US Navy and Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor pilots last week completed the first air-to-air refuelling flight tests since the programme was restructured in 2000, logging 10 "dry plugs" with a Lockheed Martin KC-130F Hercules tanker-transport's wing-mounted refuelling drogue. The flights, using Osprey No 22's 3.35m (11ft) fixed probe receptacle, will be followed in early April by trials on Osprey No 21's 2.75m retractable probe.
Source: Flight International
The $5.2 billion purchase, which will see aircraft deliveries starting in 2031, marks Boeing’s first firm overseas order for its latest F-15EX variant.
UK-based HeliOperations has been awarded a £160 million ($207 million), seven-year contract to provide training for German naval helicopter pilots.
MBDA has produced the first prototype of a future cruise missile being developed for France and the UK, with the design already having undergone radio frequency-signature testing.
