Fixed-wing – Page 8
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NewsUS Congress halts KC-135 replacement until USAF produces stealth tanker acquisition plan
The 2024 defence spending plan approved by lawmakers in Washington bars the US Air Force from issuing a formal strategy to phase out the ageing Boeing KC-135 tanker fleet, until the service produces an acquisition strategy for the Next Generation Air-refuelling System survivable tanker.
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NewsUSS Carl Vinson deployment sees Block III Super Hornets teamed with F-35Cs
The US Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson is deployed with the Block III version of the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, boosting the effectiveness of its air wing.
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NewsUS defence spending bill could expose new details of sixth-generation fighter development
Language included in the 2024 US defence spending plan will require the Pentagon to provide greater insight into how it plans to develop and field the next generation of combat aircraft, including sixth-generation fighters and autonomous support jets.
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NewsGovernment auditor tells SOCOM to slow Armed Overwatch acquisition
The US Government Accountability Office says the Pentagon’s Special Operations Command is moving ahead too rapidly with the acquisition of Armed Overwatch turboprops from L3Harris-Air Tractor, failing to adequately justify the planned fleet size of 75 aircraft.
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NewsUS Congress approves nearly 12% reduction to A-10 fleet
For the second consecutive year, lawmakers who control US defence spending have approved the retirement of some Fairchild Republic A-10 attack jets, a move long-sought by US Air Force leaders.
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In depthGE Aerospace achieves breakthrough in hypersonic engine development
Using a subscale demonstrator, jet turbine manufacturer GE Aerospace successfully ignited a dual-mode ramjet engine using rotating detonation combustion – a technique the company says holds promise for powering crewed hypersonic vehicles.
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NewsGCAP fighter partners agree terms for trilateral organisation
The defence ministers of Italy, Japan and the UK have signed a treaty covering the joint organisation that will manage their Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP).
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NewsUK reforms 809 NAS as second frontline F-35B squadron
The UK has stood up its second frontline squadron to operate the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II: the Royal Navy’s 809 NAS.
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NewsSweden signs 10-year deal with Italy for military flight training
Sweden has become the latest country to sign up for the military flight training services offered by the Italian air force, contracting for the tuition of 100 students and four instructors over the next decade.
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NewsAustralia waves its last AP-3C Orions into retirement
The Royal Australian Air Force has ended operations with the Lockheed Martin AP-3C Orion, with its final two examples having left use in early December.
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NewsTop Aces adds A-4 Skyhawk to Canadian adversary training fleet
The private provider of adversary air support has been providing aggressor training to the Royal Canadian Air Force using a fleet of modified Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jets and Bombardier Learjet 35s.
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NewsLockheed Martin sues F-35 supplier over refusal to deliver titanium components
The F-35 prime contractor alleges ones of its sub-contractors, Pittsburgh-based Howmet Aerospace, breached its contract with Lockheed when the metallic components supplier refused to deliver titanium parts for the advanced stealth jet at previously agreed upon prices.
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NewsA400M shows off enhanced firefighting credentials during test campaign
Airbus Defence & Space has demonstrated the operational utility of a firefighting kit adaptation to its A400M, recently completing a flight-test activity in Spain.
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NewsFuelled TalonA carried aloft as first Stratolaunch hypersonic flight approaches
Following a successful taxi test of its two-aircraft hypersonic flight system, California start-up Stratolaunch has carried a fully-fuelled TalonA hypersonic vehicle aloft under the company’s jet-powered Roc mother ship, a prerequisite for TalonA’s first self-powered flight.
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NewsBoeing no longer competing to build USAF’s new ‘Doomsday jet’
The withdrawal of Boeing from the contest to build a new airborne command centre capable of managing a nuclear exchange leaves Sierra Nevada Corporation as the only bidder to replace the current Boeing E-4B Nightwatch.
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NewsSouth Korea approved for $271m purchase of F-35 armaments
Seoul has requested to purchase a suite of air and ground attack munitions for its F-35 fighter fleet, including AMRAAM missiles, JDAM bombs, Paveway II laser-guided bombs and Small Diameter Bomb glide munitions, valued at $271 million by US arms regulators.
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AnalysisWhich types retired in our latest World Air Forces review?
We detail some of the most notable national fleet retirements recorded in the 12 months since we published our last World Air Forces directory at the end of 2022.
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NewsGermany maintains interest in MAWS despite latest P-8A buy, says naval avation chief
Germany’s collaboration with France on future maritime patrol initiatives has “not come to an end”, the head of its naval aviation branch insists, despite Berlin recently increasing its commitment for Boeing P-8A Poseidon submarine-hunting aircraft.
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NewsRoyal Air Force Poseidon fleet to get BAE’s Sting Ray torpedo
The UK Royal Air Force’s maritime patrol aircraft fleet is to gain a new anti-submarine/anti-surface strike capability, in the guise of BAE Systems’ Sting Ray Mod 1 lightweight torpedo.
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NewsItalian air force receives first upgraded P180 Avanti II+ from Piaggio
Piaggio Aerospace has delivered its first P180 twin-turboprop to have been brought to an enhanced Avanti II+ standard for the Italian air force. Announcing the development on 30 November, the Italian airframer said it had completed upgrade, flight-test and certification activities on the new standard, which will be applied to ...