Defense

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army awarded a contract to Bombardier Defense to provide at least one Global 6500 aircraft to serve as a prototype airframe for a new spy plane program, the service announced Wednesday. The firm-fixed-price contract, awarded Dec. 12, includes an option to purchase two additional aircraft over a three-year period. The first aircraft’s delivery date is set for Oct. 1, the…

The Marine Corps has so far trained 100 leathernecks as MQ-9 pilots as it seeks to fill out new squadrons with the uncrewed system to extend reach and reconnaissance for its own drone program. The Corps first leased the MQ-9 Reaper in 2018 and only received funding to purchase the drones in 2020, the same year the service created the Reaper military occupational specialty of 7318. In the 2022…

WASHINGTON — The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is working with four companies to design an experimental vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft that can fly at speeds far faster than the V-22 Osprey. The collaboration comes as the U.S. military considers how it might operate aircraft in areas that lack traditional runways. DARPA calls its program SPRINT, for Speed and Runway…

WASHINGTON — The Air Force has awarded Boeing a $2.3 billion contract for 15 more KC-46A Pegasus refueling tankers. The award, announced by the Pentagon Tuesday evening, brings to 153 the number of KC-46s Boeing has on contract to build for the United States and allies. The Air Force plans to buy 179 KC-46s, and Boeing said it has so far delivered 76 of those. The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force…