Military Aviation

Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky has announced that the U.S. Navy has authorized full-rate production of the CH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopter. According to the company, the approval will increase production to more than 20 helicopters a year. The model is expected to remain in production through at least 2032. “Ramping up production of the […]

As often happens with such things, Sikorsky has lodged a formal protest of the Army’s decision to go with competitor Bell’s V-280 Valor as its Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA). Sikorsky, which is owned by Lockheed Martin, teamed with Boeing to offer the DefiantX. It is protesting the $232 million contract that will cover […]

The U.S. Department of Defense has announced that it will exercise an option for the production and delivery of 26 additional TH-73A training helicopters for the U.S. Navy. The award follows an initial $176 million contract from January 2020 for 32 TH-73As, a second $171 million award from November 2020 for 36 aircraft and a […]

Authorities at a regional airport in Oklahoma say an Air Force C-17 that dropped in unannounced last weekend may have caused serious damage to its runway. Stillwater Regional Airport issued a statement saying the C-17, which was dropping off a women’s college basketball team for a game at nearby Oklahoma State University, was heavier than […]

The U.S. Air Force has grounded its fleet of B-2 Spirit nuclear bombers following an incident that resulted in a B-2 making an emergency landing on Dec. 10. The aircraft was damaged on the runway at Missouri’s Whiteman Air Force Base and caught fire after landing. No injuries were reported and the accident investigation is […]

An F-35B Lightning II crashed while landing at Texas’ Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth on Thursday. The pilot ejected after the aircraft touched down and is believed to be in good condition. The accident occurred at approximately 10:15 a.m. local time. Lockheed Martin’s F-35 production line is located at Air Force Plant […]

Turkey’s Baykar company flew a new uncrewed fighter drone on Wednesday for the first time and says it could change air power. The Kizilelma drone is as big as an F-16 (more than 48 feet long) but is 6,000 pounds lighter. It’s capable of carrying out air-to-ground and air-to-air missions. It’s also capable of carrier […]

A Washington court has unsealed charges against an ex-Marine pilot for his alleged activities with Peoples Liberation Army in China. According to CNN, the charges against Daniel Duggan date back to 2010 and include conspiracy to defraud the United States by conspiracy to unlawfully export defense services to China, conspiracy to launder money, and two […]

The Air Force has successfully completed an end-to-end test of its new hypersonic missile system. The test of the Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) took place off the coast of Southern California on Dec.9. “This test was the first launch of a full prototype operational missile. Previous test events focused on proving the booster performance,” […]

Aurora Flights Sciences has received an award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to take its experimental X-plane through the next phases of the agency’s Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors (CRANE) program. Aurora’s uncrewed X-plane concept uses an active flow control (AFC) system designed to supply “pressurized air to AFC effectors […]