The F-35s would reintroduce fixed-wing combat aircraft to Australian naval service after a gap of more than 30 years. However, the move lacks backing from the three armed services and looks difficult to justify, even as the government is willing to boost the defense forces with more Boeing C-17 airlifters and Airbus KC-30 tankers.
With new and potential orders, Embraer sees bright future for KC-390 airlifter. Emphasizing its multirole capability along with the speed performance offered by its IAE V2500 turbofan—as well as the reliability and low-cost operational experience of its regional jet family—the Brazilian aerospace company hopes to take a major share of the airlifter market over the next 10-15 years. .
Though India and Russia are nearing a deal on a “joint effort” to develop a fifth-generation fighter, Indian air force officials remain exasperated by the service’s shrinking contribution and slipping schedules.
Michael Lopez-Alegria has been to orbit four times – three of them in a NASA space shuttle and once on a Russian Soyuz capsule. At the recent International Astronautical Congress in Toronto, the former U.S. Navy test pilot described the differences taking off and landing in the two vehicles. As you will hear, they are very different indeed.
Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier talks to Aviation Week about the market, the company’s hefty R&D investments and why he is confident Dassault will gain ground on Gulfstream in China. Since since taking the top job in January 2013, he has focused intensely on the company’s business-jet dossier, which accounts for 70% of sales. The 5X and 8X mark Dassault’s expansion into the super-midsize and long-range markets.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft, fielded for training and operations around the country, continue to fly under a restricted envelope following a June 23 engine fire in an F-35A. The Pentagon has yet to announce a definitive path to dealing with the design problem on the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine that prevented the F-35 from making its international debut at the Royal International Air Tattoo and Farnborough air show in July.
The Pentagon's long-awaited deal with Pratt & Whitney to build the seventh low-rate production lot of F135 engines for the multinational F-35 fighter has finally been signed, though officials have not yet outlined a clear path forward to address the design issue that led to an engine fire that grounded the fleet of single-engine aircraft this summer.
At 7,000 troops, the Peace Mission 2014 military exercise of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was not large militarily. But its geopolitical importance was considerable: It was the biggest exercise to date for a budding anti-democratic alliance that includes two nuclear powers and could soon gain three more.
Pan-European cooperation in military Earth observation could see progress by the end of this year as France presses for allied contributions to the next-generation Optical Space Component (CSO) system in exchange for access to its high-resolution imagery.
