Military Aviation

In a deal that has been more than a decade in the making, France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed a $19.2 billion contract, defined as the largest ever for the export of French combat aviation products. It consists of 80 Dassault Rafale combat aircraft ($15.8 billion), as well as munitions ($2.3 billion) […]

Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency says it will lodge a diplomatic protest after a U.S. “spy plane” (possibly a Bombardier Challenger) allegedly forced two aircraft to deviate over the Black Sea. Although the aviation agency didn’t single out which NATO nation caused the alleged incident, the Russian Foreign Ministry was less subtle. “The actions of […]

Honeywell announced this week that it has started testing on its next-generation T55-GA-714C engine for Chinook helicopters as part of a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army. According to Honeywell, the CRADA program and test campaign will take place over a two-year period to “validate the benefits and ease of integration […]

Boeing has announced that it will be building six additional MH-47G Block II Chinook heavy-lift helicopters for the U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command. The aircraft are part of a contract valued at $246.48 million. According to Boeing, they will be the first to include the new Active Parallel Actuator Subsystem (APAS), which is designed […]

Airbus Helicopters announced on Wednesday that it has handed over the first H225M helicopter configured for naval combat. The aircraft, which was delivered to the Brazilian Navy, will be stationed at the naval base in São Pedro d’Aldeia. According to Airbus, the naval version of the twin-engine H225M is “the most complex configuration that has […]

The Air Force and Space Force have sent a not-so-subtle YouTube message to countries messing with the U.S.’s various global sandboxes that includes what appears to be a sneak peak of a drone dubbed Son of Blackbird. Near the end of a short video extolling the Air Force’s intelligence capabilities, the slickly produced video cuts […]

The U.S. Air Force is reportedly fast-tracking development of an amphibious float mod for the C-130 to respond to increasing tension with China in the South Pacific. The float-equipped aircraft would be used to deploy personnel, including Special Forces. The aircraft would allow “the Air Force to increase placement and access for infiltration, exfiltration, and […]

Boeing officially began construction on a new maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility located at Cecil Airport (VQQ) in Jacksonville, Florida, on Thursday. The 370,000-square-foot facility will include eight hangars along with work and office space. According to the company, the facility will be used to “deliver readiness outcomes for U.S. government customers.” “With this […]

The U.S. Air Force has announced that its F-15EX Eagle lls flew their first large-scale operational test mission at Nevada’s Nellis Air Force Base from Oct. 18-25. Testing was led by Nellis’ Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center Detachment 6 along with units from Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, where the F-15EXs have […]

Bell’s Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) recently reached a new milestone, demonstrating its ability to airdrop supplies. With an eye toward military resupply missions, the APT is capable of hauling two standard tactical packs and can carry a maximum payload of 100 pounds. According to Bell, the packs can be dropped at separate locations and are […]