A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor safely shot down a Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon on February 4, 2023, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said in a written statement echoed by Jim Garamone, U.S. DoD. President Joe Biden ordered the action on Wednesday, February 1, but it was delayed until the balloon was over water off the coast of South Carolina to ensure no Americans on the ground were harmed. "The balloon, which was being used by the PRC in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above U.S. territorial waters," Austin said.

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Vital upgrades to the Royal Australian Air Force's fleet of electronic aircraft and associated ranges will strengthen Australia's electronic attack capability. The EA-18G Growler capability is being overhauled through Project AIR 5349 Phase 6 - Advanced Growler, providing the Air Force with critical world-leading technology.

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The Precision Strike team successfully fired two Spike NLOS all-up rounds (AURs) from the AH-64E V6 Apache on January 26, 2023, at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. The successful live fire event verifies the Spike NLOS Long Range Precision Munitions Directed Requirement (LRPM DR) system’s integration onto the Apache platform and allows it to enter qualification testing.

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A promotional video released by the Chinese aviation industry on February 1 featured computer-generated images showing what analysts said could represent a concept of the country’s next-generation fighter jet, Liu Xuanzun reports in Global Times.

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Boeing has been selected by the U.S. Air Force as the prime contractor for the nation’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) guidance subsystems support. The contract is worth up to $1.6 billion over 16 years, will be primarily performed in Ogden, Utah, and Heath, Ohio, and is expected to support a significant amount of direct and indirect jobs in the area.

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