US military helo crashes in Afghanistan
A United States military helicopter crashed on operations in eastern Afghanistan on 17 December, killing six of those on board. The helicopter came down in Zabul Province after reportedly suffering a...
View ArticleUK Typhoons to get collision avoidance system
The United Kingdom is testing a new collision warning system (CWS) for its fleet of Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft, it was disclosed on 15 December. Answering questions in the House of Commons,...
View ArticleUK outlines latest Reaper weapon stats
The UK government has detailed the number of precision-guided munitions that the Royal Air Force (RAF) has expended from its General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial...
View ArticleTurkish Sikorsky S-70 helicopter crashes, killing four soldiers
A Turkish Army Aviation Command Sikorsky S-70 Blackhawk helicopter crashed on 17 December, killing all four on board. The aircraft crashed 12 km south of Gölbasi, a suburb of Turkish capital Ankara,...
View ArticleSpain begins flight trials of upgraded AB212 helos
The first of seven upgraded Spanish Navy AgustaBell 212 (AB212) utility helicopters made its maiden flight on 17 December. The flight, which took place at INAER Maintenance's prototype integration...
View ArticleSaab contracted to begin Gripen E serial production
The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) has contracted Saab to begin serial production of the JAS 39 Gripen E fighter aircraft, the company announced on 18 December. The SEK16.4 billion...
View ArticleRussia to launch new space weapons company
The Russian government is to consider a plan to form a holding company that would produce weapons for the nation's Aerospace Defence Force and Strategic Missile Force. The new structure is likely to...
View ArticleRand report: F-35, other joint fighter programmes do not save money
Key Points F-35 life cycle costs are higher than what they would have been if each US military service built its own fighter, according to Rand The report found that F-35 life cycle costs were high due...
View ArticleIndonesian MoD receives more CN295s and Bell helicopters
State-owned manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) delivered several aircraft to the Indonesian government on 17 December. The Ministry of Defence received three CN295 medium transport aircraft...
View ArticleIndian Coast Guard commissions first-in-class FPV
The rapid expansion of the Indian Coast Guard has continued apace with the commissioning of two more ships: the first of 20 Aadesh-class fast patrol vessels (FPVs) and the eighth and final...
View ArticleEU figures make final plea ahead of defence summit
EU officials are hopeful that political signals, however subtle, from their leaders' 19 December defence summit in Brussels will be enough to get stronger cross-border defence co-operation and...
View ArticleDARPA awards VTOL X-Plane contracts to Sikorsky, Aurora Flight Sciences
Key Points Sikorsky and Aurora Flight Sciences have each won contracts for DARPA's VTOL X-Plane programme Boeing may have also won an award, but declined to comment until DARPA releases more...
View ArticleAero Vodochody announces new L-169 aircraft
Czech aircraft maker Aero Vodochody is developing a modernised version of the L-159 light attack and training aircraft called the L-169, according to company management. The new L-169 will have larger...
View ArticleBrazil selects Gripen to meet FX-2 requirement
After more than 10 years of discussions, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has finally decided to purchase the Swedish Saab JAS 39 Gripen E multirole fighter aircraft for the Brazilian Air Force (FAB)...
View ArticleUS aerospace advocacy group laments budget cuts despite healthy sales...
The US Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), an advocacy group for the industry, has forecast growth in US military aircraft sales for 2014, following a decline this year. The association expects...
View ArticleUkraine, Russia agree to restart An-124 production among raft of economic...
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to restart production of the Antonov An-124 as part of the agreements signed between the two countries on 17 December. The agreement also covers the resumption of...
View ArticleTaiwan grounds Apaches over transmission failure risk
Taiwan has grounded six recently delivered AH-64E Apache attack helicopters due to the risk of main transmission failure, the country's Ministry of National Defence (MND) revealed on 18 December....
View ArticleSaab secures Gripen E Meteor integration funding
Saab has been awarded a contract for integration of the MBDA Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) on the JAS 39 Gripen E multirole fighter, it was announced on 18 December. "The...
View ArticlePeru signs for another 24 Mi-171Sh helos
Peru has finalised a contract with Russia for the procurement of a further 24 Mil Mi-17 'Hip' transport and assault helicopters, the Peruvian Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 18 December. The...
View ArticlePakistan appoints new head of nuclear force
Pakistan has appointed Lieutenant General Zubair Hayat to oversee its nuclear arsenal. He replaces Lieutenant General Khalid Kidwai (rtd), who was director general of the army-run Strategic Plans...
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