Royal Navy advances Leonardo Helicopters Wildcat integration with uncrewed assets for Dragon Rider trial - relayed real-time data from multiple drones in support of Hybrid Navy assessment work. www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...

2Excel Aviation eyes Electra Aero's EL9 Ultra Short as potential fleet addition - UK company will provide airworthiness and support during European tour next year involving smaller EL2 demonstrator, with the activity a 'pathfinder' effort. www.flightglobal.com/aerospace/20...

Colombia signs for two KC-390s, marking key Latin America win for Embraer. Story by my colleague Ryan Finnerty. Bogota becomes the 13th customer for the Millennium so far. www.flightglobal.com/archive/2026...

Tekever will launch AR5 deliveries to the British Army before year-end under Corvus deal. Company says yet to be signed contract could value up to £400 million over a full decade, with 'continuous capability evolution' model to enable regular updates. www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...

Upgraded NH90 helicopter makes first flight in enhanced Block 1 guise - lead example is an Italian navy example, flown by Leonardo Helicopters in late July. Upgrade activity also referred to as SWR3. www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...

Airbus Helicopters delivers first Standard 2 NH90 for French army special forces use. The prototype used in earlier flight testing was in a super-cool all-black scheme - is that bright green SF-friendly? 18 to be delivered, along with Spanish purchase. www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...

Inzpire lands international training deal for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9B SkyGuardian and Royal Air Force Protector RG1 fleets at RAF Waddington. Deal with NATO agency could grow to the Qinetiq-owned company providing up to 37 instructor crews. www.flightglobal.com/military-uav...

Airbus chief Guillaume Faury sees extra orders potential through NATO allies' pooled A400M plan. Comments from Q2 results briefing yesterday, plus others from Airbus Defence & Space's Jean-Brice Dumont at last week's Farnborough air show. www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...

BAE Systems order backlog has hit a record £84 billion, after recording sales worth £15.8 billion in the first-half. CEO Charles Woodburn also notes its stake in @MBDAGroup, where backlog is up at €48 billion, with sales of over €6.5 billion to mid-year.

GKN Aerospace reveals wing production role on BAE Systems Brontanax CCA - UK company supplied 'flight-ready wings, fins and control surfaces' for prototype to fly in 2027. Parts were manufactured in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...

US Marine Corps receives its final MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor from Bell Boeing partnership. The 359th example was handed over on 28 July. I remember how insanely cool it was when the first one debuted at RIAT - oof, 20 years ago! www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...

Team Tempest partners power ahead with FCAS funding boost from UK Ministry of Defence. Here's my wrap-up from Farnborough air show briefing between BAE Systems, Leonardo UK, MBDA UK and Rolls-Royce www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...

MGI Engineering spins up autonomous Vortex for UK competition. I didn't manage to get to this one last week amid all the Farnborough happenings, but another ACP/CCA design for us to take note of! www.flightglobal.com/military-uav...

FalconWorks boss details BAE Systems' 25-year journey to Brontanax CCA. My round-up from a batch of briefings at the Farnborough air show last week, where the new design broke cover. Some great insight as ever from BAE's Dave Holmes. www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...

Today's surprise 2-unit Middle East GlobalEye order maintains serious momentum for the Saab-developed airborne, land and maritime surveillance platform. The UAE already received 5, Sweden has ordered 3 and France 2, with plans from NATO (up to 10), and Canada (unknown).

Undisclosed Middle East buyer signs $1 billion deal for two Saab GlobalEyes - good news also for Global 6500 producer Bombardier. Where are we speculating for this deal: Saudi Arabia (current Saab 2000 AEW&C user); Qatar? UAE jet pic from AirTeamImages. www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...

French air force debuts Airbus Defence & Space A400M in real-world firefighting mission - sortie showed Atlas can drop 22t of fire retardant in support of national firefighting operations using prototype RO-RO payload. www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...

How GCAP shone through Farnborough’s week in the sun - my analysis of all-things programme-related that dropped at the show this week. Away from my normal reporting beat I also enjoyed moderating the GCAP Agency & Edgewing panel discussion! www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...

How GCAP shone through Farnborough’s week in the sun

Three-nation effort is powering ahead after major funding boost. If doubts existed around the viability of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) between Italy, Japan and the UK barely a month ago the...

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Tekever takes Corvus win to provide Watchkeeper UAV successor for the British Army. Great bit of reporting by my colleague Dominic Perry. Just a query - they did know to put the tails on Watchkeeper, right? So many of the MoD's images omit them! www.flightglobal.com/archive/2026...

Tekever takes Corvus win to provide Watchkeeper UAV successor

Company selected for sole-source award after tender fails to attract compliant bids. Tekever has been selected to provide the British Army with a new fleet of long-range surveillance drones through a ...

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Israel Aerospace Industries launches Ellyon 'all-in-one' airborne jamming solution. Cool-looking set of modifications depicted with Gulfstream G550, but IAI says its new system will be platform-agnostic. www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...

France plots FCAS successor and eyes demonstrator flight next decade - great update by my colleague Dominic Perry following Dassault results call. The “matter of NGF Dassault-Airbus is behind us”, says CEO Eric Trappier. www.flightglobal.com/archive/2026...

France plots FCAS successor and eyes demonstrator flight next decade

Dassault sees route to recovery from progamme collapse, while tensions with Airbus persist on Eurodrone programme. France is preparing to launch a successor programme to the collapsed tri-national Fut...

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Royal Air Force's first extended-range Chinook emerges in all-black finish - pix from Boeing UK. I will genuinely weep if they repaint it green. First of 14 aircraft on order. Plus Boeing, Lufthansa Technik sign MRO framework deal for German CH-47F fleet. www.flightglobal.com/helicopters-...

Terma targets new Lockheed Martin F-35 requirements using multi-mission pod design. Existing gun pod structure used on B & C models could house extra self-protection kit, jammer, or even weapons. From Farnborough air show interview. www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...

This probably has already gone viral elsewhere, but the 'Brontanax' name for the new BAE Systems CCA unveiled at Farnborough today feels like it's going to take a little adjusting to. An amalgam of greek words representing the phrase 'Thunder King', apparently...

BAE Systems unveils Brontanax CCA for UK Royal Air Force need, ahead of first flight next year. Model revealed at Farnborough air show today. Has been developed in secrecy since 2022, with pictured flightworthy example at its Warton site in Lancashire. www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...

Raytheon UK unleashes Red Kite precision-guided bomb - sovereign system makes use of StormBreaker airframe, with local 'smarts'. Being pitched as weapon for Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons. www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...

The FlightGlobal team is on site at the Farnborough air show to bring you the best coverage this week - check out our scene-setting FlightGlobal Focus podcast episode: open.spotify.com/episode/6D6x...

FlightGlobal at Farnborough: what to expect as 2026 edition opens

FlightGlobal Focus · Episode

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Royal Air Force's second E-7A Wedgetail gets airborne as BoeingUK lands new support contracts (for E-7 and P-8A Poseidon). Presumably WT002 will now be heading off for a paint job asap... www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...

Czech air force receives first Embraer C-390 transport ahead of Farnborough air show appearance. Liking the camouflage markings! Follows Brazil, Hungary and Portugal in fielding the Millennium. www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...

Royal Air Force studying total future fleet size for nuclear-capable F-35A: clarifies first 12 planned jets will be for OCU use, with analysis ongoing to determine 'size and posture' of operational examples needed to support NATO dual-capable aircraft mission. www.flightglobal.com/defence/2026...