Hypersonic missile startup Castelion has received a contract modification from the Air Force Research Laboratory to begin integrating its Blackbeard hypersonic weapon onto the F-16 fighter jet, the company announced on Oct. 26, bringing the missile one step closer to the U.S. Air Force after earlier work for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army. Castelion […]

Denmark has rushed more than 50,000 rounds of 20 mm ammunition to Ukraine for the cannons on its F-16 fighter jets, and Ukrainian pilots are already firing them at Russia’s jet-powered Shahed-type attack drones, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said on Oct. 23, 2026. The ministry announced the delivery on X, saying Denmark sent the rounds on […]

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Evgeniy Khmara and Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi met a Lockheed Martin delegation led by Orlando Sanchez Jr., president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, to press for steady weapons deliveries, more PAC-3 interceptors for Patriot and wider F-16 maintenance across Ukraine, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said. The talks centered on the F-16, which the ministry […]

The U.S. Air Force plans to grow its fighter force to 1,509 combat-coded jets by 2035, with the F-35 becoming its most numerous fighter and the new F-47 taking over from the F-22, under a revised force structure plan the service sent to Congress on Oct. 16. Lt. Gen. David Tabor, deputy chief of staff […]

Lockheed Martin is promoting the idea of a special version of the F-16 fighter built around Ukraine’s needs, with longer range, a new AESA radar and stronger air defense capabilities, sources at the company told The Defence Blog. The idea is being floated as the U.S. defense giant expands its work with Kyiv, and it […]