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FlightGlobal • Greg Waldron

Indonesia formally inducts Rafales, A400M MRTT and Falcon 8X jets—plus Meteor and AASM Hammer weapons

At Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base on 18 May 2026, Indonesia’s Air Force publicly accepted and inducted six Dassault Rafale fighters, an Airbus A400M MRTT, four Falcon 8X jets, and the GM403 radar. The handover also included air-launched Meteor and AASM Hammer weapons displayed for Rafale crews.

2026-05-18T22:24:06.519735-07:00

AeroTime

Destinus and Rheinmetall accelerate RUTA Block 3 for 2,000-km European deep-strike cruise missile trials

2026-05-18T04:24:56.842056-07:00

Aviation Week

RAF puts APKWS on frontline Typhoon jets for counter-UAS in the Middle East

2026-05-16T16:10:48.963293-07:00

FlightGlobal

UK greenlights F-35B StormBreaker/SDB-II interim stand-off strike as corrosion, spare-parts gaps cut mission capability

2026-05-15T04:12:16.071143-07:00

News Timeline

FlightGlobal

Indonesia formally inducts Rafales, A400M MRTT and Falcon 8X jets—plus Meteor and AASM Hammer weapons At Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base on 18 May 2026, Indonesia’s Air Force publicly accepted and inducted six Dassault Rafale fighters, an Airbus A400M MRTT, four Falcon 8X jets, and the GM403 radar. The handover also included air-launched Meteor and AASM Hammer weapons displayed for Rafale crews.

2026-05-18T22:24:06.519735-07:00

Indonesia formally inducts Rafales, A400M MRTT and Falcon 8X jets—plus Meteor and AASM Hammer weapons

AeroTime

Destinus and Rheinmetall accelerate RUTA Block 3 for 2,000-km European deep-strike cruise missile trials Destinus says it is starting faster development of the RUTA Block 3 program with Rheinmetall, targeting next year for deep-strike missile trials. The 2,000-kilometer-class, Europe-produced precision strike system extends the operationally validated RUTA family and is positioned for scaled long-range production.

2026-05-18T04:24:56.842056-07:00

Destinus and Rheinmetall accelerate RUTA Block 3 for 2,000-km European deep-strike cruise missile trials

Aviation Week

RAF puts APKWS on frontline Typhoon jets for counter-UAS in the Middle East The Royal Air Force has begun operational use of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) on Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighters deployed in the Middle East, moving from testing to frontline service in under two months. The low-cost guided-rocket option is intended to improve engagement of one-way attack drones.

2026-05-16T16:10:48.963293-07:00

RAF puts APKWS on frontline Typhoon jets for counter-UAS in the Middle East

DefenseNews.com

Anduril to supply 3,000 Barracuda-500M containerized cruise missiles to the U.S. Army starting in 2027; DoD selects firms to fie The U.S. Army has lined up Anduril to deliver at least 3,000 surface-launched Barracuda-500M cruise missiles beginning in 2027, tied to DoD’s Low-Cost Containerized Missiles initiative. Separately, the Department of Defense selected five companies to field thousands of containerized cruise missiles and Blackbeard hypersonic weapons between 2027 and 2029.

2026-05-15T12:38:49.643415-07:00

Anduril to supply 3,000 Barracuda-500M containerized cruise missiles to the U.S. Army starting in 2027; DoD selects firms to fie

The War Zone

Photos confirm AIM-260A JATM air-to-air missile in flight-test configuration on U.S. Navy F/A-18F AIM-260A—Lockheed’s longer-range successor to the AIM-120 AMRAAM—has surfaced in the first publicly captured imagery. The missile was photographed during a test flight from Eglin Air Force Base, carried by a U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet, showing an AIM-260A in a flight-test configuration.

2026-05-15T11:01:11.571863-07:00

Photos confirm AIM-260A JATM air-to-air missile in flight-test configuration on U.S. Navy F/A-18F

FlightGlobal

UK greenlights F-35B StormBreaker/SDB-II interim stand-off strike as corrosion, spare-parts gaps cut mission capability The UK MoD approved StormBreaker for the F-35B and is equipping the fleet with Boeing Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB-II) as an interim stand-off capability while SPEAR 3 integration slips into the early 2030s. Officials also detailed corrosion issues and spare-parts shortfalls that are reducing UK F-35 mission rates and carry deployment-support limitations.

2026-05-15T04:12:16.071143-07:00

UK greenlights F-35B StormBreaker/SDB-II interim stand-off strike as corrosion, spare-parts gaps cut mission capability

SpaceNews.com

Golden Dome chief disputes CBO’s $1.2T cost estimate for space-based missile defense U.S. Space Force Golden Dome program director Michael Guetlein challenged a Congressional Budget Office estimate pegging the program’s cost at $1.2 trillion. Speaking at Washington’s “Inside the Dome” conference, he argued the estimate does not reflect the program’s affordability and scaling path.

2026-05-14T10:36:53.949538-07:00

Golden Dome chief disputes CBO’s $1.2T cost estimate for space-based missile defense

AeroTime

Malaysia condemns Norway’s unilateral revocation of Naval Strike Missile export license for Royal Malaysian Navy Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim condemned Norway’s revocation of an export license for the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) intended for the Royal Malaysian Navy. The government framed the decision as unilateral and raised concerns about the disruption to planned defense procurement.

2026-05-14T03:55:50.606203-07:00

Malaysia condemns Norway’s unilateral revocation of Naval Strike Missile export license for Royal Malaysian Navy

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Missile Systems & Strategic Weapons News

Indonesia formally inducts Rafales, A400M MRTT and Falcon 8X jets—plus Meteor and AASM Hammer weapons

Destinus and Rheinmetall accelerate RUTA Block 3 for 2,000-km European deep-strike cruise missile trials

RAF puts APKWS on frontline Typhoon jets for counter-UAS in the Middle East

UK greenlights F-35B StormBreaker/SDB-II interim stand-off strike as corrosion, spare-parts gaps cut mission capability

News Timeline