Taiwan Shows Off New E2Ks: Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian recently presided over the commissioning ceremony of newly arrived E2K early-warning aircraft at one of the island’s military bases. With these new aircraft, reports the China Post, Taiwan can expand its radar surveillance of the Taiwan Strait. Chen has been pushing to expand the island’s defenses, arguing that better defenses are needed to prevent mainland China from developing an intractable military advantage over the small island. Pentagon policy chief Ryan Henry told reporters in Washington earlier this year that Beijing appears to be “preparing for something other than a political solution to the Taiwan problem.”
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.