A Forecast International blog about the arms trade, geopolitics, defense and security, and military spending.
Making official a long-rumored deal, Indonesia has announced an order for 42 French-built Dassault Rafale multirole combat aircraft, with a first phase firm order of six fighters. The signing ceremony …
Indonesia Pulls the Trigger on Rafale Order Read More
The Indonesian National Defense-Air Force (TNI-AU) has given up its quest to acquire Russian combat aircraft. Instead, the service will shift its focus to two Western alternatives, the Boeing F-15EX …
Indonesia Drops Russian Fighter Acquisition Plans Read More
The Swiss government has tapped two American-sourced solutions to meet the requirements of its Air 2030 program to replace the Swiss Air Force’s aging fleet of both F-5 Tiger and …
Switzerland Taps F-35, Patriot to Meet Its Air 2030 Requirements Read More
The U.S. State Department has approved a Philippines government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) request for F-16 Block 70/72 combat aircraft, with notification of the proposal delivered to Congress on June …
Guns and Diplomacy: Philippines’ F-16 FMS Request Approved by U.S. Read More
India intends to forgo a planned acquisition of 114 foreign-sourced combat aircraft in favor of more indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCAs). The move comes a little over two years …
India Plans to Scrap 114-Unit Fighter Order in Favor of More Tejas LCAs Read More
Germany’s Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer announced toPparliament on April 21 the decision to split the replacement program for the Panavia Tornado combat aircraft into two platforms. The long-rumored purchase plans …
German Defense Minister Makes Tornado Replacement Plans Official Read More
The tri-national Future Combat Air System (FCAS; or Système Combat Aérien Futur, or SCAF, in French) has now officially launched as the governments of France and Germany together awarded the …
FCAS Initial Demonstrator Phase 1A Contracts Awarded Read More Poland has officially signed a contract covering the $4.6 billion purchase of 32 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II combat aircraft. The procurement is being made under Poland’s Harpia program, which …
Poland Finalizes F-35 Purchase Read More
Romania plans to acquire five more F-16s from Portugal’s surplus stocks. Under a draft law passed on November 28, the Romanian government outlined the procurement, noting that the additional aircraft …
Romania to Add Five More F-16s from Portuguese Stocks Read More Indonesia will be looking to add two squadrons of new F-16 Block 72 Viper jet fighters to go with plans for an acquisition of Russian-built Sukhoi Su-35s. When the head …
Indonesian Air Force Seeks to add F-16V Purchase to Su-35 Plans Read More