March 1, 2023 | International, Aerospace
Boeing's contract will be worth up to $1.2 billion, as the service begins work on a fleet to replace the iconic E-3 Sentry.
November 13, 2023 | International, Aerospace
Red is a Romanian fighter pilot with hundreds of flight hours and countless air policing missions on the NATO state's now retired fleet of MIG21 LanceR jets who will be flying Lockheed Martin F-16 planes as early as December.
February 12, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval
by Robert Farley Follow drfarls on TwitterL Key Point: Paris has a long history of building aircraft carriers, including their current nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle. If France wants to remain a relevant great power, it needs to think about what comes next after its carrier reaches retirement. France's first carrier entered service in the interwar period, but for a very long time the French navy trailed behind international counterparts in naval aviation. This changed in the Cold War, however, and today France operates the world's most advanced carrier outside of the U.S. Navy. How did France build its naval aviation force, what does it do today and what direction will France take next? The History of French Carriers Soon after World War I, France joined the international carrier community through the conversion of the battleship hulk Bearn. Although large, Bearn did not carry many aircraft and never actively participated in combat, even during World War II. The construction of two additional large carriers was suspended by World War II, but after the war the French navy gained access to light carriers transferred from Britain and the United States. Four in total, these carriers helped the French navy develop its naval aviation muscles. The next step was big; France constructed a pair of CATOBAR aircraft carriers, Clemenceau and Foch. Commissioned in 1961 and 1963, the ships displaced 30,000 tons and could carry around forty modern aircraft. A third carrier, the much larger Verdun, was cancelled before being laid down. Clemenceau and Foch, operating the F-8 Crusader and later the Super Etendard, would form the backbone of the world's second largest carrier force for the latter half of the Cold War. After nearly forty years of hard service, the two ships were decommissioned in favor of France's next carrier, the nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle. https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/can-france-eventually-replace-its-single-aircraft-carrier-122231
January 14, 2021 | International, Naval
By Ed Adamczyk Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Raytheon UK won a $200 million contract to improve the Royal Navy's training, it announced on Wednesday, part of a $1.3 billion transformation of the nation's navy. The British subsidiary of the U.S. company will "provide the Royal Navy with transformative technology, training and learning solutions over the next 12 years," a Raytheon statement said. Led by the London-based outsourcing and professional services company Capita LLC, a consortium of companies will transform and modernize the Royal Navy's shore-based training at 16 sites across Britain. The contract with Capita was announced in December. Raytheon, Elbit Systems UK and Fujitsu are also among the suppliers, according to British officials. Raytheon UK will "play a key role in modernizing and transforming the Royal Navy's training analysis, design, delivery, assurance, and management/support services, helping to make the UK Armed Forces more agile and adaptable than ever to tackle future challenges," the company said in a press release. Modernization of the British military has been a key element in recent national policy. Defense Minister Ben Wallace noted on Monday that an "integrated review that we will publish in 2021 will make the most of new technologies, improve integration across the domains and demonstrate that we remain the international partner of choice." An example is Britain's Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, the first of which was commissioned in 2017 and capable of carrying helicopters and F-35 fighter planes. The HMS Queen Elizabeth is currently undergoing testing in advance of its first deployment with a carrier strike group of destroyers, cruisers and other vessels. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2021/01/13/Raytheon-UK-wins-contract-in-13B-Royal-Navy-modernization-plan/1181610560382/