UK parliament questions US threat to cancel F-35 deployments

by Gareth Jennings

The UK parliament has questioned a United States threat to cancel long-planned deployments of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) to the country following the government’s decision to open-up the national 5G network to Chinese development.


        Near-term plans for US Air Force and US Marine Corps F-35s to deploy to RAF Lakenheath and aboard HMS
        Queen Elizabeth
        respectively could be scuppered over British government plans to allow Chinese company Huawei to build its national 5G network.
       (US Navy)

Near-term plans for US Air Force and US Marine Corps F-35s to deploy to RAF Lakenheath and aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth respectively could be scuppered over British government plans to allow Chinese company Huawei to build its national 5G network. (US Navy)

The Chair of the Defence Committee, Tobias Ellwood, sent a letter to the UK Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, on 6 May in which he asked for clarification on recent reports that Republican senators in the US were moving to ban new deployments of military aircraft to countries with at-risk vendors in their 5G and 6G networks.

“If passed, this would preclude the long-planned US Air Force [USAF] deployment of F-35s at Royal Air Force [RAF] Lakenheath, and could also bring into question the plans for HMS Queen Elizabeth


Get the full article by
Already a Janes subscriber? Keep reading


Poland completes receipt of Turkish UAVs

by Gareth Jennings

Poland now has all 24 of the TB2 UAVs it ordered from Türkiye, operating them across four systems based at the 12th Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Base at Mirosławiec. (Polish MND)

Poland has received the last of 24 Baykar Bayraktar TB2 armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Türkiye.

The Polish Armaments Agency (AA) announced the milestone on 16 May, saying that the last four unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), each comprising six UAVs, had been received into the 12th Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Base at Mirosławiec on the same day.

“The Secretary of State in the Ministry of National Defense, Paweł Bejda, together with representatives of the Polish Armed Forces, took part in the ceremony of completing the delivery of the last, fourth set of the Bayraktar TB2 unmanned reconnaissance and strike system,” the AA said.


Get the full article by
Already a Janes subscriber? Keep reading


Indonesia receives final C-130J-30

by Akhil Kadidal

Indonesia was supposed to receive its fourth and fifth (and final) C-130J-30s in January 2024. In this January 2024 picture is the first C-130J-30 received by Indonesia (serial no A-1339), which arrived in Indonesia on 6 March 2023. (Eko Siswono Toyudho/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) has announced that it has received its fifth and final Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super Hercules.

“The fifth C-130J-30 (with tail number A-1342) has arrived at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base in Jakarta,” the Indonesian Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced on 16 May. Janes has previously reported that the acquisition of the five aircraft was part of a Direct Commercial Sale (DCS) contract with Lockheed Martin.

According to the original delivery schedule, four C-130J-30s were to be delivered by October 2023, with the final aircraft to be delivered in January 2024. According to the MoD, three C-130J-30s were delivered in 2023: the first in March 2023 (serial no A-1339), the second aircraft in June 2023 (A-1340), and the third in August 2023 (A-1343). A fourth aircraft (A-1344) was delivered in January 2024.


Get the full article by
Already a Janes subscriber? Keep reading


Heron TP makes maiden German flight

by Gareth Jennings

The GHTP lifts off from Jagel for its maiden flight in German airspace. (IAI)

The Luftwaffe has flown the first of its leased Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron TP unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) on its maiden flight in German airspace on 15 May.

Announced by the Bundeswehr, Airbus Defence and Space as the lead contractor for the programme, and IAI, the milestone saw the medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operating out of its future home station of Jagel (also known as Schleswig Air Base) in the far north of Germany.

Known as the German Heron TP (GHTP), the UAS was awarded a type certificate by the German Military Aviation Authority in late 2022, at which time it was operated out of an undisclosed location in Israel.

The GHTP is intended to bridge the gap between the retirement of the earlier Heron 1 UAS and the introduction of the new European MALE UAS known as Eurodrone, with Airbus Defence and Space operating five air vehicles out to 2027.


Get the full article by
Already a Janes subscriber? Keep reading


https://www.janes.com/defence-news/terror-insurgent-group/latest/uk-parliament-questions-us-threat-to-cancel-f-35-deployments

The UK parliament has questioned a United States threat to cancel long-planned deployments of the Lo...

Latest Podcasts

The value of OSINT for intelligence sharing

In this episode Harry Kemsley and Sean Corbett are joined by Phil Ritcheson Ph.D. to discuss why intelligence sharing is now more important than ever. They discuss the growing need for allied and partnership and how by using open sources facilit...

Listen now

Using OSINT to support law enforcement

Iran Israel analysis

A focus on Libya

China Taiwan relations

Janes Case Studies

Using Janes Intara to build a common intelligence picture: Russian build up on the Ukrainian border

View Case Study

Assessing threats in the South China Sea 

A competitive assessment of the military aircraft market

Identifying an unknown aircraft

Case study: Using Interconnected Intelligence to Monitor Russian Troop Movement

News Categories

Request Consultation

Request a free consultation to discover how Janes can provide you with assured, interconnected open-source intelligence.

Security Details