All articles by James Drew – Page 22
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NewsUSAF targets small UAS in new strategic vision paper
The US Air Force is likely to ramp up its investment in small unmanned aircraft following the release of a long-awaited strategic vision document dedicated to tiny flying weapons.
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NewsBoeing completes KC-46 flutter tests as EMD-2 flight faces delay
The Boeing KC-46 test program has completed a series of flutter tests of the 767-2C tanker type, certifying it to operate with wing aerial refuelling pods and its tanker tail boom stowed.
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NewsUSAF plans to end MQ-1 Predator operations in 2018
The remotely-piloted aircraft that ushered in the armed drone revolution, the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-1, will be put out to pasture by 2018, after more than two decades of service, the US Air Force says.
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NewsPICTURES: US F-16s launch against ISIS from Turkey
The US Air Force is striking militant groups in Iraq and Syria with renewed vigour just days after six Lockheed Martin F-16s arrived at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey to support Operation Inherent Resolve.
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NewsF-35 programme receives first Rockwell Collins Gen 3 helmet
The crown jewel in the Lockheed Martin F-35 weapon system, the “Gen 3” F-35 Helmet Mounted Display System, has been delivered after more than a decade of development and will start being cut into the production line next year.
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NewsTaiwan's F-16s to carry Lockheed Sniper Pod
Lockheed Martin is on contract to equip Taiwan’s F-16s with its Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod, the company has announced.
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NewsMarines pushing forward with F-35 conversion after IOC
The Marine Corps must “extract every ounce of life” from its ageing aircraft inventory as it transitions to the multi-mission Lockheed Martin F-35 over the next 16 years, says the general in charge of Marine aviation.
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NewsUS Navy considers reduced annual F-35C buy
The US Navy believes budget pressures and competing priorities could drive it to purchase fewer Lockheed Martin F-35Cs per year in the 2020s, and a worst-case scenario could see it procure as few as 12 aircraft per year, or one squadron.
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NewsA-10 replacement? USAF strategy calls for 'future CAS platform'
A new strategy document released by US Air Combat Command points to the development of a future close-air-support platform as the service pushes to retire the long-serving Fairchild Republic A-10 – its primary close-in attack airplane used to protect ground troops.
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NewsMD Helicopters' Cayuse Warrior enters combat in Afghanistan
The Afghan Air Force’s MD-530F Cayuse Warrior scout-attack helicopter has been used in combat for the first time, helping security forces clear insurgents from three rural districts south of Jalalabad.
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NewsUSAF's first two combat-coded F-35s take flight
The US Air Force’s first two combat-coded Lockheed Martin F-35s have come off the assembly line at Fort Worth in Texas, with the second aircraft completing its first flight last week.
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NewsHolloman AFB to train 40% more Predator, Reaper pilots in 2016
Holloman AFB in New Mexico has become ground zero for the US Air Force’s shakeup of MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper operations, and will soon be training more pilots per year than any other schoolhouse in the service, manned or unmanned, bypassing even Boeing C-17 pilot output.
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NewsFirst USAF F-16s arrive in Turkey after basing agreement
The US Air Force has moved six Lockheed Martin F-16s and 300 personnel to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey following the country’s recent decision to host US warplanes as part of Operation Inherent Resolve.
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NewsBoeing, Lockheed, Northrop make JSTARS cut
The US Air Force has picked Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to carry its infant Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System Recapitalization programme forward, sidelining an unnamed fourth bidder.
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NewsNorthrop realigns Scaled Composites under advanced research unit
Northrop Grumman has announced a major shakeup of its aerospace systems business, with its rapid prototyping arm Scaled Composites realigning under a newly formed “research, technology and advanced design organization”.
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NewsBrazil's senate approves renegotiated Gripen finance package
The Brazilian Air Force is a step closer to securing 36 Saab Gripen NG fighter aircraft with the federal senate approving a renegotiated financing agreement with Sweden this week that lowers the interest rate on the $4.6 billion loan from 2.54% to 2.19%.
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NewsItalian KC-767 tanker completes its first F-35 refuelling
Italy’s F-35 programme has passed a key test, with an Italian Air Force KC-767A tanker refuelling a Lockheed Martin F-35A for the first time.
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NewsRussia and China’s bomber plans could muster support for LRS-B
Russia and China’s pursuit of modern, long-range bombers is essentially an endorsement of the US Long-Range Strike Bomber, and not the start of some Cold War-era bomber race. That’s the view of retired US Air Force Lt Gen David Deptula, now dean of the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute.
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NewsLockheed receives $431M to support F-35 production ramp up
Lockheed Martin has received $431 million for special tooling and test equipment to support the ramp up of F-35 production over the coming years.
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NewsNo time for rest as F-35 roadshow rolls past Marine Corps IOC
The US Marine Corps says its first combat F-35 squadron is “ready for battle,” but after 14 years of development marked by cost increases and delays, it is time for the combat jet to prove it is advanced, stealthy and lethal as advertised.