India has launched a 37,500t indigenously-built aircraft carrier – the INS Vikrant. The ship, which will have a length of 260m and a width of 60m, will now be fitted out at the Cochin shipyards ahead of planned sea trials in 2016. The Vikrant is expected to be commissioned in 2018. At the launch of
As customer deliveries of the A400M get underway, Airbus Military continues the aircraft’s development program. A renewed phase of unpaved runway trials is being undertaken at a test site Zaragoza, Spain. Meanwhile the first production A400M for the Turkish Air Force (TAF) has made its maiden flight. The aircraft took off on August 9 for
A RAAF E-7A Wedgetail has arrived in Alaska to participate in the world’s most advanced international air combat training activity, Exercise Red Flag Alaska. A US Pacific Air Forces Command-led large force employment exercise, Exercise Red Flag Alaska is designed to replicate a high-end combat environment over two weeks in August. The coalition exercise will
The STOVL F-35B variant of the Joint Strike Fighter will head to sea for sea trials off the USS Wasp next week, Lockheed Martin has confirmed. The DT-2 (Development Test) trials aboard the USS Wasp will be the second of three planned trials aimed to validate the F-35B’s shipboard operating envelope for the US Marine
Airbus Military’s A400M airlifter achieved initial operating clearance on July 31, paving the way for the delivery of the first aircraft to the French air force. The firstA400M to be delivered – MSN7 – represents the culmination of 10 years of development by Airbus Military and more than 5,000 flight-test hours and involving close to
Lockheed Martin has reached in principle agreement with the US Department of Defense on reduced pricing for the next two low rate initial production – LRIP – batches of F-35s. The savings, which equate to an up to eight per cent saving over previous LRIP batches, should benefit Australia, which is acquiring its first two
