Defense

Essential news and analysis from the defense aerospace sector. Your trusted source for new and ongoing programs in military aircraft, engines, and avionics.

Lockheed moves ahead on VH-71

The program to provide new VIP helicopters for the U.S.

September 30, 2008

First New-production Marine One Flies

The first production model of a new generation of Marine One U.S.

September 23, 2008

USAF Tanker Competition Deferred until 2009

U.S.

September 16, 2008

Testbed Problems Add To A400M Delay

The Europrop TP400 engine that has been fitted to a C-130 testbed at Cambridge, UK, by Marshall Aerospace ran at full power for the first time last week.

September 16, 2008

Northern Europeans Seeking Alternatives to the F-35

Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway are all formally investigating alternatives to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to replace their F-16s.

September 16, 2008

Rafale in Red Flag, and in Switzerland

Four Rafale fighters from the French Air Force have completed a month-long deployment to the U.S., where they conducted a squadron exchange at Luke AFB and

September 16, 2008

Report Scores Civilian Deaths, Shortcomings in U.S./NATO Afghan Air Ops

A report by the international Human Rights Watch (HRW) organization has put further pressure on U.S.

September 16, 2008

Dilemma for Boeing as Pentagon Issues Revised RFP for KC-X

Boeing faces a tough decision, now that the Pentagon has confirmed that bigger is better in the KC-X tanker competition.

August 22, 2008

GAO Confirms Naval Global Hawk as Winner of BAMS

The U.S.

August 22, 2008

Boeing Confident on C-17 Future; Pitching New Version

Continuing production of the C-17 Globemaster airlifter into the next decade now seems assured.

August 22, 2008

Boeing Pushes P-8 for U.S. Navy EP-X Requirement

The U.S.

August 22, 2008

Raytheon Paveway IV Smart Bomb Now Available to RAF

A new “smart” bomb employing three guidance modes is entering service with the UK Royal Air Force.

August 22, 2008

EF-18G Growler Readying for Fleet Duty

Ahead of schedule and under budget, Boeing delivered the first of an expected 85 operational models of its EF-18G Growler to the U.S.

August 12, 2008

Northrop Grumman and Boeing evaluate their KC-X chances

Northrop Grumman rates its chances of clinching the KC-X contract as only 50 percent, if the US Congress intervenes in the decision.

GKN delivers APB winglets

GKN Aerospace has delivered Blended Winglets for 767-300ER aircraft to Aviation Partners Boeing (APB) for certification flight tests in support of launch c

Targeting Pods Finish First Tour of Duty

Litening III targeting pods supplied by Ultra Electronics to the RAF have successfully completed their first year of service in Iraq.

IR AASM completes qualification

Last week Sagem successfully conducted the third and final qualification test firing of its “one-meter” class armament air-sol modulaire (AASM) modular air

Finmeccanica’s Alenia Aermacchi division is launching a competition to find a nickname for its M346

Finmeccanica’s Alenia Aermacchi division is launching a competition to find a nickname for its M346.

TacitView helps sift the wheat from the chaff

With the proliferation of UAVs greatly increasing the number of “eyes in the sky,” the flow of video imagery streaming into intelligence centers is turning

Qinetiq set to grow further in the U.S.

Qinetiq looks set to build on solid successes in the U.S.