The countdown is ticking to the F-111’s formal retirement and final flight, with the RAAF hosting a media day to detail 6SQN’s operations as the world’s last F-111 unit and to preview December 3’s formal retirement and final flight. “We’ve had this aircraft over a third of the time this squadron has been in existence,
Lockheed Martin has been awarded a US$3.5 billion contract for the fourth Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP 4) batch of 31 F-35 JSF aircraft. Under the contract, the company will manufacture 10 F-35As for the USAF, 16 F-35Bs for the US Marine Corps, four F-35Cs for the US Navy and, despite that country recently changing
The USAF’s effort to replace its 45+ year old KC-135 fleet with 179 new tankers under the KC-X program has suffered another blow with confirmation a decision has been delayed from November 2010 until “early” 2011. It has also been revealed that USAF officials accidentally sent each of the two rival bidders, Boeing with its
The US Congress has approved a US$60 billion arms deal to Saudi Arabia. The deal, which includes 84 new F-15S fighters, upgrades to 72 F-15Ss already in service, 70 AH-64D Apaches, 72 UH-60M Black Hawks, 36 OH-6 Little Bird helicopters, and thousands of advanced weapons and sensors, is one of the largest ever single arms
Two RAF Harrier GR.9s visited Dunsfold Park aerodrome in the UK on November 18 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first untethered hover by the Harrier’s prototype, the P1127. The 50th anniversary visit was attended by more than 100 special guests including two of the original test pilots, Duncan Simpson and John Farley. The
Cracking has been found in the aft bulkhead of the BH-1 fatigue test F-35B after just 1500 hours of durability testing. The cracks were found in the aft of five forged aluminium bulkheads which carry the aircraft’s engine and onto which the wings and other major structural components are attached, and as such they carry
