Air review 2019: Turkey and Trump F-35 trouble overshadows future fighters
Of all the stories that made headlines in 2019, few could claim to have caught fire in the same way as Turkey’s removal from the F-35 programme by the Trump administration.
Following the country’s decision to go ahead with procurement of the Russian made S-400 land system, the US moved quickly to take decisive action, with manufacturer Lockheed Martin then revealing in September that four of the jets produced for Turkey were situated at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona - left without a home. The manufacturer would also go on to admit that the option of reselling the aircraft was
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![Ukraine turns legacy Kongsberg land turrets into semi-autonomous USV weapons]()
Ukraine turns legacy Kongsberg land turrets into semi-autonomous USV weapons
The company told Shephard that Ukraine is operating modified Protector weapon stations originally supplied for armoured vehicles, with human operators authorising engagements from hundreds of kilometres away.
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![UK urged to prioritise sea, air and space over heavy armour]()
UK urged to prioritise sea, air and space over heavy armour
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Thales: deployment speed to determine winners in ‘production versus production’ era
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![Orchestrating operational readiness across every defence domain]()
Orchestrating operational readiness across every defence domain
Are all systems ready for the next mission? Have upgrades been applied? Are all assets aligned to deploy together, on time and fully prepared? In modern defence operations, readiness is no longer measured platform by platform. It is measured by how well people, assets, data and decisions move together — across land, sea and air.
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![Global tensions drive defence supply chain scrutiny]()
Global tensions drive defence supply chain scrutiny
Governments worldwide are scrambling to decouple defence supply chains from dependency upon strategic rivals, but countries could struggle to do it all themselves.
