Chris Pocock
Defense Correspondent

Chris Pocock has been covering the defense beat for AIN for over 30 years. He is a British citizen and a graduate of the University of Cambridge. Chris worked in the air cargo business for ten years before becoming a full-time writer in 1983. He subsequently edited two air cargo journals before becoming AIN’s Defense Editor. He retired from that position in 2018, but still contributes to the publication. Chris has written extensively on aerial reconnaissance, including four books on the history of the U-2 spyplane. He also lectures on this and other topics related to intelligence-gathering in the Cold War.

Latest from Chris Pocock

Aircraft

F-35B ‘Probation’ Ended Despite Cautions in New Testing Report

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta ended the two-year “probation” for the STOVL version a year early.
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Aircraft

F-35 Program Faces a Challenging Year

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program faces fresh challenges as the new year begins.
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Aircraft

Japan Selects F-35 with Local Assembly

Japan has selected the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II to meet its F-X requirement.
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Aircraft

Malaysian Fighter Requirement Draws Hardware to LIMA Show

Malaysia’s requirement for a new multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) was a key feature of this week’s Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA)
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Aircraft

Iran Claims Shootdown of Stealthy U.S. Drone

Iran is claiming to have shot down a stealthy U.S. drone.
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Aircraft

UK Harrier Fleet Sold to U.S. Marines for Spares

The U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) is paying $180 million to buy 72 BAE Harrier GR.9 V/STOL fighters that were axed from the Royal Air Force
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Aircraft

First Production A400M in Assembly as Airbus Military Predicts Export Demand

Airbus Military has begun final assembly of the first production A400M, slated for the French Air Force.
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Aircraft

First British F-35 Rolled Out as Change of Plan Explained

The first international Joint Strike Fighter, an F-35B for the UK, was rolled out on November 22,
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Aircraft

Swiss Choose Cost-Effective Gripen Over Rafale and Eurofighter

Switzerland has chosen the Saab Gripen as its new fighter aircraft, in preference to the Dassault Rafale or Eurofighter Typhoon.
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Aircraft

GA-ASI Lynx Radar Adapted for Maritime Surveillance from an Aerostat

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) of California belatedly revealed that its Lynx multimode radar
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Aircraft

C-295s to Ghana, CN235s to Mexico, as Airbus Military Predicts Steady Demand for Light-Medium Transports

Airbus Military has delivered the first of four CN235 Maritime Patrol Aircraft to Mexico,
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Aircraft

Hawker Beechcraft Protests Exclusion of AT-6 from U.S. Light Air Support Contest

The U.S. Air Force has apparently chosen the Embraer Super Tucano to meet the Light Air Support (LAS)
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Aircraft

MEADS Undergoes First Flight Test, Despite Funding Crunch

Lockheed Martin announced that the troubled, tri-national, medium extended air defense system (MEADS)
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Aircraft

Alenia Delivers First M346 To Italy; Status of UAE Purchase Remains Unclear

The Italian Air Force accepted the first of six Alenia Aermacchi M346 advanced jet trainers. A second aircraft will follow shortly
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