Defense Projects and News

Over the last few days the U.S has been on alert for a suspicious high-altitude balloon which they believe is a foreign spy balloon perhaps of Chinese origin. They said they surveillance balloon was flying so high that it was above commercial flight traffic. Shooting it down was not an option as the debris could have rained down in populated areas. It was first spotted in the area of Montana on Wednesday. "The United States Government has detected and is tracking a high altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now," Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday during a press briefing. "The U.S. government, to include NORAD (North American Aerospace Defence Command), continues to track and monitor it closely."

Since this incident there have been numerous other high-altitude sightings and they were shot down by U.S military with cooperation between Canada and the U.S. There appears to be another object that was shot down near Lake Huron.

USAF AWACS.

'New' details on the balloon saga.

F-35s screaming through the Mach Loop!

Here is a look at the first Dassault Rafale to be redelivered to the French air force after being upgraded to the latest generation standard F4.1. The first Dassault Rafale was re-delivered to France's Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace (AAE, French air and space force) at Mont-de-Marsan near Bordeaux at the start of this month. It is going to be the first of two test aircraft for the fighter trials squadron ECE 1/30 "Côte d'Argent" and will be used to begin training.

Last month Textron Aviation announced that it was awarded the Multi-Engine Training System (METS) contract by Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) through a full and open competition. Textron Aviation announced it has been awarded the Multi-Engine Training System (METS) contract by Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) through a full and open competition. The contract award is for up to 64 King Air 260 aircraft, which will be known as the T-54A. The initial Lot I award will procure 10 new Beechcraft King Air 260 commercial aircraft and associated support. Lot II and Lot III, if the options are exercised, would each procure up to 27 aircraft. Aircraft deliveries are planned from 2024 to 2026.

F-35 deliveries has resumed. "The Government and industry team worked tirelessly on this effort and their work demonstrates true professionalism and a devotion to accomplish complex missions with stringent ingenuity," said Air Force Lt. Gen. Mike Schmidt, program executive officer, F-35 Joint Program Office. "The safety of our warfighters is always our highest priority." The whole reason for the halting in deliveries of both the F-35 and F135 engines was to investigate an incident that happened earlier in the year. A pilot had to eject from an F-35B following a hard landing at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas.

Diamond Aircraft announces the successful delivery of the first DA62 MPP to UK aerospace services company 2Excel Aviation. This one is the first of 3 on order. Equipped with the first ever Trakka TC-375 camera and the Diades Marine C-Ranger 200 maritime radar, the aircraft can locate and identify targets at sea most efficiently. The DA62 MPP at loiter speed can achieve mission flight times of up 10 hours and collects the same data as larger platforms at a fraction of the cost. "It is fantastic to see how this still young relationship with 2Excel has grown. 1,5 years ago, we first visited 2Excel with a DA62 MPP for some flight trials. Soon they will have three of our planes in operation. It was a perfect match from the beginning", says Mario Spiegel, Sales Manager Diamond Aircraft Special Mission Aircraft Division.

The Spanish Air Force, Ejército del Aire, decided to purchase 24 PC-21s in early 2020. The final PC-21 of this order was delivered to Spain in mid-2022. The Spanish Air Force has now decided to buy another 16 PC-21s. The contract signed with the Dirección General de Armamento y Material (DGAM) makes Spain the largest PC-21 operator in Europe. Spain is convinced by the PC-21: since summer 2022, its future military pilots have trained with the world’s most advanced training system by Pilatus. After a very professional negotiation phase, the Spanish Air Force has now ordered another 16 PC-21s to reinforce pilot training with additional Pilatus trainer aircraft. The training bandwidth of the PC-21 will also be enlarged: in future, the PC-21 will also be used for elementary training in addition to basic training.

Lieutenant Colonel Ildefonso Martínez-Pardo González, Academia General del Aire (AGA) Air Operations Group Commander, commented as follows: “Now in use with the Spanish Air and Space Force for over 18 months, the PC-21 integrated training system far exceeds our expectations. Its reliable and efficient powerplant, aerodynamics, safety systems and avionics make the PC-21 a highly versatile trainer, capable of performing any phase of flight training from the most elementary to the most advanced. Our relationship with Pilatus has been outstanding throughout, and a key factor for successful implementation. The excellent collaboration, professionalism and teamwork of everyone involved over the past three years have enabled us to roll out this PC-21 training course in record time without interruption to training.”

PC-21 & Simulators

14 PC-21s will be delivered to the Academia General del Aire (AGA) in San Javier. An additional two PC-21s will also be delivered to the Centro Logístico de Armamento y Experimentación (CLAEX). These two PC-21s will be used for experimental, flight test training and research and development activities. The aircraft will be based in Torrejón near Madrid. The package also includes a PC-21 simulator, two cockpit procedure trainers, additional mission planning and debriefing systems as well as pilot training software.

A new missile-firing drone.

Rheinmetall combat drone.