A still from the PMF video shows the Mohajer-6 UAV flying over Martyr Majid al-Tamimi Air Base (Camp Speicher). (Popular Mobilisation Forces)

Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) released a video on 14 June showing an Iranian-made Mohajer-6 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) taking off and circling an airbase that could be identified as the one popularly known as Camp Speicher in Salah al-Din governorate.

The Mohajer-6 was then shown using a guided bomb against a target that was about 30 km to the north, according to co-ordinates seen on the operator's screen.

Ostensibly controlled by the federal government, the PMF mostly comprises Shia militias, some backed by Iran. A Mohajer-6 was displayed on a trailer during a PMF parade held at Camp Ashraf in Diyala province in June 2020, but it was unclear how the UAV was being operated in Iraq as it needs a paved runway.

The one in the parade had a different serial number (P071A-014) from the one shown flying (P071A-022). These numbers are close to ones that have been seen on Mohajer-6s displayed by the naval arm of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) and suggest the UAVs were made in 2018–19.

The first F-16 Block 70 seen departing on its maiden flight in January 2022. Lockheed Martin's Polish subsidiary, PZL Mielec, has recently begun production of subassemblies as the company looks to clear the international backlog of orders. (Lockheed Martin)

PZL Mielec recently commenced production of major subassemblies for the international Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon programme at its facility in southern Poland, taking over the work from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the US and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in South Korea.

Speaking ahead of the Paris Air Show 2023 in early June, Janusz Zakrecki, president and general director of PZL Mielec, said that work to build the centre-fuselage, aft-fuselage, and forward-fuselage sections of the F-16 Block 70/72 had recently commenced and that the company will be shipping four sets per month to the final assembly line (FAL) in Greenville, South Carolina, in peak production.

Speaking at the same media event in Poland, Piotr Niedbala, director of business development and programmes at PZL Mielec, told Janes that the company expects to hit peak production “within four years”.

An MQ-9 Reaper sits on the flight line as the sun sets at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, on 20 November 2019. (US Air Force)

The US Air Force (USAF) is looking to demonstrate an expanded satellite communications (satcom) capability, leveraging satcom terminals integrated aboard the air service's MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft system (UAS).

Service officials from AFWERX, a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), inked a technology development deal with CesiumAstro to integrate the company's Ka-band satcom terminal into the Reaper aircraft, according to a 16 June statement by the company. The USD3.6 million deal was financed through the air force's Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) programme, company officials said, noting CesiumAstro would be tasked with construction, integration, testing, and demonstration of the satcom system planned for the modified MQ-9.

Specifically, company engineers will modify to scale a variant of its active electronically scanned array (AESA) satcom terminal “to fit the size, weight, and power requirements of a Group 5 unmanned aerial system”, the statement said.