Indonesia wants to buy Eurofighters from Austria

After initial clearance from the United States State Department to buy an MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, news broke that Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto intended to buy jet fighters from Austria.
Austrian newspaper Die Presse reported on Sunday that Prabowo had sent a letter to his Austrian counterpart Klaudia Tanner offering to buy the country's 15 Eurofighter Typhoon jet fighters.
The letter was dated July 10 and arrived at the Austrian Defense Ministry late last week, Die Presse reported.
thejakartapost

Russian Shtorm aircraft carrier to potentially be fitted with S-500 anti-aircraft systems

According to some sources, the Russian aircraft carrier "Project 23000E Shtorm", which is planned to enter service with the Russian Navy in the next decade, will be equipped the S-500 Prometheus anti-aircraft missile system.
The S-500 Prometey also known as 55R6M "Triumfator-M", is a Russian surface-to-air missile/anti-ballistic missile system under development by the Almaz-Antey Air Defence Concern. Initially planned to be in production by 2014, it is currently targeting 2021 for the first delivery.
The Prometheus S-500 is expected to have an extended range of up to 600 km (an improvement of 200km over the S-400) and simultaneously engage up to 10 targets.
Project 23000E or Shtorm is a proposal for a supercarrier designed by the Krylov State Research Center for the Russian Navy. The cost of the export version has been put at over US$5.5 billion, with development expected to take ten years.
navyrecognition

Boeing and USAF ink deal for F-15EX fighter jet

The U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing a nearly $1.2 billion contract to build the first lot of eight F-15EX advanced fighter jets to help the service meet its capacity requirements and add capability to its fighter fleet. The award also covers support and one-time, upfront engineering costs. Already under construction at the Boeing F-15 production facility in St. Louis, the first two jets deliver next year.
The F-15EX will replace the oldest F-15C/Ds in the service’s inventory. Eight F-15EX aircraft were approved in the fiscal year 2020 budget and 12 were requested in the FY21 budget. The Air Force plans to purchase a total of 76 F-15EX aircraft over the five-year Future Years Defense Program.
The F-15EX is a two-seat fighter with U.S.-only capabilities. It features a deep magazine that can carry a load of advanced weapons. The platform also requires minimal transitional training or additional manpower and little to no infrastructure changes, ensuring the continuation of the mission.
The most significant difference between the F-15EX and legacy F-15s lies in its Open Mission Systems (OMS) architecture. The OMS architecture will enable the rapid insertion of the latest aircraft technologies. The F-15EX will also have fly-by-wire flight controls, a new electronic warfare system, advanced cockpit systems, and the latest mission systems and software capabilities available for legacy F-15s.
blogbeforeflight

US approves sale of 105 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to Japan

The US Department of State has approved a potential USD23.11 billion Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Japan of 105 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft along with related equipment and services, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on 9 July.
Tokyo, which has already ordered 42 conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) F-35A aircraft, has requested to buy 63 more units of this variant along with 42 units of the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B.

UK signs £65m contract for first three Protectors

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has ordered its first three of a planned 16 Protector RG1 unmanned air vehicles from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, with the £65 million ($82 million) contract announced on 15 July.
Also including three ground control stations and support equipment, the launch production order follows what the MoD describes as a “successful development phase” activity performed by General Atomics in the USA.
With its first production order now in place, the MoD says operations with the Protector fleet will start by mid-2024. The type will replace the Royal Air Force’s (RAF’s) current General Atomics Reapers.
flightglobal

Spain to receive new Eurofighters under Project 'Halcon'

Spain is set to receive new Eurofighter combat aircraft to augment its existing fleet and to begin the process of replacing its Boeing EF-18 Hornet fleet.
The proposed deal that the government is currently negotiating with Airbus, announced on 9 July, will involve an initial 20 Eurofighters being delivered to the Spanish Air Force (Ejército del Aire Español [EdAE]) to replace Hornets based on the Canary Islands.
The deal, which Airbus is expected to be signed in 2021, would be the first part of a wider plan to retire the service’s Hornets with the latest-standard Eurofighters between 2025 and 2030, dubbed Project ‘Halcon’ (Falcon).
These Tranche 3+/Tranche 4 Eurofighters (company officials have used both designations) would be of the latest Tranche 3 standard, and will also feature an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and other modifications. For Spain, the AESA would be ‘Radar 1’, development of which is being led by Hensoldt and Indra.
This new Eurofighter procurement and the retirement of the Hornets is part of a wider modernisation plan for the EdAE’s combat fleet that is called Road Map 2035++.
The EdAE currently fields 73 Eurofighters, comprising 19 Tranche 1, 34 Tranche 2, and 20 Tranche 3 aircraft, as well as 91 EF-18A and EF-18B Hornets. The Road Map 2035++ seeks to manage these fleets out to, and beyond, the introduction of the New-Generation Fighter that Spain is to develop alongside France and Germany as part of the wider Future Combat Air System (FCAS).
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