January, 2011 Military Aviation News
01/31/2011
Iraq is reportedly on the verge of signing a $13 billion deal with the Pentagon for advanced weapons systems, including Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter interceptors. But the French are trying to muscle in.
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01/31/2011
The global arms trade runs to billions of dollars, but few such deals attract as much media attention as Brazil's recent tender, for the purchase of 36 combat aircraft which includes an agreement on production of another 84 planes under license.
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01/31/2011
South Korea is seeking to purchase its first stealth fighter jets at an earlier date to replace aging Air Force fighters and to secure capabilities to counter North Korea's increasing provocations, government sources said Sunday.
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01/29/2011
A PAIR of F-16 fighter jets were scrambled Friday to intercept an unresponsive commercial aircraft over the US capital, but returned to base near Washington after regaining communication, officials said.
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01/29/2011
The last Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II assigned to developmental flight testing departs Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base on its first flight Thursday.
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01/28/2011
A Chinese test pilot refuted allegations that the country's new J-20 stealth fighter aircraft used copied parts from a Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk downed in 1999.
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01/28/2011
Days after Chinese leader Hu Jintao leaves Washington, Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou is again calling on the United States to supply Taiwan with fighter aircraft.
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01/28/2011
Indian authorities have cleared the Tejas fighter jet for operations in a move that gives the green light to the country's first "indigenous" military aircraft, although analysts say that its effective operational introduction is still a few years off.
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01/28/2011
The aircraft is thought to be a GR4 fighter Tornado jet based at RAF Lossiemouth. It is understood that the aircraft caught fire before it plunged into the sea. Another Tornado is also thought to have been flying nearby - jets often fly in pairs when on training exercises.
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01/28/2011
A possible deal to export helicopters to a US military aircraft purchase program is a sign of China's growing ability to produce aircraft according to international standards, experts said.
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01/28/2011
Russian researchers are working on an unmanned spacecraft similar to the U.S. Boeing X-37 Orbital Test Vehicle, Space Troops chief Oleg Ostapenko said on Thursday.
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01/27/2011
The scrapping of the RAF’s £4 billion fleet of Nimrod surveillance aircraft will create a “massive security gap”, the country’s leading military figures have warned.
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01/27/2011
The Airbus Military A330 MRTT has successfully passed fuel to receiver aircraft using the Fuselage Refuelling Unit (FRU) for the first time – meaning that all of the aircraft's refuelling systems have now been demonstrated.
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01/27/2011
The budget committee of the German Parliament on Wednesday approved the continuation of the Airbus A400M military transport program, said Juergen Koppelin, the Free Democratic Party's budget expert.
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01/27/2011
Representatives of Boeing, its suppliers and the Netherlands Ministry of Defence marked the first flight of the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) CH-47F (NL) Chinook heavy-lift helicopter in a ceremony Jan. 25 at Summit Aviation in Middletown, Del.
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01/26/2011
All of a sudden it was there, but then like any good stealth aircraft it vanished. Now the “Beast of Kandahar” has resurfaced in new photos, spurring aviation and defense wonks to once again speculate about the function and purpose of such a stealthy-looking unmanned aerial system.
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01/26/2011
The world’s most advanced combat aircraft, the F-22 Raptor, is likely to make a rare appearance outside the US during the upcoming Aero India show in Bangalore next month. This will be the first appearance of the stealth fighter, which is also the only operational fifth generation fighter aircraft in the world, in India and its third participation at an international air show.
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01/26/2011
A strong and resurgent India will be celebrating its 62nd Republic Day tomorrow. This year's parade will highlight the nation's achievements in various fields, the military prowess, scintillating display of air power as also country's rich and diverse cultural heritage.
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01/26/2011
India's defense minister has suggested that New Delhi may award a $10 billion contract for medium multi-role combat aircraft by the end of the year.
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01/26/2011
A Joint Tactical Radio Internet-Protocol (IP) communications network has successfully transmitted data and video to ground-based radios from its first airborne platform. The Lockheed Martin Airborne & Maritime/Fixed Station Joint Tactical Radio System (AMF JTRS) team, with support from Boeing, conducted this significant test that provides a new capability to connect joint forces on the battlefield.
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01/26/2011
Boeing on Jan. 21 received a $1.6 billion contract from the U.S. Navy for low-rate initial production (LRIP) of the P-8A Poseidon aircraft. The LRIP 1 contract is for six P-8A aircraft, spares, logistics and training devices.
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01/25/2011
Jan 24 (PTI) Boosting its Special Operationscapabilities, the Indian Air Force will formally induct itsfirst C-130 J ''Hercules'' transport aircraft on February 5.
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01/25/2011
The first aircraft is one of a batch of four that left the Hawker Beechcraft factory in Witchita USA last week for Morocco.
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01/24/2011
The versatile T-38, an aircraft that’s been in the Air Force arsenal since 1956, is taking on yet another role — the aggressor jet in training F-22 Raptor pilots.
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01/24/2011
Ever wondered how to identify if an aircraft around you is a friend or a foe? How to determine its intent? Well, an electronic system that can detect an aircraft's intent is sure to enthuse electronic, computer science and electrical buffs. Such pin-point technologies are now coming from defence PSU Bharat Electronic Limited (BEL), which is all set to showcase Network Centric Warfare (NCW) technologies developed in-house during Aero India 2011.
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01/24/2011
China was able to build its first stealth bomber using technology gleaned from a downed U.S. fighter, it has been claimed.
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01/22/2011
The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) made two defense procurement decisions, but deferred the long-pending choice of a new combat aircraft. It bought an unspecified number of Hermes 450 UAV systems from the Brazilian subsidiary of Elbit Systems.
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01/22/2011
Canada’s top soldier is defending a multibillion-dollar deal to buy U.S.-made fighter jets even as the Liberals zero in on the issue as Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s potential Achilles’ heel in the next campaign.
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01/22/2011
The Wichita, US-based company is forecasting strong growth in the private aviation sector in the region but sees a special emphasis in special missions such as maritime patrol and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance to commercial applications such as photographic, air ambulance, flight inspection, weather modifications and transportation for government officials.
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01/21/2011
Officials acknowledged that the Iraqi Defense Ministry has suspended or slowed down procurement of combat air and other platforms. They said the move reflected a dwindling procurement budget as well as the underestimation of costs.
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01/21/2011
Flight training giant CAE Inc. said yesterday it has won military simulation equipment contracts from several countries together worth about $140 million.
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01/21/2011
A US congressional committee was told on Wednesday that Taiwan needed more advanced fighter aircraft and diesel submarines to defend itself against a possible attack by China.
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01/21/2011
Airbus Military is investigating the loss of part of a refuelling boom over the Atlantic during testing of a tanker plane being developed for the Royal Australian Air Force.
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01/21/2011
The U.S. military plans to award an exclusive contract to Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport to supply helicopters for Afghanistan's military, speeding a deal that was outlined as part of a "reset" of U.S.-Russia relations.
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01/21/2011
Boeing today announced that it completed full scale static testing of the P-8A Poseidon’s airframe on Jan. 7. The series of tests, which began in May 2009, confirmed the airframe's structural integrity.
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01/21/2011
As part of a transition announced last year, Boeing [NYSE: BA] today confirmed it will deliver 13 C-17 Globemaster III airlifters in 2011 as the company moves to a new production rate of 10 C-17s per year. Boeing will reduce the production program's work force by approximately 1,100 jobs through the end of 2012. The company delivered 14 C-17s in 2010.
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01/20/2011
Lockheed Martin has received two contracts totaling $218 million for the Demonstration Phase of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s (DARPA) Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) program.
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01/20/2011
India's homegrown fighter jet, the Tejas, has finally been cleared for operations but analysts say any celebration of India's entry into an elite club of military hardware producers is premature.
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01/20/2011
Russia's Il-78 Midas and the EU's Airbus A330 MRTT are the only competitors in a re-tender to supply six aerial tankers to the Indian air force (IAF), the India Strategic defense magazine said.
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01/20/2011
Only two years after Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ decision to end production of the F-22 Raptor at 187 aircraft, the program may be poised to rise like a phoenix from the ashes. When Gates made his decision, it was on the assumption that other countries - notably Russia and China -- would not develop their own fifth-generation fighters for at least another decade or more.
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01/20/2011
Infrared supercontinuum laser technology could soon help protect military helicopters from heat-seeking missiles designed to home in on IR radiation emitted by a helicopter’s engine. Built with off-the-shelf telecom fiber optics, the laser technology operates in the mid- and longer IR wavelengths.
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01/19/2011
BOLIVIA is set to receive six Chinese-made combat aircraft to be used to fight drug trafficking, the head of the Bolivian Air Force said on Tuesday.
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01/19/2011
The F-35 Lightning II strike fighter has previously undisclosed problems with its handling, avionics, afterburner and helmet-mounted display, according to a report by the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation.
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01/19/2011
Saudi Arabia announced Tuesday its plans to produce most of the military hardware and spare parts within the Kingdom by transferring foreign technology.
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01/19/2011
The world may be in turmoil, but in the defense business there are signs of a return to normalcy. After dreary decades in which the U.S. military had to live without a presentable threat with which to justify its spending on high-technology weapons, the Chinese stepped up to the plate. With ominous talk gaining currency in Washington of actual cuts in the U.S. defense budget, our Asian friends have suddenly offered a titillating peek from an airfield in Chengdu at their newest warplane, describe
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01/19/2011
Acting on his administration's drive to bolster military cooperation with Japan, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested Tokyo consider buying U.S. combat aircraft.
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01/18/2011
Israeli Aerospace Industries has delivered a dozen unmanned aerial vehicles to Russia under a $400 million contract that will eventually allow Moscow to manufacture advanced drones that will significantly enhance its military capabilities.
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01/18/2011
As far as stealth fighters are concerned, the Chinese prototype J-20 is perhaps too eye-attracting. On Dec. 22, 2010, photos of a taxiing test at the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute of the fifth-generation twin-engine fighter aircraft emerged on the Internet and triggered a firestorm in the international media. On Jan. 11, hours before U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates met with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing, the prototype was taken for a 20-minute test flight.
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01/18/2011
Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Air National Guard are modifying a KC-135 air refueling aircraft for testing of an infrared anti-missile system.
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01/18/2011
New evidence of China's military buildup has spurred interest in sales of the U.S.'s next-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, U.S. defense and industry officials said.
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01/18/2011
Aviation companies have set their sight on India to expand their military aircraft businesses in Asia.
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01/17/2011
There is a second-and-a-half delay between the RAF operator pressing his button and the Hellfire rocket erupting from the aircraft he is controlling, circling in the sky above Afghanistan.
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01/17/2011
A helicopter manufacturer from the United States, competing with an Italian rival for a Turkish tender to jointly produce 109 mostly military-utility helicopters worth around $4 billion, sweetened its bid over the weekend.
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01/17/2011
After the Chinese military tested its new stealthy fighter during U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates' visit to Beijing, most attention focused on whether or not President Hu Jintao had advance knowledge of the test. The fact that Mr. Hu appeared surprised when Mr. Gates brought it up led to speculation on the relative independence of the PLA and its potential role in next year's change in China's leadership. These are obviously important issues but they should not make us lose sight of the test
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01/17/2011
China's radar–eluding stealth fighter made its first–known test flight Tuesday, marking dramatic progress in the country's efforts to develop cutting–edge military technologies.
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01/17/2011
The US defence giant Lockheed Martin yesterday bought a stake in the UAE's military aircraft repair and maintenance company.
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01/16/2011
China’s newest combat aircraft prototype, the J-20, will require an intense development program if it is going to catch up with fast-moving anti-stealth advances.
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01/16/2011
India ensured its place among an elite group of countries making a fighter jet from scratch when the indigenous multi-role Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas got initial operational clearance this week. A key part in this success was placed by the avionics and flight control systems that were designed by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE).
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01/16/2011
Looking to significantly reduce weight, improve on-board communications and make it easier to upgrade avionics, the US military is developing prototype photonic gear for use in all aircraft.
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01/16/2011
It seems that in the darker parts of 2010, NASA gave Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Brumman money to ponder what improvements might be made to our current aerial cattle carriers.
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01/16/2011
The Russian Air Force has lifted a ban on the flights of Tu-95 Bear strategic bombers imposed after an An-22 Cock transport plane was destroyed in a crash last December.
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01/04/2011
Russia's Defense Ministry plans to start procuring Ka-52 Alligator helicopters for the national Air Force in 2011, ministry's official spokesman Col. Vladimir Drik said on Sunday.
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01/04/2011
The Russian Air Force will receive up to 100 Sukhoi fighter jets by 2015, the Defense Ministry spokesman said on Sunday.
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01/04/2011
China’s first known stealth aircraft just emerged from a secret development program and was undergoing high-speed taxi tests late last week at Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute’s airfield. Said to be designated J-20, it is larger than most observers expected—pointing to long range and heavy weapon loads.
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