Ryan Finnerty
FlightGlobal
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Past articles by Ryan:
Russian and American military aircraft collide over Black Sea
An uncrewed aerial vehicle from the US Air Force and a Russian fighter jet collided over the Black Sea on 14 March during what American defence officials describe as an "unsafe intercept" by Russian aviators. → Read More
USAF favours P&W F-35 engine upgrade over adaptive-cycle engine replacement
Budget pressure and lack of buy in from other US military services led the US Air Force to abandon designs for an entirely new engine for its F-35A stealth fighters, and instead pursue a core upgrade of the existing power plant. → Read More
Australia finalises order for 29 AH-64E Apaches
Speaking at the Avalon Airshow, the Australian government's defence industry minister says Canberra will take delivery of the attack helicopters in 2026, while also increasing to 10 its acquisition of MQ-28 Ghost Bat autonomous combat jets. → Read More
BAE unveils low-cost precision munition for Australian rotorcraft
The Australian arm of BAE Systems says it will develop a domestically-produced kit to convert unguided munitions into cheap, precision weapons for unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) and helicopters. → Read More
Australia’s autonomous combat jet sees public debut
For the first time, Boeing has revealed a flight-capable testbed of the autonomous jet aircraft the company is developing with the Royal Australian Air Force. → Read More
Australia readies airspace management system for unmanned aircraft
National air traffic management agency Airservices Australia says it has shifted from prototyping to the delivery phase of an effort to deploy an airspace management tool that for small, uncrewed aircraft such as commercial unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). → Read More
Pentagon clears resumption of F-35 engine deliveries
The US government had paused delivery of the fighter's Pratt & Whitney F135 engine, following the December crash of a Lockheed Martin F-35B in Texas during pre-delivery flight tests. → Read More
F-35 carrier crash attributed to pilot error during high-G landing manoeuvre
A 2022 ramp strike aboard one of the US Navy's aircraft carriers that resulted in the loss of an F-35C stealth fighter is being attributed to a mistake by the jet's operator during a normal, but complex, landing procedure. → Read More
Pentagon confirms U-2 pilot’s ‘selfie’ with Chinese balloon
For the first time, the public is getting an aerial view of the mysterious Chinese balloon that transited North American airspace during the first week of February. → Read More
GE continues pushing F-35 engine replacement over upgrade
Calling its campaign to develop an adaptive cycle engine for the fifth-generation stealth fighter a success, GE Aerospace is pushing for the US Air Force to adopt the technology, rather than opting to perform a core upgrade on the existing F-35 powerplant. → Read More
USAF commissions study of autonomous cargo jet feasibility
California-based developer of aviation safety technologies Reliable Robotics will prepare a feasibility assessment for the US Air Force examining the potential for autonomous, multi-engined transport jets, including automations of both flight and cargo operations → Read More
US military to acquire up to 64 Beechcraft King Air 260s for training
The contract will see Textron Aviation deliver up to 64 of the twin-engined propeller craft to serve as pilot trainers for the US Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. → Read More
China sanctions Lockheed Martin and Raytheon over Taiwan arms sales
Beijing will prohibit the aerospace manufacturers from doing business in China and ban senior executives from entering the country, citing weapons sales to Taiwan. → Read More
US lawmakers describe unknown objects as nothing new after classified brief
After receiving a classified briefing from US defence officials, members of Congress say the recently shot down unidentified aerial objects appear similar to hundreds of other unknown objects reported by American aviators in recent years. → Read More
Artificial intelligence-controlled aircraft completes combat manoeuvres in USAF test
Two artificial intelligence "agents" developed by the US military completed 17h of flight tests in December, focused on execution of advanced fighter manoeuvres such as close-range dogfighting and beyond-visual-range combat. → Read More
Canada searches remote far north for wreckage of unidentified object
Ottawa says it has deployed multiple aircraft to search the mountainous terrain of the northern Yukon for wreckage of the unknown object shot down by US F-22 fighters on 11 February. → Read More
Adjusted radar settings likely behind rash of USA’s unknown object detections
The Pentagon says it has been more closely scrutinising the airspace around North America after an incursion by a Chinese surveillance balloon, including increasing the sensitivity settings on radars that previously were not reporting small, low-speed objects → Read More
Fourth airborne object shot down after overflying ‘sensitive sites’
Another unidentified aerial object was shot down by an F-16 fighter aircraft near the maritime border between the USA and Canada on Lake Huron - the third unknown object and fourth overall to be destroyed in the past week. → Read More
US F-22s shoot down unidentified high-altitude object over Alaska
The Pentagon says at the direction of US President Joe Biden fighter aircraft shot down an unknown object off the coast of Alaska around 40,000ft, with military officials describing the craft as posing a hazard to commercial aviation. → Read More
U-2 spy planes monitored Chinese balloon during USA transit
While the US military is keeping quiet about what measures it took during the recent balloon flyover, a senior American diplomat says high-altitude Lockheed Martin U-2 reconnaissance aircraft were used to collect information on the airship. → Read More