Air Warfare magazine: Helicopter cockpit technology; NATO air assets and more

What’s inside this edition:

Comment: One and done?

The future of Europe’s two sixth-generation fighter programmes seems uncertain as limits on resources suggests only one can succeed. However, while the decision remains unmade, industry continues to develop both.

Features include:

The future is nigh

As the rotary-wing industry moves towards embracing new cockpit technologies, mission management is expected to become easier for pilots. How will this affect projects such as the US Army’s FVL and French H160M-based Joint Light Helicopter?

Tooling up

As NATO realigns its objectives to better face the modern strategic landscape, so too must it examine the common aviation assets its members use. US solutions could be losing primacy with support building for European-developed platforms.

Slow and steady?

Compared to the air power development plans of its peer competitors, Russia has struggled to prioritise crewed-uncrewed teaming. Will Moscow continue to see it as an afterthought?

Playing catch-up

Despite its shrinking combat aircraft fleet, Russia has been working on new fighter projects. Shephard takes a look at the current state of the country’s fast jet fleet and analyses potential projects that could increase its effectiveness in the future.

On the runway

The US military and its allies are increasingly focused on the potential risks posed by peer or near-peer rivals, rather than the COIN priorities that dominated the earlier years of the century. What will this shifting focus mean for airbase defences? 

Interview: Strategic pivot

The 1 October 2021 reactivation of the USAF’s 17th Special Operations Squadron highlights a shift of focus to address near-peer threats. Shephard discussed the new strategy with Col Terence G Taylor, Commander, 27th Special Operations Wing.

Bonus content coming soon.