Australia to manufacture JSM and NSM

Australia announced an $850 million partnership with Kongsberg Defence Australia to manufacture and service missiles at Williamtown near Newcastle. The initiative aligns with the 2024 National Defence Strategy, focusing on enhancing long-range precision strike capabilities and domestic munitions production.

A Naval Strike Missile streaks out to sea before striking a naval target ship, Aug. 15, 2021, aboard Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands, Hawaii. The missile flew more than 100 nautical miles before finding its mark. The live-fire sinking exercise demonstrated a Marine fires expeditionary advanced base’s ability to sense, target and strike a target at sea, providing sea control or contributing to sea denial in fleet operations. The Marine Corps’ Force Design 2030 centers on Marines providing long-range precision strike capabilities as a stand-in force during littoral operations in a contested environment. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Dillon Buck, released)

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Sonic boom from Singapore F-15SG triggers widespread alarm in Perth

A sonic boom generated by Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) F-15SG fighter jets during a training exercise off the coast of Western Australia caused widespread alarm across Perth’s southern suburbs on Aug. 21.

On 12 August 2024, the Republic of Singapore Air Force No. 142 and No. 149 Squadron arrived for the second rotation of the Extended Fighter Detachment at RAAF Base Pearce.
This rotation will run through August and September, and include up to four Singaporean F-15SG aircraft and approx. 120 personnel.
The Republic of Singapore Air Force Extended Fighter Detachment involves three rotations in total. Photo: RAAF

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Naval Air Warfare Center introduces ‘Simulators at Sea’ training capability

The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) has successfully deployed a new training capability known as ‘Simulators at Sea’ aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). This innovative system allows aviators across the carrier’s air wing to train together in advanced simulators, even while deployed.

Desktop trainers display naval aviation’s new carrier-based joint air training program in a lab at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division near its Patuxent River, Maryland headquarters on July 31, 2024. U.S. Navy photo by Chuck Regner

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BAE Systems upgrades F-15EX and F/A-18E/F Flight Control Computers

BAE Systems has been selected by Boeing to upgrade the fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control computers (FCC) for the F-15EX Eagle II and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter aircraft. As the original manufacturer of the FCCs for both aircraft, BAE Systems will modernize the hardware and software. This will increase processing power, address obsolescence, and improve cyber and product security. The upgrades will ensure the sustained performance and capabilities of these advanced platforms well into the future.

An F-15EX Eagle II from the 40th Flight Test Squadron, 96th Test Wing out of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, flies in formation during an aerial refueling operation above the skies of Northern California, May 14. The Eagle II participated in the Northern Edge 21 exercise in Alaska earlier in May. (Air Force photo by Ethan Wagner)

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