Seen in Spanish colours but Swiss delivery markings, the first of an initial 24 PC-21s for the EdAE was delivered in September 2021. A further 16 have been ordered. (EdAE)  The Spanish Air Force (Ejército del Aire Español: EdAE) has ordered additional Pilatus PC-21 turboprop trainer aircraft, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) announced on 10 March.  The procurement of 16 further PC-21s adds to the 24 that were acquired in early 2020, the last of which was delivered to Spain in mid-2022. Besides the aircraft, the deal includes simulato...

The first E-2D AHE aircraft, BuNo 166501, makes its first flight from St Augustine, Florida. (Northrop Grumman Corporation)  The US Navy (USN) has requested USD339.9 million in research and development (R&D) funds for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (AHE), to replace old cockpit components, add a heads-up display, and ready the aircraft for the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) network.  The Hawkeye Cockpit Technical Refresh is intended to replace what the USN describes as “obsolete and failing” cockpit components, including the aircraft...

Norway expects to receive the first of six MH-60R Seahawks in 2025, with deliveries to run through to 2027. (US Navy)  Norway has elected to replace its NHIndustries (NHI) NH90 NATO Frigate Helicopter (NFH) anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and search-and-rescue (SAR) rotorcraft with the Lockheed Martin MH-60R Seahawk, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 14 March.  The 14 NH90 helicopters that were cancelled in 2022 are to be replaced by six MH-60Rs to be delivered from 2025 to 2027, assuming that an agreement can be reached with the US Nav...

The US Navy's FY 2024 budget request includes the first Columbia-class submarine acquisition. (US Navy)  The US Navy (USN) department is requesting about USD255.8 billion for fiscal year (FY) 2024, or about 4.5% more than the USD244.7 billion in funding enacted for FY 2023, according to navy officials and budget documents released on 13 March.  The navy department's total FY 2024 request includes about USD53.2 billion for the US Marine Corps (USMC) and USD202.5 billion for the USN, compared with USD51.9 billion enacted in FY 2023 for the USMC...

A CH-53K King Stallion performs aerial refuelling trials in 2020. (Lockheed Martin)  The US Navy (USN) in its fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget requested USD17.3 billion to purchase 88 aircraft and helicopters, including spare parts, support equipment, and facilities.  The USN intends to spend USD4.9 billion dollars to procure Lockheed Martin F-35s. USD2.3 billion is meant to purchase 16 F-35Bs, the vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) aircraft flown by the US Marine Corps (USMC). The F-35Bs will replace Boeing AV-8Bs and F/A-18C/Ds. Another USD2.6...

The RAAF's new MQ-4C Triton unit (9 SQN) will operate across two locations – at RAAF Base Tindal and at RAAF Base Edinburgh. The two airbases are separated by a distance of over 2,300 km. In this photograph, the RAAF's first Triton is shown with the insignia of 9 SQN. (Northrop Grumman)  Australia has said that it will re-form a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) squadron to operate the country's MQ-4C Triton fleet, which is scheduled to be delivered from 2024.  An Australia Department of Defence (DoD) spokesperson told Janes that No 9 Squadro...

The first F-16 Block 70 Fighting Falcon for Bahrain was rolled out on 10 March. (Lockheed Martin)  Lockheed Martin rolled out the first F-16 Block 70 Fighting Falcon for Bahrain during a ceremony at the company's Greenville production facility in South Carolina on 10 March.  The twin-seat F-16D was the first of 16 jets destined for the Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF), and also the first F-16 to be built at Greenville since production of the type was transferred from Fort Worth, Texas, in 2019.  The roll-out came weeks after the first flight o...

The USAF has requested to divest a total of 310 aircraft and helicopters during fiscal year (FY) 2024, including the last remaining Boeing KC-10 tankers and the first block of F-22s.  The USAF aims to retire all 24 KC-10s, ending the type's run as...

The IAF has developed a low-cost C-UAS that can jam and spoof hostile UAVs. The C-UAS was unveiled at Aero India 2023 in Bangalore in February. (Janes/Oishee Majumdar)  The proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and the ways in which these platforms are leveraged by India's adversaries, has pushed the country to prioritise the development of counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UASs).  On the one hand, India is concerned about China and Pakistan's growing arsenal of military UAVs, which are often operated in an intelligence, surve...

The first of the five Lockheed Martin C-130J-30s ordered by Indonesia arrived in the country on 6 March. (Indonesian Ministry of Defense)  A Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super Hercules aircraft ordered by Indonesia has arrived in the country and has been handed over to the Indonesian Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara:TNI-AU) for operations.  The aircraft arrived at Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport, East Jakarta, on 6 March. Its handover to the TNI-AU was conducted on 8 March, according to the Indonesian Ministry of De...

12 Squadron will continue as a joint UK-Qatari Typhoon unit until 2025. (Crown Copyright)  The Qatari and UK governments are to continue 12 Squadron as a joint Eurofighter Typhoon, overturning an earlier decision to revert it to being a Royal Air Force (RAF)-only unit after 2023.  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the decision on 9 March, saying the bilateral nature of the squadron will continue until 2025.  News of the extension came weeks after the MoD told Janes in February that it was considering this option now that the unit's o...

A screenshot from footage released by BYPOL shows the UAV parked on the radome of the A-50 during a pre-strike reconnaissance sortie, according to the group. (BYPOL)  The loss of the airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) capability provided by the Beriev A-50 ‘Mainstay' is hampering joint Russian and Belarusian air activity, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has determined.  In its latest intelligence update posted on 9 March, the MoD said that the A-50U that was previously reported as attacked by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at Masch...

India's Nirbhay cruise missile, displayed above at Defexpo 2020 in Lucknow, will be equipped with small turbofan engines, enhanced radio frequency seekers, and other subsystems to transform it into the proposed Long-Range Land Attack Cruise Missile. (Janes/Rahul Udoshi )  India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) recently conducted a flight test of its Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile (ITCM) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur off the northeastern coast of Odisha.  The ITCM is a technology demonstrator pro...

Stratobus, developed by Thales Alenia Space, is a non-rigid stratospheric airship with fully autonomous electric propulsion. The concept has been optimised around a 140 m long airship that operates at altitudes of 18–20 km and has more than 1,000 m  2   of solar cells. The aim is for the system to carry 250 kg payloads.  (Thales Alenia Space)  Thales Alenia Space, along with a consortium of 21 partners, will develop high-altitude platform systems (HAPS) following investment from the European Commission.  Known as...

The MH-139A in December 2019 at Duke Field in Florida. (US Air Force)  The US Air Force (USAF) on 7 March approved the Boeing MH-139 for production and issued a contract for 13 low-rate initial production (LRIP) helicopters.  The Boeing MH-139, a derivative of the Leonardo AW-139, is intended to replace the Bell UH-1 in USAF service for ‘VIP transport' in Washington, DC, and security troops in nuclear missile fields.    “We have a few more certification activities that we're working on,” Boeing programme manager Azeem Khan told   Ja...

The UK is upgrading and expanding the size of its Shadow special mission aircraft fleet. (Crown Copyright)    The UK programme to upgrade and expand the size of its Raytheon Shadow    special mission aircraft fleet has passed its critical design review (CDR), the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on 9 March.   In announcing a GBP11.5 million (USD13.6 million) training contract for the capability with Raytheon, the MoD said that the Shadow R2 upgrade and its efforts to increase the fleet from six to eight aircraft had succes...

Saab's AEW&C offering, which incorporates the Saab 2000 Erieye system. Indonesia has obtained approval to seek foreign loans for its AEW&C programme and is considering the Erieye system as one of its candidates. (Saab)  The Indonesian Ministry of Finance (MoF) has approved plans for the country to acquire two new airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, with loans sourced from a foreign lender.  The approval means that the Indonesian Ministry of Defence (MoD) can now formally begin the process of evaluating suitable aircraft types...

AFSOC will employ the MQ-9B in the armed overwatch role. (General Atomics)  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) has secured US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) as the first US operator of its MQ-9B SkyGuardian unmanned aircraft system (UAS).  AFSOC is to acquire three systems comprising an undisclosed number of air vehicles, as it looks to enhance its unmanned overwatch capability currently conducted with the MQ-9A Reaper.  GA-ASI did not disclose a contract value or a delivery timeline.  The SkyGuardian (known as Se...

Japan's acquisition of Northrop Grumman E-2D Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft will improve its situational awareness in the Pacific. This photo shows a new E-2D for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force being unloaded at Iwakuni, Japan, on 18 October 2022. (US Marine Corps/Lance Cpl David Getz)  The US State Department has made a determination, approving a possible sale of Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (AHE) Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft to Japan.  In an announcement on 7 March, the State Departmen...

Romania plans to submit a request for the F-35 by the end of 2024, with the first operational squadron after 2030. (US DoD)  Romania has firmed up plans to acquire the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), with a senior official saying the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will submit a formal letter of request to the US government before the end of 2024.  In comments reported by the Romanian MoD on 8 March, Lieutenant General Teodor Incicaș, head of the General Directorate for Armaments, said that the groundwork for this proc...