The Elbit Systems Rampage is a stand-off weapon with all‐weather capabilities and is designed for deep penetration strikes. (Elbit Systems)  The Indian Air Force (IAF) is inducting Elbit Systems' Rampage supersonic, long-range air-to-ground missile, the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) announced.  As a stand‐off weapon (SoW) capable of engaging high‐value targets in attack missions, the Rampage is expected to give the IAF significant strike capabilities. The IAF's induction of the missile will allow its aircraft “to strik...

The Ariane 6 launcher will launch the first batch of G2G satellites in 2026 and 2027. Pictured is a successful long-duration hot-fire test of the rocket on its launch pad at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana in September 2023. The rocket is in its final stages of testing before its inaugural flight in June 2024. (Arianegroup)  The new Ariane 6 rocket will launch the initial batch of Galileo Second Generation (G2G) navigation satellites into orbit in 2026 and 2027, Arianespace announced on 29 April.  A total of four G2G satellites will be s...

A Luftwaffe Eurofighter on the flightline at the 2022 ILA Berlin Airshow. The service has told   Janes  that it does not yet know how many additional aircraft it will buy to replace the 90 Tornados being retired.  (Janes/Gareth Jennings)    The German Luftwaffe has not yet determined how many new combat aircraft it is to acquire to replace its fleet of Panavia Tornados, a senior service official told   Janes  on 2 May.   Responding to a request for clarification and confirmation of the 85 new...

The first Kaman Kargo in flight-testing at an undisclosed Pennsylvania site. (Kaman)    Kaman's Kargo medium-lift unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been in flight-testing since December 2023, the company's general manager, Romin Dasmalchi, told   Janes  in advance of Modern Day Marine on 24 April.   The UAV first flew while tethered to the ground for safety reasons. The tether has since been removed, Dasmalchi said, and the first Kargo is free-flying at an undisclosed UAV testing site in Pennsylvania.  Following a flight,...

One of four Boeing E-4Bs, which SAOC is intended to replace. (US Air Force)  The US Air Force (USAF) awarded Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) a USD13 billion contract to build the Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC), intended to replace the Boeing E-4B Nightwatch as the service's airborne nuclear command-and-control aircraft and primary transport for the secretary of defence. The contract was announced on 26 April, and is set to run through July 2036.  The contract covers ground support systems, including mission trainers, maintenance...

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 Defen...

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...

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 e...

A full-scale mock-up of the New Generation Fighter that sits at the core of the FCAS/SCAF project of which Belgium is now an official observer. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)  Belgium has joined France, Germany, and Spain in the Future Combat Air System (FCAS)/Système de Combat Aérien du Futur (SCAF) programme, with the Belgian government saying the country now has observer status.  Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Labour Pierre-Yves Dermagne announced the news in a joint communiqué released on...

A Kodiak-based MH-65 trains aboard the USCGC  Healy   in 2022.  (Janes/Michael Fabey)  The last US Coast Guard (USCG) Airbus MH-65 Dolphin in Alaska retired from Air Station Kodiak on 23 April, ending the type's 36-year employment in the service's Alaska Patrol (ALPAT) role.  “For decades, the cutter and helicopter team were the core of the ALPAT mission,” said Commander James Kenshalo, a USCG MH-65 Dolphin pilot. “Together they projected force and protection to the most extreme remote regions of our nation's ter...

UK company Spaceflux has been contracted to develop and operate a ground-based SDA sensor as part of Project Nyx Alpha to monitor objects in GEO for UK Space Command. (Spaceflux)  The UK's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is conducting three technology demonstrator programmes to explore the utility of novel space domain awareness (SDA) technologies.  The first programme is exploring the development of a Deep Space Radar (DSR) designed to monitor and protect geostationary orbit (GEO) assets such as the Skynet satellite communic...

One of the first six Rafales to be delivered to Croatia. Deliveries of all 12 aircraft will be complete by mid-2025. (Dassault)  Croatia has inducted into service the Dassault Rafale combat aircraft it recently received from France.  The manufacturer announced the milestone on 25 April, saying the first six of 12 Rafales had been formally received into service by the Croatian Air Force (Hrvatsko ratno zrakoplovstvo i protuzračna obrana: HRZ i PZO).  Having been handed over to the Croatian Ministry of Defence (MoD) at the French Air and Space...

Flyeye is a multiple-optics telescope with a very wide field of view that will be capable of classifying objects in space as small as 15 cm in LEO and 35 cm in MEO. The 6.5 m high and 4 m wide telescope will be used by the Italian Space Agency and military for SSA. (OHB Italia)    The Italian National Armaments Directorate (NAD) is procuring three ground-based sensors to enhance the country's space situational awareness (SSA),   Janes   learnt at the Military Space Situational Awareness    Conference 2024, held in Lo...

A computer-aided design model of the satellite that GalaxEye Space is developing to conduct Earth observation for defence forces. The satellite will be equipped with SAR and EO sensor for enhanced surveillance. (GalaxEye Space)  Bangalore-based GalaxEye Space is developing a satellite that can carry multiple sensors for Earth observation to support the requirements of the Indian Armed Forces.  Speaking to Janes at the Indian DefSpace Symposium 2024 held in Delhi from 18 to 20 April, Deb Jyoti Pal, senior vice-president of business developmen...

The RACER high-speed helicopter departed Marignane on its maiden flight on 25 April. (Airbus)  Airbus Helicopters has flown its Rapid and Cost-Efficient Rotorcraft (RACER) concept for the first time, the company announced on 25 April.  The milestone took place at Airbus Helicopters' Marignane production facility in southern France, with the maiden flight lasting for approximately 30 minutes during which the aircraft's flight characteristics were assessed.  “This important milestone launches the flight campaign, which will take two years and w...

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...

An artist's impression of a demonstration announced on 25 April, in which QinetiQ for the first time in the UK demonstrated MUM-T between jet aircraft. (QinetiQ)  QinetiQ has for the first time in the UK demonstrated manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) between jet aircraft.  Announced by the company on 25 April, the demonstration at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Boscombe Down site in southern England saw a manned BAe 146 testbed aircraft provide inflight tasking to a modified unmanned Banshee Jet 80 target drone.  “The success of this trial demon...

An AARGM-ER seen being test fitted into the internal weapons bay of an F-35 combat aircraft. The US has approved the sale of the missile to both the Netherlands and Poland. (Northrop Grumman)  The US government has approved the sale of the Northrop Grumman AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range (AARGM-ER) to the Netherlands and Poland.  Announced by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on 24 April, the approvals cover 265 of the suppression of enemy air defences/destruction of enemy air defences (SEAD/DEA...

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 Sale...

A Brazilian Air Force Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano light attack/counter-insurgency aircraft. The details of Brazil's fleet upgrade are as yet undisclosed. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)  Embraer Defense and Security is to carry out the mid-life upgrade (MLU) of 68 of the EMB 314 (locally designated A-29) Super Tucano training and light attack aircraft of the Brazilian Air Force, the service's commander Lieutenant Brigadier Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno said on 17 April during a presentation to the Brazilian Committee on Foreign Relations and National Def...