Archive: News & Articles

Aerospace and defence engineering firm Legionnaire International, in conjunction with its partners MatrixSpace, Sixdof Space and Target Arm, has been selected for a USD 3.19 million (EUR 2.91 million) contract by AFWERX – the innovation arm of the US Department of the Air Force – to develop a next-generation air-to-air refuelling system. The effort, which […]

RTX’s Raytheon business has been awarded a USD 192 million (EUR 174 million) contract from the US Navy to develop the Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band Expansion (NGJ-MBX), RTX announced on 1 October 2024. The NGJ-MBX is an upgrade to the current Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) system. The modification will extend the frequency range of the NGJ-MB […]

US-headquartered Skydweller Aero announced on 1 October 2024 that it has successfully completed the initial uncrewed autonomous flight test campaign with its Skydweller solar-powered Skydweller long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). A series of uncrewed flight tests, of which the two longest were 16 hours and 22½ hours, were launched from the company’s facility at Stennis […]

The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Australia of Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missiles – Extended Range (AARGM-ERs), the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on 27 September 2024. The proposed sale, which is worth an estimated USD 405 million (EUR 366 million), has been passed to the US Congress […]

The Israeli government indicated on 30 September 2024 that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are preparing for a potential ground operation into Lebanon to confront the Shia militant group Hezbollah. The offensive would be the latest stage in an Israeli campaign that has seen the IDF confront Israel’s enemies on multiple fronts over the last […]

Embraer announced on 27 September 2024 that it has delivered the seventh C-390 Millennium airlifter to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB). This milestone comes as the FAB celebrates five years of service with the C-390 after the first one was delivered on 4 September 2019. The delivered aircraft will be operated by the First Squadron […]

The prototype of the Royal Air Force’s (RAF’s) future European Common Radar System Mark 2 (ECRS Mk2) radar took to the skies for the first time on 27 September 2024 on a UK Typhoon test and evaluation aircraft flying out of BAE Systems’ flight test facility in Warton, Lancashire, BAE and the radar’s developer, Leonardo […]

Vilnius-based unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) producer Granta Autonomy announced on 26 September 2024 that it has secured a new EUR 1 million contract with the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence (MND) for its first-person-view (FPV) GA-10FPV-AI quadcopter UAV. The quadcopters will be supplied to both the Lithuanian military and Ukrainian armed forces and form part of […]

The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is to proceed with Northrop Grumman in working on a Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) programme, the company announced on 25 September 2024. The programme’s aim is to develop a first-of-its-kind defensive countermeasure against hypersonic missile threats. Working in close partnership with the MDA, Northrop Grumman will initiate a three-year […]

California-based Mayman Aerospace announced on 26 September 2024 that it has completed successful flight tests at a military base in the Southern California desert of its Razor test-bed vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The Razor test bed has exactly the same dimensions and weight as Mayman’s Razor P100 UAV concept and uses the same jet-powered propulsion, engine […]

Portuguese unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturer Tekever announced on 23 September 2024 that it has unveiled ground-breaking UAV technologies at the ongoing NATO Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping with Maritime Unmanned Systems (REPMUS) 2024 exercise, being held around Portugal’s Troia Peninsula. During the exercise Tekever’s AR3 and AR5 UAVs were deployed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance […]

The first flight of a Royal Air Force (RAF) E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft was successfully completed on 20 September 2024. A Boeing flight-test crew conducted functional checks during the flight, which took place out of Birmingham Airport, marking a significant milestone in the programme’s test and evaluation phase. Currently unpainted, […]

Polish counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAV) company Advanced Protection Systems (APS) announced on 23 September 2024 that it has introduced an ‘interceptor drone’ that autonomously tracks and knocks down UAVs through direct collision. Billed by APS as “a powerful and cost-effective solution to the threat”, the new interceptor is part of APS’s SKYctrl C-UAV system, which […]

The long-held aspiration of the Romanian Air Force (RoAF) to operate the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been cleared, with the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) reporting on 13 September 2024 that the US State Department has cleared Romania to purchase up to 32 F-35As. The proposed Foreign Military Sale (FMS), which […]

Saab has delivered the fifth and final GlobalEye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft ordered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the company announced on 17 September 2024. The UAE ordered an initial two GlobalEye aircraft from Saab in 2015, placed an order for a third aircraft in 2017 and then contracted Saab for […]

The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Japan of KC-46A Pegasus aerial refuelling aircraft, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on 13 September 2024. The proposed sale, which is worth an estimated USD 4.1 billion (EUR 3.69 billion), has been forwarded to the US Congress for final […]

Honeywell announced on 16 September 2024 that it is launching a new counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system particularly focused on addressing the threat from UAV swarms. By combining beyond-visual-line-of-sight communication with command-and-control capabilities, the multi-layered system is able to detect, track and then counter UAV swarms. It can either be mounted on vehicles or put in a […]

The US Air Force (USAF) announced the award of a USD 1.2 billion (EUR 1.07 billion) contract modification to Raytheon on 11 September 2024 for Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) Production Lot 38. In addition to providing missiles to both the USAF and US Navy, the contract also supplies AMRAAM all-up rounds to multiple […]

In a ceremony at Istrana Air Base in northeastern Italy on 12 September 2024, which marked the return of the Italian Air Force’s Frecce Tricolori aerobatic display team from a recent North American tour, the team’s future aircraft was unveiled in the form of the Leonardo M-346 advanced jet trainer. M-346s will replace the Frecce […]

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded BAE Systems a GBP 60 million (EUR 71.1 million) contract to upgrade the Royal Navy’s autonomous Sting Ray lightweight torpedo. The company is tasked with designing and developing the Sting Ray torpedo upgrade over a four-year assessment phase, which will include the construction of prototypes and in-water trials. […]

US aerospace technology specialist Honeywell is currently conducting an international tour to demonstrate its resilient airborne beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) communications capabilities. The connectivity demonstrations are being conducted using a company Boeing 757-200 test aircraft that was acquired by Honeywell in 2005. For the purposes of demonstrating resilient BVLOS communications, the aircraft is fitted with Honeywell’s JetWave […]