USAF B-1s fly to Baltics to train with Danish fighters

Two B-1B Lancer bombers flew from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota to the Baltic region Tuesday to take part in a Bomber Task Force mission and train with the Danish air force.
In a Wednesday release, U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa said that the pair of B-1s, from Ellsworth’s 28th Bomb Wing, conducted integration and interoperability training with Danish F-16s over Bornholm Island, which is in the Baltic Sea and is part of Denmark.
The bombers also flew over Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and helped Estonian joint terminal attack controllers practice close air support on the long-range, long-duration mission.
airforcetimes

Spanish Air Force Airbus A400M suffers birdstrike while landing at Zaragoza Air Base

On 7 May, a Spanish Air Force (Ejército del Aire) Airbus A400M Atlas military transport was damaged following a bird strike. The aircraft was on approach to Zaragoza Air Base, located around 262 km northeast of Spain’s capital Madrid.
Nobody got injured in the incident but the aircraft suffered substantial damage to its under-fuselage near one of the aft wheel wells.
aviation24

FIRST OSPREYS FOR JAPAN ARRIVES IN IWAKUNI

V-22 Ospreys bound for Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) units arrive in Japan at Marine Corps Air Station, Iwakuni, May 8, 2020. The V-22 off-load marked the first time JGSDF V-22s arrived on Japanese soil.
dvidshub

First German government A350 arrives for outfitting in Hamburg by Lufthansa

Airbus has transferred the first of three A350-900s for the federal German government to Hamburg for outfitting at the Lufthansa Technik facility.
The aircraft flew from the airframer’s Hamburg Finkenwerder plant to the city’s main international airport on 7 May.
It bears the civil registration D-AGAF but will be re-registered with the government’s special air wing as ‘10+03’.
Two other aircraft – to be designated ‘10+01’ and ‘10+02’ – are still undergoing manufacture.
flightglobal

US approves upgrade of Egypt's Apaches to AH-64E

The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale of a refurbishment package for 43 Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters owned by Egypt.
The estimated $2.3 billion deal is not final, but was announced via a required notification by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency to the US Congress on 7 May.
Egypt intends to use these refurbished AH-64 helicopters to modernise its armed forces to address the shared US-Egyptian interest in countering terrorist activities emanating from the Sinai Peninsula, which threaten Egyptian and Israeli security and undermine regional stability,” says the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
Over the last couple of decades, the USA has helped Egypt put down a Bedouin insurgency, which has used attacks on civilians and kidnappings of tourists to further its cause.
The deal would also come with weapons: Hellfire missile launchers, 2.75in tube rocket launchers, and M230 chain guns.
flightglobal

Turkey Flies Medical Aid to Coronavirus-Stricken U.S.

A Turkish military plane carrying medical supplies and protective equipment was heading for the United States on Tuesday to deliver aid to its NATO ally battling the coronavirus outbreak.
The United States, which has the highest death toll and reported cases in the global pandemic, welcomed the "generous donation" of 500,000 surgical masks, 4,000 overalls, as well as disinfectant, goggles and face shields.
The aid comes at a potentially pivotal time in U.S.-Turkish relations, which have been strained by disputes over Iran sanctions, Syria policy and Turkey's acquisition of Russian missile defence systems.
Turkey had planned to deploy the S-400 missile defences this month, but a senior Turkish official said that Ankara will delay the move - which would likely trigger U.S. sanctions - while it tackles the coronavirus and tries to support the economy.
nytimes

U.S. Approves Sale of AH-64E Apache, AH-1Z Viper Attack Helicopters to Philippines

The U.S. State Department has approved a possible sale six AH-64E Apache and six AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters to the Government of the Philippines.
The Government of the Philippines has requested to buy six (6) AH-1Z attack helicopters; fourteen (14) T-700 GE 401C engines (12 installed, 2 spares); seven (7) Honeywell Embedded Global Positioning Systems/Inertial Navigation (EGIs) w/Precise Positioning Service (PPS) (6 installed, 1 spare); six (6) AGM-114 Hellfire II missiles; and twenty six (26) Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) all up rounds.
defpost

Italian Fincantieri Wins $795M Contract for US Navy FFG(X) Frigate Program, beating Spanish Navantia F-110

The Navy awarded a $795-million contract to Fincantieri to begin building a new class of guided-missile frigates, in the first new major shipbuilding program the service has started in more than a decade, the Navy announced today.
Fincantieri beat out what was originally four other competitors, who were asked by the Navy to take a mature parent design and evolve it to meet the Navy’s needs for potential high-end warfare. Fincantieri, which will build its frigate at its Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin, based its FFG(X) design on the FREMM multi-mission frigate already operated by the French and Italian navies.
Source says that Spain didn't win contract with the Navy because of the current Spanish Social Communist government and the withdrawal of F-104 'Mendez Nuñez' from U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group, last May 2019, amid tensions with Iran.
usni