Maintenance and sustainment operation support for Italian and Norwegian F-35 aircraft will continue to be provided by Lockheed Martin under a new $13.12 million contract modification from US Naval Air Systems Command.
Work will be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida for completion by December 2022, the DoD announced on 7 January.
Norway purchased 52 F-35As through an FMS programme for $11.2 billion in 2008, with deliveries to the Royal Norwegian Air Force scheduled between 2015 and 2024.
Italy has ordered 90 F-35 aircraft (60 F-35As and 30 F-35Bs); however, as noted by Shephard Defence Insight, the programme has been dogged by political controversy. Deliveries have been postponed and payments missed.
Even so, the defence budgets for 2019 and 2020 contained significant funding for the F-35 programme, suggesting that the programme is still moving ahead.
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The use of air power by both sides in the ongoing conflict has been extensively focused on, influencing policy and procurement around the world. But are the lessons from the front line universally applicable, or should other nations be planning for very different scenarios?
Six Super Tucano aircraft were ordered in July 2024, with Paraguay the fifth South American country to add the aircraft to modernise its fleet.
The takeover of the Italian firm by Baykar solidifies the company’s efforts to forge closer ties with Italian industry, bolsters its partnership with Leonardo to produce UAVs and secures its foothold in Europe.
The F-15EX Eagle II had already been singled out for further funding in January 2025, when it was chosen to replace the A-10 aircraft for the US National Guard.
Spain’s Defence Minister told the Senate Defense Commission on 27 June of the decision to acquire Turkish Aerospace Industries’ (TAI) trainers as the country seeks to replace its Northrop F-5M aircraft.
The company has tested over 15 mission sets for the drone, with the rotorcraft used to demonstrate the viability of armed forces utilising large uncrewed aerial systems’ (UAS) for autonomous missions in the future.
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