Free Republic

Europe's ability to develop next-generation combat aircraft has been dangerously eroded, and will reach "a point of no return" unless collaborative funding decisions are made soon, a new industry study warns. Commissioned by the European Defence Agency (EDA), the Future Air Systems for Europe (FAS4Europe) group study says "the situation for future air systems is severe, with some important industrial capabilities and technologies already at risk". Without additional investment and a joint strategy, the situation "will soon become critical", it says, identifying the "development of future combat aircraft (manned and unmanned) and attack helicopters" as being at risk. "Europe's military...

South Korea’s technologically ambitious defense ministry aims to test a scaled demonstrator for a stealthy combat drone by 2013, extending the country’s expertise in unmanned aircraft and hedging against cancellation of the KF-X fighter program. With this project, South Korea will be within 10 years of Britain and Germany in flying substantial development hardware for unmanned combat aircraft. South Korea may be ahead of Japan, which has announced no such development effort. Korea Aerospace Industries is well placed to win the project, since it has already embarked on company-funded work to acquire technology in this field, going as far as...