CNBC
• Chloe Taylor
Romanian F-16s destroyed a suspected Russian naval drone near the Neptun Deep offshore gas project in the Black Sea, while Romanian and U.S. forces trained with Gepard air defenses in Poland. Ukraine has also added its first domestically developed jet-powered drone interceptor to its counter-UAS arsenal.
Military Aircraft Procurement
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Sweden’s air force has successfully test-fired a Taurus KEPD 350 long-range cruise missile from a Saab Gripen fighter for the first time. The terrain-following weapon is designed to penetrate dense air defenses, marking a notable integration milestone for Sweden’s Gripen-based strike capability.
Portugal has designated the planned final assembly line for Embraer’s A-29N Super Tucano as a project of national public interest, advancing its ambitions to become the aircraft’s European production base and support a broader regional market for the military turboprop.
Romanian F-16s destroyed a suspected Russian naval drone near the Neptun Deep offshore gas project in the Black Sea, while Romanian and U.S. forces trained with Gepard air defenses in Poland. Ukraine has also added its first domestically developed jet-powered drone interceptor to its counter-UAS arsenal.
Peru has selected L3Harris Technologies’ Viper Shield electronic warfare suite for its planned F-16C/D Block 70 fighters. The decision adds a key survivability system to the modernization program, which will replace the country’s decades-long reliance on Soviet-designed combat aircraft.
New imagery provides the clearest view yet of China’s Y-15, a four-engine turboprop expected to become an important component of the country’s modernizing military transport fleet. The aircraft’s emergence highlights Beijing’s continued investment in indigenous airlift capacity and fleet renewal.
A U.S. Air Force C-17A Globemaster III departed Christchurch, New Zealand, for Antarctica but returned after New Zealand authorities received a Russian warning about potentially hazardous space activity and a planned missile launch. The episode underscores how launch-related airspace hazards can affect military logistics flights in the region.
Lockheed Martin has completed assembly of Germany’s first F-35A stealth fighter and moved the aircraft into final finishing ahead of delivery to the German air force. The milestone marks progress in Germany’s acquisition of the single-engine fighter for future service.
An exercise involving Anduril’s YFQ-44A and General Atomics’ YFQ-42A is helping the U.S. Air Force determine how small teams will control, maintain and rapidly return its future uncrewed fighters to service. The effort highlights the operational challenges beyond procuring hundreds of relatively inexpensive autonomous combat aircraft.
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