Ryan Finnerty
Ryan Finnerty is the Americas defence reporter for FlightGlobal.com and Flight International magazine, covering military aviation and the defence industry. He is a former United States Army officer and previously reported for America’s National Public Radio system in New York and Hawaii covering energy, economics and military affairs.
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NewsNorthrop Grumman reveals B-21 test aircraft as stealth programme roars toward first flight
Northrop Grumman has unveiled the next-generation stealth bomber under development for the US Air Force.
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Fighter jets team with UAVs in airborne targeting demonstration
Four defence contractors, including General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Tactical Air Support and General Dynamics, collaborated to test a Lockheed Martin sensor system using teams of crewed and uncrewed aircraft.
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Washington approves Finland purchase of Raytheon air-to-air, air-to-ground missiles
The government in Helsinki received approval for an official Foreign Military Sales request to purchase 40 AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder missiles and 48 AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapons from Raytheon.
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General Atomics selected to design DARPA’s ‘Liberty Lifter’ seaplane
The manufacturer of unmanned air vehicles will receive nearly $8 million from the Pentagon’s research and development agency to design a heavy-lift seaplane that can operate without traditional aviation infrastructure.
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US Air Force to buy 45 additional AESA radars for F-16 upgrades
The deal worth nearly $100 million is part of the USAF’s $6 billion effort to upgrade its fleet of the ageing Lockheed Martin single-engined jets.
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Bombardier begins aircraft modifications for German signals intelligence effort
The Canadian airframer will specially modify three Global 6000 jets at its Wichita, Kansas hub in support of a Lufthansa Technik delivery to a German air force intelligence programme.
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Iranian-made drones recovered in Ukraine contain US components
A UK research company that investigates illicit arms trafficking says Russian forces recently employed Iranian-sourced drones containing US-made components during attacks against Ukraine.
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Stratolaunch lands USAF support for hypersonic test vehicle
The company created by late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen received a contract from the US Air Force Research Laboratory to support a 2023 flight test of Stratolaunch’s Talon-A hypersonic vehicle.
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USAF KC-46A completes record-breaking 36h endurance flight
The Boeing aerial refuelling jet’s 14,000nm flight path took it from the US state of New Hampshire to Guam and back, in what the USAF calls a “proof of concept” operation demonstrating long-range force projection.
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Boeing reorganises defence and space division, cutting executives
Aerospace giant Boeing has consolidated its financially struggling defence division to four from eight units, a move intended to improve quality and stabilise production.
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Elbit and Fokker enter partnership covering flight training and sustainment
Under the agreement, signed at a defence trade show in Rotterdam, Fokker will provide MRO services for Elbit’s military aviation training programmes.
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US aerospace industry powers launch of NASA’s first Artemis moon mission
Numerous US defence contractors supplied critical components for Artemis I, including rocket engines, solid state boosters and the space capsule that will eventually carry human astronauts.
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Russian cruise missiles fall across Ukraine as uncertainty swirls around fatalities in Poland
Moscow fired a barrage of 85 air-launched cruise missiles into Ukraine, with strikes in multiple Ukrainian cities.
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US 'spaceplane' returns to Earth after 908 days in orbit
The US Space Force’s reusable spacecraft known as the Boeing X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle has now completed six missions, logging 1.3 billion miles flown and over 3,700 days in space.
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Drone swarms, solar-powered UAVs and congested air space management: the US Army’s experiment in the desert
An annual series of experiments with new military technology, known as Project Convergence, seek to push the bounds of what a multi-national, Western fighting force can do on the battlefield.
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Boeing delivers final advanced Chinook to Netherlands
The delivery of the 20th airframe marks the completion of the Royal Netherlands Air Force’s fleet upgrade to the CH-47F model of the twin-rotor heavy-lift helicopter.
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Kratos announces successful test of Valkyrie autonomous jet
The pilotless, jet-powered aircraft is being developed for the US Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft programme that seeks to pair conventional fighters with uncrewed platforms.
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Pilotless Black Hawk flies medevac, resupply missions in DARPA experiment
The Pentagon’s secretive weapons development office, working with helicopter maker Sikorsky, successfully modified a UH-60 Black Hawk to fly without pilot input.
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Bell delivers final Cobra attack helicopter to US Marine Corps
The H-1 programme, which encompasses the UH-1 utility and AH-1 attack helicopters and produced its first aircraft for the USA in 1959, will now be reliant on foreign customers for new sales.
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US Air Force to retire Japan-based F-15s
Billed as a modernisation effort, the USAF will decommission its older Boeing F-15C/D models currently assigned to an important military hub in Okinawa.
