Editorial Team

Raytheon, an RTX business, has clinched a $250 million direct-commercial-sale contract with Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. The agreement sets the stage for licensed production of the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile Block 2 (ESSM B2) at MELCO’s Komaki-North complex. According to industry sources, the package is the largest single ESSM commitment Tokyo has placed since joining the NATO Seasparrow program.

Bell Textron has handed the first MV-75 virtual prototype to the U.S. Army, marking a concrete step in the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft program. Defense officials confirm the hand-off took place at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, on 24 June, only eighteen months after the contract’s Milestone B decision. The digital twin now sits with the Army’s aviation project office, where engineers will run mission rehearsals and early software tests.

The Multinational MRTT Fleet (MMF) just secured two more Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transports. The contract, signed on 24 June 2025 at the NATO Defence Industry Forum in The Hague, brings the pooled inventory from ten planned aircraft to twelve. Defense officials confirm that Denmark and Sweden joined the program the same day, making eight member states in total. The newcomers will fund and fly the extra jets under the established cost-sharing formula.

The United Kingdom confirmed it will acquire at least twelve F-35A Lightning II fighters, adding a land-based nuclear mission to the Royal Air Force for the first time since 1998. Defense officials confirm the jets will form part of NATO’s Dual-Capable Aircraft program, which keeps U.S.-owned B61-12 bombs under shared control.

Sweden has taken its first big equipment step as a NATO ally. On 24 June 2025 the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) confirmed a €830 million (≈ SEK 9 billion, $900 million) order for seven IRIS-T SLM fire units. Diehl Defence will produce the systems, but German procurement authorities signed on Stockholm’s behalf under the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI). Defense officials confirm that the contract will give Sweden a medium-range layer able to defend army brigades and the Gotland battlegroup against cruise missiles, helicopters, drones, and fixed-wing aircraft.

China Eastern Airlines has unveiled a two-continent route that rewrites long-haul maps. The carrier will link Shanghai Pudong and Buenos Aires Ezeiza with a technical stop in Auckland, creating the world’s longest one-stop service when it launches in December 2025.