With a growing list of capabilities, Airbus says it is certain of export success for the A400M, although it needs to iron out details.

France plans to compensate for A400M availability by moving up the acquisition of Airbus MRTT aerial refueling tankers. The air force is also weighing a plan to renovate part of its existing C-130H fleet and to purchase new or used C-130s to meet urgent operational needs for transport and refueling.

Dassault Aviation has asked its supplier base to increase production based on an anticipated tripling of output by late 2018—a response to sudden interest in the Rafale outside of France, somewhat of a gamble for the French manufacturer.

A330 MRTTs will be available until at least 2025 as newly built aircraft, with the A330-200 staying in production for the purpose, says Airbus. This follows studies of an MRTT adaptation of the A330-200’s successor, the A330-800.

F-35A fires inflight; U.S. plans to sell guided-bomb kits to Turkey; report forecasts unmanned ground vehicle growth; Egypt finally receives F-16s.

Very few details about Northrop Grumman's Long-Range Strike Bomber have been released officially, but enough is known to make high-confidence estimates of some of the project’s key features.

Northrop Grumman undercut its rivals’ price to win the bomber contract, and the Pentagon’s requirements could have given it the chance to do so.

Australia, finding itself unaccustomedly close to a major theater of potential hostilities, is inclined to offer more support to the U.S., including access to its territory.