Defense Projects and News

Airbus Defence and Space has delivered the first Airbus A400M for the Republic of Kazakhstan to become the cornerstone of the country’s tactical and strategic airlift operations.

The first of two Airbus A400Ms ordered by Kazakhstan was handed over to the customer at a ceremony in Almaty, south Kazakhstan, after a ferry flight from Airbus’ A400M Final Assembly Line in Seville, southern Spain, a few days earlier. “Proven for over a decade in military and humanitarian operations worldwide, the A400M is a game changer for the Kazakh Air Defense Forces, delivering unrivalled tactical and strategic capabilities in a single platform,” said Jean-Brice Dumont, Head of Air Power at Airbus Defence and Space. “A second A400M, currently in production, will further strengthen these capabilities on its delivery in 2026.”

A US-2.

It has been 10 years of operations of the A400M with the German forces. On December 18 2014, Airbus handed over the first A400M to the Bundeswehr. One day later the aircraft landed in Wunstorf at the 62nd Air Transport Wing (LTG 62), the home base of Germany’s A400Ms. As of December 2024, Airbus has delivered 48 of the 53 A400Ms ordered to the German Armed Forces. 47 of the aircraft delivered are stationed at the air base in Wunstorf, and one aircraft is at Airbus in Seville for testing the self-protection system.

Japan is also set to acquire additional JASSM-ER weapons. The United States government has cleared the sale of the type of armament to potentially arm Japanese combat aircraft in the future. It is believed that this is additional missiles to the previous sale that was then estimated to cost approximately $104 million.

France on track to get final tranche of Rafale fighter aircraft. Dassault is expected to complete tranche 4 of the domestic production order for France.

Portugal Air Force KC390 departure.

Fairly short landing from the KC390...this one operated by the Brazil Air Force.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force has now retired the last of its C130H Transport aircraft capping 60 years of service the type has given to the nation. The Air Force is proud to suggest its incident-free operation over the years having, “clocked up more than 155,000 accident-free flying hours and nearly 100,000 landings at home and around the world”. The RNZAF will still continue to operate the C130 but they have upgraded to the J series of the model which is alot more modern.

Since Donald Trump is back in the Presidency of the United States, the military and Navy has been flying recon aircraft in and around the Southern border.

https://www.airandspaceforces.com/us-intelligence-flights-border-mission-rc-135/

First flight for the F-15EX EX9.

Looks like Boeing has been awarded a 20 billion dollar contract for the Next Generation Air Dominance fighter (NGAD) which essentially will be America's 6th gen fighter.

More...

https://www.reuters.com/business/ae...-fighter-jet-contract-sources-say-2025-03-21/

Bombardier Defense has sold two Challenger 650s for Australian ISR roles. The two aircraft are set for delivery to the country in 2026. “This purchase represents a major milestone for Bombardier Defense, increasing our presence in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region,” said Jean-Christophe Gallagher, executive v-p of aircraft sales at Bombardier Defense. He emphasized the aircraft’s operational reach and persistence, as well as the company’s established support infrastructure in the country.

American systems integrator L3Harris is modifying four Gulfstream G550 business jets for service with the Royal Australian Air Force to provide long-range surveillance and electronic warfare capabilities.

Here is a look at something different. It comes from China and is called the AVIC AG600 amphibian. It was recently certified paving the way for it to be utilized in military and paramilitary applications.

Lockheed Martin Q1 25 highlights.