The U.S. Air Force expects its future Next Generation Air Dominance sixth-generation aircraft to cost multiple hundreds of millions per copy, and the service is already expecting cost offsets to come with open systems architecture and other components that are government and not contractor owned.

Military demand for aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul will grow significantly over the next decade, but several factors—including galloping inflation, a scarcity of workers and shortages of key materials—are putting pressure on the supply chain, said speakers here at Aviation Week’s Military Aviation Logistics and Maintenance Symposium on April 27. 

The U.S. Air Force will buy Boeing E-7A Wedgetails to replace part of its E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System fleet after months of speculation, with a prototype expected to be delivered in 2027.

The UK has begun negotiations to purchase another 26 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, but decisions on building toward the UK’s commitment of 138 aircraft will be pushed into the middle of the decade, defense officials have said.

A meeting of more than 40 nations aimed at providing military support to Ukraine will become a regular event as the countries plan to both bolster Kyiv’s defense stocks and strengthen the global industrial base to meet a growing need for materiel.

The U.S. Air Force now wants to buy 64 fewer Boeing F-15EX aircraft than in the service’s original acquisition plan and halt procurement of the twin-engined fighter after fiscal 2024.

To keep up with hypersonic missile advancements by Russia, United States and, most importantly, China, Taiwan is reportedly standing up a hypersonic technology research and development office.

The Pentagon is expediting the delivery of a previously undisclosed small uncrewed aircraft system to Ukraine, saying the capabilities of the kamikaze drone are uniquely suited for the upcoming fight against Russia in the country’s east.