Category -- Air -- The Defense Post

Sep- 2026 -

22 September

Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles A2 Low-Velocity Airdrop (FMTV LVAD) demo in North Carolina

HII to Develop New Airdrop Tech for US Army Resupply

The US Army has awarded HII’s Mission Technologies a five-year task order to research new airdrop and combat-feeding technologies for soldier sustainment.

21 September

S-300 surface-to-air missile systems of the Bulgarian Armed Forces

Inder Singh Bisht

US Clears Potential $2.68B Ukraine Air Defense Deal Featuring S-300 Clone Missiles

The US State Department has approved a potential $2.68-billion sale to Ukraine of an air defense upgrade package.

21 September

Ronald Watkins

Marotta Controls Wins Contracts to Support Navy’s Next Generation Jammer

Marotta Controls has secured two contracts to provide components and engineering support for the US Navy’s Next Generation Jammer-Low Band.

21 September

Christine Casimiro

Lockheed Martin Rolls Out Germany’s First F-35A Lightning II

Germany’s first of 35 F-35A Lightning II fighters has been presented to the German government at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Fort Worth, Texas.

19 September

Rojoef Manuel

Philippines Accepts Two More Bell 412EPX Helicopters From US

The US has turned over two additional 412EPX utility helicopters to the Philippine Air Force at Villamor Air Base, Pasay.

18 September

A U.S. Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 367, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, flies during close air support drills as part of Service Level Training Exercise 4-25 at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, July 26, 2025. MCAGCC serves as the Marine Corps’ premier training venue for service-level exercises by providing realistic multi-domain environments to prepare forces for success in future conflicts. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Micah Thompson)

Rojoef Manuel

Bell Textron Starts Viper Helicopter Build for Nigeria

Bell Textron has begun production of the AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter as part of a US foreign military sale to Nigeria in 2024.

18 September

Rojoef Manuel

Lithuania Plans to Mobilize Domestic Industry to Build Drones for Ukraine

Lithuania has announced plans to use a portion of its annual aid budget for Kyiv to manufacture tactical unmanned aerial systems domestically in collaboration with Ukrainian defense companies.

18 September

An F-35A, in flight above the Mojave Desert in California, January 6, 2023. A developmental test team from the 461st Flight Test Squadron conducted the first flight of an F-35 in the Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) configuration at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The 50-minute flight, which took the jet to 35,000 feet at speeds just shy of the speed of sound above the desert, marked the start of an extensive flight test campaign. TR-3 provides the computational horsepower to support modernized Block 4 capabilities. The F-35 Joint Program Office is the Department of Defense's focal point for the 5th-generation strike aircraft for the Navy, Air Force, Marines, and our allies. The F-35 is the premier multi-mission, 5th-generation weapon system. Its ability to collect, analyze and share data is a force multiplier that enhances all assets in the battle space: with stealth technology, advanced sensors, weapons capacity, and range. The F-35 has been operational since July 2015 and is the most lethal, survivable, and interoperable fighter aircraft ever built.

Rojoef Manuel

US Greenlights $24.3B Sale of F-35 Jets to Saudi Arabia

The US State Department has approved a foreign military sale to Saudi Arabia of 48 F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft and ancillary equipment valued at up to $24.3 billion.

18 September

Artwork showing an F-22 Raptor with new pods, external fuel tanks, and an unknown air-to-air missile, potentially the AIM-260

Inder Singh Bisht

US, Lockheed Sign Agreement to Accelerate AIM-260 JATM Production

The US Department of War has signed a framework agreement with Lockheed Martin to expand production capacity for the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, a next-generation air-to-air missile.

18 September