Air Data News
• Ricardo Meier
Rheinmetall plans a German systems-integration facility for Boeing’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat as the partners target a 2029 Luftwaffe collaborative combat aircraft requirement. Separately, Archer Aviation agreed to acquire Boeing subsidiaries Wisk Aero, SkyGrid and Insitu, while Boeing retains technology access and focuses on aircraft development.
Military Aircraft Procurement
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The Navy plans to replace its smaller fleet of larger E-6B airborne command-and-control aircraft with a substantially expanded force of E-130J turboprops. The service has acknowledged risks in shifting to the smaller platform, even as the program is positioned to increase fleet capacity.
Rheinmetall plans a German systems-integration facility for Boeing’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat as the partners target a 2029 Luftwaffe collaborative combat aircraft requirement. Separately, Archer Aviation agreed to acquire Boeing subsidiaries Wisk Aero, SkyGrid and Insitu, while Boeing retains technology access and focuses on aircraft development.
India has begun efforts to join France’s Future Combat Air System (FCAS), following the collapse of the French-German partnership behind the sixth-generation fighter program. The move could reshape FCAS participation and deepen defense-industrial ties between India and France as Paris reassesses the program’s international partnerships.
The UK Ministry of Defence has begun procuring an advanced jet trainer to replace the Royal Air Force’s BAE Systems Hawk fleet. The successor is also expected to become the aircraft flown by the Red Arrows, creating a firm 2030 requirement for the program.
The first production YFQ-44A and the start of FQ-42A manufacturing show how rapidly the U.S. Air Force is moving collaborative combat aircraft from concept toward fielding. The effort reflects a wartime-priority approach to deploying new unmanned combat-aircraft capabilities.
A visit to Japan by the head of Switzerland’s Federal Office for Defence Procurement, Armasuisse, included meetings with government agencies and technology companies, prompting speculation that Bern and Tokyo may be exploring cooperation connected to the Global Combat Air Programme, the trilateral fighter initiative involving Japan, the UK and Italy.
High activity
France has submitted its technical and commercial proposal for 114 Dassault Rafale fighters to India in a potential deal valued at up to $39 billion. Separately, Embraer is in early talks with IndiGo for a large E2 order that could mark the type’s debut in India and South Asia.
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