Contract air services provider Draken International is buying eight ex RNZAF McDonnell Douglas A-4K Skyhawks and various other equipment and accessories from the NZ government. Draken will use the aircraft to support US Department of Defense training activities, providing realistic training and threat simulation. The contract with NZ includes over 20 spare engines and an
Nine F/A-18 Super Hornets belonging to the RAAF’s 1 Squadron have made their debut at Exercise Pitch Black over the Northern Territory. The Amberley-based fighters are among 94 aircraft from six nations taking part in the bi-annual exercise, which runs through ro August 17. Wing Commander Murray Jones, the squadron’s CO, said the Super Hornets
Boeing engineers and researchers at a US university have demonstrated technology that allows unmanned drones to function like a swarm of insects, acting in unison with little direct human supervision. The swarm technology was tested by Boeing and researchers from Johns Hopkins University on a pair of ScanEagle drones in Oregon during June, Boeing revealed
Australia is close to a deal to sell six C-130H Hercules airlifters to Indonesia, officials in that country have confirmed. The price tag for the aircraft, which the RAAF is retiring at the end of the year, was said to be roughly US$15 million each. “This would be a good deal for us. The price
The RAAF’s newest and largest aircraft has made its debut in a multi-national exercise, flying out of RAAF Base Townsville as part of Exercise Pitch Black 12. The KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport, a heavily modified Airbus A330 airliner, has taken on light duties refuelling F/A-18 Hornet fighters as part of its run-up to initial operating
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter test program has reached what Lockheed Martin calls a significant milestone by successfully dropping a dummy bomb into the Atlantic Ocean. The release of an inert 1000 lb GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) was the first time an F-35 has released a weapon in flight. The mission was carried
