UK Royal Air Force

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

MBDA’s Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile has been flown on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for the first time.

The aeroengine manufacturer has been using the metallics powder to print parts for the Orpheus small engine demonstration program.

Until now, the service has been tight-lipped about the role it played in defending Israel on April 14.

The challenge was launched in November 2023 with round one awards to Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, Exeter Airport Consortium and ZeroAvia in February 2024.

Draken Europe has been awarded a three-year, £173 million ($215.2 million) Interim Medium Speed Operational Readiness Training Services contract.

Boeing and BAE Systems delivered the first F-15E Strike Eagle outfitted with the new Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System upgrade

The UK eVTOL startup showcases progress with aircraft and battery development as it prepares to close a vital new funding round.

The Department of the Air Force, in a report released Jan. 13 that looks at its future, paints a picture of space as becoming a cold or potentially hot battlefield.

The UK Defense Ministry has insisted there are no plans to change the New Medium Helicopter program to find a replacement for Royal Air Force Airbus Pumas.

The UK Royal Air Force has begun kitting out the new fleet of Boeing MH-47G Block II Chinooks it has on order.

With Hawk engine issues snagging the UK Royal Air Force’s pilot training pipeline, the service could soon seek a replacement.

An F-35 has off-boarded data to a non-U.S. command and control system for the first time in testing by Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works and the UK Royal Air Force.

The UK Defense Ministry is to chop Chinook and Puma helicopters from its inventory as well as the troubled fleet of Watchkeeper uncrewed air systems.

The new contract will replace the current Typhoon Total Availability eNterprise (TyTAN) arrangement in 2026.

The service already has been exploring a number of more environmentally friendly options, including electric-powered aircraft.

The UK is expanding its military space effort with an agreement to work with Canada on an on-orbit space surveillance mission.

More than 50 years into its military space odyssey, the UK is looking to take its capabilities to a higher level.

Variants of the 737 are active with 21 non-U.S. militaries and figure prominently into these nations’ transport and maritime capabilities.

Aircraft WT001 got airborne from Birmingham Airport, England, shortly before 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 20.

Airbus Helicopters CEO Bruno Even has suggested the RAF's Puma helicopter fleet could fly into the mid-2030s, potentially negating the need for a replacement medium rotorcraft.

The British government has awarded BAE Systems a £60 million ($78 million) contract to develop a more capable version of the Sting Ray torpedo.

The flagship UK helicopter modernization program has suffered delays and shrunk in size before a contract has even been signed.

Analysis for the Royal United Services Institute ahead of the UK’s ongoing Strategic Defense Review suggests investment in Typhoon and F-35 combat power is the quickest way to enhance deterrence.

Europe is embracing integrated air and missile defenses, but can it afford it?