The War Zone
• The War Zone
The U.S. Special Operations “Night Stalkers” are considering assigning an aerial-refueling role to their MH-47 Chinooks, giving the unit an organic tanker capability to refuel other aircraft midair. The concept would expand rotary-wing refueling options beyond externally sourced tanker aircraft.
Air Data News
• Ricardo Meier
By Air Data News: Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury has defended the use of European-made military equipment as Portugal prepares to launch a competition for a new fighter aircraft, with the Eurofighter Typhoon expected to compete against the Lockheed Martin F-35.
AeroTime
• Stephen Pope
By AeroTime: The US Missile Defense Agency conducted a hypersonic flight test using Stratolaunch’s Talon-A3 vehicle and a modified Boeing 747-400.
DefenseNews.com
• Michael Scanlon
By DefenseNews.com: The remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper was the workhorse in the U.S. air campaign against Iran, Air Force leaders told Congress on May 20, even as the service’s fiscal 2027 budget request still pours the bulk of aircraft dollars into crewed fighters.
DefenseNews.com
FlightGlobal
• Ryan Finnerty
By FlightGlobal: The potential option involves Special Operations Command completing modifications to bring in-production C-130Js to the MC-130J standard.
FlightGlobal
• Craig Hoyle
By FlightGlobal: Combination is described as the 'world's first unmanned AEW solution'. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has flown a company-owned MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft for the first time carrying pod-housed airborne early warning (AEW) radar arrays produced by Saab.
The Aviationist
The War Zone
• Joseph Trevithick
By The War Zone: The Army's Improved Turbine Engine Program has promised a major boost in performance for Black Hawk helicopters, but its future is murky.
Aviation Today
• Calvin Biesecker
By Aviation Today: Redwire Corp. on Tuesday said it received a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract from a NATO ally to deliver the company’s Penguin Mk3 unmanned aircraft system (UAS).
European Spaceflight
• Andrew Parsonson
