The RAAF retired the F-111 on December 3 after 37 years of service, with a flypast of Ipswich, Brisbane, and the Gold and Sunshine Coasts by six F-111s accompanied by four F/A-18Fs, and a final F-111 singleton display overhead RAAF Amberley, the type’s final flight. The flights were the culmination of two days’ of retirement
The Bell AH-1Z ‘Zulu’ Cobra for the US Marines has been cleared for full rate production by Pentagon Acquisitions head, Ashton Carter. “This is the culmination of a lot of focused hard work by a lot of dedicated professionals,” said Col Harry Hewson, the Marines’ program manager for light and attack helicopter programs. “We spent
The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale of 12 Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin MH-60R helicopters and associated parts, equipment and logistical support to Denmark, at a total estimated cost of $US2bn (A$2.06bn). Included in the deal are 27 GE T700-GE-401C engines, communication equipment, support equipment, spare and repair
The USAF’s X-37B unmanned space plane is due to return to earth for the first time sometime in the first week of December after spending nearly eight months in orbit. Launched on April 22 atop a Delta expendable rocket booster, the aircraft, which resembles a mini space shuttle orbiter, will land at Vandenberg AFB north
Massachusetts based Terrafugia, developer of the Transition flying car concept, has joined forces with AAI Corporation in a competition sponsored by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a flying car for the US armed forces. The vehicle, appropriately dubbed Transformer, would effectively replace the Humvee in US service but will feature
The first of five Airbus Military KC-30A MRTTs is due to be handed over to the RAAF in a ceremony in Madrid on December 22. The aircraft, believed to be A39-003, the third MRTT built and the second to be converted by Qantas Defence Services at Brisbane Airport, is due to be flown to Australia
