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Americas
Textron Aviation has secured a contract to deliver seven Beechcraft King Air 260 multi-engine aircraft for the Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF) Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) program. The planes will replace the military’s Beechcraft King Air C-90B fleet that has been operating for flight practice since 2005. The new systems will be provided with a night vision-compatible cockpit, engineer monitoring, digital audio system, specialized wing angle, full-face oxygen masks, and observer, emergency, and passenger seats.
The Pentagon’s fleet of F-35 fighter jets may not receive the full, combat-ready version of the TR-3 upgrade this year, Lockheed Martin executives acknowledged today. The upgrade, formally called Technology Refresh-3, was originally supposed to be ready in April 2023, but software-development problems have delayed the effort multiple times. Those delays drove the Pentagon to halt acceptance of new F-35s for a year, a pause that ended in July. The upgrade will equip the jets with the extra computing power needed for Block 4 improvements to sensors and weapons.
Middle East & Africa
Iran has unveiled a massive, heavy-duty drone with a 22-meter wingspan, reportedly capable of flying up to 4,000 kilometers. The Shahed-149, also known as “Gaza” in reference to the war-torn Gaza Strip, was revealed by the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) during the recent “Great Prophet Authority” military exercise.
Europe
The US has shipped approximately 90 Patriot air defense systems to the Ukrainian Armed Forces amidst the country’s conflict with Russia. The capabilities were sourced from the American military’s stockpile stored in Israeli territory, according to Virginia-based news agency Axios. Delivery involved several US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft that collected the weapons from a southern Israeli air base.
KNDS Deutschland, KNDS France, Rheinmetall Landsysteme, and Thales signed a shareholder agreement to form a joint venture for future main battle tank development last week. The Franco-German Main Combat System of the Future is a replacement for the German Leopard 2 and the French Leclerc main battle tanks, with estimated delivery by 2040. The joint venture is an essential step in the commencement of actual work, allowing the Cologne-based company to be the prime industrial contractor for the program’s next phase.
Asia-Pacific
The Philippines launched a comic book on Friday to counter what the country says is China’s disinformation campaign to push its expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea. The 40-page comic book, titled “The Stories of Teacher Jun,” was unveiled by Philippine officials. It contains colorful caricatures of a Filipino teacher and his young students discussing the complex territorial disputes in simple terms and highlights the Philippine position.
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