A German Army H145 LUH SAR, displayed at ILA 2022. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)  The Honduran Ministry of Defense has purchased two Airbus H145s, the company announced on 10 April at the FIDAE 2024 air show in Santiago, Chile. Honduras previously placed an order for two H145s in April 2023, when the defence ministry announced its intention to operate a total of six.  All H145s are likely to be operated by the Honduran Air Force from its main helicopter base at Coronel Hernán Acosta Mejía Air Base in Tegucigalpa, and be tasked with personnel and ca...

A V-280 Valor in flight. Bell is modifying the V-280 and pairing it with the V-247 drone to compete for the US Navy's Future Vertical Lift-Maritime Strike programme. (Bell)  The US Navy (USN) is starting to look for its next-generation maritime strike platform. Bell is offering a variant of its V-280 Valor tiltrotor teamed with its V-247 Vigilant unmanned aircraft for the navy's Future Vertical Lift-Maritime Strike (FVL-MS) capability, building off the V-280's selection for the army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) programme....

An artist's conception of the C-390 in a maritime role. (Embraer)  The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Embraer on 10 April at the FIDAE 2024 airshow in Santiago, Chile, to study adapting the C-390 transport aircraft for special missions.  Potential uses under study include maritime patrol and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The C-390 is primarily a transport and air-to-air tanker aircraft, with no additional variants in service.    Embraer has delivered six C-390...

A Nigerian A-29 Super Tucano is pictured here. Embraer Defence CEO Bosco da Costa sees potential for up to 450 Super Tucanos over 20 years, including from Africa. (US Africa Command Public Affairs)    Embraer Defence & Security sees a market for up to 490 A-29 Super Tucano trainer and attack aircraft over the next two decades, Embraer president and CEO Bosco da Costa Jr told   Janes  on 10 April at the FIDAE 2024 airshow in Santiago, Chile.   “We are in touch with several countries around the world, not only here in South...

A Republic of Singapore Air Force H225M and CH-47F seen here at a ceremony where full operational capability was declared for both aircraft types. (Janes/Ridzwan Rahmat)  The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) has declared full operational capability (FOC) for its fleet of H225M medium-lift helicopters and CH-47F heavy-lift helicopters.  A ceremony to mark the milestone was held at the Sembawang Air Base on 11 April. It was attended by the country's Minister for Defence, Ng Eng Hen, who described the aircraft as assets that would enhance...

AVIC's new HH-100 cargo-delivery unmanned aerial vehicle is being designed for a maximum take-off weight of 2 tons. (AVIC/Janes)  The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) is preparing its HH-100 large cargo unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for flight-testing.    The UAV, which has a planned maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 2 tons, completed its high-speed automatic taxiing test at Yangchang airport in southwest China's Sichuan Province on 3 April and is being readied for its maiden flight, AVIC announced on 7 April. The programme...

The planned deployment of an RNZAF Boeing P-8A Poseidon to Japan in mid-April 2024 to participate in the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea, is the sixth such RNZAF deployment since 2018. (New Zealand Defence Force)  New Zealand has said that it will deploy a Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to Japan for the first time in support of UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions on North Korea and assist with the monitoring and surveillance of illegal ship-to-ship transfers by Pyongyang.  The deployment will see the P-8A conduct...

Serbia is negotiating the acquisition of 12 Rafale fighters from France. (French Air and Space Force)  Serbia and France will seal a deal on the procurement of 12 newly produced Rafale fighters for the Serbian Air Force and Air Defence (RV i PVO) in the next two months, President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić told Serbian media in Paris on 9 April after meetings with President of France Emmanuel Macron and representatives of Dassault Aviation the day before.  Media close to the Serbian government have reported that negotiations have been under w...

A Boeing P-8 Poseidon of the US Navy. Although Boeing's discussions with Brazil have not reached the stage of determining a local configuration, Flood said the company encourages a common configuration across international fleets. (US Navy)  Boeing anticipates a requirement for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft from Brazil, for which it is pitching the P-8.    “We see an enormous opportunity for P-8s,” Tim Flood, the company's vice-president of international business development for Europe and the Americas, told   Janes  a...

One of Burkina Faso's Bayraktar Akıncıs at the new UAV base, south of Ouagadougou. (Présidence du Faso)  Burkina Faso now has at least two Bayraktar Akıncı unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) made by Turkish company Baykar, it was revealed on 8 April, when they were officially delivered, revealing a new airbase in the process.  Transitional President Captain Ibrahim Traoré's office released a statement saying he handed over a dozen combat UAVs that included Bayraktar TB2s, a type already in Burkinabe service, as well as Akıncıs to the Ministry of...

With interim Red Air pilot training for the UK now being provided by Draken Europe L-159E Honey Badger aircraft (pictured), the MoD is considering its next-generation requirements under the NGRA requirement. (Draken Europe)  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is seeking commercial contractors to deliver Next Generation Red Air (NGRA) pilot training for the Royal Air Force (RAF).  A tender posted by the ministry in mid-March said the effort is part of a wider modernisation of the UK's air training infrastructure taking place under Portfolio Must...

BAE Systems is integrating VRAI's simulation data capture and analysis software in a Hawk trainer simulator. The data will be compared with live Hawk training sorties to improve fast jet training. Pictured is one of the Royal Air Force's Hawk T2 trainer aircraft. (Benoit Denet)  BAE Systems has partnered with VRAI to leverage extended reality (XR) and artificial intelligence (AI) in order to enhance pilot training.    VRAI's HEAT data capture technology, which collates, analyses, and visualises simulator data, will be integrated by BAE...

In its economic impact study on the programme, PwC has outlined a ‘growth scenario' that could see the sale of as many as 287 additional Eurofighter combat aircraft. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)  An economic impact study report published by the Eurofighter consortium on 9 April has predicted the potential sale of hundreds more of the multirole combat aircraft to both partner and export countries.  Compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the Eurofighter Economic Impact Assessment study touts a “growth scenario” of as many as 287 new sales, includ...

The Italian Air Force retired the last of its AMX combat aircraft on 5 April. (Italian Air Force)  The Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militaire Italiana: AMI) has retired its Aeritalia Macchi eXperimental (AMX) light attack aircraft after 35 years of service.  The last of the single-engined jets that Italy co-developed with Brazil in the 1980s and 1990s were withdrawn from operational service during a ceremony on 5 April.  Designated A-11B Ghibli by the AMI, the last of 136 examples of the type ordered by the service were being operated by th...

India's TASL launched an Earth observation satellite aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Bandwagon-1 rideshare mission on 7 April. The satellite can be used to gather intelligence for the Indian Armed Forces. (SpaceX)  India's Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) has launched an Earth observation satellite that can be leveraged by the Indian Armed Forces to enhance surveillance of strategic areas of interest.    The satellite, named TSAT-1A, was carried into space by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Bandwagon-1 rideshar...

A resistance attack on Myanmar's administrative capital Naypyidaw on 4 April used domestically produced 3D-printed UAVs such as the aircraft depicted in this 2023 photo. This UAV, which appears to be similar to the UAVs used during the 4 April attack, carries a 2 kg 60 mm mortar bomb. (Thierry Falise/LightRocket via Getty Images)  An attack on Myanmar's administrative capital by resistance forces using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) was part of the opposition National Unity Group's (NUG's) efforts to co-ordinate UAV operations against the mi...

Seen here in US Army service, the UH-60M Black Hawk will soon be flown by the Hellenic Army also, following the signing of an LOA for 35 helicopters. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  Greece has joined the international UH-60M Black Hawk programme, with the announcement on 5 April that it signed a letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) for 35 of the medium-lift helicopters.  Lockheed Martin disclosed the milestone some four months after the US government approved the approximately USD1.95 billion Foreign Military Sales (FMS) in December 2023. This figure...

Australia has ended the deployment of its E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft that had been operating over Europe since July 2023. (Commonwealth of Australia)  The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has withdrawn its Boeing E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft that had been deployed to Europe to help oversee military and humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine.  The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) announced on 2 April that the aircraft had completed its planned six-month deployment out of Ramstein Air Base in Germ...

A US Navy E-2D Advanced Hawkeye demonstrating its aerial refuelling capability. (Northrop Grumman)    The E-2 Hawkeye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft has been the eyes of US Navy carrier strike groups for more than 60 years. The newest variant, the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, brings the latest technology into the platform that can confront threats anywhere in the world, Janice Zilch, Northrop Grumman's vice-president for multi-domain command and control, told   Janes  on 5 April, ahead of the Navy League Sea-Air...

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket (pictured) launched South Korea's second reconnaissance satellite on 7 April. The satellite is equipped with a SAR payload that can capture high resolution images of strategic areas of interests. (SpaceX)  South Korea has launched a second reconnaissance satellite to strengthen military preparedness against possible threats from North Korea.  South Korea's Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced on 8 April that this synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite was carried into space using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, wh...