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.

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.

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.