DefenceTalkThe first of five Boeing [NYSE: BA] P-8A Poseidon aircraft for Norway performed its maiden flight yesterday, Aug. 9. The aircraft took off at 10:03 a.m. Pacific time and flew for 2 hours, 24 minutes, reaching a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet during the flight from Renton Municipal Airport to Boeing Field in Seattle. The […]

DefenceTalkBAE Systems has been awarded a contract valued at approximately £135m, to drive forward the next phase of capability enhancements for Typhoon; one of the world’s most advanced combat aircraft. The investment will improve weapons capability, increasing the variety of precision guided munitions, and further enhance Typhoon’s defensive systems and datalinks, improving high-speed secure sharing […]

DefenceTalkThe State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Israel of CH-53K Heavy Lift Helicopters with Support and related equipment for an estimated cost of $3.4 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today. The Government of Israel […]

DefenceTalkAir Force Research Laboratory engineers prepared the XQ-58A Valkyrie Tail #1 to be transferred to the National Museum of the United States Air Force here June 1. The XQ-58A Valkyrie is a low cost, high performance unmanned air vehicle. Tail #1 was the first aircraft developed in partnership between AFRL and Kratos Defense and Security […]

DefenceTalkHANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE: Personnel from the AFNet Sustainment and Operations Branch at Hanscom Air Force Base are partnering with the Air Combat Command Directorate of Cyberspace and Information Dominance to develop a modern software-based perimeter that will deliver zero trust capabilities to applications across the Air Force. Defined by the Air Force as a […]

DefenceTalkGerman lawmakers on Wednesday approved the next phase of a project to build a joint European fighter jet with France and Spain, brushing aside domestic skepticism over the plan. The budget committee in the Bundestag lower house of parliament gave the green light for the project, known as the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), to […]

DefenceTalkIsrael has used an airborne laser to shoot down drones in a series of tests, officials said Monday, calling it a “milestone” to update its already powerful defence systems. During the tests, which took place “over the last week,” a prototype of the high-power laser system carried on a small civilian plane “successfully intercepted several […]

DefenceTalkGeneral Electric and Safran signed Monday a deal extending their cooperation as they set their sights on next-generation jet engines that will help airlines reduce costs and pollution. The US and French engineering giants have been cooperating in the sector for nearly half a century, and the LEAP engines developed by their joint venture CFM […]

DefenceTalkThe US Air Force’s Pacific commander condemned Chinese military flights off Malaysia and Taiwan, describing them on Friday as “escalatory” and “destabilising.” This week, 16 Chinese military aircraft flew over hotly contested waters off of Borneo prompting Malaysia’s air force to scramble its jets. General Kenneth Wilsbach said these activities and an increased number of […]

DefenceTalkChina said Wednesday a flight by 16 military aircraft over hotly contested waters off Malaysia was routine training, after the Southeast Asian nation accused Beijing of breaching its sovereignty. Malaysia scrambled fighter jets Monday to intercept the Chinese air force transport planes that appeared off Borneo over the South China Sea, where it has overlapping […]