Archive: News & Articles

The first A400M airlifter for the Kazakh Air Defence Forces has rolled out of the Airbus paint shop in Seville, Spain, Airbus Defence and Space announced on 15 April 2024. The aircraft, MSN 139, is one of two A400Ms ordered by Kazakhstan in September 2021 and will be delivered this year. Airbus is not disclosing […]

Embraer and the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) are beginning collaborative studies to identify potential platform adaptations for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, the two organisations announced on 10 April 2024 at the International Air and Space Fair (FIDAE) in Santiago, Chile. The platforms to be considered are those already operational with the FAB, such […]

Saab has received an order from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) for the procurement of additional Litening 5 target designator pods as well as maintenance capabilities, the company announced on 3 April 2024. The contract, valued at SEK 390 million (EUR 34 million), covers additional pods, maintenance capabilities and spare parts to be delivered […]

The first of 22 repatriated Swiss F-5 Tiger II aircraft arrived at the Tactical Air Support facility at Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Florida, on 21 March 20224 for the second phase of the Avionics Reconfiguration and Tactical/Modernization for Inventory Standardization (ARTEMIS) programme, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) reported on 4 April. Arrival of the aircraft, […]

The Greek government signed a letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) on 5 April 2024 for 35 Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, parent company Lockheed Martin announced the same day. The helicopters are being acquired through the US government’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) construct. The US State Department approved an FMS covering 35 UH-60M Black […]

On 5 April 2024 the Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare) officially marked the retirement of its AMX Ghibli light attack aircraft after 35 years of service. A formal phase-out ceremony was held for the type at the Aeronautica Militare’s 51st Stormo (Wing) at Istrana Air Base near Treviso in northern Italy, where the 51st Stormo’s […]

The US Navy, in partnership with Lockheed Martin, has successfully conducted a Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) flight test with four missiles simultaneously in flight, Lockheed Martin announced on 3 April 2024. During the 12th Integrated Test Event (ITE-12), the date of which was not disclosed, the US Navy “was able to demonstrate the weapon’s inherent high-end […]

The US Air Force (USAF) recently completed initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) of the Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS), BAE Systems announced on 2 April 2024. EPAWSS provides critical electronic warfare (EW) capabilities for the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15EX Eagle II aircraft. “EPAWSS was designed for upgradeability and rapid capability insertion,” […]

Pensacola-based Paradigm Parachute & Defense announced its successful acquisition of ASR-Pioneer assets on 3 April 2024. The USD 2.25 million (EUR 2.08 million) acquisition includes all assets from Airlift Technologies International, Strong Enterprises, and ASR-Pioneer’s Mississippi-based operation. The acquisition totalled three quarters of all assets of ASR-Pioneer. “This is an exciting time of innovation and […]

Ukraine has used bomb-laden unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to attack a factory in Russia’s Tatarstan region more than 1,200 km from unoccupied Ukrainian territory in what appears to be the Ukrainian military’s deepest strike of the war so far. The factory, located in the town of Yelabuga, is believed to be a site where Shahed […]

The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) is working with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) to upgrade its growing fleet of MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), GA-ASI announced on 26 March 2024. After receiving four MQ-9A Block 5 Reapers in 2022, the RNLAF ordered another four in August 2023 and is now making upgrades to […]

Denmark has agreed in principle to sell Argentina 24 F-16 fighters. A letter of intent (LoI) regarding the sale was signed in Buenos Aires on 26 March 2024 by Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen and Argentine Defence Minister Luis Alfonso Petri. “I have had a good and extremely fruitful meeting with my Argentinian defence […]

Twelve NATO allies – Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Spain, Türkiye and the United Kingdom – agreed on 25 March 2024 to further expand military aviation training across the alliance through the NATO Flight Training Europe (NFTE) initiative. This will include the first ever placement of around 50 student pilots […]

Israel’s Bird AeroSystems announced on 27 March 2024 that it has successfully installed its advanced Self Protection Radar Electro-Optic System (SPREOS) directed infra-red countermeasures (DIRCM) system and Aeroshield Missile Protection System (AMPS) “on multiple Airbus A319 aircraft for an undisclosed European customer”, which ESD believes to be the Hungarian Air Force (HAF). Publicity photographs published […]

Israel’s UVision and US company Science Applications International Corp (SAIC) announced on 27 March 2024 that they are collaborating to manufacture UVision’s Hero 120 loitering munition system. Under the agreement the Hero 120 system will be produced in Charleston, South Carolina, significantly enhancing rapid-response capabilities for all UVision USA clients in the United States. “The […]

Saab has received an order from Airbus Defence and Space for its Arexis electronic warfare (EW) sensor suite, the Swedish company announced on 26 March 2024. The system was selected by the German defence procurement office in June 2023 to equip the Luftwaffe’s Eurofighter Elektronischer Kampf (EK) aircraft, of which 15 examples are being acquired […]

A flight of four British Army Air Corps (AAC) AgustaWestland/Boeing WAH-64D Apache AH1 attack helicopters conducted a farewell tour across the United Kingdom on 25 March 2024 to mark the type’s exit from service. The farewell flight, which involved 15 locations relevant to Apache operations, was conducted by the 4 Regiment AAC’s No 656 Squadron, […]

Saab has received an order from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) regarding conceptual studies for future fighter systems, the company announced on 22 March 2024. The contract, to be enacted from 2024 to 2025, covers conceptual studies of manned and unmanned solutions from a system-of-systems perspective, technology development and demonstrations. In performing the contract […]

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) finally issued an invitation to negotiate for its New Medium Helicopter requirement in February, but the history of the programme suggests that the fruits of this procurement initiative could still be years away. On 27 February 2024 the starting gun was fired on the next phase of the UK’s […]

The US Air Force (USAF) conducted what might be the last test launch of a hypersonic AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) on 17 March 2024. The all-up-round AGM-183A, which is made by Lockheed Martin, was launched over the Reagan Test Site, located near Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, from a B-52H strategic bomber […]

The first Ukrainian pilots to have undergone intensive training under the guidance of UK Royal Air Force (RAF) instructors have graduated from flight school, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 22 March 2024. The 10 pilots received basic flying, ground school and language training in the UK, training on Grob Tutor basic trainers […]