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
Airbus A400M Makes Progress as Negotiations Continue
Airbus Military is increasingly confident about the technical progress of the
Rotorcraft
New Chinooks for Canada, and Upgrades for UK
Boeing took a long-expected order from Canada for 15 CH-47F Chinook helicopters worth $1.15 billion.
Aircraft
BAE 146 Airliners To Meet Airlift Shortfall, Budget Crunch?
With the delay to the A400M in mind, as well as tight defense budgets, BAE Systems Regional Aircraft is marketing surplus BAe 146 airliners to military cus
Airbus Claims Technical Progress with A400M
Anxious to demonstrate progress toward a first flight, Airbus Military will hold another technical press briefing on the troubled A400M airlifter in Spain
French Bid To Outmanuever Opposing Fighters in Brazil
A top-level handshake in Brazil earlier this month does not necessarily mean the end of that country’s long quest to select a new fighter.
Aircraft
$2.5 Billion Order Launches Su-35 Production
The Russian government has finally committed to production of the
Aircraft
More Eurofighters Ordered, but Cost Ceiling Now Reached
Eurofighter and Eurojet finally secured the long-delayed contract on 31 July for Tranche 3A, comprising a further 112 Typhoon aircraft and 241 EJ200 engine
Rotorcraft
Eurocopter To Upgrade 40-year-old British Pumas
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is proceeding with a controversial upgrade of 30 SA330 Puma helicopters that have already been operated by the Royal Air F
Aircraft
UK Takes Hardest Line Over A400M Airlifter
As negotiations to secure a future for Europe’s troubled A400M a
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Elbit and General Dynamics Offer Hermes 90 UAV
Israel’s Elbit showed the latest member of its UAV family for the first time at the Paris Air Show in June.
USAF KC-135s To Test Northrop Grumman Missile Protection
Northrop Grumman has now equipped more than 400 aircraft of 42 types with its AAQ-24(V) Nemesis directed infrared countermeasures system, which is designed
EADS UCAV Development Continues in Secret
EADS hopes to persuade France, Germany and Spain to launch development of its Advanced UAV, now named Talarion, a medium/high-altitude surveillance drone.
Aircraft
Partners brace to bite bullet on A400M costs
Airbus has presented “a realistic development and production schedule” to the A400M partner nations, CEO Tom Enders said here in Paris on Tuesday.
Aircraft
Eurofighter working on E-scan radar, support
Eurofighter hopes that the four partner nations will agree the technical specification for an active array radar for the Typhoon by year-end.
Aircraft
Tanker protagonists square off for round three of U.S. bid
Battle lines were drawn here this week for round three of the Great Tanker War.
Aircraft
Israel F-35 Sale Might Drive Down Export Prices
Israel intends to order 25 Lockheed Martin F-35 fifth-generation fighters, with an option for 50 more.
Diamonds shine in air-sensor role
With no fewer than four airborne-sensing versions of the DA42 on static display here, Diamond Aircraft of Austria is staking a major claim to the growing m
Aircraft
EADS finds wider use for T/R modules
The strategic importance of active array airborne radar technology in Europe cannot be understated, according to EADS Defence Electronics (Hall 2 Stand A15
Orders drop cuts delivery delay
There is an upside to the decline in airliner orders, according to Airbus CEO Thomas Enders.
Aircraft
LM ready to supplant A400M with C-130J
Lockheed Martin can deliver C-130J military transports to the nations affected by the A400M debacle within 36 months, on a sale or lease basis.
Aircraft
Crunch time next week for A400M lifter
Defense ministers from the seven A400M partner nations are heading for Seville next week for a crucial meeting with the EADS and Airbus leadership.
Aircraft
How Europe’s A400M airlifter failed to take off
Six years ago, the team from Airbus Military promoting the A400M came to the Paris Air Show full of confidence and good intentions.
Back to the future for U.S. manned space flight
As the era of the Space Shuttle draws to a close, uncertainty hangs over the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) like the pall of smoke after a launch.
UCAVs on Aircraft Carriers–Why Bother?
Here is a scenario produced by Northrop Grumman that demonstrates the thinking behind the Navy-UCAS program:An aggressive regional power with r
Aircraft
Navy sets stiff test for UCAV carrier ops
We all know that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) present operational challenges, and making them into stealthy, tailless jets and asking them to do combat
