A pair of Norwegian F-35A Lightning IIs. In Polish service, the type will be named Husarz. (Royal Norwegian Air Force)

Poland has assigned the name Husarz to the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) in national service, the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces announced on 29 April.

The name, which translates in English to Hussar, has been given to the ‘fifth-generation' stealth fighter following a public competition.

At the same time as the new national name was disclosed, the Polish Ministry of National Defence (MND) said that the country's F-35As will receive low-visibility greyed-out checkerboard markings in place of the traditional red and white checkerboard. This will be a first for the Polish Armed Forces and has been decided to fully preserve the aircraft's low observability characteristics.

The new name and national marking disclosures coincided with the announcement by Lockheed Martin that the first F-35A for Poland, aircraft AZ-01, had stood on its own wheels at the assembly line in Fort Worth, Texas. It will be delivered to Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas for pilot training later in 2024.

Textron Systems' Aerosonde UAV. (Textron)

The US Army on 25 April declared Option 2 of the Future Tactical Uncrewed Aircraft System (FTUAS) Rapid Prototyping Program finished, exercising Options 3 and 4 for both Textron Systems and Griffon Aerospace to build and test production-representative Aerosonde Mk 4.8 and Valiant UASs respectively.

“FTUAS program Options 3 and 4 give us the opportunity to demonstrate our Aerosonde Mk 4.8 HQ [Hybrid Quadrotor] UAS and further advance its capabilities before delivering a system for customer test and evaluation,” said Wayne Prender, Textron Systems' senior vice-president for Air Systems, in a statement.

Griffon Aerospace told Janes that the company was “honoured and excited” to be included in the award but declined to respond to further questions.

Five companies competed for the initial FTUAS contract, of which only two – Griffon Aerospace and Textron Systems – made the Option 2 cut-off.

In September 2023 the US Army selected the Griffon Aerospace Valiant and Textron Systems Aerosonde Mk 4.8 HQ for the second phase of FTUAS, which advanced the two designs through critical design review (CDR), the last step before building and testing a prototype aircraft.

The UK has touted the prospect of additional procurement batches of the F-35 as it looks to fulfil its 138-aircraft programme of record. (Crown copyright)

The UK government has said that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will seek additional acquisition phases for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning combat aircraft, beyond the phase currently contracted and the one now in negotiation.

The Earl of Minto Gilbert Timothy George Lariston Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, minister of state at the MoD, said in early April that approval for further procurement tranches of the F-35 will be sought as the UK moves towards its planned 138-aircraft buy over the life of the programme.

“Our plan remains to procure 138 aircraft through the life of the programme. This procurement is phased; our first acquisition phase of 48 aircraft is under way at present, with the second phase consisting of a further 27 aircraft now progressing through the approvals process, which will form the basis of our third front-line Lightning squadron with deliveries expected to continue into 2033. The MoD will seek approval for further acquisition phases at the appropriate time,” the minister said.