April, 2010 Military Aviation News
04/30/2010
Military officials on Tuesday acknowledged a helicopter shortfall plaguing Special Operations Forces, but said the Defense Department has a long-term plan to fill gaps in the in-demand force's aviation inventory.
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04/30/2010
The Defense Department is reassessing its view of unmanned aerial vehicles – a key component of modern combat operations – and deciding what the military needs from UAVs beyond their traditional use as a platform to gather intelligence and fire weapons.
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04/30/2010
The United States will hand over two upgraded P-3C Orion reconnaissance aircraft to Pakistan on Friday to help boost maritime security capability of the key member of the multinational task force.
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04/30/2010
Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell today credited the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower for its disciplined response last week when an Iranian military aircraft flew within 1,000 yards of it in the Gulf of Oman.
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04/30/2010
Military and civilian officials from Ukraine are observing airmen from the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserves training for use of the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System at the South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center in Greenville, S.C., this week.
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04/30/2010
Two Block 40 F-16 Fighting Falcons set out from Hill Air Force Base on April 27 for a new home. They were reassigned to the South Dakota Air National Guard at Joe Foss Field in Sioux Falls.
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04/30/2010
The scheduled arrival of 50 additional U.S. military personnel to Pakistan in June, accompanying four new F-16 fighter jets, will increase the official number of American boots on the ground there by 25 percent. It is enough to make the Pakistani government shudder with trepidation.
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04/30/2010
A senior Iranian Air Force officer does not rule out reports that an Iranian fighter jet might have flown over a US aircraft carrier last week in the Arabian Sea.
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04/29/2010
The Iraqi Government is in talks to buy 24 Hawk trainer jets for up to £1 billion in a deal that would be the country’s first large arms purchase from the UK for more than 20 years.
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04/29/2010
While Iran’s nuclear program remains the subject of intense media speculation, the nonlinear actions of the Islamic regime continue to occupy Western and Israeli intelligence officials not yet completely swept up by the gathering atomic storm.
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04/29/2010
Despite the ongoing acquisition of new F-16s to strengthen its fighter force, Morocco is pressing on with ambitious upgrades to its legacy types, which will remain in service for many years, augmenting the new aircraft.
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04/29/2010
The United States has six naval fleets and eleven aircraft carrier strike groups patrolling the world's oceans and seas. The U.S. Navy is as large as the world's next thirteen biggest navies combined [1].
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04/29/2010
Lockheed Martin has received a contract from the Boeing Company to continue developing system requirements for the U.S. Air Force’s F-15C IRST™ sensor system program. The IRST sensor system augments the aircrews’ critical ability to track and engage targets in dense threat environments.
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04/29/2010
An Iranian maritime patrol aircraft buzzed the carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower at sea in the Middle East last week, passing within 1,000 yards of the ship, but American defense officials sought to downplay the encounter as relatively common.
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04/28/2010
General Electric Co. and Rolls-Royce today announced that they have offered to the Pentagon a fixed price offer on their F136 engine for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).
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04/28/2010
The GTX-35 appears to be on the verge of cancellation, and might be replaced by another engine on the Tejas fighter (Light Combat Aircraft). After a development program lasting over 20 years without producing a successful engine, the GTX-35 may, instead of powering an aircraft, find itself supplying power on Indian Navy vessels.
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04/28/2010
Finmeccanica and EADS (DS) have agreed on a joint proposal to offer the M-346 for Advanced European Jet Pilot Training
(AEJPT) programme.
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04/28/2010
The U.S. Air Force will retire more than 250 aircraft and fighter jets in the next several months.
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04/28/2010
Algeria has launched a major military campaign against al-Qaida and its fellow travelers and Morocco says it rounded up a terrorist cell amid a campaign by North African states aimed at crushing the jihadists.
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04/27/2010
The U.S. Air Force has begun re-evaluating and expanding the missions its MQ-X next generation tactical UAV will be required to perform to go beyond battlefield strike and ISR, service officials announced.
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04/27/2010
Despite lengthy and ongoing negotiations between France and the UAE for the latter to update its air force with 60 Rafale fighter jets, there is no frustration at the reported delays, a key executive at French defence and civil technology giant Thales has said.
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04/27/2010
It was a big week for experimental military aircraft, with the Air Force’s secretive X-37B space plane and the Navy’s biofuel-powered “Green Hornet” both achieving successful test flights. But the most ambitious—the HTV-2 hypersonic glider under development by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)—lost contact with its operators during its run.
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04/27/2010
Pentagon officials judge Iran’s Army Day parade to be part posturing and part concept demonstration. But they also contend that Tehran is making progress in its weapon programs that have armed the country with a force of 1,000 ballistic missiles with ranges of 90-1,200 mi.
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04/27/2010
Chile and Argentina will pool resources to form a joint military force for rapid response to humanitarian crises and peacekeeping missions in Latin America.
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04/27/2010
A new-generation combat Gripen fighter aircraft flew over Moses Mabhida Stadium at the weekend, just as it will do during World Cup matches.
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04/27/2010
Six F-16 Fighting Falcons will depart Spangdahlem Air Base April 27, the first step for the 52nd Fighter Wing in the Combat Air Forces Restructuring plan.
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04/27/2010
Israel will impose a temporary freeze on the sale of advanced weapons systems to Turkey, once a key ally, because of blistering criticism of the Jewish state by Turkey's Islamist Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Jane's Defense Weekly reports.
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04/27/2010
Iceland’s volcano Eyjafjallajokull recently created air travel chaos across Europe. Millions were affected and financial losses mounted during a time of global recession. This was a subtle reminder of the potential for bedlam in the event of a very different matter, namely conflict with Iran over its nuclear program.
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04/27/2010
Alenia Aermacchi (AAEM), a Finmeccanica company, and EADS Defence and Security (DS) submitted a joint response to the Request For Information (RFI) issued by the European Defence Agency (EDA) on 15 July 2009 about the Advanced European Jet Pilot Training (AEJPT) programme.
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04/27/2010
India will miss a deadline tomorrow to complete the world’s biggest fighter-jet purchase in 15 years, risking a possible $1 billion price increase as Boeing Co. and five rival manufacturers resubmit bids.
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04/27/2010
Australia on Monday said warships, combat aircraft and soldiers were engaged in a major military exercise with Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Britain designed to strengthen regional security.
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04/26/2010
The U.S. Congress has been formally notified of the upcoming sale of advanced Boeing C-17 transport aircraft to India, the American Embassy in New Delhi said in a news release on Monday.
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04/26/2010
Russian military helicopters dropped ten bombs in Siberia in their annual offensive against ice-choked rivers, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said on Monday.
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04/26/2010
CN-235, a product of Indonesia`s strategic airplane industry PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI), will be displayed at Expo Indonesia 2010 in Bangladesh on May 11 to 13, 2010.
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04/26/2010
Come October and the skies over Jangalmahal will resonate with the sound of powerful jet engines. Pilots of the Royal Air Force (RAF) in Eurofighter Typhoons will match their skills against the IAF’s flying aces in Indradhanush 2010, the third in a series of joint air exercises between India and the UK.
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04/26/2010
The Indian Air Force will arm 40 Su-30MKI Flanker-H fighters with BrahMos missiles, the head of BrahMos Aerospace, Dr Sivathanu Pillai has said.
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04/26/2010
As U.S. troops prepare for a complete pullout by the end of 2011, there is one domain where Iraq will not be able to claim full control anytime soon — its skies.
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04/26/2010
The Army is collaborating with an aircraft maker to develop a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that can fly without a pilot.
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04/26/2010
Ukrainian cooperation with Russia will help to boost Ukrainian aviation industry, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov.
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04/26/2010
Conflicts are won by those with the most advanced technology. That superior science — to our good fortune — these days is possessed by the United States. So advanced are we that many of today’s toughest challenges are answered not by boots on the ground as occurred for America’s first two centuries, but by mouse-manipulating, keyboard-clicking geeks who stare at computer monitors.
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04/26/2010
Call it a reusable space vehicle. Call it a space plane. But whatever you do, just don’t call it a space weapon.
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04/26/2010
Raytheon’s new contract with the U.S. Air Force to upgrade the U.S. Global Positioning System may be worth twice as much as originally thought due to demand for military and commercial use.
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04/25/2010
Iran has overhauled and modernized its warplanes, including the "sophisticated" F-14 Tomcat fighter jets, an Iranian military official said on Tuesday.
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04/24/2010
Perhaps highlighting the unprecedented breakdown in relations between Israel and the United States, Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff evaded responding to a question if the United States would shoot down an IAF fighter jet heading to Iran to attack that country’s nuclear facilities.
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04/24/2010
Pond scum, grass clippings and old T-shirts may not seem to be terribly appetizing topics, but they are providing food for thought as alternative energy sources that can power today’s United States military aircraft and support broader military strategy aimed at fuel independence.
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04/24/2010
Russia's Irkut Corp has pledged an investment of US$5 billion (RM16.5 billion) to establish a full-fledged and diversified original equipment manufacturing (OEM) facility in Sungkai, Perak, soon.
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04/24/2010
The creation of the Boomerang combat aircraft was a remarkable chapter in our aviation history.
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04/24/2010
NEW DELHI: India will introduce an advanced fighter jet it is building with Russia in 2018, a move that will bring sophistication to its air power but could also spark unease among neighbours China and Pakistan.
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04/24/2010
Light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas took a significant step towards induction into the Indian Air Force on Friday afternoon.
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04/24/2010
Boeing today announced the successful launch of the Boeing-built Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), also known as the X-37B, for the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.
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04/23/2010
Oshkosh Airport Products, a division of Oshkosh Corporation, today unveiled the new Striker® Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicle at the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) in Indianapolis. Wrapped in a sleek and aero fiberglass body, the new Striker features a wide range of industry leading innovations.
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04/23/2010
China is in the midst of an ambitious bid to modernize its military by the middle of this century. A key part of this effort is to downsize its army -- the world's largest -- while beefing up its air force and navy. This will enable China to project military force farther beyond its borders.
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04/23/2010
More than 125 Russian dual-purpose and combat aircraft will take part in the military fly-past during the May 9 Victory Day celebrations in central Moscow, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Vladimir Drik told Interfax on Thursday.
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04/23/2010
An F-35A fighter became the seventh F-35 Lightning II aircraft to begin test flight here to validate its weapons suite.
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04/23/2010
Britain has temporarily suspended military flight training on Eurofighter Typhoon jets after inspectors found deposits of ash in an engine of a fleet plane, the Ministry of Defence said Thursday.
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04/23/2010
An Iraqi Air Force C-130 Hercules touches down at a base west of Baghdad as Iraqi pilots and their American instructors watch from the runway - a graceful landing for the bulky four-turboprop airlifter, one of several now owned by Iraq.
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04/23/2010
Boeing on April 19 conducted the first flight of F-15K41, the first of 21 F-15K Slam Eagles the company is producing under the Next Fighter II contract for the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF).
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04/23/2010
U.S. Coast Guard officials continue to investigate a helicopter crash on southern Lake Huron during a nighttime training exercise Tuesday.
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04/22/2010
Greek fighter jets intercepted Turkish jets training in international air space over the Aegean Sea three times Tuesday, said the Turkish General Staff on its website on Wednesday.
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04/22/2010
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is expected to begin air, land and sea exercises in the Persian Gulf, perhaps as soon as Thursday, according to Iran's IRIB news agency.
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04/22/2010
Camber Corporation announced today that the T-1A aircraft with the modification to support CSO training had its first flight today, April 21, 2010.
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04/22/2010
Believe it or not, but today you can choose all the excitement in the community provided you come with enough money to spend.
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04/22/2010
Israel's defense community is divided on the importance of securing U.S. backing for an independent Israeli military strike on Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported today (see GSN, April 20).
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04/22/2010
When an Icelandic volcano erupted last week, it didn't just wreak havoc with commercial flights. It grounded American jet fighters and some of the most advanced air forces in the world.
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04/22/2010
Boeing [NYSE: BA] is supporting the U.S. Navy's biofuel-powered flight, scheduled to take place on Earth Day, April 22.
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04/21/2010
An Iranian Air Force commander announced here on Tuesday that the country overhauls and optimizes different types of military aircraft, mentioning that Air Force has even installed Iran-made radar systems on the sophisticated F14 fighter jets.
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04/21/2010
The Pentagon’s long-running effort to buy aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force took another twist on Tuesday when a European company decided that instead of walking away, it would compete with Boeing for a contract worth at least $35 billion.
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04/21/2010
While Washington and Moscow are cooperating to a degree, Russia is leveraging the new relationship to accelerate its dangerous resurgence at America’s expense.
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04/21/2010
Flight-test activities on a new package of modifications for the Eurofighter Typhoon have got under way in the UK, with the work to lead to new operational capabilities from next year.
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04/21/2010
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said he was satisfied with the tests of a Russian fifth-generation fighter jet.
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04/21/2010
The Boeing Company and partners Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Cobham Mission Systems today announced that they have delivered a C-130H aerial refueling tanker to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).
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04/20/2010
BAE Systems is in discussions with India's government to supply up to 60 additional Hawk trainer jets to the country's military.
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04/20/2010
A Pilatus PC-21 aircraft, HB-HZD, has just arrived back in Switzerland after completing an extremely successful demonstration tour through the Middle East, Asia and Australia from November 2009 to April 2010. The tour included a lap of Australia from 11th February to 16th March.
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04/20/2010
Schiebel, the Austrian defence company, is seeking more contracts in the Middle East for its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) after nearing the end of deliveries on its 60-aircraft deal with the UAE Armed Forces.
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04/20/2010
Sarnia's mayor wants the U.S. military to cool its jets when it comes to flying patrols over the border city.
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04/20/2010
Former Marine One rivals, Sikorsky Aircraft and Lockheed Martin, have teamed up to go after the high-profile contract to provide the President's next helicopter.
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04/20/2010
The United States has assured India that it is keeping a close watch on the weapons supplied to Pakistan and, will investigate if there is any 'misuse' of the weapons tramsferred to Islambad.
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04/20/2010
A large-scale international exhibition of arms and military equipment, Defence Services Asia (DSA)-2010, opened on Monday in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur, bringing together arms producers and suppliers from all over the world.
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04/20/2010
Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] rolled out the first of a new fleet of HC-130J combat rescue tankers for the U.S. Air Force’s Air Combat Command (ACC) during a ceremony here today. Maj. Gen. Thomas K. Andersen, director of requirements, Headquarters ACC, spoke at the ceremony.
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04/19/2010
American warplanes are being equipped with electronic tags, so that aerial tankers can automatically note who got what when they are refueled in flight. These records used to be updated manually, which led to errors, and a distraction for the boom operator who was handling the refueling operation.
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04/19/2010
It was a remark by a winter visitor that got my attention. Asked what impressed her most about Tucson, she admitted that it was not the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, not the desert landscape and not our wonderful weather.
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04/19/2010
Predator, the unmanned aircraft built by Poway-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., passed a significant milestone early this month, reaching a fleet total of 1 million flight hours.
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04/19/2010
A senior Western diplomat says several NATO F-16 fighters suffered engine damage after flying through the volcanic ash cloud covering large parts of Europe.
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04/19/2010
There is no need for any more fighter pilots so current trainees have had their training programmes halted.
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04/19/2010
By September, operations at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base here are expected to be an all-Malaysian affair.
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04/19/2010
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is gradually phasing out its older MiG-21 combat jets, many of which have been lost in crashes, parliament was informed Monday.
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04/18/2010
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. has offered its X2 TechnologyTM Light Tactical Helicopter concept for the U.S. Army’s Armed Aerial Scout Program, the company announced today from the AAAA Annual Convention. Sikorsky Aircraft is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.
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04/18/2010
The Brazilian Air Force has received the first three Mi-35M transport and combat helicopters.
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04/18/2010
The government will be signing contracts worth more than RM10.4 billion with local and foreign companies at the Defence Services Asia 2010 (DSA) exhibition and conference which begins tomorrow.
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04/17/2010
The Pentagon is conducting basic cyberwarfare courses for lawmakers as they struggle with the confirmation of Army Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander as the first chief of U.S. Cyber Command.
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04/17/2010
Stoking its rivalry with the Air Force, the Army plots a way forward for its fleet of unmanned airplanes - predicting a wider range of missions, the rise of remotely piloted helicopters and the arrival of swarms of indoor-flying mini-drones.
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04/17/2010
Russia's aircraft manufacturer MiG is on the way to recovery from the financial crisis, a Russian defence expert said. The company, once the flagship of Russia's fighter plane industry, was on the brink of bankruptcy in 2008 after orders declined due to quality problems.
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04/17/2010
For the first time in three decades, the US and Brazil have a military agreement. Brazil is shopping for 36 new fighter jets, and the US is trying to counter growing Russian and Iranian influence in Latin America.
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04/17/2010
In a development that eases tension over the future of the U.S. military base in Kyrgyzstan, the interim government of the Central Asian country has said the agreement over Manas air force base will extend for another year.
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04/17/2010
The end of the Cold War proved a blessing for Europe, and nowhere did this hold truer than in the continent’s northernmost “Nordic” countries. In 1991 these nations - Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden - witnessed the demise of their principal strategic threat, the Soviet Union.
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04/17/2010
Russia is increasingly flexing its military muscles by penetrating Western airspace.
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04/17/2010
American Eurocopter of Grand Prairie, anticipating a new Army program, is building one of three armed scout prototypes to demonstrate it can transform a civilian helicopter into a combat aircraft.
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04/17/2010
Finnish fighter jets which flew through the volcanic dust covering much of Europe suffered damage and the air force warned Friday the cloud could have a significant impact on planes.
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04/16/2010
The effectiveness of a countermeasure system for the U.S. Army Chinook helicopter to defeat guided missiles was proven in battle, BAE Systems said.
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04/16/2010
Engines screaming, China’s most advanced fighter jets took off, soared into a vertical climb, spun into rolls and veered off into a clear blue sky leaving a trail of smoke and the acrid smell of aviation fuel in its wake. The 24th Fighter Division of the Chinese Air Force yesterday showed off a formation of its J10 — or Annihilator 10 — to a select group of international military attachés for the first time.
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04/16/2010
Airbus parent EADS is working fast to seal a teaming agreement with another U.S. company after L-3 Communications Holdings Inc backed away from joining its bid for a U.S. refueling plane deal that could be worth $50 billion, sources familiar with the situation said.
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04/16/2010
All routine military air training in UK airspace has been suspended as a plume of volcanic ash drifts across much of northern Europe.
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04/16/2010
The skies over the Utah desert are becoming the test site for a new fleet of hulking high-tech dirigibles the U.S. military is hoping will provide battlefield commanders a bird's-eye view of cruise missiles and other threats.
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04/16/2010
Refused permission to fly in Turkish airspace, the Israel Air Force has its eyes on Europe and Asia as it searches for new training grounds for its fighter jets with an emphasis on long-range missions.
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04/16/2010
The overall developmental cost of Tejas Light Combat Aircraft has quietly zoomed past the Rs 13,000-crore mark, with the government sanctioning the extension of the fighter's "full-scale engineering development'' (FSED) till December 31, 2018.
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04/16/2010
The Boeing Company and the U.S. Air Force's Electronic Systems Center are demonstrating network-centric capabilities aboard a U.S. Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) test aircraft during the Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment (JEFX) at Nellis Air Force Base. The event began April 12 and is scheduled to conclude on April 22.
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04/15/2010
Northrop Grumman Corporation has helped the U.S. Air Force improve the mission availability of its fleet of B-2 stealth bombers by successfully completing the system development and demonstration (SDD) phase of the B-2 Radar Modernization Program (RMP).
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04/15/2010
The Swedish company Saab has offered Bulgaria Gripen fighter jets at the price of second-hand US F-16 planes.
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04/15/2010
GE Intelligent Platforms today announced that it had completed delivery of a $6.5 million order from Boeing (Long Beach, CA).
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04/15/2010
A defense agreement signed today by Brazil and the U.S. may make it easier for the countries to buy military planes from each other, officials said.
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04/15/2010
A senior Iranian military official warned that Tehran's newly produced unmanned aerial vehicles were capable of both striking hostile targets and gathering intelligence.
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04/15/2010
London could yet order at least a handful of Tranche 3B Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, if a deal to sell the aircraft to Oman is in place by early 2011.
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04/15/2010
Iraq was said to have relayed a formal request for the F-16 multi-role fighter from the United States.
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04/15/2010
The SU-30MKI multi-role fighter is a two-seat highly-manoeuvrable aircraft designed for air-superiority and for strikes on ground and naval targets. These aircraft have significantly enhanced the combat capabilities of the Indian Air Force.
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04/14/2010
Malaysia's air force suffers from too many aircraft types and aircraft that fail to keep up with recent purchases by its neighbours.
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04/14/2010
The Colombian government plans to expand its military aircraft fleet with the purchase of nine Black Hawk helicopters from Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. in Stratford, Reuters reports.
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04/14/2010
A Canadian Forces Cormorant helicopter caused quite a stir in a rural Cape Breton community where it made a precautionary landing early Tuesday morning.
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04/14/2010
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates expressed confidence today that political upheaval in Kyrgyzstan won’t cause the United States to lose use of an air base that’s critical to supplying operations in Afghanistan.
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04/14/2010
The RAAF is reviewing proposed Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) use of the Salt Ash air bombing range north of Newcastle in NSW after complaints that it will be too noisy.
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04/14/2010
China gave a rare public showing of an air base to military attaches and foreign reporters on Tuesday, as it seeks to modernise its own forces and build export markets.
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04/13/2010
India is holding unpublicized talks with Israel to purchase three more Phalcon Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) at the cost of more than US$1.5 billion.
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04/13/2010
Fourteen years after being plucked from bankruptcy by Dutch conglomerate Stork, one of the most famous names in European aircraft manufacturing has its old brand back.
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04/13/2010
The Netherlands started its military involvement in the Afghanistan region in 2002, but its long-running commitment looks set to end late this year, following a political crisis.
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04/13/2010
The cost of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 fighter, the most expensive U.S. weapons program, may rise as much as $51 billion beyond the $328 billion estimate given to Congress April 1, according to a worse-case Pentagon scenario.
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04/13/2010
Stoking additional controversy, a bloc of Islamist lawmakers warned that they would question Kuwait's prime minister or defense minister if the country went ahead with plans to purchase French-made Rafale warplanes.
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04/13/2010
Boeing today announced that, as part of the Raytheon team awarded the space-based Global Positioning System (GPS) advanced control segment program (OCX), it will develop portions of the U.S. Air Force's new ground control segment. GPS OCX will provide more secure, accurate, and precise navigation around the world for military, humanitarian and commercial applications.
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04/13/2010
Boeing representatives joined the U.S. Air Force and Florida Air National Guard (ANG) in Jacksonville today to roll out the first operational ANG F-15C equipped with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. Boeing is under contract to upgrade 14 ANG and 10 Air Force F-15C/D aircraft with AESA.
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04/12/2010
A small Fort Worth startup, composed largely of former Bell engineers and managers, has proposed what it says is a low-cost way for the Army to upgrade its fleet of scout helicopters while significantly improving performance, safety and combat capability of the aircraft.
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04/12/2010
Following an extensive test programme - Sinterflo F Metal Filters from Porvair Filtration Group have been selected by the US Army Aviation Engineering Directorate Propulsion Hydraulic Team (AED) at Fort Rucker Alabama for installation across their fleet of AH-64 (Apache) and UH-60 (Blackhawk) helicopters.
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04/12/2010
Kazakhstan has decided to open its airspace to U.S. military aircraft ferrying supplies to American troops serving in Afghanistan, it was decided on Sunday at a meeting between President Barack Obama and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev in Washington.
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04/12/2010
The mayor of Ramstein-Miesenbach may get his wish for quieter skies this summer.
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04/12/2010
Machines are changing the face of battle: Robots and unmanned aircraft have made engaging a target much safer and far more efficient. But is there a danger in relying too much on technology?
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04/12/2010
A key US air base in Kyrgyzstan resumed normal operations Friday after an uprising ousted the government in the central Asian nation, a military spokesman said.
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04/12/2010
In a bid to strengthen their military ties, Ukraine has offered to jointly develop a medium weight transport aircraft with India.
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04/12/2010
US aircraft manufacturer Boeing will open an office this year in Doha that offer services for all its equipment to both civilian and military clients, it was reported on Sunday.
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04/12/2010
Against the backdrop of a clear blue sky, the jet zips around at supersonic speed while carrying an impressive load of up to eight air-to-air missiles. Armed with a cutting-edge radar system and an advanced integrated sensor suite, which allows the swift detection and accurate striking of targets, the jet has achieved a formidable combat record of 104 victories to zero losses.
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04/12/2010
Dawran Masoomy was once in line to be Afghanistan's first man in space. Nowadays, as a lieutenant general commanding his country's air force, he's happy just to see his vintage planes and middle-aged pilots get back off the ground.
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04/11/2010
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. delivered its first XC2 next-generation transport jet to the Air Self-Defense Force in a ceremony Tuesday at the firm's Gifu plant, two years behind schedule.
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04/11/2010
The airplane crash that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski Saturday is deeply shocking — but, sadly, not a complete surprise. Poland has for years been calling the Soviet-era military aircraft used by Polish officials “flying coffins.”
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04/10/2010
Airbus Military on Friday announced that the second A400M military airlifter and air-to-air refuelling aircraft, designated MSN2 by the company, had made its maiden flight on Thursday afternoon. South African companies remain part of the A400M programme, even though the South African government cancelled this country’s order for eight of the aircraft late last year.
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04/10/2010
When infantry grunts are being hard-pressed by an enemy they can't reach -- maybe taking lethal mortar fire from the other side of a ridgeline -- there's almost no better feeling than seeing the United States Air Force show up.
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04/10/2010
Two military fighter jets came so close to a commercial flight over southern Ohio this week that they triggered a cockpit alarm in the commuter plane, whose pilots could see the F-16s nearby, authorities said Friday.
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04/10/2010
Oman has moved a step closer towards acquiring a fleet of Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft, according to the UK government.
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04/10/2010
The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded a £690 million (around US$ 1 billion) contract to aircraft maker Rolls Royce to upkeep the Royal Air Force's Tornado fleet of combat aircraft.
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04/10/2010
The US military has suspended troop flights out of its base in Kyrgyzstan and will instead transport forces to and from Afghanistan via Kuwait, military officials said Friday.
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04/10/2010
Two Russian Tu-95MS Bear strategic bombers have carried out a routine patrol flight over the Pacific Ocean, the Defense Ministry said on Friday.
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04/10/2010
Lockheed Martin's F-35C Lightning II carrier variant ground-test article, CG-1, undergoes drop testing at Vought Aircraft in Dallas – one of 53 tests planned for CG-1 at Vought.
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04/09/2010
A US Air Force tilt-rotor aircraft crashed in southeastern Afghanistan, killing three service members and one government contractor, Nato said Friday.
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04/09/2010
Israel PM Menahem Begin established the Begin Doctrine: “On no account shall we permit an enemy to develop Weapons of Mass Destruction against the people of Israel.” It was applied in Irak in 1981 against Osirak facilities and once again against Syria in 2007 although Israel never admit it. But strategists and military are more divided on the case of Iran, despite aggressive speeches.
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04/09/2010
The British military continues to increase its use of industry for depth maintenance of fixed and rotary wing platforms, with Tornado GR4 strike aircraft and WAH-64 Apache attack helicopter projects reaching milestones April 7.
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04/09/2010
Textron Defense Systems, a division of Textron Systems Company, recently announced that the Republic of South Korea Air Force has selected its Sensor Fuzed Weapon (SFW) for consolidation onto the Korea Aerospace Industries FA-50 light combat aircraft.
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04/09/2010
Airmen from the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing here welcomed one of the newest members of the Air Force's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance weapons systems to Kandahar Airfield March 29.
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04/09/2010
Pakistani JF-17 Thunders are already flying without the French parts. The new parts would have enhanced the capability of the aircraft. The PAF has learned its lessons from various US embargoes and now uses a plethora of equipment from various countries for the enhancements
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04/09/2010
Adding to acrimony over a lucrative defense deal, Brazilian prosecutors have agreed to probe a multibillion-dollar contest for the sale of advanced combat aircraft to the Latin American nation.
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04/09/2010
Lockheed Martin’s multi-purpose AGM 114R HELLFIRE II missile scored another success in its second proof-of-principle (POP) flight test, the first armed with a live warhead.
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04/08/2010
France will buy eight Casa CN-235 military transport aircraft from EADS NV at a cost of US$ 301 million.
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04/08/2010
As part of a newly unveiled Nuclear Posture Review, the Pentagon has made public plans to make its all-purpose stealth fighter capable of carrying nuclear weapons. But in the interim, it still has to cope with some massive (but not massively surprising) cost overruns on the aircraft, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
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04/08/2010
In a special ceremony today, Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) celebrated the delivery of the 600th Beechcraft T-6 – the world’s most proven military training aircraft.
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04/08/2010
The defense minister said Wednesday he favors the purchase of a French fighter jet for Brazil's revamped air force over aircraft from Sweden and the United States in the competition for an estimated $4.4 billion order.
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04/08/2010
The first mission systems-equipped Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter flew for the first time today, ushering in what will be the most powerful and comprehensive sensor package ever to fly in a fighter.
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04/07/2010
Hawker Beechcraft has demonstrated a more powerful version of its AT-6 turboprop, ahead of a US Air Force competition for a light attack and armed reconnaissance (LAAR) aircraft.
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04/07/2010
UGANDA has denied international media reports that it has signed a deal for the purchase of six fighter jets from a Russian company.
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04/07/2010
In the most recent reported incident, two Tu160 Blackjack bombers, capable of travelling at 2,220kmph and carrying up to almost 40,000kg of ordnance including either cruise or short-range nuclear missiles, infiltrated British airspace over Northern Scotland on March 10.
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04/07/2010
A group of prominent Indian Americans, led by noted physician Sudhir Parikh, are lobbying hard to block Washington's sale of F-16 combat aircraft to Pakistan, drawing support from a large Congressional caucus.
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04/07/2010
Pilot training for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is on track despite recent cost overruns and development delays, the Navy Times reported.
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04/07/2010
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Tuesday opened High Mark Exercise-2010 to assay its professional skills and capabilities and war preparations of the PAF in Jhang area of Thal.
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04/07/2010
Lockheed Martin and Aerojet, a GenCorp company and teammate on the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) program, achieved a technological breakthrough by successfully completing full temperature range testing and validation to support a single rocket motor solution for all JAGM fixed-wing and rotary-wing platforms. The final completed tests were a series of cold temperature missile motor firings conducted in Camden, AR.
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04/07/2010
Boeing and the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) on April 5 celebrated the arrival of the RSAF’s first five F-15SG aircraft at Paya Lebar Air Base, Singapore, where the aircraft were formally inducted into the F-15SG squadron.
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04/06/2010
Oman is reported to be planning to buy up to 24 Eurofighter Typhoon strike jets worth an estimated $2.24 billion from Britain.
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04/06/2010
Though late to the irregular warfare game, after considerable cajoling from Defense Secretary Robert Gates and now with an air chief with a real interest in the subject, Gen. Norton Schwartz, the Air Force has begun, albeit slowly, embracing elements of the irregular warfare mission.
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04/06/2010
RESIDENTS living near Evans Head are already used to seeing pigs fly, and soon they’ll be able to see a rhino do the same.
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04/06/2010
The armies of India and Pakistan are mobilising for separate large-scale war games on either side of the international border this month to experiment with concepts they will employ in the event of a war with each other.
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04/06/2010
Russia could help Slovakia modernize its fleet of Soviet-made combat helicopters, a Russian presidential aide said on Tuesday.
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04/05/2010
As training jobs go, U.S. Colonel Bernard Mater's task of mentoring the fledgling Afghan air force is among the more daunting ones.
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04/05/2010
NEW DELHI: India’s concerns about increasing military aid to Pakistan might not bother the Obama administration but the Sarkozy government is apparently taking note.
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04/05/2010
Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport has signed two contracts worth $1.2 billion on the deliveries of 16 jet fighters to Algeria and another six fighters to Uganda, the Russian Vedomosti daily reported on Monday.
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04/05/2010
U.S. SOCOM (Special Operations Command) has adopted a U.S. Marine Corps idea to provide an "instant gunship" system, which enables weapons and sensors to be quickly rolled into a C-130 transport and hooked up. This takes a few hours, and turns the C-130 into a gunship (similar in capabilities existing AC-130 gunships).
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04/05/2010
An RAF pilot and an aviator from the Luftwaffe have flown together on a combat mission for the first time since Britain and Germany were bitter Second World War enemies.
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04/05/2010
In March, C-130s conducted about 20 short-takeoff-and-landing maneuvers each night at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center. STOL maneuvers require pilots to touch down inside a 500-foot landing zone and stop within 3,300 feet.
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04/05/2010
In Spanish, Ecuador means “equator”. Manta is a port town facing the Pacific Ocean in the west of the country. On the coast is a large Ecuadorian air force base. From 1999, the American military had been using the base as a Forward Operating Location (FOL).
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04/05/2010
South Africa's air force chief has delivered a damning verdict on the country's military aircraft, raising concerns about defence capabilities.
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04/05/2010
The Taiwan Air Force has been blasted for not reacting to a Russian military aircraft's incursion into Taiwan's airspace, a newspaper said Tuesday.
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04/05/2010
FARMERS in North and mid Wales were paid £700,000 last year in compensation by defence chiefs for damage to livestock caused by low-flying military aircraft.
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04/04/2010
The Brazilian air force has announced the provisional suspension of aerobatic shows by its Aerial Demonstrations Squadron after one of its planes crashed, killing the pilot.
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04/04/2010
Foreign buyers are itching for the opportunity to buy American-made pilotless reconnaissance aircraft, and the Department of Defense does not plan to get in the way, despite concerns that the military technology could fall into the wrong hands.
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04/04/2010
April 4, 2010: Last year, the U.S. Army received the first production models of its Sky Warrior MQ-1C UAVs. Two years ago, two of the prototypes were sent to Iraq for testing. That was a success, and four MQ-1Cs are now operating in Iraq, supplanting the smaller Shadow 200s.
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04/03/2010
Over a month after they were grounded, a major chunk of Indian Air Force's MiG-27 fighter aircraft fleet was still not flying as only the trainer version of the aircraft have been cleared for operations, Air Chief Marshal P V Naik said here.
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04/03/2010
The U.S.-made RQ-4 Global Hawk spy plane looks like an upside-down double-decker bus with wings, flies slowly, offers zero leg room — and is one of the most coveted pieces of military technology in the world.
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04/03/2010
Russia will continue deliveries of military equipment to Venezuela to help the Latin American country boost its national defense, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Saturday.
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04/03/2010
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Friday successfully validated its concept of fighter operations from motorways and highways when its two fighter aircraft landed on a motorway.
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04/03/2010
Sweden’s futuristic medium fighter, the Gripen NG, has been given a second chance in the $11 billion contest to select a Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has asked Gripen International, which last month failed to send the Gripen NG fighter for trials in India on the dates allotted by the IAF, to send the fighter for trials in the middle of May.
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04/03/2010
Developing countries have embarked on a dangerous "arms race" with huge sums ploughed into combat aircraft in unstable parts of the world in the past five years, a top defence think-tank has said.
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04/03/2010
The government of Oman wants to buy a number of fighter jets from the UK, according to Downing Street.
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04/03/2010
France's plan to sell 1.2 billion euro ($1.6 billion) worth of military equipment for Pakistan's JF-17 combat aircraft has been held up, a source at President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said on Friday.
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04/02/2010
Alenia Aermacchi was selected to deliver 48 M-346 aircraft for the UAE Air Force last year, but a contract has yet to be signed.
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04/02/2010
Argentina is examining a $100 million proposal to buy 12 ex-Jordanian air force Dassault Mirage F1CJ fighters and one F1BJ trainer, having rejected a Spanish offer for a similar number of F1s. The deal is being considered as its remaining Mirage IIIEA/DAs are due to be withdrawn in 2012.
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04/02/2010
The jet-fighter for a fiver was a scam too far even for Russia. An official has resigned after a state agency sold four MiG 31 warplanes to a fictitious company for $US5 each, then bought them back for $US100,000.
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04/02/2010
The head of the army's Planning Directorate, Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel, will make an official visit to China next week to meet senior officials in the defense establishment there. Eshel, who is in charge of strategic planning and foreign affairs for the Israel Defense Forces, is hoping to present the Chinese with Israel's view on Iran's drive toward nuclear military capability.
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04/02/2010
Underscoring Pratt & Whitney's determination to be the only engine provider for the Joint Strike Fighter, company President David Hess said Wednesday that he has made it a priority to personally lobby Congress to kill off Pratt's sole competitor.
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04/02/2010
The DDM NG (Détecteur De Missile de Nouvelle Génération) missile detector has delivered its first in-flight images. As of 2012, the system will be available on the Rafale.
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04/01/2010
The Russian Defense Ministry plans to overhaul its air force fleet. According to various media reports, the Ministry wants to buy at least 1,500 aircraft, including 350 new warplanes, by 2020. The fleet would include 70 per cent new equipment at that point, said Air Force Commander-in-Chief Colonel General Alexander Zelin.
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04/01/2010
The Indian Air Force (IAF) will deploy the new BrahMos air-to-ground supersonic cruise missile in the coming years, local media reported on Tuesday.
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04/01/2010
A U.S. Navy aircraft crashed in the Persian Gulf region on Wednesday and one of the four crew members was missing, the military said.
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04/01/2010
More than a decade after India felt the need for modern attack choppers, during the Kargil conflict, the country on Monday flew its first prototype of a home-grown helicopter gunship designed for high-altitude battlefields.
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04/01/2010
In 2018, the U.S. Navy hopes to take a major step toward fielding a cyber-attack system on a tactically survivable, fighter-size aircraft.
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04/01/2010
The U.S. Air Force has been trying for years to find a suitable replacement for its fleet of tankers that refuel military aircraft in flight.
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04/01/2010
THE second ART-42 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (NAF 931) purchased by the Federal Government for the surveillance of the nation's maritime and coastal region was yesterday delivered to the 81, Air Maritime Group in Benin.
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04/01/2010
The U.S. military has successfully tested out a biofuel system for a "Warthog" A10 Thunderbolt II, one of the most feared combat aircraft in the World. Which is now fluffily green.
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04/01/2010
Lockheed Martin has successfully completed a wide-ranging series of tests on the multi-mode seeker for its Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) system. JAGM will provide a precision, adverse weather, low-collateral-damage weapon to rotary- and fixed-wing pilots, as well as the unmanned aerial system community.
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