Breaking Defense
• Barry Rosenberg
Industry is beginning to test “teaming” concepts for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, but the effort is surfacing difficult questions about what autonomous CCA wingmen will ultimately be able to do—and how different they may be from current expectations for 2030-era operations.
Bloomberg
• Laura Alviz
By Bloomberg: The UK Ministry of Defense awarded a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) contract for AI-based military training to a Raytheon-led consortium that includes European defense prime Rheinmetall AG.
AeroTime
• Clement Charpentreau
By AeroTime: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he will ‘fix’ the suspension of eight SCNG Apache pilots who flew low across crowded beaches on July 4, 2026.
Reuters
By Reuters: Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday that Turkey hopes to achieve a result on lifting U.S. sanctions and its desire to purchase F-35 fighter jets soon, adding there should be no defence industry restrictions between allies.
Breaking Defense
• Breaking Defense
By Breaking Defense: Simulations consistently point to the vulnerability of larger refuelers concentrated at a handful of airfields.
Bloomberg
• Firat Kozok, Selcan Hacaoglu
By Bloomberg: Turkey is seeking Russia’s consent to transfer air defense systems it bought from Moscow to a third country, an effort aimed at clearing the way for the purchase of US-made F-35 fighter jets.
AeroTime
• Clement Charpentreau
By AeroTime: The US Department of War awarded nLIGHT and Lockheed Martin Aculight $86 million to develop containerized laser weapons against drones and cruise missiles.
defence-blog.com
Air Data News
• Ricardo Meier
By Air Data News: The US Air Force (USAF) has confirmed that the B-21 Raider will operate with a two-pilot crew, a configuration made possible by the aircraft's advanced automation that has prompted the service to find a new role for officers who traditionally filled other cockpit positions in legacy bombers.
Bloomberg
• Catherine Lucey, Hadriana Lowenkron
The Hill
• Filip Timotija, Laura Kelly
