Air Warfare Preview 2025: A pressure-filled year ahead will see decisions made on major platforms and programmes
A concept for the NGAD sixth-gen fighter. (Image: Lockheed Martin)
Looming government decisions on major defence programmes in the US and UK will colour much of 2025, while manufacturers and their orderbooks look on.
The next 12 months look set to be prove crucial for the ongoing delivery and purchase of air platforms as various armed forces’ modernisation efforts continue.
It will also be a decisive year that will see some highly anticipated announcements regarding future air programmes including the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP)/Future Combat Air System (FCAS), the US’s Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) and the UK’s New Medium Helicopter.
Manufacturers will await the outcome of the UK’s Strategic Defence Review which is anticipated for the first half of 2025. The externally-led review will determine how and on what defence platforms, programmes and resources the
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