Category Archives: Military Aviation

Lockheed Martin recently delivered the first KC-130J Super Hercules tanker assigned to Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 452 (VMGR-452), the Marine Forces Reserve squadron at Stewart Air National Guard Base, New York. A U.S. Marine Corps crew ferried the aircraft from Lockheed Martin’s facility here on May 28 to the aircraft’s new home. VMGR-452 isRead More

Leonardo has announced that the DAAA (Directorate for Air Armaments and Airworthiness), the Italian Ministry of Defense’s Certification Authority, has issued the “Initial Certification” for Leonardo’s new M-345 training aircraft. This achievement for the M-345 program is the result of intense activities with two hundred dedicated flights logged alongside the critical support of the ItalianRead More

The US Defense Department has announced the award of a $9.9 million foreign military sales (FMS) contract to Collins Aerospace – a subsidiary of the United Technologies Corporation – for the “purchase of a necessary additional quantity” of parts for DB-110 airborne reconnaissance pods by the Royal Saudi Air Force, writes Jon Lake. Work onRead More

New cooperation has been initiated for Turkey’s TF-X National Combat Aircraft (MMU), a joint project of the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), between the TAI and leading defense company HAVELSAN, SSB Chairman İsmail Demir said Saturday. Demir said in a written statement that when the project is completed TurkeyRead More

A RAND Corp. study of the space launch market commissioned last year by the US Air Force was released in April. The study — “Assessing the Impact of U.S. Air Force National Security Space Launch Acquisition Decisions: An Independent Analysis of the Global Heavy Lift Launch Market” — is being made public just a fewRead More

The US Air Force announced plans to continue with Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a business of Raytheon Technologies, on the development of the Long-Range Standoff Weapon (LRSO), a strategic weapon that will replace the service’s legacy Air-Launched Cruise Missile. “LRSO will be a critical contributor to the air-launched portion of America’s nuclear triad,” said WesRead More

Lockheed Martin received a $6.07 billion contract from the US Army for the production of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptors and associated equipment, to be delivered across FY21, FY22 and FY23 contract years. The contract calls for the production and delivery of PAC-3 MSE interceptors, launcher modification kits, associated equipment andRead More

AeroVironment has flight tested a larger Switchblade variant capable of carrying a bigger munition and travelling significantly further. Tests of the larger Switchblade started in AeroVironment’s 2020 fiscal year, which began 1 May 2019, the company says. AeroVironment says those tests were ‘successfully’ conducted, though it provides no further details. “We hope that we couldRead More

The US Air Force (USAF) Reserve has received its first Lockheed Martin HC-130J Combat King II. The turboprop transport is to be operated by the 39th Rescue Squadron, part of the 920th Rescue Wing, at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida, says Lockheed Martin. The Reserve flies the older HC-130 P/N Combat King search-and-rescue transport.Read More

The first national security launch for the US Space Force and the final satellite to build out the protected communications constellation is now connected. The sixth Lockheed Martin built Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-6) satellite launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida successfully separated from its United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 rocket approximately five hours and 45Read More