The RAAF’s first pilot instructor has commenced flying on the EA-18G Growler in the US. FLTLT Sean Rutledge has commenced training with the Electronic Attack Wing, US Pacific Fleet at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. Once he’s completed his training, FLTLT Rutledge will be qualified to instruct other RAAF aircrew for the 12 EA-18G Growlers
F-35A test aircraft AF-6 has launched a AIM-120 missile against an aerial target drone, the first live-five launch of an air-to-air missile for the Joint Strike Fighter program. AF-6 was piloted by Capt Logan Lamping and took off from Edwards Air Force Base, with the live fire taking place in an over-water test range.
The latest variant of Northrop Grumman’s Fire Scout unmanned helicopter, the MQ-8C, has made its first flight, with a short seven minute hop from Point Mugu in California. The MQ-8C takes the mission systems and sensors developed for the MQ-8B Fire Scout and fits it to a larger airframe based on Bell’s 407 helicopter, which
An F-35B has successfully dropped an inert GBU-12 laser-guided bomb against a tank test target, the first time an F-35 has dropped a weapon on a ground target. The F-35B dropped the 500lb GBU-12 from an internal weapons bay at an altitude of 25,000ft after using its EOTS to identify, track, designate the weapon against
The UK Ministry of Defence has confirmed that BAE Systems’ Taranis Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator has conducted initial test flights at the Woomera Test Range in South Australia. The confirmation came from a written statement from the UK MoD to the parliamentary defence select committee inquiry into the current and future use of
The navy variant of the F-35 executed the first airborne separation test of an inert weapon on October 21. Marine Corps test pilot Capt. Justin Carlson flew the F-35C test aircraft CF-2 over an Atlantic test range when he released the 500-pound inert laser-guided GBU-12 Paveway II from an internal weapons bay. With this weapons separation,
