Boeing’s BSU-111/B Payload Delivery Unit is a wing-and-turbojet engine kit that converts a 500-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) into a long-range JDAM (JDAM LR) dubbed the GBU-75. The result is a gravity bomb with the reach of a cruise missile.

Boeing said it has spent nearly $100 million of its own money on the program.

“Scaling production of the GBU-75 will provide the fleet with an affordable, sustainable solution designed to eliminate long-range land and sea-based threats to U.S. and international forces,” said Bob Ciesla, vice president of Boeing Precision Engagement Systems.

The BSU-111/B wing-and-engine kit is the latest modification to the JDAM family, which has previously seen the gravity bomb receive a tail kit that steered it roughly 15 nautical miles and a wing kit that further stretched that distance to 40.

The Kratos-designed TDI-J85 engine pushes that past 300.

The JDAM LR’s capabilities go beyond land strikes. The QuickStrike Long Range mining variant pairs it with a bomb carrying a ship-tracking sensor. Boeing has shown concepts loading large numbers onto Air Force bombers, though no Air Force buy has been announced.

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, buys JDAM for both the Air Force and U.S. Navy. The first GBU-75s are bound for the Navy.

The Navy demonstrated the weapon back in April, when Super Hornets released two JDAM LRs over the Point Mugu Sea Range off California.

The April 1 round separated cleanly, fired up its engine and flew 34 minutes before landing within meters of its target. The April 3 round added altitude changes and maneuvering. Each covered roughly 200 nautical miles.

When announcing those tests in April, Capt. Sarah Abbott, the Navy’s Precision Strike Weapons program manager, emphasized the need to give the fleet’s JDAMs greater standoff range.

“As Naval Air Forces in theater continue to rely heavily on JDAM systems, the program recognizes a critical need to provide the fleet with greater standoff range,” she said. “This new capability allows pilots to engage targets from significantly safer distances, maintaining a tactical advantage in contested environments.”

Reusing existing infrastructure is a key aspect of the program’s appeal.

Navy budget documents describe JDAM LR as a modification to the baseline program, built on the existing production line and guidance hardware. Any jet that can drop a conventional JDAM can carry the new variant without modification, according to Boeing’s release.

The award, which had not appeared in the Pentagon’s daily contract announcements as of Aug. 5, is an undefinitized action, meaning Boeing began work before the two sides agreed on a price. The Government Accountability Office has long called these contracts risky because contractors are reimbursed for allowable costs, regardless.

Boeing’s release did not say how many GBU-75s the contract buys, how much they cost or when deliveries begin.

“The current industrial base has demonstrated significant challenges, including production delays, quality control issues, and critical obsolescence (i.e., diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages) across key engine components,” warned the Air Force’s Request for Information. The deadline is Aug. 28.

“The government will pursue a strategic competition requiring industry to innovate manufacturing and guarantee supply chain resiliency,” the RFI said.

The initiative comes as the Air Force struggles with its jet engines.

For example, F-35 fighter deliveries and upgrades have been delayed by engine issues, with a Government Accountability Office report noting last year that “the engine contractor is still not delivering engines to contract specifications after 20 years of production.”

Meanwhile, B-52 modernization has been stalled in part by engine issues that have raised costs by $3 billion and delayed initial operational capability by 15 months, according to GAO.

In turn, the Air Force is now embarking on a multiyear fighter engine procurement project that envisions more than 180 engines per year by 2034. The RFI specifically cites engines for the F-15EX and F-16.

The RFI promises “five foundational pillars designed to drive a paradigm shift in engine procurement and sustainment,” as the government shifts from “legacy procurement toward incentivizing industry-led technological evolution and capacity expansion.” These include “holding vendors accountable” for delivering new engines that are more capable, reliable and cheaper.

The Air Force will focus “on the total lifecycle cost of the engine, not just the initial purchase price.”

Contractors are also responsible for ensuring reliable supply chains.

“We will implement an acquisition strategy that prioritizes ease of maintenance and establishes a resilient, sustainable supply chain from day one,” the Air Force said. “This effort is designed to solve key fleet-level issues by requiring a newer engine with improved supportability.”

“The result is a streamlined logistics footprint that reduces downtime, lowers the burden on our maintainers, and ensures the continuous flow of parts and support to maximize flightline readiness.”

Ultimately, the question is whether the U.S. defense industrial base can deliver. The Air Force intends to “enforce stringent producibility requirements.”

“We will select a partner capable of scaling production to meet surge requirements, guaranteeing a steady and uninterrupted supply of engines for USAF/FMS [Foreign Military Sales] aircraft (e.g. F-15EX and F-16) programs,” the RFI reads.

Companies responding to the RFI are asked to provide a variety of details, such as a timeline for developing and manufacturing an engine. They should also specify “at what minimum volume your supply chain can justify private capital investments (such as facility expansion, tooling modernization, or advanced automation) and how those investments will structurally lower your long-term unit costs.”

With nations competing to obtain raw materials — and China restricting sales of rare earths — the Air Force wants to be certain manufacturers can find the raw materials they need.

“From your company’s market perspective, what are the primary raw material constraints (e.g., specialized titanium/nickel alloys) or manufacturing process bottlenecks (e.g., advanced casting or forging capacity) that pose the highest risk to scaling up fighter engine production?” the RFI asks.

Lorenzo Mariani, Leonardo’s CEO and General Manager, said: “The introduction of the M-346F in Indonesia provides clear evidence not only of the aircraft system’s inherent quality, but also of the country’s continued and yet growing trust in our capabilities across domains.”

Leonardo said the sale “includes the localization of a range of support, maintenance, overhaul and training capabilities, as well as human capital development.”

The Italian-built M-346 is well known as an advanced jet trainer, but the F variant is a dedicated, multirole, light fighter. It has an active electronically scanned array radar, Link 16 data link, seven hardpoints for carrying weapons, aerial refueling capability and electronic countermeasures system.

The first M-346s should be handed over to Jakarta in 2030. This will make Indonesia the 23rd operator of the M-346, but the first Asian customer of the newest Block 20 variant.

“Just eight months after the first order, strong and rapid global demand for the latest version of the aircraft clearly demonstrates it is meeting customer requirements,” reads a Leonardo statement. The firm said the M-346 has logged 170,000+ flight hours to date.

Indonesia is currently inducting Dassault’s Rafale fighter, but the air force maintains a hotchpotch fleet that includes the American F-16, Russian Su-27/Su-30 and Korean T-50i.

Jakarta invested in the Korean KF-21’s development, and it has also professed devotion to the Turkish Kaan. However, neither has resulted in production contracts yet. Indonesia’s defense minister has also expressed a desire for the Chinese J-10.

If all these aspirations came true, Indonesia would end up operating perhaps the world’s most complicated and varied fleet of combat aircraft.

“The Indonesian Armed Forces have been facing existing challenges related to interoperability,” Alban Sciascia, director of consultancy firm PT Semar Sentinel Indonesia, told Defense News. “It’s no secret that Indonesia has been focusing on procuring different equipment from different countries, as part of its diversification strategy, and that its joint operations concept is limited because of the relative inability to get all this equipment interoperating on the battlefield.”

Meanwhile, Leonardo, PT ESystem Solutions and the Indonesian Ministry of Defense also signed a letter of intent on July 21 for the prospective procurement of Leonardo AW149 medium helicopters for the Indonesian Navy.

“If followed by a contract, this could lead to the supply of AW149 helicopters for search and rescue and disaster relief, for both land-based and embarked operations,” Leonardo said in a statement.

The navy currently operates eleven Airbus AS565 Panther helicopters, but as guardian of the world’s largest archipelagic waters, it has a requirement for more shipboard helicopters.

The country’s security council, KYSEA, gave its initial approval earlier this year and approved the procurement contracts on Thursday, Nikos Dendias told journalists.

Greece wants to build a multi-layer anti-ballistic, anti-aircraft and anti-drone system, called “Achilles Shield,” with Israeli radars and missiles from Rafael and IAI defense companies forming the core of the system.

“It will be ready and fully operational within 35 months, starting from today,” said Nikos Dendias, adding that companies in Greece will produce at least 25% of the system.

Greece, which currently uses U.S. Patriot and old Russian S-300 systems to protect its airspace, plans to spend about €28 billion by 2036 to modernize its armed forces.

This includes buying up to 40 new F-35 fighter jets from the United States and frigates from France and Italy.

Dendias said that KYSEA had also approved the purchase of three C-390 military transport aircraft, 10 British-built VICTA mini-submarines for special operations, U.S. V-BAT unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and Heron UAVs from Israel.

Greece spends nearly 3.5% of its gross domestic product on defense, a higher proportion than many fellow NATO countries, due to its long-standing dispute with Turkey.

With strong economic and diplomatic ties, Greece and Israel operate an air training centre on Greek territory, hold joint military annual drills and cooperate on anti-drone systems and cybersecurity.

Last year, Athens bought 36 Israeli-made rocket artillery systems for about €650 million.

The U.K.’s biggest defense company showcased a model of its new jet, Brontanax, derived from the ancient Greek words for thunder and king, at the Farnborough Airshow. It is about the size of a Hawk trainer and would be ready to start flight testing next year, BAE said.

As the global threat level rises and western nations re-arm, defense chiefs say the lesson from the Ukraine war is clear: nations need to control the skies to avoid Ukrainian-style attritional trench warfare and that requires air forces to bulk up.

BAE enters an increasingly crowded market for so-called Collaborative Combat Aircraft, with Airbus, Boeing, Anduril and General Atomics among a growing number of companies competing for business at Farnborough in a sector expected to expand rapidly.

Often described as “loyal wingmen,” CCAs are designed to fly alongside piloted aircraft and are expected to cost roughly a third as much as a traditional fighter jet.

Crowded marketplace

Britain’s new Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, who was appointed on Monday, said it was a “groundbreaking moment.”

“We will adopt this as our operational concept demonstrator, and we’re going to get it in the air in 2027,” he said at the airshow.

BAE has invested hundreds of millions of pounds in its CCA, pushing ahead without the government co-investment which usually underpins new platforms.

“We’ve put our money where our mouth is,” CEO Charles Woodburn told Reuters.

“We could see where the market was going,” he added, saying he hopes to secure a U.K. order, and that other countries in Europe and the Middle East could follow, with some already showing an interest.

BAE has developed Brontanax alongside the Royal Air Force, in a project dating back to 2022, and already has a fully assembled aircraft at its Warton facility in northwest England. It could enter service by 2030, BAE said.

That timeline compares to Boeing’s MQ-28 Ghost Bat, on display at Farnborough, which has already started flight testing, and could be flying for Australia by 2028.

BAE said its CCA offered more stealth than rivals and it was aiming for it to have 70% to 80% of the capabilities of a fighter jet and to come in at under 25% of the cost, which could give it a price tag of around $25 million.

Its open architecture and modular design will allow software upgrades and changes to easily be made, with BAE looking at non-military suppliers to help with the build.

Britain said in its defense investment plan earlier in July that it would spend an initial £300 million ($401 million) to launch a sovereign CCA program it has named Storm Fighter.

The move coincides with the Farnborough Airshow, the aerospace and defense industry’s premier gathering, with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East driving demand for tools from combat drones and interceptor missiles to AI-enabled military software.

The airshow coincides with new Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s first days in office. He named John Healey, who favors hiking the UK defense budget, as finance minister, while giving Health Minister Wes Streeting the defense brief.

The appointments boosted British defense and aerospace stocks on Tuesday, as markets bet companies would benefit from the new government’s willingness to make Britain more war-ready.

“I’m looking forward to working with him in his new capacity,” Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgic told reporters at the show on Tuesday, referring to Healey. “He understands Rolls-Royce and our agenda and how much we contribute to the country.”

The new government’s first announcement with foreign partners came on the Global Combat Air Programme, the stealth fighter being jointly developed by Britain, Italy and Japan. Canada joined as an observer, marking the first expansion beyond the founding members.

BAE Systems, Boeing and Saab also signed a deal to advance a partnership to offer Britain a new fast-jet pilot training aircraft based on Boeing’s T-7 system, as it looks for a replacement for the aging Hawk fleet.

Defense sector signal

Healey had previously spent months lobbying the former prime minister to lay out a pathway to spend 3% of GDP on defense by 2030, rather than the 2.68% that the government eventually budgeted for.

“As Defense Secretary, John Healey championed British business, recognizing the contribution that the defense sector makes to growth and national security,” BAE Systems CEO Charles Woodburn said.

Canada is becoming an increasingly important defense partner for European nations as it looks to diversify its defense spending away from the United States and forge closer ties on the continent.

There will be no financial commitment involved in its observer status, but Canada could join the program more formally in future, sharing the billion-dollar development bill and potentially ordering the jets.

Defense companies made up half of a record 1,600 exhibitors at this year’s show, highlighting a shift from the usual dominance of commercial aviation and reflecting how conflicts have reshaped spending priorities.

Boeing was awarded a $3.9 billion contract in 2018 to build the aircraft, though costs have since ballooned to more than $5 billion. The aircraft are intended to replace the current Air Force One planes, which entered service in 1990.

“We’re on track for 2028,” Steve Parker, CEO of Defense, Space & Security, told reporters ahead of the Farnborough Airshow in the UK, adding that he expected the first aircraft to begin testing next year.

“I do expect to see some cost growth there as we come through and we finish off the wiring and the structures, as well as finishing up our own certifications.”

In May 2025, the United States accepted a luxury Boeing 747 from Qatar for use as a temporary presidential aircraft. The jet has since entered service as a bridge aircraft. Security concerns led President Donald Trump to forgo flying the Qatari jet home from Turkey, opting instead to return aboard an older Air Force One.

The Air Force One program involves converting two Boeing 747-8 aircraft into highly specialized jets equipped with advanced communications and defensive systems. Even with a 2028 delivery, the program would be running four years behind schedule.

The system, called Hypnosis, consists of an array of mobile “stations” around a defended area, working in unison to disrupt the command-and-control signals of incoming threats, according to the manufacturer.

The company said the technology is the product of IAI’s experience in navigation warfare, of NAVWAR.

The soft-kill weapon is meant as a method for taking out large numbers of drones at once, in situations where hard-kill — or kinetic — intercepts would be tricky to execute because of the number of airborne objects.

The unveiling comes amid a resurgence of military confrontation between the United States and Iran and heightened tension across the Middle East as a result of it, as well as an intensifying exchange of missile and drone strikes between Russia and Ukraine.

Defense companies around the world have been working on technology enabling swarms of drones to attack targets with an inherent logic of their own.

Similarly, companies are also chasing defensive offerings for such scenarios.

Swarms are difficult to defend against because they can saturate and overwhelm traditional air defense networks, increasing the chances of at least one warhead making it through.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Macron agreed on a roadmap between their two countries that also includes the acquisition of a first batch of SAMP/T NG air-defense batteries, complementing systems and their missiles to be delivered in coming weeks, Macron said. France will also provide radar systems and additional missiles, the president said.

The countries further approved licensing agreements for production in Ukraine of the AASM glide-bomb kit, the Aster 30 air-defense interceptor that arms the SAMP/T system as well as the SCALP/Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missile, Macron said.

Ukraine has suffered a shortage of interceptors to defeat ballistic threats, leaving the country with a gap in its air defenses as Russia has stepped up ballistic-missile attacks. United States President Donald Trump said earlier this month Ukraine would be allowed to manufacture its own interceptors for the Patriot air-defense system, though setting up local production could take years.

“Ukraine has immediate needs, particularly in the anti-ballistic area,” Macron said. He said the bilateral agreement is part of that, in addition to an initiative by Zelenskyy to create a coalition “that will accelerate Ukraine’s anti-ballistic defense in a very concrete way.”

Nine countries including France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Norway joined Ukraine in a coalition that will develop an anti-ballistic air-defense system, according to a joint statement. The system, called Freyja, will be centered on an interceptor from Ukrainian defense firm Fire Point.

Ukraine is also seeking to strengthen its air force and compensate for the loss of Soviet-era aircraft, agreeing in May to buy 20 new Gripen fighter jets, and with Sweden planning to donate 16 older models next year. The country has previously received F-16 fighter jets, which are being used primarily in an air defense role to shoot down Russian cruise missiles and Shahed attack drones.

The first Rafale jets are expected to fly in Ukrainian skies as early as 2028 or 2029, and training of Ukrainian pilots will start in coming months, Macron said.

Ukraine in November signed a letter of intent to buy up to 100 Rafale jets manufactured by Dassault Aviation. That followed a similar letter of intent in October between Ukraine and Sweden for the export of up to 150 Gripen jets, produced by Saab.

The remaining year of the Hydis program will focus on advancing critical technologies to at least Technology Readiness Level 3, Europe’s Organisation for Joint Armament Co-Operation said in a separate statement on Friday. That level corresponds to experimental proof of concept.

Hydis is one of two European projects to develop a counter against hypersonic threats, competing with the Hydef program led by Germany’s Diehl Defence and coordinated by Spain’s SMS Sistemas de Misiles de España. The European Defence Fund plans to allocate €100 million ($114 million) for an endo-atmospheric interceptor as part of its 2026 work program, with only one of the proposals to be funded.

Completion of the final concept review is “a significant step forward in the development of a future European capability to counter hypersonic threats,” OCCAR said. The organization, which manages the program on behalf of France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, said the four countries validated “the most promising interceptor concept proposed by the Hydis industrial consortium.”

The interceptor will be designed to defeat threats including hypersonic glide vehicles, hypersonic cruise missiles and maneuvering ballistic missiles, and the concept was assessed against threat models developed by Italy’s research organization Centro Italiano di Ricerca Aerospaziale, France’s Onera and Dutch technology institute TNO.

The final concept review focused specifically on the terminal phase of interception by the kill vehicle, according to OCCAR, which said the program enters the next phase with a “clear path” toward technology maturation.

Avio worked on the architecture of the solid rocket motor propulsion, ArianeGroup and MBDA’s Roxel on the final interceptor stage control mechanism, and Lynred on the terminal infra-red sensor, according to MBDA, with the missile maker handling the integration into a coherent concept.

Thales provided performance data for naval and ground-sensor suite options, while GKN Fokker worked on integration of the ammunition into the MK41 naval launcher, MBDA said.

“This new milestone demonstrates the consortium’s full expertise in the fields of hypersonic and ballistic threats, backed by in-depth knowledge of air defense systems.” MBDA said in its statement on Friday.

The EDF has provided €80 million in funding for the three-year Hydis program, with the four partner countries jointly providing around €60 million. The largest share of EDF funds for Hydis has gone to MBDA, with more than €60 million allocated across seven MBDA entities in the program.

Meanwhile, Hydef has received €100 million from the EDF, and another €10 million from participating countries Belgium, Germany, Norway, Poland and Spain. Diehl is the biggest beneficiary of the European funding for Hydef, accounting for €34.7 million.

Hydef originally won the EDF competition to develop a hypersonic interceptor in 2022, with the European Commission funding Hydis as a second effort after objections from France and MBDA, which had already been working on hypersonic technology for years. MBDA presented its counter-hypersonic interceptor concept Aquila at the Paris Air Show in 2023.

Both programs are linked to the broader European project Twister to detect, track and counter hypersonic threats with space-based early warning and endo-atmospheric interceptors.

Merz told lawmakers he had sealed the deal with the U.S. government on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara, adding that the meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday had exceeded his expectations.

“We are closing a critical strategic gap in our defence, while simultaneously working to develop our own European systems and station them in Europe,” he said.

According to German government sources, Washington committed to granting approval in August for Germany to procure Tomahawk missiles and corresponding ground-based Typhon launchers in a letter of intent signed on Tuesday.

The number of missiles and launchers Germany plans to acquire has not been disclosed as it is classified information.

The planned purchase appears to fit with U.S. President Donald Trump’s push for European allies to pay for their own security, for example by buying U.S. weapons.

The fate of the Tomahawk supply had been unclear after Trump announced in May that he would reduce U.S. military presence in Germany.

German defense minister laments long-range strike ‘gap’ caused by planned US drawdown

That was seen as a cancellation of a plan under the previous administration to deploy a U.S. battalion equipped with long-range Tomahawk missiles to Germany.

It was intended as an interim solution that would serve as a powerful deterrent against Russia while Europeans developed their own version of such weapons.

Germany makes its own cruise missiles, the Taurus, but their range of around 311 miles is three to five times shorter than the Tomahawks’.

The move would be a massive gesture from Trump to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan whom he considers a close ally and would remove a major long-standing irritant in bilateral ties.

Even as Washington and Ankara have enjoyed warmer ties under Trump, Turkey’s 2019 acquisition of the Russian S-400 system has long been a sore point for both sides.

In response to that purchase, Washington in 2020 imposed sanctions on a major Turkish defense company and removed Turkey from the F-35 stealth fighter jet program, where Ankara was also a production partner.

“We’re going to be taking the sanctions off,” Trump told reporters just before his meeting with Erdogan during a visit to Turkey for a NATO summit. He added that his secretary of state and Treasury secretary were working on the issue.

Trump was also upbeat about the possible sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey even as he did not say how exactly such a transaction would take place given the legal hurdles.

“Turkey has been, in many ways, much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal. ... It’s a great plane, it’s the best, currently the best plane by far. And it’s certainly something we will consider,” Trump said.

Congress passed a law prohibiting any F-35 sales to ​Turkey as long ⁠as Ankara retained the S-400s, saying the Russian system posed a security risk to U.S.-made combat aircraft. Currently, the U.S. law does not permit Turkey to operate or possess the S-400 system if it wishes to rejoin the F-35 program.

Earlier, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Trump was expected to throw his support behind a potential F-35 sale to Turkey. One solution that has in recent weeks gained traction is to send the Russian system to a third country, although an agreement on this has yet to be sealed, according to the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

It was unclear if such a move would be accepted by Russia, which requires end-user obligations in weapons sales.

Trump’s visit to Turkey is the first by a U.S. president in 11 years. He was welcomed by Erdogan with a lavish state ceremony and both leaders sang each other’s praises in their public remarks. Under Trump, Turkey’s deteriorating human rights track record has never been a topic of much concern for Washington.

Built by Northrop Grumman, the MQ-4C Triton is a high-altitude, long-endurance UAV specifically designed for maritime surveillance over vast stretches of sea.

According to Rutte, the aircraft will help NATO detect threats early, protect sea lines of communication, and support operations in demanding regions, such as the High North. “These aircraft can fly for long periods at high altitude and cover large areas, including over open water, more efficiently than most other aircraft can,” he said at the event, organized to coincide with the NATO summit this week.

Rutte stressed that intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) is a vital capability for the alliance, as it provides the situational awareness needed to make the right decisions and stay ahead of threats. “Today, allies are taking a concrete step to strengthen this capability,” he added.

Rutte said Northrop Grumman will build the Triton aircraft, while European industry will be work on mission support, data systems and infrastructure. “It is genuinely made in NATO and is creating jobs on both sides of the Atlantic,” he said.

The MQ-4C Triton is capable of operating at altitudes above 50,000 feet for 24-plus hours, with a range of 7,400 nautical miles, according to the manufacturer. Current users of the Triton are the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force.

Defense Logistics Agency head Yusuf Jauhan told reporters in late June that plans to domestically produce the jets will not materialize, confirming speculations that Jakarta had cancelled agreements to domestically manufacture the Korean jets under a 2015 co-production agreement.

The KF-21 Boramae, developed by Korea Aerospace Industries, is a twin-engine fighter designed to succeed South Korea’s aging F-4 and F-5 fleets. Indonesia intended to use these jets to replace older warplanes.

Jakarta had initially agreed to cover 20% of the development cost, then priced at 1.6 trillion won ($1.3 billion), to be paid until 2026. The deal includes the transfer of one prototype and technology that would allow state-owned PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) to produce 48 units of KF-21 Block-I fighter jets in Bandung.

But the agreement had been bogged down by delayed payments and allegations of sensitive data theft, which were carried into numerous renegotiations on cost-sharing arrangements.

In 2024, Jakarta requested to extend the payment timeline until 2034, but Seoul declined because it would derail deployment plans. The countries eventually agreed to reduce Indonesia’s contribution to 600 million won, but the deal will significantly lessen tech transfer coverage.

There had been confusion on the status of the KF-21 co-production deal, which had been kept tightly under wraps.

Earlier in April, Indonesian authorities revealed that the KF-21’s domestic production would no longer push through and confirmed in June that the government had scrapped the program.

This comes after Jakarta finished settling the 600 million won commitment under the reduced agreement in exchange for a single-seat KF-21 prototype. Officials also said they are more interested in buying ready-made jets.

Jakarta’s decision “appears to be largely practical and financial,” Ju Hyung Kim, president of the Security Management Institute think tank, told Defense News.

“Indonesia may still want the aircraft, but not necessarily the burdens of local co-production. From Seoul’s perspective, this is probably easier to manage and potentially more attractive for the KF-21’s broader export campaign,” Kim said.

If Jakarta’s plans push through, Indonesia would also become a good first reference case for the KF-21 jets and will boost its market potential, Kim said.

Local officials said that procurement plans are still being explored. PTDI told Defense News that internal discussions are ongoing and no definitive plan has been established.

While purchasing the KF-21 remains on the table for Jakarta, official sources told Defense News the odds are in favor of existing contractors with more attractive tech transfer arrangements.

Officials are reportedly weighing the purchase of 24 additional French Dassault Rafale jets to supplement the 42 jets the government ordered under a contract signed in 2022.

Jakarta also signed in April an overseas loan scheme to buy 48 KAAN stealth jets from Turkish Aerospace Industries worth $10 billion, which will be delivered beginning in 2032.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct the name of the president of the Security Management Institute think tank.

The three nations said on Friday they had handed the 18-month contract to Edgewing, the industrial consortium grouping firms building the sixth-generation fighter.

The announcement came three days after the announcement of the U.K.’s delayed Defence Investment Plan (DIP), which contained funds for the fighter.

“The £4.6 billion contract will enable completion of the advanced concept and assessment phase of the program, and further joint detailed design and development,” the tri-nation agency running the program announced.

As the partners awaited the publication of the DIP this spring, they handed firms a £686 million stop-gap contract to keep work going until June 30.

To the relief of the partner firms, the DIP - which was released on the same day the stop gap contract expired - committed £8.6 billion ($11.4 billion) over four years to the program, more than the £6 billion expected.

The U.K.’s delay in finding the GCAP money sparked criticism from Japan, which is anxious to get a sixth-generation jet flying by the planned GCAP delivery date of 2035.

Japan’s prime minister reportedly threatened to pull out of a planned visit to the U.K. before the G7 in June if the U.K. failed to promise funding.

The signing of the contract comes days ahead of the opening of the U.K. Farnborough airshow this month.

U.K. defense procurement minister Luke Pollard called the contract “a major step forward towards delivery” of the GCAP.

He added, “This milestone strengthens our partnership with international allies, supports thousands of highly skilled jobs across the UK, and will give the RAF the tools they need to keep the UK safe, all backed by an £8.6 billion commitment in the defense investment plan.”

Edgewing, the industrial consortium running the program teams local champions BAE Systems, Leonardo, and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. Ltd. (JAIEC).

Edgewing is now expected to hand its own contracts to tri-nation consortia managing the electronics and propulsion on the jet.

Poland initially planned to procure two aircraft using loans from the European Union, but the agreement with Madrid will allow Warsaw to increase its tanker order to four units.

A spokesperson for the Polish Ministry of National Defence told Defense News that Poland and Spain have signed a memorandum that obliges the two countries to carry out the acquisition together. The deal enables the Spanish government to share its delivery slots with the Polish ministry.

By joining forces with Madrid for the procurement, Warsaw will receive the MRTTs by 2030. The agreement was signed in late June 2026 during an official visit to Spain by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and National Defence Minister. During the visit, Kosiniak-Kamysz met with his Spanish counterpart, Margarita Robles.

The Polish minister has announced “that, within two weeks’ time, Poland will arrange with Madrid the details of the contract to buy tanker and transport aircraft. Poland will order four A330 MRTT tankers,” the spokesperson said. “We are currently at the final stage of talks.”

Under the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) scheme, the Polish defense budget is to absorb funds of around €43.7 billion ($49.9 billion) in low-cost loans. The program is designed to allow member states to bolster their defense capabilities amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and Poland is to receive the largest share of the funds. The program stipulates that the loans must be disbursed by the end of 2030.

“The order from European group Airbus will be financed through the SAFE mechanism,” according to the defense spokesperson.

The value of the planned purchase was not disclosed by the Polish ministry. In May 2026, Italy unveiled plans to acquire six A330 MRTTs in a deal worth some €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion).

Fighter jet race

The latest development confirms that Poland has chosen the Airbus aircraft over the only competitor that had also been considered, Boeing’s KC-46.

Meanwhile, U.S. and European manufacturers continue to compete for another major aircraft order in the pipeline. Poland’s government is mulling plans to buy up to 32 new fighter jets, with some of the evaluated options including: Lockheed Martin’s F-35; Boeing’s F-15EX; and the Eurofighter Typhoon, a jet manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo.

With deliveries of the first of the country’s 32 ordered F-35s initiated last June, Lockheed Martin is encouraging officials in Warsaw to double down on the Polish military’s commitment to fifth-generation jets. At the same time, the manufacturers of the two air superiority aircraft that are also in the race are looking favorably at recent statements by Brig. Gen. Tomasz Jatczak, the inspector of the Polish Air Force.

On June 19, Jatczak and Kevin Fesler, Boeing’s executive director overseeing business development and strategy for air dominance, participated in a panel discussion during the annual Warsaw Defense Fair event. The general stated he is “an advocate for air superiority” as securing this capability could provide Poland with “a key element of deterrence” against Russia.

Meanwhile, in its campaign for the potential Polish deal, the consortium behind the Eurofighter is benefiting from the recent move by Business Centre Club, a Polish employers’ organization, which backed the jet in the race. On June 23, the group issued an open letter to a group of decision-makers including Poland’s president, prime minister and national defense minister, calling on them to select the Typhoon.

“A mixed fleet, combining the stealth capabilities of the F-35 with the kinematics and missile count of an air superiority aircraft such as the Eurofighter offers greater freedom of rational use, resistance to the exhaustion of combat assets, and greater operational flexibility than 64 aircraft of the same type,” the Business Centre Club said in its missive.

The open letter also argues that Poland’s defense and aerospace industries could gain considerable benefits from involvement in the European jet’s supply chain.

“Another F-35 contract is one in which the Polish industry remains a customer, not a partner. The Eurofighter consortium … has already declared that Poland’s participation in the program would mean that approximately 40 percent of the investment value would remain in Poland through the supply chain, not just the purchase of a finished aircraft,” according to the organization.

Meanwhile, the Polish authorities are also considering joining the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), a tri-nation initiative spearheaded by Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom to develop a sixth-generation fighter jet.

Włodzimierz Usarek, a retired major general of the Polish Air Force, told Defense News that by joining the Eurofighter’s supply chain alongside European partners, Poland’s defense industry could gain access to technologies and capacities that would otherwise not be available to local companies.

“Buying the Eurofighter will put Poland in a preferential position to develop the sixth-generation fighter and jointly produce it with other countries instead of continuing to be other countries’ client,” Usarek said. “With the F-35, we will have the stealth capacity that is necessary to open up the enemy airspace to other aircraft. With air superiority fighters such as the Eurofighter, Polish pilots will be able to fight the adversary at an altitude that only such aircraft can access.”

Sources close to the program told Defense News the next contract was made possible by the U.K.’s timely commitment of £8.6 billion ($11.4 billion) over four years to the U.K.-Italy-Japan jet program in its its long-awaited Defence Investment Plan (DIP), which was published on Tuesday.

The cash means the three nations can now hand a contract before the biennial U.K. airshow near London to Edgewing, the industrial consortium representing firms from the three nations, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Originally due last year, the U.K. DIP was delayed as generals and politicians battled over defense funds. With little sign of the row abating, the U.K.’s partners on the sixth generation GCAP grew increasingly anxious over delays in the program, which is due to put a plane in the air by 2035.

In April the partners signed a stopgap contract to keep work going for three months to give the U.K. time to find long-term cash.

The joint program office created by the three nations announced the signing of a £686 million development contract with Edgewing, which teams local champions BAE Systems, Leonardo, and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. Ltd. (JAIEC).

On Tuesday, three months on, the DIP was unveiled by outgoing UK prime minister Keir Starmer, saving blushes in London.

“The money for the GCAP in the DIP is slightly more than the £6bn we expected,” said Francis Tusa, the editor of UK site Defence Analysis.

Getting the cash was not however certain, he added.

“The Italians were irritated by the U.K. delay and the Japanese even more so. I was told that the Japanese prime minister threatened to pull out of a planned visit to the U.K. before the G7 in June and go and see the French instead,” he said.

During the U.K. visit by the Japanese, Prime Minister Starmer signed a commitment to find the funds, Tusa said.

It is believed that Andy Burnham, who is likely to become Britain’s next prime minister, will seek to stand by the GCAP commitments.

After Edgewing is handed a contract to continue work on GCAP, it is expected to hand its own contracts to tri-nation consortia managing the electronics and propulsion on the jet.

Tusa said the way forward for the jet was not entirely risk-free.

“The British defense ministry wanted £28 billion for the DIP and has received £15 billion, of which £4.7 billion still needs to be found in this year’s budget. Additionally the ministry has to come up with £10.7 billion in savings. The GCAP money announced now by the U.K. will get the Italians and the Japanese off its back for now, but there are still details to be worked out,” he said.

The defense ministry declined to provide technical specifics on the modifications. However, it stated that the upgrades enhance the system’s ability to contend with high rates and volumes of fire, allowing Israel’s air defenses to more effectively manage massive, concentrated saturation salvos.

A key element of the latest test series was the operational integration of the Iron Beam. During the tests, joint operational scenarios were successfully executed and managed directly from the Iron Dome’s battle management center, the government said.

This integration is a prerequisite for future operational deployments allowing commanders to dynamically toggle between missile and laser interceptions based on the nature of the incoming threat, system availability and cost-benefit calculations.

Israel’s announcement comes amid a U.S.-Iran ceasefire, a diplomatic development that has left Israel in a state of high strategic tension along its northern border with Lebanon, where it continues to endure persistent drone salvos launched by Hezbollah.

The Iron Dome was declared operational in 2011, when it also achieved its historic first interception of a Gaza-launched Grad rocket, and since formed the backbone of Israel’s multi-layered air defense network. Each of its batteries consists of a radar system, a command center and missile launchers carrying about 20 Tamir interceptors, protecting against threats within a range of 4 to 70 kilometers.

The primary developer for the Iron Dome is the Israeli firm Rafael, which is also the primary developer for the Iron Beam.

That system is designed to neutralize targets within four to five seconds from the moment it locks onto the target, at ranges up to 10 kilometers. An Iron Beam laser pulse is deemed to cost only a few dollars while a single Tamir interceptor missile costs roughly $50,000.

A point of particular focus will be the aerial display, which is scheduled to include a full 98 fixed-wing aircraft this year, up from 65 in 2025. Front and center - quite literally - will be France’s most important partners on the European continent.

According to the latest plans, the aerial parade will begin with nine French Alphajet jet trainers of the Patrouille de France flanked by two Ukrainian Mirage 2000B fighter jets. Immediately after will be a formation of two French Rafale jets - one of them from the nuclear forces, or Forces Aériennes Stratégiques - flanked by four key European partners’ air forces: German, Greek, British and Swedish fighter jets.

An earlier version of the government’s envisioned lineup indicated that Berlin would send a Eurofighter, Sweden a Gripen, the UK an F-35 and Greece an F-4 to the parade. The most recent version does not specify the aircraft types.

The symbolism is particularly significant for this formation, since all four countries have signed up to some variation of France’s promised forward nuclear deterrence scheme, which Macron launched in theatrical fashion while standing in front of a French nuclear submarine in March.

The initiative promises to extend France’s atomic umbrella over the European continent and has widely been read as a direct consequence of the United States’ disengagement from the old continent. It may also be read as a challenge or at least an alternative to the American domination of European nuclear deterrence.

The U.K., which has its own nuclear weapons, has followed a separate track from the forward deterrence policy, but London, too, has significantly deepened its nuclear cooperation with France. The two countries’ deterrents remain independent but are coordinated under the Northwood Declaration framework signed in 2025.

Notably absent from this year’s flyover is any contingent from the United States. During Trump’s first presidency, in 2017, the Air Force flew in the Thunderbirds’ F-16s, flanked by F-22 Raptors, while Trump and Macron looked on from below.

This year, the focus is wholly European. In addition to the assertive motto, all guest nations will be European. In addition to the fighter jets, there will also be two German C-130 Hercules, as well as one British and one German A-400M Atlas cargo aircraft toward the end of the parade.

An earlier version of the agenda, since taken offline by the French Ministry of Defense, also indicated there would be a Danish F-35, Polish F-16 Fighting Falcon and Spanish F-18 Hornet participating alongside the French Rafale jets near the start of the procession. These were later removed from the program with no further explanation.

European participation in the event in and of itself is nothing new. Last year’s festivities saw fighter jets from Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK fly alongside French jets.

Last year, however, they were flying mostly behind two French Mirage jets, in a formation called “air defense.” This year’s positioning alongside an explicitly nuclear-capable jet in a formation named “Entrée En Premier: Intervention” - which can be roughly translated to “First-Entry Strike Operations” - paints a more forward-positioned picture.

The Leonardo test jet flew alongside the Turkish drone at Baykar’s flight and test center in Çorlu, Leonardo said in a statement.

The flight followed the signing of a drone cooperation deal between Italy’s Leonardo and Baykar last year, which envisaged the construction in Italy of Baykar drones with Leonardo systems on board.

The flight test campaign in Turkey involved two Leonardo M-346 jets: a Leonardo owned M-346 Fighter Attack Variant, with an Italian Air Force trainer acting as chase aircraft - as well as the Kizilelma.

Following an autonomous taxi and take-off, the Kizilelma autonomously linked to the M-346 using “an advanced radio frequency data exchange system” to synchronize data, Leonardo said.

During the test flight, the two aircraft undertook a series of missions to test algorithms, tactics and procedures developed by Leonardo in Italy.

“Kizilelma’s advanced autonomy capabilities greatly simplified the integration process, allowing for seamless implementation and rapid deployment,” Leonardo said.

“Leonardo and Baykar set a major milestone in the development of Crewed/UnCrewed Teaming (CUC-T) and swarm tactics capabilities,” the firm claimed.

“The refinement and maturity of AI technology, algorithms and collaborative procedures will enable the uncrewed systems to incrementally shift from remote piloting to autonomy, with the aim of reducing pilot workload and increasing mission efficiency while maintaining full control and decision-making,” it added.

“New tests are planned in the coming months, with increasing complexity and additional functions,” the firm added.

Baykar contributed Smart Fleet Autonomy capabilities integrated into the crewed/uncrewed teaming algorithms using its own software and hardware infrastructure.

As a partner on the GCAP fighter program, Leonardo will be seeking to sharpen its skills in deploying Loyal Wingman drones - an envisaged key aspect of GCAP operations.

Another ambitious European effort to integrate crewed fighters with collaborative uncrewed systems had been the Franco-German-Spanish FCAS program, which envisioned remote carrier loyal wingman drones operating alongside a next-generation manned fighter.

The FCAS Next Generation Fighter component was terminated in June 2026 after Germany and France failed to resolve industrial disagreements, although other FCAS elements such as a Combat Cloud are expected to continue.

Devrim Yaylali in Istanbul contributed to this report.

The PL-16 beyond-visual-range missile as described in social and trade media would answer Lockheed Martin’s AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM) for the U.S. armed forces, analysts believe, and improve on previous generations developed in China.

They say China’s missile boasts a long total flight distance estimated at 200 to 300 kilometers (124 to 186 miles) and dual-pulse or variable-thrust rocket motor technology that allow for a second burst of propulsion late in flight, the Indian defense news portal Indian Defence Research Wing said in a June 3 analysis.

Lockheed Martin’s system is also expected to feature extra propulsion for flights beyond visual range and travel at least 200 kilometers.

The PL-16’s specs would let it chase large, slower-moving aircraft, said Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst for defense strategy and national security with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. That chase could be a battle changer.

“What matters at those long ranges is maneuverability in the terminal phase and guidance,” Davis said. The PL-16 is designed, he said, to hit airborne early warning and control platforms, refueling tankers and reconnaissance aircraft, so “the likelihood of a kill, even at very long range is very high.

“The People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s strategy here is clear – take out the key combat enablers for the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy, as well as allied forces, and the U.S. and its allies can no longer project naval air power,” Davis said.

“The JTAM was a response to the PL-15, so there is an interesting race between China and the U.S. on beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles underway,” he added. “The key challenge is how quickly the U.S. can get JATM into production, because the Chinese will be moving very fast with PL-16 production.”

It’s unclear whether Washington would jump into any war with Beijing over Taiwan, a decades-old flashpoint, or in the South China Sea where American treaty ally the Philippines is wrangling for control of tiny islets with the Chinese. The U.S. military maintains bases in nearby Guam, Hawaii and Japan in case of an Indo-Pacific conflict.

“I’m pretty sure (PL-16) is going to be a headache for bigger bombers, B52 and the likes, if in range, but I am not quite sure about other smaller, nimbler, faster platforms,” said Enrico Cau, an associate researcher at the Taiwan Strategy Research Association think tank.

The missiles may fit adeptly into the bays of Chinese stealth fighters such as the J-20 and upcoming J-35, the Indian Defence Research Wing said.

A J-20 aircraft that can carry four earlier-generation PL-15 missiles in its internal weapons bay would be able to take as many as six PL-16s, said Huang Chung-ting, associate research fellow with the Institute for National Defense and Security Research in Taipei.

“This means a J-20 can engage not only one or two more targets but also has a greater capacity to remain in the combat zone after the initial attack, rather than having to retreat after running out of missiles,” Huang said.

With no confirmation from Beijing about the PL-16’s development, analysts and media outlets are relying largely on leaked, sometimes second-hand information including presentation slides shown at a Chinese military aviation seminar.

A post to the image-sharing platform Imgur.com says the Chinese missiles would be four meters long, 203 millimeters in diameter and 200 kilograms.

The PL prefix stands for “Pi Li”, which is Chinese for “thunderbolt.”

The PL-16’s more than 10-year-old predecessor, the PL-15, can fly 200 kilometers, twice as far as the earlier PL-12 and more than three times the maximum distance of the oldest model, PL-11, according to the leaked presentation slides.

“China may indeed be developing a new air-to-air weapon that saves more (aircraft) bay space and allows the J-20 to carry more missiles — this general direction has a certain degree of credibility,” Huang said.

But he cautioned that information online today doesn’t confirm the PL-16’s specs, including its range and type of propulsion technology. Huang said the online material also cannot determine whether the PL-16 has been put into mass use.

“Their intention is to also cooperate with Poland, and to produce in Poland, for the X-BAT program, the first autonomous combat aircraft in the world,” Tusk said at a June 16 press conference in Warsaw. “It’s top-tier technology, a chance for air domination in case of an armed conflict, and an incredibly ambitious project with regard to technology and innovativeness.”

Shield AI unveiled the X-BAT in October 2025, promoting its artificial intelligence-driven unmanned fighter capable of vertical takeoffs and landings as a platform suitable for expeditionary and maritime operations in contested environments.

“At the core of X-BAT is Shield AI’s Hivemind, AI-enabled autonomy software designed to fly platforms in communications-denied, degraded, and limited environments,” the company said in a statement. “Hivemind enables X-BAT to autonomously penetrate contested battlespace, dynamically team with manned aircraft, and execute collaborative tactics without constant communications. This autonomy allows X-BAT to function as a drone wingman or as a standalone asset.”

The latest announcement comes as the Polish government is mulling plans to acquire up to 32 new fighter jets, with some of the evaluated options including: Lockheed Martin’s F-35; the Eurofighter Typhoon, a jet produced by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo; and Boeing’s F-15EX.

At the same time, Warsaw is also considering to join the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) and involve the country’s defense sector in the project to develop a sixth-generation fighter jet. The Polish government is evaluating whether engaging its state-dominated defense industry in the tri-nation initiative, which is spearheaded by Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, could boost the sector’s capacities and innovativeness, according to Polish Deputy State Assets Minister Konrad Gołota.

Set up in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense tech company. In addition to X-BAT and Hivemind, its other products include the V-BAT drone.

Separate statements to that effect published Thursday by the lead companies of both nations, Airbus and Indra, come as news broke this week that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron had decided to drop the sixth-generation fighter jet segment of FCAS.

That warplane was meant to be a centerpiece of the effort, with accompanying drones, sensors and communications equipment envisioned to act in concert as a first-of-its-kind uber-weapon in the skies.

Years of squabbling between German industry lead Airbus and French lead Dassault Aviation over leadership and intellectual property ultimately led to the program’s demise, essentially overruling political goodwill among the leadership of both countries.

On the German side, a group dubbed “Team Gen 6” now includes Airbus Defence and Space, Autoflug, Diehl Defence, Hensoldt, Liebherr, MBDA Deutschland, MTU Aero Engines and Rohde & Schwarz.

In a joint statement circulated at the ILA Berlin Airshow on Thursday, the companies argue the fielding of a sixth-generation fighter plane should remain Berlin’s goal.

“An effective new setup is now indispensable for achieving our common objective: a superior European air combat system for our collective security,” the firms wrote in the statement.

With existing FCAS contracts ending this year, the companies want the government to keep spending money on such a warplane, warning that a lapse in funding would lead to an “irreversible” loss in expertise.

In Spain, the corresponding industry grouping encompasses Indra, the Spanish arm of Airbus Defence and Space, Grupo Oesia, GMV, ITP and Sener.

Notably, the companies emphasize a desire to work as part of a multinational team, leaving the door open to piggybacking on an existing sixth-generation fighter push like the British-Italian-Japanese Global Combat Air Programme, or inviting aerospace companies like Sweden’s Saab into the mix.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius this week outlined several options for Germany to acquire next-gen fighters after the end of the FCAS fighter jet development.

The first path involves buying a batch of F-35 jets from the United States. Another option would have Germany join GCAP. A third scenario envisions an Airbus-led project in conjunction with other companies, a scenario closest to what German companies were lobbying for in the joint proclamation on Thursday.

Leonardo CEO Lorenzo Mariani spoke on Wednesday after the collapse of the French-German Future Combat Air System program on Monday, following months of rows between French and German industry over work share on the sixth-generation jet.

Meanwhile, Italy, Japan and the UK are teaming on the rival GCAP project and are aiming to fly a new aircraft by 2035.

Asked if Germany could get on board the program, Mariani told Defense News: “It would be a good thing in terms of capabilities and cost sharing, but one also has to be mindful about the target date of 2035 for having the jet flying.”

He added that the advantages of a new partner were extra cash and know-how.

“While this is more for governments to evaluate and decide upon, more partners possibly joining GCAP would bring more competences and financial support,” he said.

“Clearly, we have to be mindful that this might have an impact on development schedule and milestones. So we need to bear in mind we have to find the right balance,” he added.

Japan is already reportedly nervous about the the 2035 deadline slipping, particularly given the UK’s current struggles to raise new defense funding.

Speaking on Tuesday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius listed three options to ensure Germany’s fighter needs following the collapse of FCAS, which was first planned in 2017.

One option was to purchase more F-35s to fill the gap, a second option was to join an existing international program, while the third option - Pistorius said - was to start a new program “under German leadership with Airbus and other partners.”

The third option would add yet another new fighter in Europe, just as the continent attempts to reduce overlapping programs, increase jointly designed and built systems and save scant funds in the process.

Mariani said, “Europe cannot have too many sixth-generation fighters under development, this is neither affordable nor helps Europe’s competitiveness.”

Meanwhile, Airbus is said to be considering a potential connection with Sweden’s Saab in the push for a next-gen fighter, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Stockholm has been keeping its options open for buying or developing a new fighter jet to succeed the country’s Gripen warplanes, with only exploratory studies having taken place so far.

The Berlin event, which dates back to 1909, puts a large slice of Europe’s defense industry on display as companies pitch new technology to governments and military buyers.

It also highlights the push by European manufacturers to narrow the gap with U.S. rivals and persuade governments to back them as the region ramps up defense spending.

After FCAS demise, Germany’s options include ordering more F-35 warplanes

Yet the build-up to the show was dominated by the scrapping of the Franco-German Future Combat Air System (FCAS), long billed as Europe’s most ambitious defense project but ultimately undone by industrial rivalry. Its demise has underscored the difficulty Europe faces in building military capacity at scale.

The decision comes as Western officials warn of a growing threat from Russia and the U.S. presses Europe to re-arm more quickly.

Reshaping alliances

Airbus, which represented Germany and Spain in FCAS, is increasingly looking to Sweden’s Saab as a preferred partner, as companies jostle to reshape industrial alliances, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The Iran war has added to the sense of unease, exposing strains in transatlantic ties and even raising questions about NATO’s future, while also hitting airlines as flights are canceled and jet fuel costs rise.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has openly questioned whether a manned sixth-generation fighter jet still makes sense for Germany’s air force, is due to address the show on Wednesday.

MTU Aero Engines Head of Programmes Ottmar Pfaender said decisions on how to proceed must be taken in the coming weeks, adding the engine maker was open to working with other companies.

Stephanie Lingemann, a senior executive at defense startup Helsing, said technologies such as software-driven defense systems and autonomy in warfare could now be folded into whatever follows FCAS.

“There’s always a chance in these kinds of endings,” she said.

Walking to the venue

The air show is also a platform for Emirates President Tim Clark to press the German government for landing rights in Berlin, with one of the Gulf airline’s A380 jets on display.

The opening day was disrupted by protesters who blocked roads to the venue while chanting slogans including “Free Palestine.”

A Reuters witness said dozens of police were deployed, with buses unable to reach the site and hundreds of visitors forced to walk in, some complaining about the disruption.

Running from June 10 to 14, the ILA show will host more than 750 exhibitors from 37 countries.

Coinciding with its opening, Germany’s cabinet approved a new 15-year aviation strategy aimed at cutting costs and boosting research to tackle rising expenses and intensifying foreign competition.