Americas * It's been a long time coming, but the F-35A has been cleared for service by the US Air Force’s Air Combat Command (ACC). As a result, the 34th Fighter Squadron of the 388th Fighter Wing has the honor of being the first unit declared operational. This...
Israeli A-4Ns(click to view full) After more than 40 years operating the A-4 Skyhawk, a maintenance scandal led Israel to conclude that its remaining Skyhawk's needed to be replaced as advanced trainers. That triggered a $1 billion advanced trainer competition, and a...
Americas * A USMC plan to equip their AN/TWQ-1 Avenger low-altitude air defense units with a 30-kilowatt laser weapon is progressing well. The Office of Naval Research is spearheading the Ground-Based Air Defense (GBAD) Directed Energy On-The-Move concept demonstrator...
Americas * The US Navy has announced the operational testing of an MQ-4C, which successfully transmitted full motion video to a P-8A via the Common Data Link (CDL). During the flight, the UAV had to use its electro-optical/infrared camera to build situational...
Americas * Lockheed Martin has announced that one of the company's test pilot's has made the first flight of the T-50A that is configured to compete in the US Air Force T-X competition. Equipped with a 5th generation cockpit, the aircraft is billed as the only one...
Americas * John McCain's threats against the next-generation B-21 strategic bomber have received stern warnings from the Pentagon. While McCain has rallied for implementing fixed-price contracts for development programs, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James has said...
Americas * The Navy's Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) will reportedly be equipped with over-the-horizon missiles for their next deployment, with the specific model not yet determined. With the Brookings Institution rightly pointing out that the LCS do not currently...
Americas * The government has approved the $9 billion takeover of Sikorsky by Lockheed Martin announced in July, joining approvals from the Japanese and South Korean governments. The Justice Department reportedly led the takeover review, with officials from the...
Americas * The Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado (LCS-4) has successfully conducted live-fire testing using the ship's surface warfare mission module, firing the ship's Mark 46 30mm cannon and Mark 110 57 mm gun, hitting surface targets off the West Coast. The BAE...
Americas * The Air Force has handed out three one-year contracts to further develop competing designs for the JSTARS replacement program. The competition to replace the fleet of Northrop Grumman E-8Cs is scheduled to lead to a production contract before the JSTARS...