First JSF Flight-Test Engine To Be Completed In Weeks

Posted at: Tue Nov 8th, 2005

Pratt & Whitney is weeks away from completing the first flight-test engine for the U.S. Defense Department's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, according to a company spokesman. Work on the major pieces of the F135 engine is "well under way," and Pratt & Whitney expects to finish ass...

Northrop Grumman Awarded Contract to Produce RQ-4B Global Hawks

Posted at: Tue Nov 8th, 2005

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 7, 2005 -- The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) a contract to begin production of the next five RQ-4B Global Hawk aerial reconnaissance systems. The new $60 million contract will allow the company to start purchasing long-lead parts f...

China - The Illusion of Military Power

Posted at: Tue Nov 8th, 2005

November 8, 2005: China's ever increasing spending on modern weapons and military equipment gives the illusion of growing military power. It is very much an illusion. The 2.3 million troops in the Chinese armed forces are poorly trained and led. China has a long history of corruption and rot in the ...

UK defense chief expresses confidence in Joint Strike Fighter

Posted at: Tue Nov 8th, 2005

WASHINGTON (AFX) - UK Defence Secretary John Reid has expressed confidence the Joint Strike Fighter is still the best replacement for the Royal Navy's fleet of Harrier jump jets. 'We're pretty confident that the US, in their own interest, not just in ours, will make sensible decision...

France: Successful first flight of high-speed UAV demonstrator CARAPAS

Posted at: Tue Nov 8th, 2005

EADS Military Aircraft has just staged the successful first flight of the high-speed UAV demonstrator CARAPAS (CApacité drone RAPide AntileurreS) at the Biscarrosse missile test centre (CELM) in France. The aim of the flight was to check the system functions, the operating procedures...