While the F-35B is undergoing operational testing on board USS Wasp, the U.S. Marine Corps will fly one of the components of the F135 engine out to the ship using the MV-22.
By Hpeterswald (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, deputy commandant for Marine aviation, said the idea is to assess the difficulty of completing engine repair at sea.
Source: Alert 5
The U.S. State Department has given the clearance to Turkey to buy 4 Phalanx Block 1B Baseline 2 Close-In Weapons Systems (CIWS) and upgrade 17 Block 0 systems to the Block 1B Baseline 2 configuration.
By Hpeterswald (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Source: Alert 5
The U.S. Congress has been notified of a potential Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of 10 MH-60Rs to Saudi Arabia for an estimated cost of $1.9 billion.
Source: Alert 5
A CNN team was given exclusive access to a U.S. Navy P-8A flight over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
The TV crew listened as a Chinese warship warned the aircraft to stay away via radio.
Source: Alert 5
The frigate Aquitaine, the first unit in the multi-mission frigate program (FREMM), has successfully fired its first missiles: an Exocet MM40 surface-to-surface missile and a naval cruise missile.
Photo: MBDA
France has declared Initial operating capability (IOC) of its modernized E-3F AWACS with the delivery of the second upgraded aircraft by Boeing.
By Jerry Gunner from Lincoln, UK [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Source: Alert 5
Vietnam took the M101 howitzer it inherited during the Vietnam War and mounted it on the Ural-375 4.5 ton 6×6 truck to form a new self-propelled howitzer.
Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is finalizing plans to acquire an off-road vehicle that can be carried inside the V-22.
The World’s first commercial imaging satellite with a one-meter resolution was retired from service on Mar. 31.
Photo: Lockheed Martin
Source: Alert 5
According to Reuters, Airbus Defence & Space had sent at least one of the black boxes on board the A400M that crashed to OEM L3 Communications for decoding.
By Tim Felce (Airwolfhound) (A400M – RIAT 2010Uploaded by russavia) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
The news comes as the aircraft manufacturer asked all operators to conduct a check on the engine’s Electronic Control Units (ECU) before the next flight.
Source: Alert 5
