All articles by Ryan Finnerty – Page 33
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NewsBoeing and US Navy locked in dispute over lack of order for 20 F/A-18s
Congress has allocated funding for 20 additional Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets in the 2022 and 2023 defence budgets, but the US Navy wants Boeing to relinquish additional data rights on the type before it awards a production contract.
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NewsNATO declares initial operational capacity on Airbus tanker fleet
Seven of NATO’s planned 10 Airbus A330 Multi-role Tanker Transport jets are now in service, owned and operated directly by the alliance.
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NewsLosses on Boeing defence business expected to continue
The aerospace giant’s chief financial officer says while he is optimistic about returning Boeing’s beleaguered defence portfolio to profitability, the business will continue to post losses in the near term.
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NewsSea glider maker Regent secures investment from Lockheed Martin
Lockheed’s venture capital fund will make a “strategic investment” in Regent, which is currently developing an all-electric, wing-in-ground-effect maritime vehicle for commercial customers, potentially expanding the company into the defence realm.
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NewsNorthrop will supply MESA sensors to planned USAF E-7 fleet
Northrop Grumman will provide its Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array long-range sensor for the fleet of Boeing E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control jets the US Air Force plans to purchase.
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NewsUS military aviators see substantially higher rates of cancer than general population
A congressionally-mandated investigation found, when compared to the general population, US military aviation personnel see significantly elevated rates of cancer, including 87% greater incidence of melanoma for aircrew and 19% higher rates of brain and nervous system cancer for ground crew over a 25 year period.
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NewsPentagon signals shift away from just-in-time production model
The US military’s top acquisitions official says the model of industrial production centred on minimising costs through limited warehousing of input materials will fail to meet the country’s materiel needs during a high-intensity conflict.
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NewsLockheed pleased with F-35 numbers in proposed US defence budget
The manufacturer of the advanced fifth-generation jet says the Pentagon’s current proposal for F-35 purchases in the next budget cycle would allow the company to meet its 2023 production target of 156 aircraft.
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NewsUS Army advances five rapid prototype developers for RQ-7B replacement
Following a competitive evaluation by the US Army, AeroVironment, Griffon Aerospace, Textron, Sierra Nevada and Northrop Grumman have all received funding to support rapid prototyping of a replacement for the service’s RQ-7B Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle.
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NewsBipartisan group of US senators push for sending F-16s to Ukraine
Eight US senators from both major parties have signed a letter to secretary of defense Lloyd Austin calling on the Biden administration to provide Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters to the besieged armed forces of Ukraine.
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NewsCanada announces new air defence initiatives, eyes Eastern Europe
Ottawa has officially requested industry proposals for a range of air defence platforms, including anti-aircraft and counter-unmanned aerial systems, to support Canadian missions on NATO’s eastern flank.
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NewsPacific Propeller wins ‘urgent’ overhaul work for USAF’s C-130H fleet
Washington state-based MRO provider Pacific Propeller International has received what it describes as an “urgent contract” from the US Air Force to replace propeller barrels on the service’s fleet of Lockheed Martin C-130H transports still equipped with a legacy propulsion system.
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NewsPentagon and Lockheed resume F-35 deliveries following engine fix
The US military is accepting new deliveries of Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters for the first time since December, when a previously unidentified engine issue caused the crash of an F-35B undergoing certification at the company’s assembly plant in Fort Worth, Texas.
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NewsRussian and American military aircraft collide over Black Sea
An uncrewed aerial vehicle from the US Air Force and a Russian fighter jet collided over the Black Sea on 14 March during what American defence officials describe as an “unsafe intercept” by Russian aviators.
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NewsUSAF favours P&W F-35 engine upgrade over adaptive-cycle engine replacement
Budget pressure and lack of buy in from other US military services led the US Air Force to abandon designs for an entirely new engine for its F-35A stealth fighters, and instead pursue a core upgrade of the existing power plant.
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NewsLockheed will complete Australian F-35 deliveries by year-end
The manufacturer of the advanced fighter says it remains on track to deliver the last of Canberra’s 72 planned F-35s this year, despite an ongoing pause on flight operations that is holding up the turnover of new aircraft.
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In depth‘More missiles in the cupboard’: Australia pushes domestic munitions production
Under a national defence initiative, Canberra is working with Lockheed Martin and Raytheon to develop a manufacturing base capable of producing precision-guided weapons domestically.
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NewsAustralia signs agreement to include domestic suppliers in deal for 29 Apache attack helicopters
Speaking at the Avalon Airshow, the Australian government’s defence industry minister says Canberra will take delivery of the attack helicopters in 2026, while also increasing to 10 its acquisition of MQ-28 Ghost Bat autonomous combat jets.
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NewsBAE unveils low-cost precision munition for Australian rotorcraft
The Australian arm of BAE Systems says it will develop a domestically-produced kit to convert unguided munitions into cheap, precision weapons for unmanned air vehicles and helicopters.
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NewsAustralia’s autonomous combat jet sees public debut
For the first time, Boeing has revealed a flight-capable testbed of the autonomous jet aircraft the company is developing with the Royal Australian Air Force.