December 17, 2021 Military Aviation News

Loyal wingmen could be used to break open enemy defences

12/17/2021

Boeing didn’t mention it, but Christopher Pyne did: the company’s Airpower Teaming System could be armed. Australia’s then defence minister, speaking at the unveiling of the ATS in February 2019, omitted details of kinetic missions that might be undertaken by the aircraft, a ‘loyal wingman’ drone. But they’re not hard to guess. Most obviously, they would be attacks on relatively easy surface targets but also, quite possibly, shooting down low-performance aircraft.

RAF Lakenheath Has Become The First Base in Europe To Receive U.S. Air Force F-35s

12/17/2021

Four F-35A aircraft departed from Fort Worth, Texas, arrived at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, on Dec. 15, 2021, marking the arrival of the first Europe-based USAF’s Lightning II 5th generation. Flying as RETRO 31-34 and supported by BLUE81, a KC-135R #59-1495, and BLUE82, a KC-10A Extender #84-0189, the four aircraft (#19-5473, #19-5474, #19-5475 and #19-5476) approached RAF Lakenheath as a 4 ship at 13.50L before braking off and then all of them landing on RWY24.

British Typhoon Fighter Downed A Drone Over Syria For Its First Air-To-Air Kill

12/17/2021

The U.K. Ministry of Defense has confirmed that a Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon FGR4 fighter jet shot down a hostile drone over Syria earlier this week, in what is the first confirmed air-to-air engagement for this type in British service. The event was also the first time that the RAF has fired an air-to-air missile during Operation Shader, the British contribution to the U.S.-led campaign against ISIS in the Middle East.

Lockheed to Offer ‘Competitive Pricing’ on T-50-Derived Advanced Fighter Trainer

12/17/2021

Lockheed Martin will offer a variant of its T-50A in the competition to build the Air Force’s new tactical fighter trainer rather than a clean-sheet design, the company said Dec. 14, insisting it will achieve “competitive pricing” with the aircraft. The jet was second in the T-X competition that Boeing won with a fresh design three years ago.

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