DefenseNews

Airbus, Boeing angle for Polish tanker aircraft deal

WARSAW, Poland — The Polish Ministry of National Ministry is advancing plans to buy new transport and refueling aircraft, with major players Airbus and Boeing intensifying their rivalry for potential contracts. A Polish MoD spokesperson confirmed the ministry’s aircraft procurement plans, but also said the final scope of these purchases is yet to be defined. “Poland is considering to…
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F-35s to get new capabilities with summer software update

AURORA, Colo. — Lockheed Martin hopes to begin rolling out early Block 4 capabilities to the F-35 this summer, a senior company official said Monday. Chauncey McIntosh, vice president and general manager of Lockheed’s F-35 program, said at the Air and Space Forces…
DefenseNews

Air Force budget cuts may open old wounds with Congress

The Air Force wants to accelerate its plans to retire old and outdated aircraft to meet Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s order for services to cut and reallocate a portion of their spending. But the service’s previous efforts to cut planes like the A-10 Warthog and older F-22 Raptors have shown that making such plans is easy, while actually seeing them through is far trickier. That is because…
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Air Force tests unarmed nuclear missile in pre-dawn video

The Air Force conducted a test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III missile early Wednesday to help ensure its land-based nuclear force still operates safely and effectively. Airmen from Air Force Global Strike Command launched the intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 1 a.m. Pacific Standard Time, the department said. The Minuteman missile carried no…
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DefenseNews

General Atomics eyes ‘huge’ MQ-9 sale to Saudi Arabia

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates —General Atomics is preparing to offer a package deal to Saudi Arabia to acquire a number of MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones, company executives said in an interview at the IDEX arms fair in Abu Dhabi. “We are still in the very early stages but…