DefenseNews

Croatia to drop 1 billion euros on used Rafale fighter jets

WARSAW, Poland — Croatia’s government has made a decision to buy 12 second-hand Rafale F3-R fighter jets from France for the country’s Air Force, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said. “The purchase of the multirole fighter aircraft will strengthen Croatia’s position as a member of NATO and a partner within the European Union. For the first time, we will reach 2 percent of…
Read more
DefenseNews

Get ready for another fight over the future of the MQ-9 Reaper

WASHINGTON — A battle is brewing over the fate of the MQ-9 Reaper, with a letter from the U.S. Air Force’s top civilian signaling that the service will again seek to curtail procurement of the General Atomics-made drone in the upcoming fiscal 2022 budget. “Our current MQ-9 fleet is sufficient to support current and future operational and training requirements,” acting Air Force…
Read more
DefenseNews

SECAF nominee walks a tightrope on F-35 procurement plans

WASHINGTON — The F-35 joint strike fighter loomed like a ghost over the May 25 confirmation hearing of President Joe Biden’s pick for Air Force secretary, who famously called the program a case of “acquisition malpractice.” If confirmed, Frank Kendall — who…
DefenseNews

Italian Air Force eyes microwaves and lasers to defeat drones

ROME — Directed-energy beams could be the next step in bringing down hostile drones, officials from the Italian Air Force are predicting. “This technology is moving really fast and we are evaluating both microwave and lasers as solutions for stopping drones,” said Col. Salvatore Lombardi, director of the Air Force’s UAV center of excellence at Amendola Air Base, southern Italy, which…
Read more
DefenseNews

US Air Force’s newest refueling tanker to get gear allowing F-35 and F-22 to share data

WASHINGTON — The KC-46 will be the first aircraft to be outfitted with equipment that will make it a node in the U.S. Air Force’s new battle management system, the service confirmed Friday. As part of the first capability release of the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System program, the service plans to outfit a portion of its Boeing KC-46 aerial refueling tankers with “an open…
Read more