Saudi Arabia has rolled out the first of an eventual 22 BAE Systems Hawk Mk 165 jet trainers to be locally assembled.
Unveiled at King Abdulaziz air base by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the indigenous manufacturing effort is part of the country's Vision 2030 strategy to grow its defence sector.
Riyadh is already an operator of a combined 67 Hawk Mk 65/165 variants, according to Cirium's Fleets Analyzer.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
The flight, which incorporated nearly two-thirds of the stealth bomber fleet, was part of annual drills meant to test the US Air Force’s ability to generate sorties with Washington’s only nuclear-capable bomber capable of penetrating modern air defences.
The US Navy (USN) has been in discussions with Sierra Nevada about adding the company to the service’s Blue Water Maritime Logistics Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) programme.
Argentina could be set to acquire Basler BT-67 transport aircraft via a potential $143 million Foreign Military Sales deal with the US government.
Using a specially modified F-16 fighter known as the X-62A VISTA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the US Air Force pitted a dogfighting artificial intelligence system against human fighter pilots in recent air-to-air combat exercises.
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The Pentagon is preparing to curtail the latest upgrade package for the fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighter, as lawmakers expressed frustration with an eight-month freeze in new aircraft deliveries related to certifying new control software.
