The Swiss Federal Council has announced that the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is the aircraft that has been selected from its new fighter aircraft competition. The Swiss Air Force will receive F-35A aircraft, a sustainment solution tailored to Swiss autonomy requirements, and a comprehensive training program. The F-35 selection will deliver economic and technical
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed a contract, worth US$$50 million with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defense to upgrade Kfir aircraft for the Sri Lankan Air Force. The deal includes replacing the aircraft’s basic avionics with the advanced 4+ generation fighter aircraft avionics in order to one day integrate advanced radar, sensors, communication systems, and
The Italian Minister of Defence Lorenzo Guerini and Italian Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Alberto Rosso have attended the acceptance ceremony of an Italian Air Force HH-139B helicopter during an official visit to Leonardo’s helicopter facility in Vergiate (Italy). The HH-139B is a dedicated Air Force variant of the AW139 type. The aircraft will
Textron Aviation has announced that a Beechcraft King Air 300, delivered in 1987 and in service in the U.S. Army fleet of aircraft since 2009, has surpassed a significant 50,000 flight hours milestone. The milestone King Air 300 is one of a larger fleet of Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (MARSS) aircraft. MARSS aircraft
U.S. Special Operations Command has awarded Boeing a US$578 million Foreign Military Sales contract approved by the U.S. Department of State to deliver 14 extended-range Chinook helicopters to the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF). The extended-range Chinook gives the RAF fleet more versatility to execute the domestic and international heavy-lift missions that only the Chinook
Boeing has signed agreements with ESG Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH and Lufthansa Technik that outline joint efforts to explore potential areas of collaboration in systems integration, training, support and sustainment work. The signed memorandum of understanding may lead to more definitive agreements should Germany select the P-8A Poseidon as its next maritime surveillance aircraft. Boeing, ESG
Leonardo has delivered the first TH-73A training helicopter to the U.S. Navy, during a ceremony held at its Philadelphia, U.S.A. campus. The TH-73A is based on the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) variant of the commercial AW119Kx, certified as the only single-engine helicopter in decades to meet current IFR requirements, allowing pilots to operate the aircraft
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed a US$200 million contract to provide unmanned aerial systems (UAS) services to a country in Asia, relating to IAI’s Heron unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). This is the fourth major UAS transaction that IAI has announced this year. The Heron family leads IAI’s range of UAVs. The various Heron models
The French Armament General Directorate (DGA) has confirmed an option to Airbus Helicopters, Babcock and Safran Helicopter Engines for two more H160s for the French Navy. These aircraft will join the fleet of four H160s already contracted in 2020, the first of which is currently being assembled by Airbus Helicopters in Marignane, in the south
In what is Europe’s largest defense project expenditure France, Germany, and Spain have reached an agreement over the next generation of fighter jets including unmanned drones – the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) – with an expected expenditure of around €100 billion (US$122 billion.) The new aircraft will begin to phase out the existing German
