The leaders of Germany and France have agreed to scrap a landmark project to develop and build a new-generation fighter jet, officials said on June 8, bowing to industrial rivalries over Europe's most ambitious defense program.
The U.S. Department of State approved a possible sale of nearly $2 billion worth of counter-unmanned aerial systems to Kuwait. Kuwait requested the c-UAS platforms, built by Anduril, in an effort to improve the country’s ability to counter current and future threats, according to a June 5 release. The request followed attacks last week carried out by Iran on Kuwait infrastructure.
AU.S. Air Force KC-135 tanker appeared in the United Kingdom this weekend with a new antenna on top of the rear of the fuselage. The service has several efforts underway to improve the communications networking capabilities of all of its tankers and cargo planes, including ones that leverage Starshield, the government-focused cousin of SpaceX’s Starlink.
Israel and Iran appeared to back away from further strikes June 8, hours after they traded fire for the first time since the U.S. agreed to a ceasefire with Tehran two months ago. Both countries warned that they were ready to launch retaliatory attacks if provoked.
Airbus has launched a new autonomous drone dubbed U145, based on the company’s H145 civil and military helicopter. A full-scale mock up of the uncrewed aircraft, designed primarily for cargo supply missions, will be on display at this week’s Berlin Air Show, said the manufacturer in a statement.
More than 50 years after U.S. Air Force Maj. Robert “Bob” Lodge was killed over North Vietnam, lawmakers are backing an effort that supporters hope will ultimately result in the award of the Medal of Honor.
The U.S. military on June 8 disabled an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman that U.S. Central Command said “violated the ongoing blockade against Iran by attempting to sail to an Iranian port.”
The government of Lebanon is barely able to manage the basic requirements of statehood. It can provide electricity for only a few hours a day, and people avoid its flattened currency in favor of dollars. Its military is only the second-most-powerful force in the country after Hezbollah—or the third counting Israel, which has been expanding its monthslong occupation. But it is now being pressed by the U.S., Israel, and many of its own people toward a confrontation with Hezbollah that risks tilting the country into a new civil war.
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is set to host a unique experience for aircraft afficionados later this month. The Museum says that it will gather dozens of Stearman biplanes for a special fly-in.
