News Archive 2007
| Headlines and summaries of
available news stories from 2007. Click the title to view the full story with image if available. |
|
| 13 Dec | First Batch AIM-9X Sidewinder Missiles Arrive in Switzerland  Armasuisse has taken delivery of the first batch of AIM-9X infra-red guided air-to-air missiles procured under Armaments Program 2003 budget. |
| 13 Dec | Final Three Gripen Fighters Delivered to Hungary On December 13, 2007, the final three Hungarian Gripen fighters of the total order for 14 aircraft were delivered.  |
| 07 Dec | Romania Orders Seven C-27J Transport Aircraft Alenia and the Romanian Ministry of Defence signed a EUR 217 million contract for seven C-27J tactical transport aircraft on December 7, 2007. |
| 03 Dec | Sixth C-17 Globemaster Ordered for the Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) announced on December 3, 2007, that a GBP 130 million contract was signed with the Boeing Company for a sixth C-17 Globemaster heavy transport aircraft. |
| 03 Dec | B-1B Lancer Upgrade Continues Boeing announced on December 3, 2007, that it has been awarded a USD 45 million U.S. Air Force contract to upgrade the B-1B bomber's avionics software. |
| 03 Dec | First French Army Order for 12 NH-90 TTH, plus 56 options France ordered 12 NH90 (TTH) tactical transport helicopters with 56 on option to equip the French Army. |
| 23 Nov | Czech Air Force L-159T1 Advanced Trainers Delivered AERO Vodochody announed it has delivered four L-159 advanced training aircraft, version T1, to the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic on November 23, 2007. |
| 17 Nov | Bulgaria's First C-27J Spartan Delivered Alenia Aeronautica delivered the first of five C-27J to the Bulgarian Air Force, the company announced on November 17th, 2007. |
| 09 Nov | Tunisian Air Force L-59T Fleet Overhaul Completed On November 9, 2007, AERO Vodochody announced it has completed the overhaul of the last L-59T advanced training and light attack aircraft for the Tunisian Air Force. |
| 01 Nov | First Flight of Eurofighter Typhoon with Tranche 2 Avionics On November 1st, 2007, the first Eurofighter Typhoon equipped with Tranche 2 avionics took to the air at BAE Systems’ Warton facility. |
| 30 Oct | Two More C-295 Transports Ordered for Polish Air Force Poland ordered two more C-295 military transport aircraft to expand the Polish Air Force C-295 fleet to 12 aircraft. |
| 25 Oct | Tejas Light Combat Aircraft Fires First Missile On October 25, 2007, India’s Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) fired its first missile. Tejas prototype vehicle PV-1 successfully test fired a short-range R-73 air-to-air missile at the air-to-air range off Goa coast. |
| 22 Oct | Singapore Orders 12 Additional F-15SG Fighters Singapore exercised the option to purchase eight more F-15SG fighters which was part of the original contract signed in December 2005. Along with this buy, an additional order for four F-15SGs was made. |
| 18 Oct | Chilean Navy Orders C-295 Maritime Patrol Aircraft EADS CASA announced on October 18th, 2007, that the Chilean Navy had purchased three EADS CASA C-295 maritime surveillance aircraft with an option for another five. |
| 17 Oct | Swedish Air Force Gripen Upgrade Contract Finalized On October 17, 2007, a contract was signed between Saab and Sweden's Försvarets Materielverk (FMV) to upgrade 31 Swedish Air Force JAS 39A/B Gripen to the latest C/D standard. |
| 10 Oct | RNLAF F-16s Reach 7500 Flight Hours Over Afghanistan The Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16s have reached the milestone of 7500 flight hours over Afghanistan as part of the ISAF mission. |
| 09 Oct | Boeing Contracted to Upgrade F-15C Eagles with APG-63(V)3 Radar Boeing has been awarded a $70 million contract to begin upgrading U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard F-15C Eagles with the APG-63(V)3 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. |
| 08 Oct | USCG HH-65 Dolphin Fleet Reaches One Million Flight Hours The U.S. Coast Guard’s fleet of Eurocopter HH-65 Dolphin helicopters has passed its one million flight hour milestone. |
| 05 Oct | First Extended Block II Apache Longbow Delivered to U.S. Army Boeing delivered the first Extended Block II AH-64D Apache Longbow to the U.S. Army. |
| 04 Oct | Kuwait Requested L-100-30 Hercules Upgrade The Government of Kuwait has requested a possible Foreign Military Sale to upgrade three L-100-30 aircraft (a commercial version of the C-130 aircraft). |
| 03 Oct | First Merlin HC.3A Helicopters Unveiled at RAF Benson The first two of six new Merlin Helicopters acquired from Denmark were unveiled at RAF Benson and establishment of a new RAF Merlin Squadron - 78 Squadron - was announced. |
| 03 Oct | Swedish Air Force Gripen Gets Cobra Helmet-Mounted Display Sweden has ordered Saab's Cobra helmet mounted display (HMD) system for its Gripen fighters. |
| 25 Sep | First Production EA-18G Growler Delivered Boeing yesterday delivered the first production EA-18G Growler to the U.S. Navy. |
| 19 Sep | EMBRAER Delivers 50th A-29 Super Tucano to Brazilian Air Force Embraer delivered the 50th A-29 Super Tucano to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) on September 18, 2007. |
| 17 Sep | Saudi Arabia Signs Contract for 72 Eurofighter Typhoons Saudi Arabia has signed an initial £4.43 Billion (USD 8.86 Billion) contract for 72 Eurofighter Typhoons last week. The deal is estimated to be worth £20 billion over the lifetime of the aircraft. |
| 14 Sep | Turkey Signs Contract for 50 T129 Attack Helicopters Turkey has signed a $1.2 billion contract with AgustaWestland to procure an initial 50 T129 attack helicopters, a tailored version for Turkish requirements based on the export standard A129 Mangusta International. |
| 06 Sep | Sweden Receives Second NH90 After the hand-over of the first Swedish NH90 transport helicopter during Le Bourget 2007, FMV took delivery of its second NH90 on September 6th, 2007. |
| 17 Aug | Brazilian AMX Mid Life Upgrade Programme Starts Embraer has recently started the AMX Mid Life Upgrade. |
| 14 Aug | CH-47F Chinook Helicopter Fielded to First US Army Unit On August 14th, 2007, Boeing announced that its CH-47F Chinook helicopter has been certified combat-ready by the U.S. Army and fielded to the first operational unit. |
| 13 Aug | First Flight NH90 Helicopter for the Royal Netherlands Navy The first series produced NH90 NFH (NATO Frigate Helicopter) for the Royal Netherlands Navy made its maiden flight on Friday 10th August at AgustaWestland’s Vergiate facility in Italy. |
| 13 Aug | Two More Hungarian Gripen Fighters Delivered Two more Saab Gripen fighters have been delivered to the Hungary. |
| 13 Aug | Spanish Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 1 Deliveries Completed Eurofighter GmbH announced EADS CASA has delivered the final Tranche 1 for the Spanish Air Force on August 13th, 2007. |
| 09 Aug | First Multi-Role Eurofighter Typhoons Delivered to RAF The first two Eurofighter Typhoon fighters with initial air-to-ground capability have been delivered to the Royal Air Force (RAF). In addition to undertaking air-to-air combat, it can now engage ground targets with GPS and laser guided bombs in the same mission. |
| 01 Aug | First ex-RDAF Merlin for RAF Arrived at RAF Benson The first of six new Merlin battlefield helicopters arrived at RAF Benson yesterday, 31 July 2007, a move which will enable aircrew and groundcrew to begin training on them. |
| 31 Jul | Lockheed Gets Five Billion USD For 60 Raptors Lockheed awarded additional funding of five billion USD to build 60 more F-22 Raptors for the US Air Force. |
| 31 Jul | Spanish Air Force Orders Two Additional C-295 Transports The Spanish Air Force purchased two additional EADS/CASA C-295 military transport aircraft, increasing the size of its fleet to 13 aircraft. |
| 25 Jul | First Flight Canadian C-17 Globemaster III The first of four Boeing C-17 Globemaster III strategic transport aircraft for the Canadian Defense Forces took flight for the first time Monday. |
| 19 Jul | Northrop Grumman To Build Next Three E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes On July 19, 2007 - Northrop Grumman has been awarded a $408 million pilot production contract to produce the next three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning and battle management command and control (AEW/BMC2) aircraft for the U.S. Navy from 2007 to 2010. |
| 18 Jul | Turkish Air Force KT-1 Contract Signed Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Korea Aerospace Industries(KAI) finalished the contract for the procurement of up to 55 of Korea's KT-1 basic trainer aircraft for the Turkish Air Force at a ceremony, held at TAI’s facilities on 18 July 2007. |
| 12 Jul | First Eurofighter Typhoon Arrives in Austria On July 12th, 2007, the first Eurofighter Typhoon for the Austrian Air Force arrived at Zeltweg air base, Austria. |
| 10 Jul | Eurocopter To Assess Life Extension RAF Puma Helicopters Eurocopter has been awarded an Assessment Phase contract for the life extension programme for the Puma helicopters, which will include up to 35 of the helicopters getting new Turbomeca Makila engines, ‘glass’ cockpits, and new communications, navigation and defensive systems. |
| 05 Jul | VH-71 Presidential Helicopter Test Aircraft Maiden Flight The VH-71 helicopter made its maiden flight at AgustaWestland’s facility in Yeovil, UK, on July 3, 2007, marking a significant milestone in the development of the United States' Presidential aircraft. |
| 02 Jul | SAAB Selected GE F414G Engine for New Gripen Variant SAAB selected a new variant of the General Electric F414 engine for its Gripen Aircraft Demonstrator Program. GE Aviation and Volvo Aero Corporation will be working collaboratively on the new F414G fighter engine. |
| 29 Jun | RAF Eurofighter Typhoon Assumes Quick Reaction Alert Role On June 29, 2007, the Royal Air Force's Eurofighter Typhoon assumes responsibility for the southern element of the United Kingdom’s Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) air defence stance. |
| 29 Jun | First Danish Merlin Helicopters for RAF Arrive in UK Transferred from Denmark to the UK, the first two of six brand new Merlin helicopters for the RAF arrived at AgustaWestland's facility in Yeovil on June 29, 2007. |
| 29 Jun | Norway Signs LOA for Four C-130J Hercules Transports The governments of Norway and the United States have signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) for the sale of four Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to Norway. |
| 29 Jun | Brazil to Buy Six UH-60L Blackhawk Helicopters The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Brazil of UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters as well as associated equipment and services. |
| 28 Jun | Finland to Buy 18 Hawk Mk.66 From Switzerland On June 28, 2007, the Finnish Ministry of Defence announced that it had signed a letter of intent to acquire 18 Hawk Mk.66 jets from Switzerland. |
| 26 Jun | Last Sorties FMV Sk-37E Viggens Sweden's Forsvarets Materielverk (FMV - Defense Materiel Administration) Flight Test Centre at Linköping flew its last two Saab Viggens for the last time on June 26, 2007. |
| 26 Jun | Austria And Eurofighter Agree On Revised Contract The Eurofighter consortium has reached agreement with the Government of Austria on cost reductions of the Eurofighter procurement. |
| 13 Jun | C-27J Spartan Selected for Joint Cargo Aircraft programme Alenia Aeronautica's C-27J has been selected by the US Army and Air Force as the new tactical transport aircraft for the Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) programme over EADS-CASA's C-295. |
| 10 Jun | Last Six of 18 ex-RNLAF F-16 MLU Delivered to Chile On June 3, 2007, the last batch of six former RNLAF F-16 fighters departed from Twenthe AB in the Netherlands to be handed over to Fuerza Aérea de Chile (FACh) in a ceremony on June 7. |
| 05 Jun | EADS UH-72A Lakota Enter U.S. Army Service The U.S. Army has equipped its first unit with the UH-72A Lakota, a new helicopter made in Mississippi by EADS North America. |
| 04 Jun | Italy To Buy 14 Aermacchi M-346 Training Jets On May 28, 2007, defence under-secretary Lorenzo Forcieri declared that the Italian Armed Forces intend to acquire 14 M-346 advanced jet trainers. |
| 24 May | Royal Malaysian Air Force Accepts First Two Su-30MKM Fighters On Thursday 24 May 2007, the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) officially accepted the first two Sukhoi Su-30MKM multi-role fighter aircraft at Irkutsk, Russia. |
| 23 May | First Eurocopter EC635 for Swiss Air Force Flies The first EC635 destined for the Swiss Air Force successfully performed its maiden flight at Eurocopter’s Donauwörth facility on May 23. |
| 22 May | Boeing to Upgrade USAF B-52s Boeing has been awarded a $30 million U.S. Air Force contract to upgrade the B-52 fleet's Integrated Weapons Interface Units (IWIU), providing flight crews with enhanced smart weapon visibility and control. |
| 21 May | Six ex-RNLAF F-16BM Fighters Sold to Jordan In May 2007, it was announced that the Netherlands Ministry of Defence had signed a contract with Jordan on April 12, 2007, for the sale of six ex-RNLAF F-16B Midlife Update (MLU) two-seat fighters. |
| 16 May | Spanish Army Tiger Helicopters Homecoming On May 16, 2007, the Spanish Army’s first three Tiger helicopters have arrived at their final destination, the Coronel Sánchez Bilbao military base in Almagro, where they are to serve the Spanish armed forces. |
| 11 May | Turkey To Buy 30 Additional F-16 Block 50 Fighters The governments of Turkey and the United States have signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) for the sale of 30 additional Lockheed Martin Advanced F-16 Block 50+ aircraft to Turkey. |
| 09 May | Maiden Flight NH90 TTH for Oman First NH90 Tactical Transport Helicopter (TTH) for Oman performed Maiden Flight at Eurocopter in Marignane. |
| 09 May | Spanish Air Force Gets First Upgraded P-3 On May 7, 2007, the Spanish Air Force accepted the first P-3 aircraft modernised by EADS CASA. |
| 02 May | Belgium Places Order for NH-90 Helicopters Belgian Government ordered ten NH90 helicopters. |
| 25 Apr | First Limited Series Production Tejas LCA Flies On April 25, 2007, the first Limited Series Production Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) made its maiden flight. |
| 19 Apr | EMBRAER Plans to Develop New Military Transport EMBRAER announces C-390 medium-sized military transport study. |
| 15 Apr | German Tornados Deploy to Afghanistan In April 2007, six German Tornado IDS aircraft from Aufklaerungsgeschwader 51 (AG 51 - Tactical Reconnaissance Wing 51), Scheleswig-Jagel, have deployed to Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. |
| 12 Apr | US Air Force Orders Conversion of 20 QF-4 Full-Scale Aerial Targets On April 12, 2007, BAE Systems has received a $26.5 million contract to convert 20 F-4 Phantom fighter jets to full-scale aerial targets for the U.S. Air Force. |
| 05 Apr | First Patria-built NH-90 for Sweden Flies The first high-cabin NH90 transport helicopter destined for the Swedish Defence Forces and assembled by Patria in Finland has flown successfully its first test flights. |
| 26 Mar | First Licence Built EH101 Delivered By Kawasaki On March 23, 2007, Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) delivered the first ever licence built EH101 helicopter to the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF). |
| 23 Mar | JF-17 Arrived in Pakistan The first two series production JF-17 fighters arrived in Pakistan. |
| 23 Mar | Royal Australian Navy Selects A109 Power For Training The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) selected the A109 Power for the operational conversion training role. |
| 08 Mar | First C-295 Delivered to Finland The first of two C-295 was delivered to the Finnish Air Force on March 6, 2007. |
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