Aircraft

E-7 Wedgetail Scrapped by Air Force Over Cost Overruns and Vulnerability Risks

E-7 Wedgetail Scrapped by Air Force Over Cost Overruns and Vulnerability Risks

The U.S. Air Force has decided to halt the E-7 Wedgetail airborne early-warning and control program, ending a three-year effort to replace the aging E-3 Sentry fleet with a more modern, radar-equipped 737 derivative. Defense officials disclosed the move during the FY-26 budget rollout, noting that expected unit cost had climbed from about $588 million to roughly $724 million and that the aircraft lacked the resilience needed in a highly contested battlespace.

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Weapons Tester Cites Further F-35 Challenges (excerpt)

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 the Joint Strike Fighter remains far from its promised combat edge even though the U.S. Air Force just marked the jet “ready for war.” Engineers still chase hundreds of software defects, the 25 mm gun refuses to shoot straight, and the off-boresight missile link misbehaves whenever pilots swivel their helmets too far off center.

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Aviation Week Reader Comments Above Story

Aviation Week Reader Comments Above Story

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program has drawn thousands of reader remarks on Aviation Week since the aircraft reached initial service. The most pointed thread this week grew out of a comment by retired Marine officer Don Bacon. He noted that “150 to 160 modifications” sit between many early-build jets and the Block 3F standard that the U.S. services need for combat. His remark sparked fresh debate about concurrency, spiraling costs, and schedule risk.

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Lockheed F-16V, Saab Gripen Compete for Slovakian Order

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 the defence minister’s desk from two camps: Lockheed Martin with the F-16V Block 70/72 and Sweden’s Saab with the Gripen C/D. The ministry aims to brief the cabinet by 29 June and secure approval before Parliament rises for its summer recess.

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USAF Plans for Radical F-35 Upgrade Reveal Obsolescence

USAF Plans for Radical F-35 Upgrade Reveal Obsolescence

Foreign air forces that bought the F-35A woke up this week to a blunt statement from Major Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, the U.S. Air Force officer who runs the program. He told Reuters on April 7 that engineers had started scoping a new radar, fresh avionics, and even a more efficient engine because present hardware “cannot keep pace with rapid technology advances by potential adversaries”. The jet is still a year from initial combat status, yet its core systems already trail the threat curve.

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Hybrid Base Station Sniper Pod Upgrade Enables F-35 to Share Sensor Data with 4th-Gen Aircraft

Hybrid Base Station Sniper Pod Upgrade Enables F-35 to Share Sensor Data with 4th-Gen Aircraft

The Defense-Aerospace editorial team has confirmed that Lockheed Martin is pressing ahead with the Hybrid Base Station upgrade for its Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod. The move clears a long-standing barrier that limited how much targeting and sensor data an F-35 could pass to other platforms. It also marks a rare case in which a proven external pod, rather than an aircraft’s internal avionics, becomes the core of a wider data-sharing network.

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