March 05, 2018 Military Aviation News

Air Forces Around the World Love This Killer Fighter Plane. And Its Not from America.

03/05/2018

The JAS-39 Gripen is the Swedish defense industry’s largest export, financially. The Gripen has seen considerable success replacing aging fighters in former Warsaw Pact countries, and has also seen sales in Africa, the Americas and Asia. But why is the Gripen successful on the export market? How does it stack up against other NATO products and Soviet jets?

Will BAE Systems’ Typhoon be our last fighter to reach for the sky?

03/05/2018

Workers on the Typhoon line at Warton in Lancashire were given the news they had long dreaded last October. Faced with dwindling orders, BAE Systems was slowing down production of the fighter jet to a trickle. About 750 jobs would be cut at Warton and its sister plant Samlesbury, the defence giant said, part of 1,400 job losses across its military air business. The production rate is expected to drop to 11 Typhoons a year — down from the previous rate of 20.

As Tempo Rises, the Most Active Reserve Rescue Unit Wants New Planes and Helos

03/05/2018

Reserve airmen of the 920th Rescue Wing are doing their part to keep aircraft here up to snuff, as they await the arrival of a new combat rescue helicopter and HC-130 recovery planes. And while leaders at the base are craving more modern planes, they're still years away from formal delivery. For the most active Reserve unit -- and the only Reserve rescue wing in the Air Force - officials said they need and want the best to be ready for the missions they are already tasked to do.

OPINION: F-35 cost issue is solvable, but needs fixing fast

03/05/2018

Some time in the next several weeks or months, the Lockheed Martin F-35 programme will pass a historic milestone. The system development and demonstration phase that began 17 years ago appears poised – barring any unforeseen showstoppers – to conclude by the end of summer. The aircraft, engine, simulators and logistics system will shift from development to operational status, albeit six years behind schedule.

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