Red Six unveiled footage of their augmented reality system at I/ITSEC this week. Red Six's Airborne Tactical Augmented Reality System (ATARS) enables pilots to see and interact with virtual airframes while flying actual aircraft. Virtual aircraft c...

The US Air Force has launched an effort to develop and demonstrate prototype advanced integrated threat warning system technologies to address multispectral guided missiles, hostile fire, and directed energy weapon systems.  Led by the Air Force Re...

The Brazilian Army uses the hand-launched FT-100 fixed-wing ISTAR tactical UAV for different applications. (FT SISTEMAS S/A)  The Brazilian Army is seeking to adopt unmanned combat tactical effectors such as loitering munitions and armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).    The army is conducting preliminary studies that are expected to culminate with the publication of requirements for such systems over the next few years, Lieutenant Colonel Leonardo Gomes Saraiva, Army High-Staff supervisor of the Subprogram Remotely Piloted Aircraft Sy...

A Royal Canadian Air Force CF-188 takes off on 1 December 2021. Boeing and its Block III Super Hornet was eliminated from final eligibility for Canada's fighter procurement. (Canadian Armed Forces)  Canada has eliminated the Boeing F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet from its Future Fighter Capability Project (FFCP) competition, leaving the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and the Saab Gripen E as the finalists.  Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) said on 1 December that proposals were rigorously assessed on...

A French Tiger HAD attack helicopter. Along with Germany and Spain, France is expected to upgrade its Tiger fleet to the proposed Mk III standard. (Airbus)  Airbus has, for the first time, provided a comprehensive breakdown of the Tiger Mk III upgrade it plans to roll out to France, Germany, and Spain.  Speaking at the Airbus Defence and Space annual Trade Media Briefing, Airbus Helicopters' executive vice-president Matthieu Louvot said that the work to be carried out for each nation will be slightly different, though there will be a high deg...

The UK has sold its retired Sentinel R1 fleet to the US, though the final completion of the sale is dependent on at least one of the five grounded aircraft being returned to full-flight status. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  The United Kingdom has sold its retired fleet of Raytheon Sentinel R1 Airborne Stand-Off Radar (ASTOR) wide-area ground-surveillance aircraft to the United States, it was confirmed on 30 November.  Answering questions in parliament, Minister of State for Defence Procurement Jeremy Quin confirmed media reports that the aircraft re...

British soldiers and an UGV-mounted sensor taking part in this year's CUE21 experiment in Portmouth, Hampshire. The experiment used new technology to address the complexities of developing situational awareness in an urban environment. (Dstl)  The UK Ministry of Defence's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) opened up its facilities in Porton Down, Wiltshire, to a select group of journalists on 1 December to showcase a number of the future technology projects on which it is working. Among the projects on display were a new situati...

A little over 18 months after axing the Air Support to Defence Operational Training (ASDOT) programme, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Royal Air Force (RAF) have revealed details of their ambition to transform air operational training infr...

Having established the A330 MRTT as the global market leader, Airbus is now targeting North America specifically. (Commonwealth of Australia)  Airbus is targeting North America for future sales of its A330-200 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft, with a senior company official telling Janes and other defence media that the region has been “a blind spot” for the platform up until now.  Speaking at Airbus' annual Trade Media Briefing, being held virtually for a second year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, head of Military Aircraft within A...

A first H225 helicopter was delivered to the Argentine Coast Guard in 2015. (Airbus Helicopters)  On 26 November the Argentine government issued ‘Decree 809/2021' that provided additional funding for the Ministry of Defense (MoD) and Ministry of Security, adding about USD220 million for defence.    The Ministry of Security received an allocation of approximately USD17 million dollars for “offshore heavy helicopters”, which a coast guard source told   Janes  is for two H225s that are being negotiated with Airbus Helicopter. The...

The first T-5 prototype aircraft conducting its maiden flight in June 2020. The first-production aircraft of the series was delivered to the RoCAF on 28 November 2021. (Taiwanese Ministry of National Defence)  On 28 November the Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF) received the first mass-produced Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation's (AIDC's) T-5 Yung Yin (‘Brave Eagle') advanced jet trainer (AJT)/light fighter aircraft.  According to a Facebook post on the RoCAF's official account, the twin-engine aircraft took off from the Ching C...

A photograph and video footage have emerged on the Weibo social media platform confirming that the aerial refuelling variant of the Xi'an Aircraft Corporation Y-20A transport aircraft has entered service with the People's Liberation Army Air Force...

Companies interested in leasing their counter drone technologies to the US Department of Defense (DoD) will have the opportunity to demonstrate their approaches during an April 2022 event at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.  The Joint Counter-small...

Martin UAV has commenced its Multi-Mission Tactical Unmanned Air System (MTUAS) Increment 2 (Mi2) prototype effort with the US Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD).  Announcing the milestone on 16 November, the company said that it w...

Airbus notes that availability of its A400M remains an issue for current and prospective users, and that the company is committed to addressing outstanding problems. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)  Airbus needs to improve the availability of its A400M Atlas if it is to build on the transport aircraft's recent export successes, a senior company official said on 30 November.  Speaking at the virtual Airbus Trade Media Briefing (TMB) 2021, Michael Schoellhorn, the CEO of the Airbus Defence and Space division, said that poor availability remains an issu...

Croatia signed the contracts for the acquisition of 12 used Rafale fighters from France on 25 November. (Dassault)  Almost six months since selecting the Rafale fighter, Croatia on 25 November signed the contracts for the acquisition of 12 aircraft from France: 10 single seaters and two twin seaters.  On the second day of French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Croatia, Croatian Defence Minister Mario Banožić and his French counterpart, Florence Parly, signed a technical agreement on defence co-operation. Banožić also signed contracts on...

A file image depicting a Royal Malaysian Air Force Hawk 208 in the foreground with a Hawk 108 in the background. (BAE Systems)  The Malaysian government has begun evaluating proposals to replace the country's ageing fleet of Hawk Mk108/208 light-attack and lead-in trainer aircraft.  The matter was disclosed by Malaysian Minister of Defence Hishammuddin Hussein on 25 November in his reply to parliamentary questions on a fatal accident involving a Hawk Mk 108 aircraft.  The accident, which occurred on 17 November at the Royal Malaysian Air Forc...

A scale model of the Eurodrone in Luftwaffe markings was shown at the Berlin Security Conference in November. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)  Airbus expects to finalise the contract to build the Eurodrone unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) “in the next couple of months”.  Speaking at the company's annual Trade Media Briefing on 30 November, the chief engineer for the programme at Airbus, Daniela Lohwasser, said that with the industrial team now ready to proceed, the programme is awaiting approval from all four participating nations.  “We are ready from o...

Australia has retired the last of its Boeing F/A-18A/B Hornet combat aircraft after more than 35 years of service.  The Department of Defence (DoD) announced the end of ‘legacy' Hornet operations at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Williamtow...

To mark the onset of serial production deliveries, Saab flew an eight-ship formation of test and serial Gripen Es for both Sweden and Brazil. (Saab)  Saab commenced serial production deliveries of the Gripen E combat aircraft to the Swedish Air Force (SwAF) on 24 November.  The milestone, which coincided with the beginning of serial production deliveries to Brazil, saw the SwAF receive the first two of a planned 60 Gripen Es.  These first aircraft are to be assigned to Skaraborg Wing (F7), located at Satenas in the southwest of Sweden. As wel...