All Fixed-Wing news – Page 12
-
News
France signs tranche 5 deal for 42 air force Rafales
Dassault Aviation has received a contract to produce a further 42 Rafale fighters for the French air force, via a so-called tranche 5 order.
-
News
UK details Typhoon’s role during strikes launched against Houthi rebels
The UK Ministry of Defence has detailed the role played by Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4s during strikes made against Houthi rebels in Yemen overnight on 11-12 January.
-
News
USA, UK strike Houthi targets in Yemen following drone and missile attack
Fighter aircraft and cruise missiles launched from American warships struck more than a dozen sites in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the first time in the escalating conflict that Western forces have directly targeted the Iran-backed proxy force on the Arabian Peninsula.
-
News
USAF tests rapid fighter deployment with Bahrain
Military planners at the Pentagon and regional headquarters around the world are exploring methods for maintaining the sortie generation needed to establish air superiority without relying on large, established airfields that are easier for adversaries to target – a concept known as agile combat employment.
-
News
Lockheed delivers first Block 70 F-16s to Slovakia
The NATO member and former Soviet Bloc country plans to acquire 14 of the single-engined, multi-role combat aircraft – replacements for 13 RAC MiG-29 fighters Slovakia donated to Ukraine in 2023.
-
News
Restored Norwegian F-16s join Ukraine support effort
Oslo has sent two of its decommissioned Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters to a training site in Denmark, where Ukrainian crews are preparing to receive the Western combat jet from donor governments in the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and now Norway.
-
News
Indonesia signs for third tranche of 18 Dassault Rafale fighters
Indonesia has finalised a deal covering the last batch of Dassault Aviation Rafale fighters to be ordered via a three-phase acquisition totalling 42 aircraft.
-
News
Aurora begins fabrication of X-65 ‘active flow control’ jet
The Boeing subsidiary is under contract by the Pentagon’s secretive Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to design and fabricate a novel aircraft that uses so-called “active flow control’ to manoeuvre, rather than traditional mechanical aerodynamic surfaces like flaps and rudders.
-
News
USAF crew ejects from B-1B in South Dakota crash
All four crew aboard a US Air Force Boeing B-1B supersonic bomber safely ejected from a crash on Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota, for which the cause is not yet known.
-
News
First updated IAR-99SM trainer rolls out for Romanian air force
The first of 10 IAR-99S advanced jet trainers to be modernised to the SM standard for Romania’s air force was rolled out at Avioane Craiova’s Ghercesti site on 22 December 2023.
-
News
Hermeus completes ground testing on first Quarterhorse hypersonic testbed
The non-flying Quarterhorse Mk 0 test article is the first of four aircraft in the Quarterhorse programme, through which US start-up Hermeus aims to produce a hypersonic vehicle capable of reaching Mach 4 and surpassing the all-time airspeed record held by Lockheed Martin’s SR-71 Blackbird.
-
News
Pakistan air force chief indicates planned FC-31/J-31 acquisition
The development status of the Shenyang FC-31/J-31 is far from clear, but Pakistan appears interested.
-
News
Turkey seeking US permission to produce F-16 fighter engines domestically
The GE Aerospace F110 engine powers the Lockheed Martin F-16s used by the Turkish air force, as well as prototypes of Ankara’s domestically-produced Kaan fighter.
-
News
US Navy expands fighter maintenance support to cover air force F-16s
Amid the ongoing retirement of older model Boeing F/A-18 strike fighters, the US Navy is using excess capacity at its fighter maintenance depots to assist the US Air Force in sustaining its Lockheed Martin F-16 jets.
-
News
USAF tests reverse flow air refuelling using C-5M to top off KC-10
The reverse refuelling concept turns the US Air Force’s massive Lockheed Martin C-5M Super Galaxy strategic lifters into “floating gas stations”, freeing up more dedicated tanker aircraft to refuel tactical craft.
-
News
Netherlands prepares to transfer first 18 F-16s to Ukraine
Amsterdam says it will make an initial tranche of 18 fighter aircraft available to Ukraine, out of 42 F-16s the Dutch government previously committed to providing the Ukrainian air force from its own fleet.
-
News
US Congress restores funding to F-35 adaptive engine programme
Although the Pentagon wants to move on from the Adaptive Engine Transition Programme, lawmakers in the US Capitol approved $280 million in 2024 to fund the research programme that generated two prototype adaptive cycle powerplants for the F-35 stealth fighter.
-
News
Slovenia takes delivery of its first C-27J Spartan transport
Slovenia has welcomed its first of two Leonardo C-27J Spartans, with the tactical transport having arrived at its Cerklje ob Krki air base in late December.
-
Analysis
Why Lockheed Martin’s F-16 remains a prize fighter 50 years after flight debut
Still in production half a century after its unplanned first flight in prototype guise, the F-16 continues to punch above its weight for 25 nations, with service entry also drawing near for Ukraine’s air force.
-
Analysis
Why air forces are joining formation for SAF transition
Air forces are engaging with a new strategic threat – climate change – via actions including efficiency gains and the use of sustainable aviation fuel.