A Royal Norwegian Air Force prepares to take off from a Finnish road, during the type's first dispersed operation that was recently logged on Exercise ‘Baana 23'. (Finnish Air Force)  The Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) has operated from a roadway for the first time during Exercise ‘Baana 23' in Finland.  A pair of Royal Norwegian Air Force (RoNAF) F-35As performed the milestone on 21 September, landing on and taking off from a dedicated stretch of motorway near the Finnish town of Tervo as part of a wider disper...

A new, flexible silicon-on-polymer semiconductor chip developed by the US Air Force Research Laboratory. (US Air Force)  The US Department of Defense (DoD) has inked a 10-year, USD3.1 billion semiconductor manufacturing deal with New York-based GlobalFoundries (GF), to produce critical microelectronics (ME) for current and future aerospace systems and weapons platforms.  GF will receive USD17.3 million up front, as part of the contract with the department's Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA), according to a 21 September company stateme...

DARPA's Diverse Accessible Heterogeneous Integration effort is developing transistor-scale heterogeneous integration processes seeking to combine advanced compound semiconductor wafers with CMOS technology. Pictured here is a DAHI wafer. (Northrop Grumman)  The US Department of Defense (DoD) has officially announced the eight new research and development (R&D) hubs in the United States that will make up the department's new Microelectronics (ME) Commons.  The ME Commons initiative, funded through the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Sem...

The 12th and final Phénix MRTT aircraft for France was delivered on 21 September. (Airbus)  France has received its 12th and final Airbus Defence and Space (DS) A330-200 Phénix Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft, the manufacturer announced on 21 September.  The arrival of the tanker-transport aircraft into Airbase 125 at Istres-Le Tubé concludes the French Air and Space Force's (Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace: AAE's) procurement programme that was launched in November 2014.  In AAE service, the Phénix replaced the Boeing KC-135R/C-135...

Slovenia has ordered an additional C-27J Spartan airlifter, with both to be in service by the end of 2024. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  Slovenia has acquired a second C-27J Spartan transport aircraft, with the country's Ministry of Defence (MoD) announcing on 19 September that an amendment to the original November 2021 procurement contract for a single airlifter had been signed.  The amendment was signed by the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia, Marjan Šarec, and the Minister of Defence of Italy, Guido Crosetto.  According to the anno...

Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket launches the Victus Nox mission on 14 September. (Firefly Aerospace)  Firefly Aerospace launched an Alpha rocket on a Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, sending into orbit a Millennium Space Systems-built satellite on 14 September. The US Space Force (USSF), which sponsored the mission, called it Victus Nox.  “I'm incredibly proud of this team for completing these critical mission milestones and successfully launching in a matter of hours rather than weeks...

The Indian Air Force's possible procurement of 12 new Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter aircraft could potentially allow it to form a new squadron. (Janes/Robert Hewson)  India's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has accorded an Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) to procure 12 new Sukhoi Su-30MKI aircraft with associated equipment from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), according to the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on 15 September.  The AoN signifies the initial approval for the defence acquisition. The AoN is part of an ongoing, four-year effort by t...

The Faraday Dragon spacecraft (concept pictured above in orbit) offers small satellite performance, carrying up to 60 kg of payload and a payload power of up to 200 W, along with 1 TB of data storage, a high-rate downlink, and a mission lifetime of five years. (In-Space Missions)    BAE Systems subsidiary In-Space Missions is building an Asia-Pacific regional first satellite rideshare mission known as Faraday Dragon targeted for launch in 2026, a spokesperson for In-Space told   Janes  at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technol...

Austria is to acquire the KC-390 (pictured) to replace its ageing C-130K airlifters. (Embraer)  Austria has selected the Embraer KC-390 Millennium for its future fixed-wing medium-lift requirement.  Austrian Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner announced the selection on 20 September, with the Brazilian-made airlifter now set to replace the Lockheed Martin C-130K Hercules in Austrian Air Force (Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte) service.    At the announcement, Major General Harald Vodosek from the Austrian Federal Ministry of Defence said tha...

Australia has envisaged procuring at least six Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Tritons. (Northrop Grumman/Commonwealth of Australia)  The Australian government is enhancing its maritime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities by approving the acquisition of a fourth Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) and upgrades to its Boeing P-8A ‘Poseidon' maritime aircraft fleet.  “The estimated combined value of these decisions is over AUD1.5 billion [USD965.5 million],” the Australian Department of De...

The UK will bring its F-35B fleet up to the latest TR-3 Block 4 standard, the government has confirmed. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  The United Kingdom has committed to retrofit its fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning combat aircraft to the latest Technology Refresh-3 (TR-3) Block 4 standard.  Answering questions in the House of Commons on 18 September Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence (MoD), James Cartlidge, said a decision to bring the country's fleet of aircraft up to the latest standard had been made.  “I can confirm the [MoD] i...

Elbit Systems' SkyStriker loitering munition mounted on its rail launcher. (Elbit Systems)  Elbit Systems has developed an operating concept that provides a single point of control for its Skylark unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and SkyStriker loitering munition.  The company displayed its Find-and-Strike (FAST) Capsule concept at the DSEI 2023 defence exhibition in London. FAST is designed to enable a single operator to launch a Skylark UAV from a catapult, operate it from a ground control station (GCS), and once a target has been acquired, la...

DDD (Drone Detective & Disabilitating System), pictured above from TADTE 2023, can detect UAVs within a range of 25 km. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  Taiwan's GEOSAT Aerospace & Technology signed a transfer of technology (ToT) agreement with Fortunio Japan to manufacture the latter's counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAV) known as ‘DDD (Drone Detective & Disabilitating System)' in Taiwan at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition 2023 (TADTE 2023) held in Taipei from 14 to 16 September.  A GEOSAT spokesperson told Janes at the showthat t...

The Jackal UAV (pictured above) from TADTE 2023 has a length of 2.85 m, a height of 1.2 m, and a wingspan of 5.5 m. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  Taiwan's GEOSAT Aerospace & Technology and Flyby Technology have signed an agreement to enable transfer of technology (ToT) to manufacture the latter's Jackal unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Taiwan.    The agreement – signed at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition 2023 (TADTE 2023) – will lead to the production of 160 Jackal UAVs for use by the Republic of China Army (RoCA) and the RoC...

Bulgaria will receive 16 F-16 Block 70 aircraft at the same standard as this Slovakian jet that was recently rolled out. (Slovakian Armed Forces)  The US Department of Defense (DoD) has contracted Lockheed Martin to build a second batch of F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft for Bulgaria.  The contract notification published on 14 September authorises the production of eight F-16C/D Block 70 to add to the eight already under contract.  Work on the USD151.36 million Foreign Military Sales (FMS) award will run through to 30 September 2027. Giv...

Australia procured 24 F/A-18Fs from 2010 as an interim acquisition owing to delayed Lockheed Martin F-35 deliveries. (Commonwealth of Australia)  Australia has said it is considering a “variety of options” for its future fighter aircraft requirements.  The Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF's) fighter force includes three squadrons, comprising two Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II squadrons and one Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet squadron.  To strengthen future air combat capability, Australia has been considering the acquisition of a further ba...

Drone Evolution's Sentinel tethered UAV, displayed at DSEI 2023, is suited for forward operating bases or border security. (Janes/Olivia Savage)  The UK-based Drone Evolution has debuted a new tethered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at DSEI 2023, held from 12 to 15 September in London.    Known as Sentinel, the UAV can be used as an airborne surveillance solution or as a rebroadcasting node that can eliminate blackspots, enabled with Steatite's MPU5 Mesh radio, Toby Townrow, co-founder and business development director at Drone Evolution,...

An MQ-4C Triton, operated by US Navy squadron VUP-19, after landing at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, in August 2023. (US Navy)  The US Navy (USN) declared initial operational capability (IOC) for the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton, the service announced on 9 September.  Five MQ-4Cs have been delivered to the USN to date, Rho Cauley Bruner, Northrop Grumman's Triton programme director, told Janes on 15 September. The first ‘orbit' – a set of four aircraft, together able to keep a continuous watch over a designated part of the ocean – is comple...

Hughes' Jupiter 3 commercial satellite spacecraft is pictured above. The LEO spacecraft being developed for the USSF will likely be similar in size, according to company officials. (Hughes )  Hughes Network Systems is developing a new S-Band satellite communications (satcom) network, to support proliferated-low Earth orbit (P-LEO) requirements outlined by the US Space Force (USSF), a company senior executive told Janes.  “As part of the P-LEO contract, the EchoStar Lyra constellation will provide the S-Band network capability, distributed by...

In this artist's rendition the Multi Canister Launcher is installed on the side of a turret. (SpearUAV)  SpearUAV has developed a unit capable of launching multiple Viper 300 loitering munitions.    Speaking to   Janes  at DSEI 2023 in London, where the unit was debuted, the company's chief business development officer, Itamar Ben-Tovim, said that work on the Multi Canister Launcher (MCL) commenced around two years ago in response to customer demand and internal recognition of the operational benefits of the capability....