Air Data News
• Ricardo Meier
Canada’s first F-35A, identified as AR-1, has completed a roughly 90-minute maiden flight from Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth plant. The milestone comes as Ottawa remains obligated to purchase 16 aircraft but has yet to commit to the full planned fleet of 88 fighters.
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Canada’s first F-35A, identified as AR-1, has completed a roughly 90-minute maiden flight from Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth plant. The milestone comes as Ottawa remains obligated to purchase 16 aircraft but has yet to commit to the full planned fleet of 88 fighters.
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Dassault Aviation has signed a memorandum of understanding with AED Cluster Portugal to explore cooperation opportunities tied to the Portuguese Air Force’s future fighter renewal. The agreement strengthens Dassault’s industrial positioning as Portugal considers options to replace its F-16 fleet with Rafale aircraft.
France has ordered early development work for five Rafale F5 systems, including the RBE2-XG radar, SPECTRA F5 electronic-warfare suite and M88 T-REX engine. The activity establishes the core technology package ahead of the next-generation Rafale standard’s launch.
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Avio completes the second successful Vega C launch of 2026, deploying the European Space Agency’s FLEX and Copernicus Sentinel-3C Earth-observation satellites from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The mission places two science and environmental-monitoring spacecraft into orbit and demonstrates continued Vega C operations.
France has begun Rafale F5 development with contracts for Dassault Aviation, Thales, MBDA France and Safran, targeting qualification around 2033. In parallel, Pegase 2026 is deploying Rafale fighters alongside A330 MRTT Phénix tankers and A400M transports to Alaska via the Arctic.
Four French Air and Space Force Rafale fighters have begun a 40-day global flight, traveling from the Arctic through the Indo-Pacific. The Pegase 2026 mission is intended to demonstrate France’s military reach while strengthening cooperation with international partners.
Dassault Aviation is developing the Rafale F5 without a foreign industrial partner, CEO Eric Trappier said. The company expects to offer the upgraded “super Rafale” on international markets from 2035, setting a long-term export horizon for the fighter program and its industrial base.
Chinese J-16 fighter jets engaged French-made Rafale fighters during the Eagles of Civilization 2026 drills in Egypt, marking the first reported exercise encounter between the two aircraft types. The event brings Chinese and French combat aviation into direct training contact in an important regional setting.
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