DefenceTalkThe first Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II assigned to the 56th Fighter Wing was officially delivered during a ceremony attended by dignitaries and hundreds of local civic leaders, wing military and civilian members here today. The F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing variant, known as LF 5030, is the first of 144 F-35As scheduled for delivery […]https://www.defencetalk.com/luke-air-force-base-receives-first-f-35a-lightning-ii-59051/

DefenceTalkLUKE AIR FORCE BASE: Escorted by two F-16 fighting Falcons, Luke Air Force Base’s first F-35 Lightning II arrived a little after 11 a.m. March 10, from the Lockheed Martin factory in Fort Worth, Texas. “This is a day that has been a long time coming,” Col. John Hanna, the 56th Operations Group commander, said […]https://www.defencetalk.com/first-f-35-lightning-ii-arrives-at-luke-afb-59005/

DefenceTalkThe Russian Air Force is getting down to the official testing of their T-50 fifth-generation jet fighter in what is evidence that the aircraft is actually ready and can soon be passed into service. The T-50 flight tests have been scheduled to start at the Akhtubinsk flight test center in March or April this year. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russian-t-50-fighter-jet-undergoes-official-flight-tests-58979/

DefenceTalkThe U.S. Air Force will get its first look at a faster, more affordable way to replace obsolete avionics on the B-2 stealth bomber under a contract awarded last August to Northrop Grumman. Under the 43-month, $43.5 million award, the company will produce a functional replacement for a B-2 avionics box called the Audio Central […]https://www.defencetalk.com/a-faster-simpler-way-to-replace-obsolete-parts-for-b-2-bomber-50667/

DefenceTalkAn unmanned drone said to be the most technologically advanced aircraft ever built in Britain has made its first successful test flights, military chiefs announced on Wednesday. The 185 million ($302 million, 223 million euros) top-secret Taranis craft, named after the Celtic god of thunder, conducted the tests at an unnamed location, believed to be […]https://www.defencetalk.com/uks-most-advanced-aircraft-makes-succesful-test-flights-50262/

DefenceTalkSouth Korea plans to finalise the purchase of 40 next-generation F-35 jet fighters from US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin later this year, Seoul’s military procurement agency said. “We will… push to sign the contract in the third quarter… after testing and further negotiations,” Jung Kwang-Sun, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration’s aircraft department director, told reporters […]https://www.defencetalk.com/south-korea-to-finalise-f-35-jet-fighter-deal-this-year-50180/

DefenceTalkTyndall Air Force Base received the first five-of-24 F-22 Raptors scheduled to transfer from Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., Jan. 6 as part of their new combat mission. The aircraft are now a part of the 95th Fighter Squadron, which was reactivated in October 2013. “We have been talking about the arrival of this mission […]https://www.defencetalk.com/first-combat-deployable-f-22s-arrive-at-tyndall-air-force-base-50063/

DefenceTalkThe US Air Force has secretly developed a new stealth drone for long-range reconnaissance missions that could be operational by 2015, according to a report Friday in an industry magazine. The unmanned drone, dubbed RQ-180, is currently in the testing phase at the top secret Groom Lake air base in Nevada — the infamous “Area […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-air-force-has-secretly-built-a-new-stealth-drone-49864/

DefenceTalkAs training with the new F-35B Lightning II stealth aircraft continues in Florida, USA, a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot has described how impressed he is with the ‘game-changing’ jet. Flight Lieutenant Hugh Nichols completed his first sortie in the next-generation stealth fighter at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, United States earlier this month. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/f-35b-lightning-ii-impresses-raf-pilot-as-training-continues-in-usa-49775/

DefenceTalkChina has tested its first stealth combat drone, state media said Friday, citing online photos of an aircraft resembling a shrunken US B2 bomber and hailing the advance toward Western-level technology. The test flight of the “Sharp Sword” unmanned aircraft is another step in China’s years-long military build-up, with its defence spending now the second […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-tests-first-stealth-combat-drone-media-49717/