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FlightGlobal • Ryan Finnerty

Canada awards C$1.5B sustainment contracts to Airbus and L3Harris for A330 tanker fleet

The Canadian government has signed C$1.5 billion in sustainment contracts with Airbus and L3Harris to support its planned fleet of nine A330-based aerial refuelling aircraft, which begin entering service in 2027. L3Harris's MAS unit received an initial C$1.1 billion portion for MRO and sustainment.

2026-04-02T14:00:49.630765-07:00

AeroTime

USAF uses EA-37B Compass Call in operations against Iran before formal IOC

2026-04-02T11:22:02.543836-07:00

Aviation Today

Army Accepts First Optionally‑Piloted Black Hawk; Will Test Autonomy to Inform Fleet Scaling

2026-04-02T09:38:59.528988-07:00

Aviation Today

Army scales SkyFoundry, brings in commercial partners to hit one‑million drones by 2028

2026-04-02T09:38:58.208150-07:00

News Timeline

FlightGlobal

Canada awards C$1.5B sustainment contracts to Airbus and L3Harris for A330 tanker fleet The Canadian government has signed C$1.5 billion in sustainment contracts with Airbus and L3Harris to support its planned fleet of nine A330-based aerial refuelling aircraft, which begin entering service in 2027. L3Harris's MAS unit received an initial C$1.1 billion portion for MRO and sustainment.

2026-04-02T14:00:49.630765-07:00

Canada awards C$1.5B sustainment contracts to Airbus and L3Harris for A330 tanker fleet

AeroTime

USAF uses EA-37B Compass Call in operations against Iran before formal IOC The U.S. Air Force has deployed the EA-37B Compass Call electronic-attack jet in operations against Iran in the Middle East, marking the platform's first known combat employment. The sorties took place before the aircraft was formally declared operational, demonstrating early operational use of the new EW asset.

2026-04-02T11:22:02.543836-07:00

USAF uses EA-37B Compass Call in operations against Iran before formal IOC

Aviation Today

Army Accepts First Optionally‑Piloted Black Hawk; Will Test Autonomy to Inform Fleet Scaling The U.S. Army has formally accepted its first optionally‑piloted Black Hawk helicopter and will subject the aircraft to a rigorous test campaign. Data from the evaluations will be used to inform decisions on scaling autonomous and optionally‑piloted capabilities across the UH‑60 fleet.

2026-04-02T09:38:59.528988-07:00

Army Accepts First Optionally‑Piloted Black Hawk; Will Test Autonomy to Inform Fleet Scaling

Aviation Today

Army scales SkyFoundry, brings in commercial partners to hit one‑million drones by 2028 The U.S. Army's SkyFoundry drone initiative has "evolved" to bring in commercial partners and scale U.S. production toward a goal of one million low‑cost systems by 2028. The shift signals a move from experimental buys to monthly mass manufacture and expanded counter‑drone capability.

2026-04-02T09:38:58.208150-07:00

Army scales SkyFoundry, brings in commercial partners to hit one‑million drones by 2028

Aviation Today

Scaled Composites' Talon IQ Model 437 flies Prism and Shield AI Hivemind mission-autonomy test ahead of CCA Increment 2 Northrop Grumman’s Scaled Composites flew a Talon IQ Model 437 on a mission-autonomy test that integrated Northrop’s Prism autonomy software with Shield AI’s Hivemind. The sortie demonstrates multi-vendor autonomy interoperability on the Talon IQ platform as work ramps toward the Collaborative Combat Aircraft Increment 2 effort.

2026-04-02T09:38:57.955217-07:00

Scaled Composites' Talon IQ Model 437 flies Prism and Shield AI Hivemind mission-autonomy test ahead of CCA Increment 2

Air Data News

Embraer brings KC‑390 Millennium demo and A‑29 Super Tucano to FIDAE 2026, targets Latin America sales Embraer will display a KC‑390 Millennium demonstration aircraft — in a new livery and making its first Latin American appearance — alongside the A‑29 Super Tucano at FIDAE 2026 (April 7–12). The OEM is using the show to press sales of the transport in the region.

2026-04-02T08:39:10.098579-07:00

Embraer brings KC‑390 Millennium demo and A‑29 Super Tucano to FIDAE 2026, targets Latin America sales

Vertical Mag

Hydroplane wins Phase 2 SBIR to develop hydrogen fuel-cell electric propulsion for Army helicopters and cargo drones Hydroplane has been awarded a Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research contract by the U.S. Army to advance development of a hydrogen fuel-cell electric propulsion system for helicopters and cargo drones. The award supports maturation of fuel-cell powertrain hardware and integration for military rotorcraft and unmanned logistics platforms.

2026-04-02T05:41:56.482655-07:00

Hydroplane wins Phase 2 SBIR to develop hydrogen fuel-cell electric propulsion for Army helicopters and cargo drones

FlightGlobal

GCAP awards £686m joint design contract to Edgewing for next‑generation fighter The Global Combat Air Programme Agency has awarded its first trilateral international contract — a £686 million ($904m) design and engineering package — to Edgewing JV, advancing UK‑Japan‑Italy development of a next‑generation combat aircraft and signalling momentum as Canada signals interest, announced 2 April.

2026-04-02T04:20:53.455568-07:00

GCAP awards £686m joint design contract to Edgewing for next‑generation fighter

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Military Aircraft Procurement News

Canada awards C$1.5B sustainment contracts to Airbus and L3Harris for A330 tanker fleet

USAF uses EA-37B Compass Call in operations against Iran before formal IOC

Army Accepts First Optionally‑Piloted Black Hawk; Will Test Autonomy to Inform Fleet Scaling

Army scales SkyFoundry, brings in commercial partners to hit one‑million drones by 2028

News Timeline