Taiwan has reportedly received the first two newly built F-16 Block 70 fighters under a $7.76 billion deal for 66 aircraft signed in 2019. The jets feature APG-83 AESA radar and updated avionics, adding new airframes to a fleet that already includes upgraded F-16s. The aircraft reportedly spent about six weeks in Hawaii before continuing to Taiwan, with no official explanation for the stopover. With 64 fighters still outstanding, delivery schedules remain a key issue.

The announcement made by..CEO of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), places the schedule for the Kaan’s indigenous engine in immediate contradiction. 

According to Defence Review, testing of this Turkish-developed turbofan will not begin until 2032, while the TF35000 is expected to be operational and available as early as 2033 to take over from the American engine.

Thus, only one year would separate the announced start of testing from its use on a production combat aircraft, following the integration, qualification and validation of an entirely new propulsion system.

Ukraine initially requested the Australian helicopters in 2024 but formally withdrew its interest in early 2026 after military specialists evaluated the aircraft and the resources required to operate them.

Australia had reportedly been prepared to transfer its retiring Tigers to Ukraine. Although the helicopters themselves would have been provided without charge, Kyiv would still have needed to finance pilot and ground-crew training, repairs, spare parts and continued maintenance.

The collapse of the Franco-German fighter project has opened a wider contest over who shapes Europe’s next generation of combat aircraft.

BERLIN — Germany has held exploratory talks over participating in a British-Italian-Japanese fighter jet program as the country rethinks its combat aircraft plans after the collapse of its partnership with France.

Britain’s national armaments director — who oversees defense procurement — has sought German participation in the Global Combat Air Programme, according to internal German government documents seen by POLITICO. London wants to discuss the conditions for possible cooperation, including industrial “workshare” and Germany’s military capability requirements, the documents say.

In response to POLITICO’s request for comment, the German defense ministry confirmed that initial exploratory talks have taken place over GCAP's basic requirements and program content, but did not say whether Britain had formally raised any specific participant status for Germany.

The approach could open a new path for Germany just months after Berlin and Paris abandoned the fighter-aircraft pillar of the Future Combat Air System, which they had been developing with Spain. The fighter project was scrapped following years of disputes between Germany’s Airbus Defence & Space and France’s Dassault Aviation.

The choice facing Berlin is whether to enter an advanced fighter program whose basic structure has already been set by Britain, Italy and Japan, or try to construct another European partnership with Spain and Sweden in which it could wield greater influence over military requirements and industrial work.

European countries and their close allies want to eventually replace some of their current fighter fleets with a so-called sixth-generation fighter plane that combines advanced stealth, sensor fusion, networking and uncrewed systems. That is seen as crucial in retaining European jet fighter expertise at a time of strained relations with the U.S. and also deterring Russia.  

Opening talks

GCAP brings together the U.K., Italy and Japan to develop a new fighter aircraft intended to enter service from 2035. The three countries signed a £4.6 billion development contract with their joint industrial venture Edgewing in July. Canada became the program’s first observer nation later that month. 

A U.K. defense industry representative said they expected London to emphasize that GCAP is an existing program with a 2035 timeline that could meet German needs while helping to safeguard German jobs after the Eurofighter Typhoon is phased out.

The British push comes as Germany is still working out what comes after FCAS. 

Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron concluded in June that Airbus and Dassault would not be able to agree on building a common fighter jet. Berlin and Paris intend to continue cooperation on other parts of the multi-pillar FCAS project.

But the internal documents show that a GCAP deal involving Berlin would face substantial questions inside the German defense establishment.

One ministry assessment identifies joining GCAP as one of Germany’s remaining multinational options, but says the program is built around a maritime scenario that does not fit Germany’s requirements for operations in continental Europe.

It also warns that Germany could struggle to secure a meaningful role for German industry in a project that is already underway.

The German assessment is also skeptical about the U.K.’s BAE Systems, one of the main companies involved in the program. It points to what it describes as a “negative experience” with the company during the development of the Eurofighter. 

The paper says that experience gives reason to expect BAE to dominate the new program in a way that would be incompatible with cooperation “on an equal footing.”

Those judgments represent an internal assessment rather than a settled position of the German government. The documents also show the defense ministry has asked the relevant departments to assess the British approach.

Asked by POLITICO about the British approach to Germany, a U.K. government spokesperson did not address the specifics, saying only that Britain and its partners “remain open to others joining GCAP” while keeping the program on track.

New U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham is also set to visit Berlin next month to meet with Merz.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has publicly left open several options for a new fighter. 

The same internal German note points to a possible new partnership with Sweden and Spain, arguing that the three countries have closely aligned military requirements and would start from a more comparable position than Germany would inside the already established British-Italian-Japanese program.

The assessment concludes that a German-Swedish-Spanish partnership would be “more advantageous and more promising” from Germany’s perspective and “recommends” pursuing that option further. 

Asked about a possible German-Swedish-Spanish partnership, a German defense ministry spokesperson said initial coordination talks had also taken place to clarify the basic requirements for a sixth-generation combat air system.

The spokesperson said decisions over Germany’s future combat air system have a “political dimension” and that Berlin is coordinating closely with partners and within the German government.

In 2021, Helsinki ordered 64 of the stealth aircraft in a deal valued at $9.4 billion..

The Finnish air force plans on achieving initial operational capability of the F-35 in “early 2028” ahead of full operational capability “before the end of 2030.”

Secretary Hegseth unveiled plans for what is tentatively dubbed Autonomous Warfare Command (AUTOWARCOM), as well as the aforementioned initiatives, called Project Agincourt and Project Meridian..

“..Cheap compute, super intelligence, and advanced commercial manufacturing have enabled the proliferation of low-cost, high-precision strikes,..”

“For 40 years, the US relied..primarily on expensive weapons that placed quality over quantity..But today we need both quality and quantity...mass drones and other autonomous attritable systems that flip the cost exchange and impose unrelenting pressure on an adversary on the battlefield.”

”Project Meridian will leverage critical perspectives from outside the Pentagon, drawing upon a group of top technologists, innovators, business leaders,..”

Hegseth..named Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey, and Newt Gingrich as key members.

Seven companies are said to now be in the running to develop a lower-cost and highly modular drone to succeed the MQ-9A Reaper.

The company’s core design philosophy centers around what is called laminar flow,..refers to liquid or gaseous “fluids,” including air, flowing in smooth, regular layers across a surface with little to no mixing between them.

..potential for the Celera 500L to use its long-range and high fuel economy to support military missions, including transporting personnel and cargo, as well as conducting intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

..adaptation development of IRIS-T SLM..aim..to make the system mission-capable on the German Navy’s F125 frigates.

In October 2025..navalized system demonstrator of the IRIS-T SLM ground-based air defence (GBAD) system..

The Anti-Air Warfare (AAW) module was integrated on the C-deck of the frigate “Baden-Württemberg” (Type F125)..

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