Defense

LONDON — British lawmakers say the Royal Air Force now lacks capabilities across combat, air transport and early warning aircraft. A Ministry of Defence command paper in 2021 ordered cuts to aircraft numbers that are creating a combat air shortfall in jet numbers that will persist into the 2030s, the Parliamentary defence committee said in a report on aviation procurement released Sept. 10. The…

WASHINGTON — Textron’s Bell tapped GE Aerospace to develop a host of digital systems for its much-anticipated Black Hawk utility helicopter successor. The arrangement, announced Sept. 7, will see GE Aerospace working on a common open-architecture digital backbone as well as a voice-and-data recorder and a health-awareness network that facilitates predictive maintenance for the Bell V-280…

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force still hopes lawmakers will approve a proposal allowing armed services to start work on new programs before a budget is passed, a move that could ease problems brought about by a continuing resolution. Andrew Hunter, the Air Force’s assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, said Tuesday that the so-called quickstart legislative proposal would…

MILAN — Not far from the front lines, under dense vegetation that obstructs satellite signals, a military nano-sized drone is conducting a reconnaissance mission. From a safe distance, the operator utters a voice command that an artificial intelligence-based software turns into drone language, causing the tiny robot to change course: “Sharp turn left and head straight.” The scenario is…