5/25/2019 Finland Works Its Fighter Replacement Program  At the beginning of the 1990s, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Finland established a stance of enhanced independence when it purchased Hornets from the United States and began a process of working with Western allied airpower. |
5/25/2019 Gripen E testing ahead of schedule, vendor claims  Flight-testing of Saab’s Gripen E combat aircraft is moving faster than anticipated, according to Eddy de la Motte, vice president and head of the Gripen E/F business unit at Swedish manufacturer Saab. De la Motte told a media briefing that tests to fire MBDA’s Meteor missile had been carried out by test aircraft 39-8 and 39-9 in northern Sweden. “We’d planned two weeks for the testing and were able to get everything done in one,” the executive remarked. |
5/25/2019 Pompeo pushes $8.1bn in arms sales citing unnamed Iranian threats  In a controversial move, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, citing unnamed threats from Iran, bypassed approval from the US Congress and pushed through the sale of $8.1 billion of arms to Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. |
5/25/2019 USAF claims 100 years cut from weapons development cycles  The US Air Force claims to have cut 100.5 years of what it deems “unnecessary schedule” from its weapons development programmes since May 2018. As part of its “Century Challenge” goal, the service is trying to streamline and accelerate development programmes to keep pace with adversaries such as Russia and China who are rapidly innovating in areas such as hypersonic missiles and anti-aircraft defences. |
5/24/2019 F-35 and F-15EX fighter jets could get drone wingmen in the coming years as part of the Skyborg programme  Unmanned drones, powered by artificial intelligence, may soon accompany US Air Force Pilots on missions as autonomous wingmen. Both Boeing's F-15 and Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jets are being considered for the 'Skyborg' drone support program. The scheme would cut down on the amount of people in the jets and could both reduce the risk to pilots and be more economical. |
5/24/2019 China Overhauls Pakistan Air Force JF-17 Fighter Jet  China has reportedly overhauled a Pakistan Aeronautical Complex/Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (PAC/CAC) JF-17 “Thunder” Block I multirole fighter jet of the Pakistan Air Force in March, according to media reports. Citing a report by China Aviation News, the website Defense World.Net states that the overhaul of the aircraft was carried out by Changsha 5712 Aircraft Industry Company, a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). |
5/24/2019 US Navy awards Raytheon $235m for 23 JPALS units  The US Navy (USN) awarded Raytheon a $235 million contract for 23 units of the company’s Joint Precision Approach and Landing Systems (JPALS). The fixed-price-incentive contract was anticipated for several months now. It will pay for launch of serial production, as well as installation of JPALS on the USN’s 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and eight amphibious assault ships. |
5/23/2019 Lack of situational awareness blamed for RAF C-130J write-off  UK military investigators have attributed a 2017 incident, in which a Lockheed Martin C-130J operated by the Royal Air Force’s 47 Sqn was written off, to the flightcrew’s lack of situational awareness as they attempted to land on a temporary strip in darkness. However, the Defence Safety Authority (DSA) notes that a “variety of inter-linked factors compounded this lack of [situational awareness] making the accident more likely.” |
5/22/2019 US intercepts Russian bombers ‘snooping’ around Northern Edge war-games in Alaska  The US has scrambled a flight of F-22 Raptor interceptors in response to four Russian bombers and two fighters prying off the coast of Alaska. It was all fair, safe and ‘professional’. But when Russian bombers loiter off the United States’ front gate, people get nervous. Yesterday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)— a joint effort between the US and Canada — detected two flights of Russian aircraft approaching Alaska. |
5/22/2019 Bulgaria reveals why it might stop talks to buy F-16 fighter jets .jpg) Bulgaria may walk away from negotiations with the U.S. for the purchase of Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Block 70 fighter jets, according to Bulgaria’s defense minister, instead turning to Sweden or Italy for new combat aircraft. As part of Bulgaria’s tender to acquire eight new fighter jets for its military, Italy offered the Eurofighter Typhoon and Sweden offered the Saab JAS 39 Gripen. The Bulgarian Air Force aims to replace its outdated Soviet-era Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter jets with Western-made air |