All Fixed-Wing news – Page 58
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NewsLockheed to integrate latest air defence suppression missile with all F-35 variants
The manufacturer of the advanced F-35 stealth fighter received a $97 million Pentagon contract to begin early development work on integrating the Northrop Grumman AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range with all three variants of the fifth-generation jet.
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NewsRussia embarks on new single-engined trainer development
Russian airframer United Aircraft (UAC) has begun development of a new single-engined jet trainer it refers to as the MiG-UTS.
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NewsFrance signs tranche 5 deal for 42 air force Rafales
Dassault Aviation has received a contract to produce a further 42 Rafale fighters for the French air force, via a so-called tranche 5 order.
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NewsUK details Typhoon’s role during strikes launched against Houthi rebels
The UK Ministry of Defence has detailed the role played by Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4s during strikes made against Houthi rebels in Yemen overnight on 11-12 January.
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NewsUSA, UK strike Houthi targets in Yemen following drone and missile attack
Fighter aircraft and cruise missiles launched from American warships struck more than a dozen sites in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the first time in the escalating conflict that Western forces have directly targeted the Iran-backed proxy force on the Arabian Peninsula.
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NewsUSAF tests rapid fighter deployment with Bahrain
Military planners at the Pentagon and regional headquarters around the world are exploring methods for maintaining the sortie generation needed to establish air superiority without relying on large, established airfields that are easier for adversaries to target – a concept known as agile combat employment.
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NewsLockheed delivers first Block 70 F-16s to Slovakia
The NATO member and former Soviet Bloc country plans to acquire 14 of the single-engined, multi-role combat aircraft – replacements for 13 RAC MiG-29 fighters Slovakia donated to Ukraine in 2023.
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NewsRestored Norwegian F-16s join Ukraine support effort
Oslo has sent two of its decommissioned Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters to a training site in Denmark, where Ukrainian crews are preparing to receive the Western combat jet from donor governments in the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and now Norway.
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NewsIndonesia signs for third tranche of 18 Dassault Rafale fighters
Indonesia has finalised a deal covering the last batch of Dassault Aviation Rafale fighters to be ordered via a three-phase acquisition totalling 42 aircraft.
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NewsAurora begins fabrication of X-65 ‘active flow control’ jet
The Boeing subsidiary is under contract by the Pentagon’s secretive Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to design and fabricate a novel aircraft that uses so-called “active flow control’ to manoeuvre, rather than traditional mechanical aerodynamic surfaces like flaps and rudders.
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NewsUSAF crew ejects from B-1B in South Dakota crash
All four crew aboard a US Air Force Boeing B-1B supersonic bomber safely ejected from a crash on Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota, for which the cause is not yet known.
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NewsFirst updated IAR-99SM trainer rolls out for Romanian air force
The first of 10 IAR-99S advanced jet trainers to be modernised to the SM standard for Romania’s air force was rolled out at Avioane Craiova’s Ghercesti site on 22 December 2023.
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NewsHermeus completes ground testing on first Quarterhorse hypersonic testbed
The non-flying Quarterhorse Mk 0 test article is the first of four aircraft in the Quarterhorse programme, through which US start-up Hermeus aims to produce a hypersonic vehicle capable of reaching Mach 4 and surpassing the all-time airspeed record held by Lockheed Martin’s SR-71 Blackbird.
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NewsPakistan air force chief indicates planned FC-31/J-31 acquisition
The development status of the Shenyang FC-31/J-31 is far from clear, but Pakistan appears interested.
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NewsTurkey seeking US permission to produce F-16 fighter engines domestically
The GE Aerospace F110 engine powers the Lockheed Martin F-16s used by the Turkish air force, as well as prototypes of Ankara’s domestically-produced Kaan fighter.
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NewsUS Navy expands fighter maintenance support to cover air force F-16s
Amid the ongoing retirement of older model Boeing F/A-18 strike fighters, the US Navy is using excess capacity at its fighter maintenance depots to assist the US Air Force in sustaining its Lockheed Martin F-16 jets.
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NewsUSAF tests reverse flow air refuelling using C-5M to top off KC-10
The reverse refuelling concept turns the US Air Force’s massive Lockheed Martin C-5M Super Galaxy strategic lifters into “floating gas stations”, freeing up more dedicated tanker aircraft to refuel tactical craft.
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NewsNetherlands prepares to transfer first 18 F-16s to Ukraine
Amsterdam says it will make an initial tranche of 18 fighter aircraft available to Ukraine, out of 42 F-16s the Dutch government previously committed to providing the Ukrainian air force from its own fleet.
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NewsUS Congress restores funding to F-35 adaptive engine programme
Although the Pentagon wants to move on from the Adaptive Engine Transition Programme, lawmakers in the US Capitol approved $280 million in 2024 to fund the research programme that generated two prototype adaptive cycle powerplants for the F-35 stealth fighter.
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NewsSlovenia takes delivery of its first C-27J Spartan transport
Slovenia has welcomed its first of two Leonardo C-27J Spartans, with the tactical transport having arrived at its Cerklje ob Krki air base in late December.