According to a report from UPI news service, Tehran may be close to signing a deal with Beijing to buy 24 new Chinese J-10 fighters. The report downplays long-standing rumors that Iran would buy Russian fighters; the Islamic Republic did purchase Russian engines for some of its fighters, but reportedly not its new indigenous fighter. Beijing already has fielded the J-10, which US officials say looks like a Eurofighter, in squadron strength.
Facing competition from fast-growing startups, Lockheed Martin is speeding up production of an “affordable, scalable” hypersonic glide body, dubbed the Next Generation Glide Body, the firm said in a June 24 release.