Airforce

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Over the next five years Marine aviators should see more F-35s, an upgraded MV-22 Osprey fleet, a larger fleet of cargo aircraft and data-enabled predictive aircraft maintenance.
That’s the vision Deputy Commandant for Aviation Lt. Gen. Bradford Gering shared Tuesday at the Navy League’s annual Sea-Air-Space Exposition.
“So, what does modernization look like in the Marine Corps? It’s an all-fifth-gen tactical air force of F-35s augmented by collaborative combat aircraft,” Gering said. “It’s a full fleet of CH-53K helicopters for the heavy lift mission.”
Gering added that the MV-22 program will have finished its platform midlife upgrades over the remainder of the next five-year budget cycle.
AI, advanced tech central to new Marine Corps aviation plan
Also involved in the Corps’ aviation wing will be its drone fleet of MQ-9 Reapers, which are flying today. Those will eventually see major payload and sensor..

PARIS — Dassault Aviation CEO Éric Trappier slammed the cooperation with Airbus on developing a European sixth-generation fighter jet, telling French lawmakers that working together is “very, very difficult” amid continued bickering over work share.
“Something is not working,” Trappier said in a hearing of the National Assembly defense committee here on Wednesday. “So it needs to be reviewed. It’s not up to me to do that, it’s up to the states to get together to figure out how to better manage this ambitious program.”
France, Germany and Spain in December 2022 awarded Dassault Aviation, Airbus, Indra Sistemas and Eumet a €3.2 billion ($3.6 billion) contract for phase 1B of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), covering research, technology and overall design. That’s after Dassault and Airbus reached agreement on the next-generation fighter earlier that month, after more than a year of squabbling.
Dassault is the prime con..

The commander of a Space Force base in Greenland was fired Thursday, hours after the revelation that she had sent an email distancing the base from Vice President JD Vance’s comments during a recent visit.
Pituffik Space Base commander Col. Susan Meyers was removed from command “for loss of confidence in her ability to lead,” the Space Force said in a statement Thursday evening.
“Commanders are expected to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, especially as it relates to remaining nonpartisan in the performance of their duties,” the Space Force said.
Military.com reported Thursday that Meyers sent an email to Pituffik personnel on March 31, days after Vance’s visit to the base, that seemed intended to foster solidarity between U.S. service members and personnel stationed there from other countries, including Denmark and Greenland.
“I do not presume to understand current politics, but what I do know is the concerns of the U.S. administration discussed..

MILAN — Norway became the first F-35 partner nation to fulfill its program of record with the delivery of the last two F-35A airframes this month, marking the completion of the Scandinavian country’s order of 52 aircraft, manufacturer Lockheed Martin said.
The announcement followed the establishment last month of a new F-35 maintenance centre in Rygge, Norway. The sustainment work and future upgrades will be carried out at the new 5,000 square-meter facility by Kongsberg Aviation Maintenance Services and the Norwegian Defense Materiel Agency.
Before this, intermediate-level upkeep for the Norwegian fighter jets was done at the Italian F-35 maintenance hub in Cameri.
The creation of a national facility will allow Norway to gain an independent capacity to perform this work locally, strengthen supply chains, and increase operational availability, a Kongsberg statement said.
Since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January, concerns have grown in Europe about the extent..

Air Force Special Operations Command’s top enlisted airman was removed from his post Monday amid an investigation.
Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Green, AFSOC’S command chief, was relieved by AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. Mike Conley, the command said in a statement.
Conley told personnel in an email Tuesday that he relieved Green of his duties “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to fulfill his duties.” The email was posted to the unofficial “Air Force amn/nco/snco” Facebook page. AFSOC later confirmed the veracity of the email.
“I want to assure you that this decision was made only after careful consideration of the circumstances,” Conley said. “As airmen, we are entrusted with incredible responsibility and held to the highest standards of conduct. Upholding these standards is non-negotiable, and maintaining good order and discipline is fundamental to who we are.”
AFSOC spokesperson Lt. Col. Becky Heyse confirmed an investigation into Green is ongoing, but ..

Lockheed Martin plans to fold technologies it developed in its unsuccessful bid for the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance platform into the F-35 and F-22 Raptor to create a “supercharged” fifth-generation fighter, company executives said.
Lockheed CEO Jim Taiclet told investors in a Tuesday earnings call the company is not going to challenge the Air Force’s March 21 decision to award the F-47 contract to Boeing. Instead, he said, the company will focus on upgrading the F-35 and F-22 Raptor fighters with sixth-generation technology.
“There are techniques and capabilities … that were developed for [our NGAD bid] that we can now apply here,” Taiclet said. “We’re basically going to take the [F-35′s] chassis and turn it into a Ferrari.”
Taiclet said souping up fifth-generation fighters like this would allow Lockheed to deliver “80% of the capability, potentially, at 50% of the cost per unit aircraft.”
“Eventually, th..

Northrop Grumman reported a $477 million loss on the B-21 Raider in the first quarter of 2025, as higher manufacturing and materials costs for making the sixth-generation stealth bomber squeeze the company.
In a Tuesday statement on its financial performance, Northrop said much of the $477 million loss stemmed from a change the firm made to its B-21 production process, intended to allow the company to build the bombers at a higher rate.
Northrop CEO Kathy Warden also said in an earnings call Tuesday with investors that macroeconomic factors are driving up the projected price of bomber materials. The loss encompassed all five low-rate initial production lots for the bomber.
“While I’m disappointed with this financial impact, we continue to make solid progress on the [B-21] program, demonstrating performance objectives through tests, and we are progressing through the first two lots of production,” Warden said. “With significant learning behind us, we are ready to..

MILAN — India and France have signed a major deal for the purchase of 26 Rafale fighter jets to equip the Indian Navy, which will become the first international user of the naval variant, underscoring the strategic relationship between the two countries.
The agreement follows India’s initial selection of the Rafale Marine in July 2023 following a series of consultations and assessments of the aircraft.
The new aircraft will be provided to the Indian sea service with the latest capabilities and will operate alongside the 36 Rafale already in service with the country’s Air Force.
“The Indian Navy will [be able] to benefit from the experience of the French Navy, which already operates the Rafale Marine,” the jets’ manufacturer, Dassault Aviation, said in a statement.
“The aircraft will play an active role in guaranteeing national sovereignty and consolidating India’s role as a major international player,” the company added.
While the g..

The Marine Corps is more than halfway through receiving its most advanced radar system to date.
So far, Northrop Grumman has delivered 35 of the AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar, or G/ATOR, systems to the service.
A total of 60 are expected in the inventory by 2029, Katherine Rezniceck, product manager for the G/ATOR for Marine Corps Systems Command, told Marine Corps Times ahead of the annual Modern Day Marine military exposition.
Of those 60 systems, five will go to the Air Force and one is being kept by the Navy for developmental testing, she said.
Artillery regiments, the new Marine Littoral Regiments and a host of aviation units are prioritized to receive them.
Marines and Japanese military put new radar on Taiwan’s doorstep
The G/ATOR replaces five legacy radar systems, doubling the radar range. This year, the service will begin work on an extended-range mode, part of a software update that will give the system farther reach.
The system provides “enhanced situationa..

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Following a fatal crash in January, India’s entire fleet of Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters – ALH for short – remains grounded, but the military has allowed some to fly after a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, on April 23.
The Indian Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard rely heavily on 330-plus of the rotorcraft workhorses in their fleets. No end to their prolonged suspension is in view while an accident investigation unfolds.
It was therefore notable that some Dhruvs were recently seen flying, suggesting temporary clearance was granted for counterterrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
To date, the ALH fleet manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has flown 450,000 hours, but the platform has suffered 28 crashes in the past 25 years.
According to HAL, preliminary investigations blamed the latest crash on a swashplate fracture – a transmission part that translates pilot inputs into rotor blade motio..