Defense Highlights Of 2021

The prototype of Boeing’s Airpower Teaming System (ATS) unmanned aircraft made its first flight at Woomera, South Australia, on March 1 under the Royal Australian Air Force-funded Loyal Wingman program. The ATS is designed to operate collaboratively with manned aircraft, carrying sensors or weapons, and Boeing Australia has been funded to build six aircraft for training and testing.

Korea Aerospace Industries rolled out the first prototype KF-21 Boramae indigenous fighter—previously called the KF-X—in Sacheon, South Korea, on April 9. First flight of the twin General Electric F414-powered KF-21 is planned for the second quarter of 2022, with six prototypes supporting development of the Block 1 air-defense version to enter service in 2026.

A Boeing-funded prototype of the U.S. Navy’s MQ-25 Stingray carrier-based unmanned aerial-refueling aircraft conducted its first air-to-air refueling mission in June, transferring fuel to a Boeing F/A-18F. In August, the aircraft refueled a Northrop Grumman E-2D Hawkeye and in September a Lockheed Martin F-35C. Initial operational capability of the MQ-25A is planned for 2024.

Sukhoi unveiled its private-venture Light Tactical Aircraft, or Checkmate, export fighter at the MAKS 2021 air show outside Moscow in July, with an international debut at the Dubai Airshow in November. Powered by a single Saturn AL-41F1, the aircraft is planned to fly in 2023, and parent company United Aircraft Corp. is aiming to begin production at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur plant by the end of 2025.

The U.S. Air Force began clearing the Boeing KC-46A aerial-refueling tanker for limited operational use in July, more than two years after taking delayed delivery of its first aircraft. This first limited capability release covered use of the centerline drogue system and was followed in October by approval for the refueling boom. Initial operational capability is now planned for 2024, seven years late.

A Raytheon-built, scramjet-powered, hypersonic cruise missile completed a free flight test in September, the first successful test of a U.S. air-breathing vehicle exceeding Mach 5 since the X-51 in May 2013. Launched from a Boeing B-52, the Raytheon vehicle, powered by a Northrop Grumman scramjet engine, was the first to fly under DARPA’s Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept project.

A C-130 launched and recovered a Dynetics X-61 Gremlin unmanned aircraft in flight for the first time in October. This completed the seven-year, $115 million Gremlins project by DARPA to demonstrate airborne recovery. The Dynetics-led team overcame issues that caused the failure of nine previous docking attempts conducted over two test flights in December 2020.

GE Aviation completed initial test runs of the first full-scale, flight-weight XA100 three-stream adaptive combat engine in May. The rival XA101—Pratt & Whitney’s entry in the U.S. Air Force’s competitive Adaptive Engine Transition Program—completed its first series of ground tests in mid-September. The engines have variable-bypass fans that operate in high thrust or high efficiency modes.

Rolls-Royce in September won a competition to reengine the U.S. Air Force’s fleet of 76 Boeing B-52H bombers—known to many as the “BUFF”—with 608 F130 turbofans, military derivatives of the BR725 business-jet engine. The Air Force awarded Rolls a six-year, $501 million contract to integrate the F130 into the B-52, replacing the bomber’s eight 1950s-vintage Pratt & Whitney TF33s.

A Russian Nudol direct-ascent anti-satellite missile test that destroyed an inactive satellite, Cosmos 1408, in low Earth orbit on Nov. 15 generated thousands of pieces of space debris and drew global condemnation for “reckless” activity in space. The U.S. State Department said the test created more than 1,500 pieces of trackable orbital debris and hundreds of thousands of pieces of smaller debris.

France scored the largest fighter order of the year in December, signing a €17 billion deal ($19.2 billion) with the United Arab Emirates for 80 Dassault Rafale F4s. This followed orders during the year from Greece for 24 new and used Rafales and from Croatia for 12 ex-French aircraft. But 2021 also saw the Lockheed Martin F-35A add to its customer list with wins in Switzerland (36 aircraft) and Finland (64).