News
Chinese spy ship eyes RIMPAC –
China was disinvited from the prestigious Rim of the Pacific exercise, but it has made an appearance anyway — dispatching a spy ship to international waters off Hawaii, the Navy said July 12.
Business
Pentagon reaches handshake deal with Lockheed on newest batch of F-35s –
The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have reached a handshake deal for the 11th batch of F-35 joint strike fighters, the Pentagon’s top acquisistion official confirmed July 15.
Pakistan chooses Turkish T129 attack helos to replace aging fleet –
Pakistan and Turkey on July 13 signed a deal for 30 Turkish Aerospace Industries T129 ATAK helicopter gunships, according to a statement by Turkey’s Undersecretariat for Defence Industries.
Fighter jet price hits record low in massive deal –
The price of the U.S. Defense Department’s controversial stealth fighter jet reached a record low in a huge deal announced a day ahead of the world’s largest civil and military air show, held in the United Kingdom.
U.S. defense firms brace for damage control in wake of Trump’s tough rhetoric –
As U.S. defense contractors engage with potential foreign customers at the Farnborough Airshow this month, they may find themselves in damage-control mode.
Mali receives four Super Tucanos –
The Malian Air Force formally inducted four Embraer EMB 314/A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft into service during a ceremony attended by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, it was announced July 11.
Can’t spend? Won’t spend? Four lessons from NATO’s bottom lines –
Most NATO nations don’t pay much. Most nations CAN’T pay much. Most spend on the wrong things. But most of them are moving in the right direction.
Lockheed offers F-22, F-35 hybrid for Japan’s next fighter –
U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin proposed combining technologies from two of the world’s most powerful fighter jets for Japan’s next-generation fleet in a formal proposal submitted July 13.
Competition for F-35 electronic warfare system could be on the horizon –
A shake-up may be coming for the F-35 supply base, as Lockheed Martin considers opening up new competitions for the jet’s electronic warfare and communications systems.
Boeing, Embraer have a new deal. What it means for defense is unclear –
Earlier this month, Boeing and Embraer struck a deal on a joint venture that would give Boeing control of the Brazilian company’s commercial jet business. But what the agreement will mean for their associated defense units is still being hammered out, a Boeing defense exec said July 13.
‘Game changer’ aerial drone arrives in UK after mammoth 24-hour transatlantic flight –
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ developmental MQ-9B SkyGuardian made the first ever transatlantic flight of a medium-altitude, long endurance aerial drone.
L3 continues expansion of leadership team –
L3 Technologies has appointed Stephen O’Bryan, a nearly 10-year veteran of Lockheed Martin, to lead business development companywide.
Four ways Lockheed’s new F-35 head wants to fix the fighter jet program –
The F-35 fighter jet is the U.S. Defense Department’s largest and most expensive weapons program, with a projected life-cycle cost of more than $1 trillion.
As it takes on F-35, Denmark prepares to halt global operations –
For years, Denmark’s F-16 fighter jet fleet has been a common sight for deployments and operations abroad. But as it is replaced by the F-35 in the next decade, fiscal and personnel realities mean that Copenhagen will have to hit pause on international operations for its fighters.
Saab readies to offer airborne early warning plane to UK –
Saab is considering proposing an alternative to Boeing’s 737 Wedgetail for the United Kingdom’s future airborne early warning aircraft, but it isn’t ready to say which plane it will choose to host its radar if a program goes forward, the Swedish company’s top executive confirmed to Defense News on July 13.
Britain chooses basing for Protector drone, even as acquisition details evolve –
Britain’s defense secretary has named RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, England, as the base for the Royal Air Force’s new Protector drone.
Allies’ plans for new fighter jet technology a boon for U.S. Air Force, chief says –
The next wave of fighter jets may not be huge, multinational projects like the F-35 or Eurofighter Typhoon. That might be a good thing, the U.S. Air Force’s top general says.
Northrop’s Fire Scout drone gets a new look for its European debut –
Northrop hopes to showcase the Fire Scout’s ability to accomplish mission set it hopes will entice foreign buyers: anti-submarine warfare.
U.S. approves air-to-air missile sales for UK, Denmark –
The U.S. State Department has OK’d the potential sale of AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile variants for the United Kingdom and Denmark.
Can Europe sustain more than one next-gen fighter? –
The head of Airbus’s defense operation has urged European combat air companies to unite behind a single program.
Airbus, Saab consider challenge to Boeing Wedgetail for UK –
Two of Europe’s top aerospace defense companies are discussing combining their airborne early warning capabilities in an attempt to head off a possible sole-source British purchase of the Boeing Wedgetail.
Britain to school industry, government on foreign defense dealings –
Britain is setting up a high-level school for defense exporters aimed at increasing the skills of executives and government officials negotiating often complex deals with foreign customers.
Defense
Why an unmanned fighter fleet isn’t yet viable, in the words of Britain’s Air Force chief –
Step back two years to the start of the 2016 Farnborough International Airshow, when few people in Europe were talking about a new manned fighter. But today it seems to be a topic on everyone’s mind.
Army ponders changes after insider attack in Afghanistan –
It’s too early to tell if training or other changes must be made in light of an insider attack in Afghanistan that killed one American soldier and wounded two others, because there’s some uncertainty about whether the assailant was a disgruntled Afghan soldier or an insurgent infiltrator, the Army’s top officer says.
U.S. Navy’s surface ship program head confident on meeting 355-ship goal –
The head of the U.S. Navy’s surface ship program office says the service will be able to meet the goal of a 355-ship fleet.
Partial dry-dock collapse floods US Navy ship under construction –
The U.S. Navy is assessing the damage after a partial dry-dock collapse at General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard sent seawater through the hull cuts into the expeditionary sea base Miguel Keith that is under construction there, according to a statement from Naval Sea Systems Command provided to Defense News.
A-10 vs. F-35 close-air support ‘fly off’ shrouded in secrecy –
The much-anticipated A-10 vs. F-35 close-air support fly-off has wrapped up before many people even realized the tests were happening, but a government watchdog group claims the tests were rigged in favor the Lightning II, a fifth-generation multirole fighter.
Pilots ‘not making things up,’ Air Force says of ‘hypoxia’ incidents –
The Air Force has yet to find the cause for a surge of hypoxia-like incidents in a wide variety of aircraft but has ruled out the possibility that pilots could be mistaking symptoms in some cases.
F-35Bs leave with 13th MEU on first deployment with stateside unit –
The Navy’s Essex Amphibious Ready Group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit left San Diego on June 10 with three ships, and is projected to carry out a deployment to the western Pacific and the Middle East. And they’re bringing something else with them too: Marine Corps F-35Bs, which are leaving on their first deployment with a stateside unit.