DefenceTalkEGLIN AIR FORCE BASE: The F-15EX, the Air Force’s newest fighter, touched down here March 11. The aircraft will be the first Air Force aircraft to be tested and fielded from beginning to end, through combined developmental and operational tests. “It’s a special day for the base and our mission,” said Brig. Gen. Scott Cain, […]

DefenceTalkThe U.S. Air Force officially accepted the first F-15EX from the Boeing Co. March 10 at the company’s St. Louis facility. The new fighter is a two-seat aircraft—though operable by a single pilot—with fly-by-wire flight controls, digital cockpit displays, and advanced avionics systems, to include the Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System, an electronic warfare […]

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkTurkey has hired an international law firm to help it win back its spot in the US-led F-35 fighter jet program, state media reported on Friday. The six-month contract with Arnold & Porter — worth a reported $750,000 (620,000 euros) — comes as Turkey seeks to find a solution with US President Joe Biden over […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-hires-law-firm-to-lobby-biden-over-f-35-jets-report-76782/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkTwo F110-GE-129 engines powered the first flight of the Boeing F-15EX fighter on Feb. 2. The round-trip flight took off and landed from Lambert International Airport in St. Louis, kicking off a new era of performance and reliability for the United States Air Force’s most advanced F-15 fighter. “On behalf of the GE team, congratulations […]https://www.defencetalk.com/ges-f110-engine-powers-1st-flight-of-boeing-f-15ex-76736/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkThe new Boeing [NYSE: BA] F-15EX fighter jet completed its first flight today, paving the way for the early delivery of the first two jets to the U.S. Air Force later this quarter. The jet took off and landed from St. Louis Lambert International Airport, completing a 90-minute test flight before returning to the airport. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-15ex-1st-flight-clears-path-for-deliveries-to-usaf-76732/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalk The United States’ commitment to Taiwan is “rock-solid”, the State Department said late Saturday, as it warned that China’s “attempts to intimidate” the island are a threat to regional peace. The comments are the first from Washington on relations with Taiwan since President Joe Biden’s inauguration last week, and came on the same day […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-says-support-for-taiwan-rock-solid-as-chinese-jets-buzz-island-76688/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkChinese jets made a record 380 incursions into Taiwan’s defence zone last year, a defence official said Tuesday, as a military-linked think-tank warned tensions were now at their highest since the mid-1990s. Democratic and self-ruled Taiwan lives under the constant threat of invasion by authoritarian China, which views the island as its own territory and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/taiwan-says-chinese-fighter-jets-made-record-380-incursions-in-2020-76644/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkBAE Systems has been awarded a £1.3bn order to support the production of 38 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft for the German Air Force. Work will commence in 2021 at BAE Systems’ sites in Lancashire, maintaining continuity of Typhoon production through to the mid-2020s and sustaining high-value engineering roles in the North of England. These critical jobs […]https://www.defencetalk.com/eurofighter-typhoon-delivers-a-further-boost-to-the-uk-economy-76554/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkThe State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of the United Arab Emirates of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and related equipment for an estimated cost of $10.4 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today. The Government of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/uae-to-buy-50-f-35-joint-strike-fighter-76541/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkTaiwan will not “yield an inch” in defending itself, President Tsai Ing-wen warned Tuesday, as new figures revealed the island is scrambling fighter jets at more than double the rate of last year in response to Chinese incursions. Authoritarian China views democratic Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to one day seize it, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/tsai-defiant-as-taiwans-anti-china-jet-flights-double-76434/