11/6/2025 F-35 Sale To Saudi Arabia Being Mulled By Trump Admin: Report  Saudi Arabia could become the next customer for the Lockheed Martin F-35, with the Trump administration reportedly weighing up the sale of up to 48 jets to the kingdom. Selling the stealth jet to Saudi Arabia would be a significant policy shift, with Washington previously being unwilling to export F-35s to Arab states in the region, for fear of upsetting the strategic balance in relation to Israel. |
11/6/2025 Shield AI’s X-BAT drone to be powered by same GE engine as F-15, F-16 fighters  Defense tech startup Shield AI’s X-BAT drone wingman will be powered by GE’s F110 fighter engine, the two companies exclusively told Breaking Defense, giving the recently unveiled loyal wingman drone the same powerplant used in the F-15 and F-16. Under a memorandum of understanding signed by the firms, GE will provide its F110-GE-129 powerplant and integrate a thrust vectoring nozzle critical for the X-BAT platform’s vertical takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) operations. |
11/5/2025 Putin’s Dangerous Game Of Chicken With NATO In The Sky  NATO fighters have scrambled three times in a week as Russian drones and reconnaissance aircraft prodded Baltic airspace and nearby corridors. After Polish jets and allies shot down drones that crossed Poland in September—triggering an Article 4 consult—recent incidents saw Il-20, Il-76, and Il-78 flights intercepted in international airspace without transponders or flight plans. |
11/5/2025 The US Military Is Retiring The A-10 Warthog: Here's Why  The legendary A-10 Warthog has been granted retirement in 2026 for several reasons, including the changing landscape of modern combat and military budget limitations. Due to the aircraft's effective but simplistic design, it lacks some features necessary to compete against other modern forces. For instance, the A-10 Warthog is anything but stealthy or quick, which is a problem when sending this aircraft against an adversary utilizing state-of-the-art air defenses. |
11/5/2025 Navy pursues uncrewed combat aircraft with artificial intelligence (AI) for carrier operations  U.S. Navy aerial warfare experts are pursuing carrier-based semi-autonomous uncrewed combat aircraft that operate together with crewed combat aircraft in a new project called Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). The CCA project seeks to enhance the carrier air wing's combat capabilities; sensing and situational awareness; and ability to blend crewed and uncrewed aircraft to enhance safety and extend the read of carrier-based aircraft. |
11/5/2025 New GA-ASI Gambit 6 UCAV Adds Air-To-Ground Operations for International CCA  The latest iteration of the innovative Gambit Series of unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAV) from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) is Gambit 6, a collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) that adds air-to-ground operations to its already proven air-to-air capability. The multi-role platform is optimized for roles such as electronic warfare, suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), and deep precision strike, making it a versatile option for evolving defense needs. |
11/5/2025 China’s Banner Year in Combat Aircraft  “Updating priors” means revising an existing belief system in the face of new evidence. Much has been written of about the modernization of China’s military in recent years, particularly People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aviation (both the PLA Air Force and PLA Naval Air Force). However, the niche trade of tracking PLA news still causes significant lags in disseminating information among the wider defense journalism, think tank, and defense commentariat crowd. |
11/4/2025 Netherlands formally transfers 18 F-16 fighter jets to Romania for use at European training centre  The Netherlands has formally transferred ownership of 18 F-16 fighter jets to Romania, finalising the agreement in Bucharest. The documents were signed by Romanian Defence Minister Ionut Mosteanu and Linda Ruseler, Director of Movable Property at the Dutch Ministry of Finance. |
11/4/2025 Saab and Bombardier consider Gripen E assembly in Canada to support Ukraine deal  Sweden’s Saab is considering Canada as a potential assembly site for its Gripen E fighter jets as it looks to expand production capacity amid rising international demand, including from Ukraine. On October 22, 2025, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a letter of intent in Linköping covering a potential sale of more than 100 Saab JAS 39 Gripen E fighters. |
11/4/2025 The first flight of the new carrier-based training aircraft for the Chinese Navy has been recorded  While China continues to make steady progress in the development of sixth-generation aircraft, as well as in the production of the new stealth fighters J-35 intended to equip the Navy’s aircraft carrier Fujian, the country has now recorded the first flight of its new advanced carrier-based training aircraft, which will be used to train its future pilots. |