April 19, 2011 Military Aviation News
04/19/2011
A U.S. military fighter jet destroyed two of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s surface-to-air missile sites near the Libyan capital of Tripoli yesterday, continuing U.S. support of NATO operations there, officials reported.
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04/19/2011
Retired Air Force lieutenant general Dave Deptula, a former fighter pilot, air war boss and Air Force intel chief, says politics kept the F-22 on the sidelines. "The F-22 could have established a no-fly zone over Libya without any other airplanes being required to overfly Libya," he says. "That would have obviated the need for any other coalition partner from participating, and therefore was not a desirable option politically."
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04/19/2011
Photos of China's J-20 stealth fighter prototype are all the rage on online military forums, after word emerged that another test flight was completed Sunday when officials in Beijing celebrated the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China's aviation industry.
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04/19/2011
Britain's largest military aircraft, which is nearly 60 metres long and has a wingspan of 60 metres, arrived in the country from Madrid to undergo intensive trials, media reports said. This strategic tanker named Voyager will play the dual role of transport aircraft and an air to air tanker for the Royal Air Force (RAF). It can carry up to 290 troops. The aircraft is expected to replace the long-serving VC-10 and Tristar following its intensive testing programme.
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04/19/2011
Unmanned military aircraft running on lithium-ion batteries received a boost for future development with a new a U.S. Air Force contract designed to fund work on longer lasting and cheaper batteries of the mineral compound. Lithium-ion batteries are seen by military industry analysts as a major, stable source of power for operating small to medium-sized machines. Success with the ongoing research will mean that lithium-ion batteries could also run consumer items at lower costs and with greater
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04/19/2011
The Czech Republic is planning to offer Iraq a number of light attack aircraft and help Baghdad to modernize its helicopter fleet, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said. Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas will visit Iraq on May 23-24 to promote closer economic cooperation with Baghdad and sign an agreement on mutual protection of investments.
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04/19/2011
The first Airbus Military A330 MRTT for the United Arab Emirates Air Force has successfully completed its maiden flight following conversion of the aircraft in Madrid.
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04/19/2011
The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) recently received Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] Sniper pods for their F-15K aircraft. Delivered to Daegu Air Base, South Korea, these pods will be immediately deployed into full flight operations with the ROKAF F-15K fleet.
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04/19/2011
Lockheed Martin marked the delivery of the first F-35 Lightning II Full Mission Simulator (FMS) system to Eglin Air Force Base’s 33rd Fighter Wing. Preparation and assembly is underway at the base’s F-35 Integrated Training Center (ITC) for training to commence this fall. The Joint Strike Fighter FMS includes a high-fidelity 360-degree visual display system and a reconfigurable cockpit that simulates all three aircraft variants for U.S. and international partner services. The system is the high
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04/19/2011
Boeing announced today that the Commonwealth of Australia has signed an agreement with the U.S. government to acquire a fifth Boeing C-17 Globemaster III airlifter. The Foreign Military Sale allows the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to expand its C-17 fleet as it faces an increased demand for humanitarian and disaster relief missions.
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