US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has put the JSF program on notice during a media briefing at the Pentagon. Gates has said while testing and development of the F-35A CTOL and F-35C CV variants “are proceeding satisfactorily,” the F-35B STOVL version “is experiencing significant testing problems.” He added that, “These issues may lead to a
Eurocopter subsidiary Helibras has been awarded a contract to upgrade 36 AS350 Squirrel helicopters operated by the Brazilian army. The upgrade, developed by Helibras and Sagem and to be performed at Helibras’s facilities in Itajubá in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, will comprise the structural rebuild of three aircraft, and the installation of three
France has become the fourth country to order the MBDA Meteor advanced ramjet powered air-to-air missile. The missile will equip French Air Force and Navy Rafale fighters, joining Sweden’s Gripen, and the UK’s and Spain’s Eurofighter Typhoon as the third type to employ the weapon. French budget imperatives mean the 200 missiles it has ordered
The US Navy has placed an order with Raytheon for an undisclosed number of AN/APG-79 Advanced Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar sets for retrofit to early build Block II Super Hornets. The order takes the total number of APG-79s ordered for retrofit to 57. About 100 Block II Super Hornets were built with the modified
The F-35 JSF program met many of its flight test goals in 2010 but also missed a few key targets at the same time. The year was capped off with an eleventh hour first flight of the fourth CTOL F-35A development aircraft, AF-4, from Forth Worth on December 30, making a total of nine development
The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to India of a package of engines, support equipment, weapons, and training as part of a possible direct commercial sale of 22 Boeing AH-64D Block III Apache attack helicopters. The package, estimated to cost US$1.4bn (A$1.39bn) includes 50 GE
