The French air force expects to make an initial gate decision on its Future Combat Air System requirement in 2010.
To replace the air force’s Dassault Mirage 2000 fighters from around 2020, the programme is expected to use a mix of systems, possibly including unmanned combat air vehicles, says Col Jean-Marc Vansantberghe of armed forces joint HQ.
Source: Flight International
The Jetank heavy uncrewed aerial vehicle, produced by Chinese state aerospace corporation AVIC, can carry a full load of conventional armaments or be used to deploy so-called swarms of smaller drones.
Boeing B-52H heavy bombers with the US Air Force are currently on rotational duty in the UK for one of the Pentagon’s regular bomber task force missions, training with European members of the NATO alliance.
The new Stand-in Attack Weapon is being positioned as a successor to Northrop’s AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile Extended Range, purpose built for the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter to hunt and destroy critical air defence assets.
