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Lockheed & Mitsubishi’s F-2 Fighter may be replaced with ATD-X (X-2)

Lockheed & Mitsubishi’s F-2 Fighter may be replaced with ATD-X (X-2)

Mitsubisihi F-2s (click to view full) Japan already produces F-15J Eagle aircraft under license from Boeing, and in 1987 they selected Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jet as the basis for a "local" design that would replace its 1970s era F-1s. The aim was to produce a...

Ships Ahoy! The Harpoon Missile Family

Ships Ahoy! The Harpoon Missile Family

Harpoon in flight (click to view full) The sub-sonic, wave-skimming GM-84 Harpoon is the US Navy's sole anti-shipping missile, with the minor exception of small helicopter-borne AGM-119B Penguin missiles. The Harpoon has been adapted into several variants, and...

Eurofighter’s Future: Tranche 3, and Beyond

Eurofighter’s Future: Tranche 3, and Beyond

Italian Eurofighters (click to view full) The multi-national Eurofighter Typhoon has been described as the aerodynamic apotheosis of lessons learned from the twin engine "teen series" fighters that began with the F-14 and F-15, continued with the emergence of the...

The JAS-39 Gripen: Sweden’s 4+ Generation Wild Card

The JAS-39 Gripen: Sweden’s 4+ Generation Wild Card

South African JAS-39D (click to view full) As a neutral country with a long history of providing for its own defense against all comers, Sweden also has a long tradition of building excellent high-performance fighters with a distinctive look. From the long-serving...

E-2D Hawkeye: The Navy’s New AWACS

E-2D Hawkeye: The Navy’s New AWACS

(click to view full) Northrop Grumman's E-2C Hawkeye is a carrier-capable "mini-AWACS" aircraft, designed to give long-range warning of incoming aerial threats. Secondary roles include strike command and control, land and maritime surveillance, search and rescue,...

Serious Dollars for AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD)

Serious Dollars for AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD)

AEGIS-BMD: CG-70 launches SM-3 (click to view full) The AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense System seamlessly integrates the SPY-1 radar, the MK 41 Vertical Launching System for missiles, the SM-3 Standard missile, and the ship's command and control system, in order to...