Archive: News & Articles

Briefing journalists at the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) on 23 July 20242, Eurofighter CEO Giancarlo Mezzanatto stood by his prediction at the Paris Air Show in June 2023 that the consortium will sell 150 to 200 new Eurofighters over the following two years. Mezzanatto noted that since his prediction in Paris Eurofighter has already accumulated […]

The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) announced at the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) on 26 July 2024 that it has downselected Airbus Helicopters, Lockheed Martin Sikorsky and Leonardo for 13-month study contracts under NATO’s Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) Concept Study 5/Integrated Platform Concepts effort. The aim of the NGRC project, which was launched […]

Rheinmetall has handed over to the Hungarian armed forces the first KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) to be locally produced at the company’s site in Zalaegerszeg. The Lynx was handed over on 24 July 2024 during a ceremony at Zalaegerszeg attended by Hungarian Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, along with Head of Rheinmetall Vehicle Systems […]

The 32nd International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO), to be held in Targi Kielce, Poland, from 3 to 6 September 2024, is one of Europe’s most important defence industry events. With the Polish Ministry of National Defence having issued invitations to 38 countries, almost 600 companies from 32 countries have already confirmed their participation and will […]

A teaming of Intermarine and Leonardo have signed a contract with the Directorate of Naval Armaments of the Italian General Secretariat of Defence and National Armaments Directorate to provide five New Generation Minehunters/Coastal (NGM/C) for the Italian Navy, the companies announced on 26 July 2024. The contract is initially worth EUR 1.6 billion to provide […]

North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) announced on 24 July 2024 that it had that day intercepted Russian and Chinese aircraft operating together in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) for the first time. NORAD fighter assets from the US Air Force and Royal Canadian Air Force, supported by aerial refuelling aircraft from both countries […]

At the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) on 23 July 2024 Airbus launched a new version of its A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) based on the airframe of the A330-800 commercial airliner. An Airbus source told ESD on 24 July that the new aircraft, to be known as the MRTT+, “is the next major evolution of one of […]

MBDA is showcasing a new quadcopter-based effector concept for its Sky Warden counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAV) system at this year’s Farnborough International Airshow (FIA 2024). The new capability is the result of a collaboration with US counter-UAV specialist Fortem Technologies and essentially mounts an anti-air munition on a small quadcopter. The system is intended to […]

Maritime security, for a long time a specialised field solely the responsibility of naval forces, is now omnipresent. While the Ever Given or Freemantle Highway accidents were accidents, the warlike events in the Black and Red Seas threaten the entire maritime industry. Maritime security is now an issue all over the world, and not just […]

This article examines some of the key recent developments in the air refuelling tanker space. Tanker aircraft programmes worldwide reflect shared challenges. Tankers based on airliner designs – the vast majority of those now in service – may prove vulnerable to future threats. The need to increase tanker availability has led to NATO’s multinational tanker […]

A significant number of European nations are acquiring the F-35 fifth-generation combat aircraft. This will enhance interoperability within NATO armed forces, but raises the question of excessive reliance on a single weapon system. The F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft was conceived at the outset as a multinational project and with an eye to exports beyond […]

The armed forces of the United States are pursuing acquisition of unconventional VTOL aircraft to perform niche missions, with Congress taking an increasing interest in these capabilities. The primary advantage of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft lies in their flexibility. They operate independent of runways and also from relatively confined areas including parking lots, […]

Superior airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) confers advantage over an adversary and potential dominance over a battlespace. Latest AEW&C aircraft developments and operations underpin the continuing and increasing importance for their presence in the skies above today’s geopolitically, supercharged, global landscape. Following the advent of radar in the UK in the mid-1930s, it was […]

One of the key lessons learned from the ongoing war in Ukraine is the need for combat aircraft to have look-down/shoot-down capabilities against low and slow targets, such as uncrewed aerial vehicles. The Persian Gulf is located 2,987 km from Ukraine yet an event that occurred on 13 April 2024 near this stretch of water […]

Leading military powers are looking to new technologies and innovative designs to enhance the future survivability and operational effectiveness of their air forces. As offensive and defensive technologies develop, armed forces that do not keep pace become vulnerable. Particular threats to aircraft are posed by increasingly long-range and discriminatory sensors coupled with long-range air defence […]

During a ceremony at the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) on 22 July 2024 the Dutch Ministry of Defence signed a contract for the acquisition of nine C-390 Millennium tanker/transport aircraft. The contract relates to a joint purchase in co-operation with Austria that will see five aircraft go to the Royal Netherlands Air Force RNLAF) and four […]

Airbus Defence and Space has signed a 10-year contract with the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) for a simulation and training package for the A330 Multinational Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) Fleet (MMF), including the provision of a full mission simulator, the company announced on 23 July 2024. The contract, signed after an open tender, consists of several services […]

Brazil’s Embraer announced at the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) on 23 July 2024 that it has sold six A-29 Super Tucano aircraft to the Paraguayan Air Force (FAP). The contract, the value of which was not disclosed, includes mission equipment and an integrated logistics services agreement, with deliveries to take place from 2025. The multi-mission A-29 is […]

Leonardo has launched a comprehensive capability enhancement package for the M-346 integrated training system, including the aircraft’s core avionics, navigation/identification systems, mission equipment and ground training capabilities. Announced on 22 July 2024 at the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA), the move “reflects the training needs to align pilot’s skills to the evolution dictated by modern multi-domain […]

As NATO peer and near-peer adversaries have continued to advance their intelligence-gathering, targeting, and long-range strike capabilities. Consequently, airbases, which have typically been geographically separated from conflict areas and represented relative safe havens, are increasingly vulnerable. As such, NATO Allies and partner nations are streamlining to become more ‘agile’, to counter a range of threats […]

Generating fast-jet pilots is an expensive business with air forces adopting a number of different training models to achieve their goals. This fast-jet training pipeline is not easy to manage, and a number of air forces are suffering pilot shortages and incurring increasing costs as a result. What does it take to fly a modern […]