

RAND and Joint Counter‑UAS Office Run Six Exercises on Homeland Drone Defense

A July 25 after-action brief lays out what happened during the sixth RAND-Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office exercise, held the day before at Fort Belvoir. This was not another planning session. Teams ran live drills to stop drones from reaching runways.

July 31, 2025

Defense Infrastructure & Manufacturing

Kyiv Sets January 2026 Deadline for 50% Local Arms Production

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has set a six-month deadline for reaching a home-grown share of one-half in Ukraine's overall weapons supply. The target, announced on 17 July after parliament approved a reshuffled cabinet, would lift the current forty-percent domestic share to fifty before

July 17, 2025

Aircraft Propulsion

First In‑Flight Trial of VK‑800 Engine on Yak‑40 Testbed Advances Baikal Program

Novosibirsk, Russia - A Yakovlev Yak-40 flying laboratory lifted off from SibNIA's Yeltsovka airfield on July 14, logging the first airborne run of UZGA's new VK-800 turboprop. The 15-minute sortie reached roughly 700 meters and about 340 kilometers per hour. Test crews

July 15, 2025

Contracts & Deals

Canberra Secures 400 Advanced AMRAAM Missiles in $1.39 Billion Air Defense Deal

Australia has confirmed a 2.12 billion-dollar Australian investment - about $1.39 billion U.S. - to secure the newest AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, reinforcing both its air-defense shield and its long-range strike reach. Defense officials say the order covers the AIM-120D-3 and

July 8, 2025

Missiles / Drones / Directed Energy

European Defence Agency Pushes Drone-UGV Supply Missions Adopted from Ukraine

European armies just wrapped up three weeks of hands-on trials that pushed small drones and ground robots through the same last-mile supply missions now common on Ukrainian front lines. Engineers and soldiers moved ammunition, water, and medical kits without a single crewed

July 4, 2025

Clara Nguyen

The Trump Administration Nominates Jason Hinds to Lead USAFE at the Three-Star Rank

NATO Moves to Field Counter-Drone Systems Within Months to Oppose Russian Airspace Incursions

F-15EX at Selfridge – Runway Realignment, KC-46 Beddown and What Congress Must Fund

RTX Demonstrates AN/SPY-6(V)4 Radar Tracking in First Live Maritime Test at Pacific Missile Range Facility

US Air Force Relocates 31 F-16s to Osan Air Base for Two-Year Super Squadron Test

RAND and Joint Counter‑UAS Office Run Six Exercises on Homeland Drone Defense

Kyiv Sets January 2026 Deadline for 50% Local Arms Production

First In‑Flight Trial of VK‑800 Engine on Yak‑40 Testbed Advances Baikal Program

Canberra Secures 400 Advanced AMRAAM Missiles in $1.39 Billion Air Defense Deal

European Defence Agency Pushes Drone-UGV Supply Missions Adopted from Ukraine

Authors

Julien Mercier

Clara Nguyen

Priya Shah

Michael Adler

Lena Kovacs

Diego Ramos

Peter Johansson

Lucas Meyer