U.S. State Department has approved the sale of MQ-4C Triton drones to Germany. It is a terrific UAV which will give Germany a powerful surveillance capability. And this time the drone has an approved anti-collision system, so there is hope for more success than in Germany’s earlier adventures with the EuroHawk.
Air Force
Predator retired
Joe Chapa in War on the Rocks: Today, the U.S. Air Force “sunsets” the Predator, permanently retiring it from service. Though individual squadrons have been transitioning from the Predator to the Reaper for some time, that transition is now complete. This provides a good opportunity to look back at the Predator to learn what we […]
Helicopter scandals for everyone, Black Hawk to the rescue
Helicopters are a common problem for the scandinavian countries. Everyone seems struggling with deliveries, reliability, and costs. It is not a flattering story for European helicopters NH90 and AW101, and the American Black Hawk and Seahawk may be the solution everyone is turning to. Recently it made headlines that Sweden is considering not using NH90 […]
Finland will buy 64 new fighter jets
Finland’s Ministry of Defense has announced that they expect to buy 64 new fighter jets. That means that the country’s F/A-18 Hornets will be replaced on a one to one basis. Manager of the acquisition program Lauri Puranen says to yle.fi that since the new jets are not faster than the old ones, and they […]
Lithuania hopes for NATO air defense agreement in 2018
Lithuanian defense minister Raimundas Karoblis says he hopes that the NATO countries can reach an agreement in 2018 on the principles for a comprehensive air defense concept for the Baltic region, writes Delfi.lt. According to the Lithuanian minister the problem is political, as the technical details are mostly worked out. He therefore hopes that air […]
Russia’s new strategic bombers will fly soon
Dave Majumdar for The National Interest: Early next year in February, the first of Russia’s new production Tupolev Tu-160M2 Blackjack supersonic strategic bombers will take to the air. The new bomber is essentially a prototype of a next generation variant of the venerable Blackjack, the first generation of which was built during the 1980s in […]
Sale of Patriot missiles to Poland approved
The U.S. State Department has approved the sale of Patriot missiles to Poland, reports Reuters: The proposed sale includes 208 Patriot Advanced Capabilty-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement missiles, 16 M903 launching stations, four AN/MPQ-65 radars, four control stations, spares, software and associated equipment. In addition, Poland is authorized to buy U.S. government and contractor technical, […]
Germany will probably replace Tornado with F-35
It looks like Germany might join the F-35 family around 2025. According to Janes the Joint Strike Fighter is the preferred choice as a replacement for the Tornado. The Tornado will retire around 2030, and the transition to its successor will take about five years. It makes a lot of sense to replace the Tornado […]
Sweden settles on US Patriot missiles
Sweden will buy Patriot missiles to replace the country’s old Hawk air defense system. Political turmoil has preceded the 10 billion kroner deal.
Nordic countries agree to exchange radar data for air surveillance
The Nordic countries have agreed to enhance air surveillance through the exchange of radar data between the members of NORDEFCO. The defense ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Nordic Cooperation for Air Surveillance Information Exchange during their meeting in Helsinki yesterday. Several sources report this, but […]
