A Brazilian Air Force UH-60L Black Hawk. The Brazilian Army is set to replace its HM-2 Black Hawk fleet with newer examples. (Leandro Maldonado)

The Brazilian Army is to acquire 12 Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters to replace its eight HM-3 Cougar and four HM-2 Black Hawk helicopters, said Army Commander General Tomás Miguel Miné Ribeiro Paiva during a 17 April presentation to the Brazilian Committee on Foreign Relations and National Defense.

Gen Tomás noted that the fleet is to be purchased through the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme and entails purchasing surplus helicopters, which will be refurbished before transfer to the Brazilian Army Aviation Command (CAvEx).

The acquisition is being carried out as part of the Army Strategic Program Army Aviation (Prg EE Av Ex). The phasing out of the Cougar and Black Hawk helicopters was approved in December 2023.

The HM-3 is fielded by the 2nd Army Aviation Battalion and the 3rd Army Aviation Battalion, and the HM-2 is deployed by the 4th Army Aviation Battalion.

Seen after being delivered to 2Excel's facility in Lasham, Hampshire, in 2023, the 757 airframe that is to be converted into the Excalibur FTA made its first flight from MoD Boscombe Down. (Leonardo)

Initial flight trials of the 757 airframe that is to be converted to the Excalibur Flight Test Aircraft (FTA) project to de-risk the Tempest future fighter have shown it to be “fit for purpose”, an official from Leonardo told Janes .

Speaking at a UK industry showcase event for the future combat air power, including the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) of which the Tempest demonstrator is a part, Dave Morris, head of campaigns Future Combat Air – GCAP at Leonardo, said the first round of flight trials out of Ministry of Defence (MoD) Boscombe Down in southern England had gone well and that there should be no issues ahead of fitting aircraft with its Tempest mission equipment.

This conceptualised graphic of a new air-launched vehicle recently carried by a Xi'an H-6MW bomber is based on a low-quality photograph. The new air vehicle is possibly based on the design and development of other Chinese air vehicles such as the WZ-8 and MD-22, and a new HSV. (Janes)

A Chinese Xi'an Aircraft Company (XAC) H-6MW bomber has been photographed in flight while carrying a new type of air-launched vehicle.

The H-6MW is a specialised, cruise missile-carrying variant of the People's Liberation Army Air Force's (PLAAF's) strategic bomber. Janes has previously assessed that the aircraft is the airborne launch platform for the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) WZ-8 supersonic, high-altitude reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

However, the new aerial vehicle seen carried by the bomber differs in design from the WZ-8, suggesting it could be part of a new programme to develop a supersonic or hypersonic air vehicle. A photograph of the H-6MW carrying the new aerial vehicle first appeared on Chinese social media from the third week of April. The programme is likely inspired by the WZ-8 programme.