Aircraft

The first Tupolev Tu-160M Blackjack has completed its maiden flight after an avionic modernization that revamped the bombers' radar and avionic systems in the past two years. The aircraft is one of three undergoing the upgrade, under a contract worth RUR3.4 billion (US$103 million) awarded in 2013.

Israel requests Washington for urgent delivery of two KC-46A aerial tankers, to bolster its capability of operations at long ranges. While the IAF already has several aerial tankers based on the Boeing 707, they are too old and inefficient to support a full-scale operational campaign of the size and complexity the IAF requires. This episode discusses the options Israel has to support this capability

The planned arrival of amphibious support ship USS Wasp (LHD-1) in the Pacific Ocean introduces a new capability for amphibious support ships carrying the F-35B fifth-generation stealth fighters without relying on large aircraft carriers. Apart from the American LHD, both Japan and South Korea are interested in the new potential mating STOVL fighters with flat-deck helicopter carriers. Both countries already acquired the conventional take-off variant (F-35A), and consider operating the Short Take-Off / Vertical Landing (STOVL) B version from ships.

Greece Orders 18 Rafales and Equip them with MICA multi-mission air-to-air missiles and Meteor beyond visual range air-to-air missiles, SCALP cruise missiles, and AM39 Exocet anti-ship missiles.

Lessons learned through ongoing military operations in Syria are shaping operational concepts, tactics, and technologies employed by the Russian military, and specifically by the Air Force and Naval Aviation.

Elbit Systems has received an order from the UAE to supply J-MUSIC Directed Infrared Countermeasure (DIRCM) systems to protect the country’s Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) fleet. The Deal Marks the First Transfer of Such Sensitive Technology to an Arab Country. The order announced by Elbit Systems is likely a part of a comprehensive upgrading of the UAE's A330 MRTT fleet of 3+2 aircraft.

The first B-21 Raider bomber is expected to roll out early next year and fly in the middle of 2022. The production of the second B-21 stealth bomber is already underway at Northrop Grumman’s facility in Palmdale, Calif.,

The US Air Force successfully demonstrated the intercept of an aerial target using the AGR-20A Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) laser-guided rocket. This proof of concept can have implications for homeland defense missions, Combined Defense of the Arabian Gulf.

Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) and Hellenic Ministry of National Defense have signed an expansive agreement of approximately NIS 5.5 billion (€1.375 billion) for the establishment and operation of an international flight training center for the Hellenic Air Force. Further expansions also include cooperation between the Israeli flight academy and Hellenic Airforce Academy and adding military helicopter pilot training at the facility. The goal of the new center is to train fighter pilots of the Greek Air Force and foreign armed forces, similar to the Italian Air Force/Leonardo International Flight Training School (IFTS).

Sukhoi and the Russian Ministry of Defense have flown the S-70 Okhotnik unmanned aerial vehicle with Su-57 fifth-generation fighter aircraft for the first time. The flight that laster 30 minutes as part of the ongoing test program. On this flight, Okhotnik flew with a full avionics configuration in an automated mode.

Japan's defense ministry’s Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI) is planning to unveil the country's advanced technology demonstrator-experimental (ATD-X) plane within months; the lightweight stealth aircraft is scheduled to make its maiden flight later this year, Japan's defense minister Itsunori Onodera has confirmed. ATD-X is positioned to become Japan's next generation stealth fighter, replacing 94 locally produced F-2 that...

The F-35 Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin finalized a $34 billion agreement for the production and delivery of 478 F-35s in three models, at the lowest aircraft price during the history of the Program.

Parachute and Airborne Delivery expert IrvinGQ has adapted its ATAX platform to support the autonomous aerial deployment of unmanned ground vehicles, enabling users to deploy UGVs by parachute to remote locations, behind enemy lines without risking human lives to support those assets.

Boeing has introduced today its newest unmanned platform, the Boeing Airpower Teaming System (ATS), designed to extend airborne missions through smart teaming with existing, manned military aircraft. Designed and built by Boeing Australia, the ATS represents Boeing's largest investment in a new unmanned aircraft program outside the United States. The Australian government allocated $40 million in support of the program and considers to include the new platform as part the RAAF '5th GEN Air Force' modernization under 'Plan Jericho'