Americas * The USMC has given March 2019 as the date for declaring initial operational capability for the V-22 Aerial Refuelling System (VARS). Four V-22 Osprey's will be part of the initial program and will be able to refuel all fixed-wing USMC fighters and the CH-53...
Aircraft Articles
DARPA’s SideArm Flexes its Muscle in Demo | Turkey’s Roketsan Kicks off G2G Missile Development | Taiwan Moving Ahead with $2.19B Adv Jet Trainer Plan
Americas * Plans to purchase three batteries of the KBP Pantsir-S1 self-propelled air defence system from Russia have been abandoned by Brazil. While no official explanation for the ditching has been given by the government, it has been reported that technical issues,...
Taiwan Has Big Plans for Advanced Jet Trainers & Upgrades to Anti-ship & Air-to-air Missiles
F-CK-1D Hsiung Ying(click to view full) In 2006, the Taiwan's Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC), based in Taichung, celebrated the upgrade of 2 of the ROCAF's 130 F-CK-1A/B Ching-Kuo Indigenous Defense Fighters, "to improve their combat-capabilities against...
Rio 2016: Brazil Looks to Russia for Air Defense Systems
Pantsir-S1(click to view full) Brazil needs to upgrade its ground-based air defenses, and has chosen Russian equipment to do so. Protecting the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro is very much on Brazil's mind, and so is improving anti-aircraft defenses beyond the current...
USS Enterprise Decomissioned After 55 Years | AFATDS Contract Re-Opened to Competition | UAV Competition Attracts Four Israeli Rivals
Americas * Last Friday saw the decommissioning of the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier after 55 years of service. Affectionately know as "Big E," the vessel had been removed from active service in 2012 and has since been docked at its home port in Norfolk, Va., where...
The USS Enterprise’s Long ESDRA Drydocking
Task Force One, 1964(click to view full) Enterprise redelivered to US Navy. (April 19/10) USS Enterprise, the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is currently mired in an Extended Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (EDSRA). The cost has shot...
Czechs Choose, Cancel, Then Come Back to Pandur II APCs
Pandur II w. RCWS-30(click to view full) In January 2006, the Czech Republic selected General Dynamics' European Land Combat Systems subsidiary Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug GmbH of Austria to supply its army with 199 new eight-wheeled Pandur II armored personnel...
Pentagon to See $728M in Savings Next Batch F-35s | SRC Wins $65M to Provide Counter-UAS Sys | Russia Debuts First MiG-35 With Intent to Export
Americas * The US Navy has successfully tested the Spike missile launcher, destroying a UAV target. Not to be confused with the Rafael version, the project aims at providing the sailing branch with an increased capability to defeat the growing threat of UAVs. The...
2009: New 5-Year Contract Keeps Kiowa Warriors’ Eyes Sharp
OH-58D over Tal Afar(click to view full) With the ARH-70A helicopter program on the rocks after a program cancellation and re-compete, the US Army's over-stressed and aging fleet of armed OH-58D scout helicopters must soldier on in the face of losses and breakdowns....