All articles by James Drew – Page 10
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NewsNorthrop resumes work on Long-Range Strike Bomber
Northrop Grumman will resume development of America's next stealth bomber after the US Air Force lifted a stop-work order that has been in place since 6 November, the service confirms.
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NewsBoeing upbeat as US Army moves on Future Vertical Lift
The US Army has moved forward with an ambitious project to introduce a next-generation family of rotorcraft designs with funding sought for Future Vertical Lift (FVL) in its fiscal year 2017 budget submission.
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NewsWhy Skunk Works ditched its clean-sheet T-X for Korean T-50
One year ago this week, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works chief Rob Weiss announced that his advanced design team had been working on a clean-sheet aircraft for the US Air Force’s T-X programme as a potential alternative to the South Korean T-50 Golden Eagle, which Lockheed jointly developed with Korea Aerospace ...
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AnalysisANALYSIS: Next-gen simulation preps F-35 units for battle
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is not just one of the most expensive and complex endeavours in military acquisition history, it’s also an evolution in the way military pilots train to fly jets.
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NewsUS State Department approves F-16 sale to Pakistan
The US State Department has approved Pakistan to buy eight Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 52 aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney F100-229 engines, but whether the $700 million deal can survive a 30-day congressional review process remains to be seen.
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NewsKC-46 demonstrates probe-and-drogue refuelling of F/A-18
Boeing and the US Air Force have completed the first KC-46A Pegasus refuelling of a combat jet using the next-generation tanker's wing-mounted hose-and-drogue system.
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NewsUSAF calls for nuclear debate as fiscal realities set in
The US Air Force has called for a national debate on how best to modernise America’s nuclear arsenal, with one official saying funding levels become “unmanageable” in budget year 2022 and beyond as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) replacement project ramps up.
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NewsInternational F-35 customers pushing block-buy plan
International buyers of the Lockheed Martin F-35 are considering leading the US government in entering into a three-year “block buy” arrangement for planned orders between 2018 and 2020.
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NewsNATO E-3As to ease AWACS shortfalls
NATO’s 16 Boeing E-3A airborne early warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft could soon be supporting the defence needs of member nations, freeing up local assets for coalition operations against the Islamic State terrorist group in Iraq and Syria.
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NewsUS Navy seeks 16 more F/A-18 Super Hornets
The US Navy has sought more F/A-18 Super Hornets by funding two aircraft in fiscal 2017 to replace combat losses and another 14 in 2018 to maintain capacity as older Hornet units wear out.
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NewsUCLASS reborn as US Navy spy-tanker
The US Navy’s long-running attempt to field a carrier-based unmanned combat aircraft has taken another turn, morphing from a surveillance and strike aircraft into a reconnaissance and aerial refuelling drone with “limited strike capability”.
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NewsLockheed proposes KAI T-50A for T-X over Skunk Works design
Lockheed Martin will offer an upgraded version of the T-50 fighter it jointly developed with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) for the US Air Force's T-X trainer programme, forgoing a clean-sheet alternative designed by its Skunk Works division.
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News
USAF explains budget reduction for LRS-B
The US Air Force’s funding profile for development of the Northrop Grumman long-range strike bomber (LRS-B) has come down by $2.8 billion in the service’s latest budget proposal, which was submitted on 9 February.
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NewsJoint Strike Fighter chief plays down F-35A deferrals
The head of the multinational F-35 programme Lt Gen Christopher Bogdan is playing down the US Air Force’s decision to reduce annual procurement of the F-35A Lightning IIs to 48 per year, with the planned ramp-up to 60 units deferred from fiscal 2018 to 2021.
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NewsPentagon curtails aircraft procurement in 2017 budget plan
The Pentagon has reduced aviation procurement by 7.2% to $45.3 billion in its fiscal year 2017 budget submission compared to the $48.8 billion requested last year.
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NewsItaly claims first F-35 transatlantic crossing
An Italian Air Force pilot flying the first Italian-made F-35A Lightning II has made history after completing the first transatlantic crossing of the stealthy, single-engine Lockheed Martin type.
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NewsUS Navy boosts F-35C and F/A-18 buy in new budget plan
The US Navy says maintaining Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet production in St Louis is "vital" for overcoming a strike-fighter shortfall caused by delays in fielding the Lockheed Martin F-35C.
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NewsUS Navy looking for answers to F/A-18 pilot ailments
The US Navy’s director of air warfare says efforts to overcome high rates of hypoxia and decompression sickness in pilots flying Boeing F/A-18 variants is “like chasing a ghost,” but he remains confident in the aircraft and its oxygen backup systems nevertheless.
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NewsUS Navy reveals CMV-22B as long-range Osprey designation
The US Navy has formally designated its planned long-range variant of the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey the CMV-22B, reflecting the aircraft’s new role in cargo resupply for carrier strike groups at sea.
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NewsUSAF to continue A-10 ‘Warthog’ wing production
The air force has not only ditched long-standing plans to retire the hardy Fairchild Republic A-10 attack airplane but is launching a follow-on wing replacement programme to keep the combat veteran flying well into the next decade.