Manufacturing work has started on the first F-35 Lightning II aircraft that will be delivered to the UK Ministry of Defence. Quentin Davies, UK Minister of Defence Equipment and Support, marked the occasion by signing the F-35 frame before it was loaded into the assembly jig at the BAE Systems site in Samlesbury, Lancashire. The
The Kingdom of Bahrain has selected the Rockwell Collins Transportable Blackhawk Operations Simulator (T-BOS) to train their UH-60M Blackhawk helicopter pilots. The T-BOS will be delivered to the government of Bahrain under a Foreign Military Sale contract administered by the U.S. Army’s Utility Helicopter Project Office (UHPO). The Bahrain T-BOS is the second foreign sale
GKN Aerospace has been selected by BAE SYSTEMS as a Strategic Supplier for the manufacture of an extensive range of composite and metallic structures for the F-35 Lightning II in agreements with a potential value in excess of $200 million. The agreements extend GKN Aerospace
Northrop Grumman is adding momentum to Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc.’s (TAI) readiness to build complete center fuselages for the F-35 Lightning II aircraft by teaching its engineers how to build the complex composite structures used in the jet. From Jan. 18 to Feb. 12, the company conducted rigorous classroom and hands-on training at its Advanced
Customer Nations and EADS have come to a principle agreement regarding the A400M military transport aircraft with the intention to amend the original contract accordingly in the coming weeks. In this principle agreement, the Customer Nations agree to increase the price of the contract by EUR 2 billion, waive all liquidated damages related to current
Boeing reported it will offer the Boeing NewGen Tanker in the competition to supply the U.S. Air Force with a multi-mission aerial refueling aircraft that will meet all the warfighter’s mission requirements for the next several decades. Boeing studied the mission requirements closely to determine the optimal airframe size that would deliver the most capability
Pratt & Whitney has achieved initial service release (ISR) for the conventional take off and landing/carrier variant (CTOL/CV) F135 engine, marking another major milestone as the engine is cleared for operational use in the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter. Pratt & Whitney has delivered 17 flight test engines, as well as the first production F135
Lt. Gen. Frank Gorenc, commander, 3rd Air Force, accepted the 11th of 14 Lockheed Martin C-130Js to be based at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Four C-130Js will be delivered to Ramstein this year; 10 C-130Js were delivered to the base in 2009. These 14 new Js will support the Ramstein-based 37th Airlift Squadron (a unit
Boeing has launched the first maintenance training program conducted under the five-year In-Service Support (ISS) contract for Project Wedgetail, Australia’s 737 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) program. Training began on Feb. 15 with five Boeing Defence Australia instructors and 32 students from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) No. 2 Squadron. The 147-day program,
The U.S. government has awarded an initial $213 million to Lockheed Martin for long-lead tasks for the production of 20 new Advanced Block 52 F-16 aircraft for Egypt. The new aircraft order includes 16 F-16Cs and 4 F-16Ds, and will supplement the Egyptian Air Force’s (EAF) existing fleet of F-16s and contribute to the modernization
