Six Australian companies have been awarded trial contracts to produce specialised components for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. The contracts come as part of an agreement between BAE Systems Australia and the Defence Materiel Organisation aimed at helping small and medium sized Australian businesses gain a foothold in BAE’s global supply chain. The
The Australian Defence Force will buy two extra CH-47D Chinook transport helicopters, bringing its fleet to seven and replacing a Chinook downed earlier this year in Afghanistan. The Chinooks are being purchased from the US and are expected to arrive in Townsville next month, where they will undergo servicing and modification to the current Australian
The Mexican Air Force has taken delivery of an Airbus C295 tactical airlifter, bringing to 10 its fleet of C295s, five of which were delivered last year. The medium sized airlifter will primarily be used for troop transport but can also be configured for medical evacuation or can carry up to nine tonnes of palletized cargo. To
Brunei has signed a contract to purchase 12 Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk multi-role helicopters with options on ten more. Deliveries of the aircraft are expected to begin in early 2013, Sikorsky said. As part of the deal, the US based company agreed to locate a Black Hawk simulator in Southeast Asia to allow Brunei aircrew
Lockheed Martin says it is developing a new lower cost version of its C-130J Super Hercules tactical airlifter. The C-130XJ will include the same Rolls-Royce AE2100 turboprop engines and Honeywell avionics suite as the C-130J but will drop its automated cargo system in favour of a manual system, the UK magazine Flight International reported, citing
The US Department of Defense said this week it has reached a tentative agreement with Lockheed Martin on a new low rate initial production (LRIP) contract for F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. Neither the Pentagon nor Lockheed Martin has released details of the much delayed LRIP 5 contract, saying the cost and number of aircraft covered
