All UK Royal Air Force articles
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NewsUK commits to six H145 helicopters for Brunei and Cyprus missions
Airbus Helicopters has been awarded a £122 million ($152 million) contract to supply six H145 light-twin helicopters to the UK for troop transport duties in Brunei and Cyprus.
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NewsUK advances RAF P-8 drone inspection trials
The UK is continuing to trial the use of autonomous drones to inspect the Royal Air Force’s fleet of Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft for external damage.
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NewsUSA, UK strike Houthi targets in Yemen following drone and missile attack
Fighter aircraft and cruise missiles launched from American warships struck more than a dozen sites in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the first time in the escalating conflict that Western forces have directly targeted the Iran-backed proxy force on the Arabian Peninsula.
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NewsFresh schedule blow for UK’s New Medium Helicopter programme
Shortlisted bidders for the UK’s New Medium Helicopter (NMH) requirement will have to wait until the New Year for the next stage of the tender process after yet another schedule slip to the long-running procurement.
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AnalysisUK MoD to buy six H145s in fresh blow to NMH plans
Fresh uncertainty has emerged over the scope of the UK’s New Medium Helicopter (NMH) programme after it emerged that defence officials intend to buy a fleet of six Airbus Helicopters H145s to be operated in Brunei and Cyprus.
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NewsRAF begins MQ-9B flight trials
The first of 16 General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9B long-endurance UAVs arrived at RAF Waddington for flight testing, ahead of an expected entry into service in 2024.
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NewsStandardAero to build Black Hawks for the UK under Lockheed NMH bid
Lockheed Martin has selected StandardAero to assemble Sikorsky S-70M Black Hawk helicopters in Gosport on the south coast of England if it emerges as the winner of UK’s New Medium Helicopter (NMH) competition. Revealing the industrial plan supporting its NMH bid at the DSEI trade show on 12 September, Paul ...
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NewsRAF capability gaps leave UK ‘dangerously exposed’, MPs warn
Defence chiefs have left the UK “dangerously exposed” through a series of misguided equipment decisions – in one case branded “irrational” and “perverse” – which have created “unacceptable” capability gaps for the Royal Air Force (RAF), a cross-party group of MPs has warned.
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NewsUK Puma support now likely to run until 2028 as delays to NMH force extension
The Royal Air Force’s fleet of Puma HC2 helicopters looks increasingly likely to stay in service until at least 2028 after defence chiefs extended a maintenance contract for up to three years, a reflection of the slow pace in procuring a successor aircraft.
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NewsUK watchdog warns on delivery of three key defence acquisitions
A government watchdog has warned over the performance of several UK defence acquisitions, with a trio of programmes – including the Tempest future fighter effort – moved to a list of projects whose delivery or cost targets appear unachievable.
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NewsLawmakers brand UK’s reduced E-7 Wedgetail buy as ‘absolute folly’
A committee of lawmakers has slammed the UK government’s decision to reduce its purchase of Boeing E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft as “an absolute folly” that offered minimal financial savings.
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NewsUK MoD denies scaling back New Medium Helicopter buy despite Airbus claims
Confusion surrounds the number of aircraft the UK plans to buy under its New Medium Helicopter programme, after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) denied it had slashed the quantity under consideration.
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NewsAirbus Helicopters reiterates commitment to build export H175Ms in the UK despite Saudi plans
Airbus Helicopters insists its site in Broughton, North Wales will host the only final assembly line (FAL) for the H175M, and says a proposed joint facility for the military rotorcraft in Saudi Arabia will be focused solely on customisation and completion activities.
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NewsUK eyes Red 6’s augmented-reality technology for BAE Hawk trainers
The UK government’s internal venture capital fund is investing in American technology firm Red 6, which is developing augmented-reality solutions to support fighter pilot training, with an eye toward integrating the capability into the Royal Air Force’s BAE Systems Hawk jets.
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NewsSikorsky sees opportunity to export UK-built Black Hawks if it wins UK NMH tender
Sikorsky could build Black Hawk helicopters in the UK, including those for the export market, should it be successful in an ongoing contest to replace the Royal Air Force’s fleet of Puma HC2 transports.
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NewsRAF Puma helicopter fleet could soldier on until 2028
The UK could push back the retirement of the Royal Air Force’s fleet of Puma HC2 transport helicopters to 2027 or even 2028 amid slow progress acquiring a replacement.
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NewsRAF’s SAF drive powers refuelling mission as service eyes remaining Brize assets
The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) is making tentative early steps towards its goal of achieving net-zero by 2040 but needs commercial air transport to fully embrace sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to help improve its cost and availability, according to the head of the service’s air mobility wing.
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NewsFinal RAF C-130J mission set for 17 June as Hercules retirement nears
The UK’s long history as an operator of the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules will all but come to an end on 17 June when the Royal Air Force (RAF) performs its final mission with the type.
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NewsUK allocates over £650m for next stage of Tempest development
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded £654 million ($818 million) to four firms to advance the development of the Tempest future fighter being developed through the trilateral Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP).
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NewsAirbus touts strong demand for H175M and eyes part-out potential of UK Pumas
Airbus Helicopters sees strong interest in the H175M – the military version of the super-medium-twin – and is already completing the integration of its HForce modular weapons system onto the platform. Meanwhile, its services and support arm is seeking inventory for part-out, and is already eyeing the UK’s Puma fleet.