Archive: News & Articles

In a statement, the team said: “The Sikorsky-Boeing team continues to make great progress as we advance DEFIANT’s rigorous flight test program. With every flight, as we continue to increase DEFIANT’s speed, angle of bank and rate of climb, we are gathering important data, expanding our speed and maneuverability envelope and validating our modeling and […]

The U.S has given approval for Finland to buy air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground precision guided munitions and related equipment for an estimated cost of US$12.5bn, should the country decide to purchase 64 F-35 aircraft. The proposed sale will replace Finland’s legacy F/A-18s HORNETS and enhance its air-to-air and air-to-ground self-defence capability. The package is broken down […]

AeroVironment has secured a US$8.3m firm-fixed-price U.S. Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales contract for Puma™ 3 AE tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), training and support to an allied nation, with delivery anticipated by March 2021. “The United States Department of Defense and the defense forces of 50 allied nations around the world rely on AeroVironment’s […]

The US Government has agreed for Switzerland to purchase the MIM104 PATRIOT via an FMS from Raytheon, the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has announced. Switzerland intends to renew its ground-based air defence (Bodengebundene Luftverteidigung) as part of the BODLUV 2020 project, with the choice between SAMP/T (Surface-to-Air Missile Platform/Terrain) from Eurosam (MBDA/Thales) and the MIM104 […]

Japan will acquire 51 Raytheon-made Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) and related equipment for an estimated cost of US$55.311m. The U.S State Department has already made a determination approving the possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Japan. These RAM Block 2 Tactical missiles will provide significantly enhanced area defence capabilities over critical East Asian and […]

The first flight simulator for the new Airbus H160 helicopter with the Helionix avionics suite is ready for take-off following certification by the Direction générale de l’aviation civile, (DGAC), France’s civil aviation authority. A special feature of this training level D simulator is the all-electric Hexaline motion system with six degrees of freedom for simulation […]

Airbus has received a firm order for an additional Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) from OCCAR, Europe’s organisation for the management of cooperative armament programmes. The order, which OCCAR has placed on behalf of NATO’s Support & Procurement Agency (NSPA), follows the decision by Luxembourg to maximise its participation in the Multinational MRTT Fleet […]

Diehl Defence has received an order from the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) to deliver GBU-54 weapon systems to the German Air Force. This is an air-to-surface weapon, equipped with the “Laser JDAM” (Joint Direct Attack Munition) conversion kit developed by Boeing. Through the combination of INS/GPS navigation, laser seeker and […]

The Romanian Air Force officially received the material for its first PATRIOT battery on 17th September 2020 after the systems arrived in Romania and underwent acceptance tests at the National Air Defence Training Centre “Brigadier General Ion Bungescu” in August 2020. Romania has ordered seven PATRIOT systems in two lots. The first will be operated […]

Italy has been selected as the preferred partner-nation to replace the 19 flyable SA.316/319‚ ALOUETTE III helicopters stationed at the inner-alpine Aigen-im-Ennstal air base of the Austrian Air Force. Leonardo‘s AW169M has therefore beaten competition from the Bell-Textron Bell 429 and Airbus-Helicopters H145M, respectively the proposals by the governments of the USA and Germany, which […]

Aero Vodochody has handed over the first of 16 single-seat L-159 ALCA aircraft to the 21st Tactical Air Force Base, Čáslav. These are undergoing periodic work after sixteen years of operation (PP16), meaning the operation of those light combat aircraft will be extended by another eight years on the basis of a contract with the Czech Military. […]

Greece has announced major arms purchases with “six emblematic decisions that multiply the power, functionality and effectiveness of Greek weapons,” in the words of Prime Minister K.Mitsotakis. These decisions include: The Hellenic Air Force will immediately acquire a squadron of 18 RAFALE fighter jets that will replace older MIRAGE 2000 fighters. The Greek PM said […]

Cyclone, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Elbit Systems, has been awarded a contract by Lockheed Martin to supply assemblies for the F-35’s Forward Equipment Bay – made from composite materials and the associated structures – across all F-35 aircraft variants. Elbit Systems will deliver more than 1,400 components to Lockheed Martin during the four year contract period. […]

An Elbit Systems HERMES 900 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has successfully completed a series of flight demonstrations for the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to test the capabilities of using a UAV to enhance Search and Rescue (SAR) capabilities in addition to the use of long-range unmanned capabilities in civilian airspace. Taking place off the West […]

An operational pilot programme has been launched employing SKYLORD drones to defend U.S. forces from various inbound aerial threats including hostile drones. This follows a joint R&D programme led by the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) in the Israeli Ministry of Defence, together with Israeli company Xtend, and the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office […]

Lufthansa Aviation Training GmbH will be able to start training operations with the first Full Flight Simulators (Level D) for the Airbus H145/H135. This comes after qualification in accordance with EASA Level D by the German Federal Aviation Office on 27th August 2020. With the introduction of the FFS, Lufthansa Aviation Training is expanding its […]

Israeli Rotary Unmanned Aerial Systems (RUAS) company Steadicopter has unveiled electric variants of its BLACK EAGLE 25E and BLACK EAGLE 50E. Based on the company’s BLACK EAGLE platform, which has been proven for military needs, the new systems now enable high performance and operational flexibility for other security forces in a wide range of law enforcement, maritime, […]

Spain will buy 100 AIM-120C-7/8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) from the United States at an estimated cost of US$248.5m in a deal that also includes one spare AMRAAM Guidance Section and related equipment such as containers and support equipment. The proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by […]

The United States has awarded Bell Textron a US$272.2m contract for the production and delivery of eight UH-1Y VENOM and four AH-1Z VIPER helicopters to the Czech Republic with delivery expected to be completed in November 2023. The Czech Ministry of Defence announced on 12th December 2019 that the proposed procurement would be a decisive step into […]

Gerhard Heiming At the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) virtual exhibition in Washington from 28th to 29th August 2020, Airbus Helicopters announced the launch of the latest version of the LAKOTA helicopter, with an order for 17 aircraft. The UH-72 belongs to the widely used H145 family, whose military and civilian versions […]

Since General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. and engineering and technology firm SENER began collaborating in 2008, the international partnership has resulted in significant agreements regarding the MQ-9A Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) for Spain and its adaptation to the requirements of the Spanish Armed Forces. The latest joint development effort is a NATO Pod, designed and […]