January 9

What happened on January 9 in aviation and space history.

• January 9, 1941

  First flight of the Avro Lancaster

  First flight — The Avro Lancaster flew for the first time on 1941-01-09.

• January 9, 1962

  First flight of the Hawker Siddeley Trident

  First flight — The Hawker Siddeley Trident flew for the first time on 1962-01-09.

• January 9, 2020

  The United States approves the sale of F-35B to Singapore

  Institutional — The U.S. State Department approved a possible sale to Singapore of up to twelve F-35Bs, four firm and eight on option. Singapore, which had declared its interest in 2019, became the first Southeast Asian customer and chose the short take-off variant because of the city-state's airspace and runway constraints.

• January 9, 2023

  Canada finally closes the contract for 88 F-35A

  Institutional — The Canadian government announced the finalisation of the contract for eighty-eight F-35As, worth around nineteen billion Canadian dollars, after thirteen years of reversals since the first announcement in 2010. The purchase closed a process that had included the 2012 cancellation, an interim buy of second-hand Australian Super Hornets and a reopened competition in which the Gripen was the last rival standing.