Operational Criteria Favored Lightning II By Wide Margin

Canada’s Future Fighter Capability Project conducted an evaluation in 2021 of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II versus the Saab Gripen E, and it wasn’t close: overall, the F-35 scored 57.1 out of 60 (95%) and the Gripen E achieved 19.8 points (33%). Both aircraft met Canada’s mandatory requirements but diverged significantly when scores for operational criteria were included.

Largest Foreign Order In Program’s History Nets Boeing $4.7B Contract

The Polish Armed Forces finalized a deal with Boeing for 96 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters in a contract worth $4.7 billion. The order is the largest in the program’s history by a foreign nation and was accomplished under the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales process.

Deal Includes 18 Aircraft Plus Advanced Ground Training Tools

The Federal Government of Belgium approved the purchase of 18 Pilatus PC-7 MKX aircraft along with a comprehensive 20-year service contract to provide training services based on the PC-7 MKX that includes an integrated ground-based training system. Pilatus will begin deliveries of the PC-7 MKX in 2027 to replace Belgium’s existing training aircraft.

Marshall Aerospace Gets Nod For Complex Replacement Procedure

Fat Albert, the perhaps the world’s most well-recognized C-130 Hercules support aircraft for the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron, is headed to Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge, UK, to have its entire center wing box replaced. This is a complex engineering procedure some liken to spinal surgery.