All articles by Ryan Finnerty – Page 14
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NewsAustralia to receive ‘first of its kind’ MC-55A Peregrine in 2025
American systems integrator L3Harris is modifying four Gulfstream G550 business jets for service with the Royal Australian Air Force to provide long-range surveillance and electronic warfare capabilities.
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NewsFury down under: Anduril’s uncrewed fighter makes overseas debut at Avalon
American defence start-up Anduril is eyeing potential opportunities in Australia for its Fury autonomous jet, as the company prepares to fly the type in a competition to provide the US Air Force’s first-ever uncrewed fighter.
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NewsAustralia touts E-7 operational performance as global fleet expands
Australia led the world in fielding the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail, blazing a trail for heavyweights including the US Air Force, UK Royal Air Force and NATO headquarters to procure the airborne early warning and control jet.
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NewsAustralia-based Advanced Navigation looks beyond GPS for precision geolocation
The Sydney start-up is part of Australia’s burgeoning domestic defence industry, which increasingly features not just local subsidiaries of big multinationals, but also a growing number of homegrown firms.
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NewsSierra Nevada expanding Australia presence amid AUKUS optimism
The American military systems integrator recently opened a subsidiary based in Adelaide, which will help support Australian acquisition programmes including the Boeing P-8 and Northrop Grumman MQ-4C, while also expanding the domestic production of defence technology.
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AnalysisWashington moves to deepen industrial ties with Australia amid regional tensions
Under an initiative dubbed the Regional Sustainment Framework, the Pentagon aims to push certain maintenance, repair and overhaul functions forward to overseas partners around the Indo-Pacific, with Australia as the initial target.
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NewsBoeing wins contract for USAF’s sixth-generation fighter, dubbed F-47
After six months of uncertainty, the US Air Force is moving ahead with the Next Generation Air Dominance programme, choosing Boeing to build the new F-47 sixth-generation crewed fighter platform.
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In depth‘There is no kill switch’: Pentagon denies F-35 rumours as calls grow to ditch US defence products
With allied governments and industrial competitors now openly discussing possible cancellation of orders for the American stealth fighter, the Pentagon’s F-35 office is officially denying unsubstantiated rumours it can remotely disable the jets of overseas operators.
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NewsAustralia races to field MQ-4C maritime surveillance fleet amid heightened Chinese naval activity
With its first Northrop Grumman MQ-4C uncrewed aircraft delivered, and two more examples soon to follow, the Royal Australian Air Force plans to have a long-range maritime surveillance capability operational by early next year.
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AnalysisAllies suggest passing on F-35 acquisitions amid questions of US reliability
Defence ministers from Portugal and Canada now say they must consider alternatives to the US-made Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter for their fleet modernisation efforts, in light of recent comments from Washington about support for NATO and rhetoric toward allies.
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NewsGeneral Atomics testing remotely piloted flight with satellite network key to polar operations
The uncrewed aircraft manufacturer says it has completed two test flights of a Gray Eagle 25M controlled remotely via a low-earth-orbit satellite network – technology that could allow expanded range in polar regions.
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In depthUS LC-130s pioneer take-off and landing on frozen lakes
Recent training operations in the Canadian Arctic saw the New York Air National Guard’s unique fleet of Lockheed Martin LC-130 “Skibirds” land on a frozen lake surface, the first time the ski landing gear-equipped transports have operated from freshwater ice, rather than the polar sea ice or snow they typically use.
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In depthUS Air Force wrapping up analysis of next-generation tanker requirement
The general in charge of the service’s fleet of cargo and refueller aircraft says the service has been evaluating its needs for a new tanker aircraft, including runway requirements, fuel transfer capacity and observability signature.
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In depthUncrewed fighter makers shift away from disposable concept to reusable aircraft
Rather than the ultra-cheap, single-use weapon systems at one time envisioned for the US Air Force’s new generation of uncrewed fighters, developers of the new aircraft now say the jets will be intended for reuse, but with far shorter lifespans than traditional military platforms.
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In depthChina’s new sixth-generation aircraft likely for air superiority role: USAF
The general in charge of the US Air Force’s fighter fleet says the Pentagon believes the sixth-generation aircraft seen over China late last year are intended to provide air superiority, as Beijing continues to expand its military readiness.
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In depthCanada outlines role of P-8 and MQ-9B fleets in Arctic defence
The senior Canadian officer at the bi-national North American Aerospace Defence Command says Ottawa’s planned fleet of General Atomics MQ-9B uncrewed aircraft will be used to provide broad surveillance of Canada’s three oceanic coastlines, while the country’s forthcoming Boeing P-8A maritime patrol jets will conduct in-depth investigations of potential threats.
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NewsUSAF designates first uncrewed fighter prototypes YFQ-42A and YFQ-44A
The experimental designs from General Atomics and Anduril, which are set to fly this summer, are the first aircraft in the US inventory to bear the FQ designation representing an uncrewed fighter.
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NewsUSAF pauses KC-46 deliveries over structural cracks
The US Air Force, which operates 89 of the 767-derived tankers, has paused delivery of new aircraft after the discovery of structural cracks in two recently assembled jets that Boeing was preparing to turn over.
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NewsCollins advances bid to supply new F-35 power and cooling system
Although the Pentagon has not decided how to address long-term power and cooling needs of the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter, aviation systems supplier Collins Aerospace is hoping to oust current provider Honeywell Aerospace on the lucrative programme.
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NewsPentagon deploys additional aviation assets to US-Mexico border
Some 650 military aviation personnel from the US Army are being sent to the USA’s frontier with Mexico, including Sikorsky UH-60 and Boeing CH-47 helicopter crews, as part of Trump administration’s ongoing border security push.