September, 2011 Military Aviation News
09/30/2011
On most days for the past several years, pilots from the Japan Air Self-Defence Force have scrambled to stop military aircraft from China and Russia buzzing Japan’s air space. It is a reminder of how prickly Japan’s ties with its neighbours have become, not least because of contested sovereignty over a few remote islands. Intercepts of Chinese planes almost tripled last year, to 96 (see chart). Russia, meanwhile, recently sent two bombers skirting provocatively around the Japanese archipelago.
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09/30/2011
BAE Systems Inc. said Thursday that two UK Royal Air Force Hawk Advanced Jet Trainers will for the first time participate in Air Shows sponsored by the U.S. Air Force. The company will demonstrate the Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer Aircraft’s capabilities at the Randolph Air Force Base Air Show in San Antonio on Oct. 29-30.
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09/30/2011
Brazilian defense industry growth has prompted the Boeing Co., a U.S. company, to expand operations in the South American country. Boeing has set sights on winning a multibillion-dollar order in Brazil's FX-2 competition which aims to replace the Brazilian air force's aging inventory of fighter aircraft with modern, multipurpose jets capable of performing under challenging conditions in overland and offshore defense duties.
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09/30/2011
Residents in the communities surrounding Holloman Air Force Base can expect the possibility of a periodic sonic boom over the next two weeks as the base returns to regular F-22 flying operations.
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09/30/2011
Iraq's decision to purchase 18 F-16 fighter jets will provide a "very robust capability" where now there is none and will allow the country to protect its airspace, the chief U.S. military spokesman in Iraq said Thursday.
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09/30/2011
Boeing's first P-8I aircraft for the Indian Navy completed its initial flight today, taking off from Renton Field at 12:02 p.m. Pacific time and landing two hours and 31 minutes later at Boeing Field in Seattle.
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09/29/2011
The Iraqi government has transferred its first payment for 18 F-16C fighter aircraft, bringing Iraq closer to independently securing its airspace, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said yesterday. “These aircraft will help provide air sovereignty for Iraq to protect its own territory, and deter or counter regional threats,” Little said. The fighter aircraft, he added, “are also a symbol of the commitment to a long-term strategic partnership between the United States and Iraq.
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09/29/2011
Be prepared to hear loud roars of fighter jets every night. The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Sukhoi-30MkI air dominance fighters have just stepped up their night flying, and will continue to do so in the coming days. This was disclosed to media persons by Wing Commander B Satish, commanding officer of the 30 Squadron (The Rhinos) at the IAF base at Lohegaon on Tuesday. The media visit had been organised as part of the Air Force Day celebrations, to be held on October 8 across the country.
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09/29/2011
While there’s no question that China is rapidly growing and modernizing its military, analysts have long seen the PRC’s lack of expertise in making high-performance jet engines as a major obstacle in Beijing’s quest to field a 21st Century air force.
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09/29/2011
Rebel tribesmen in a mountainous region just north of the capital brought down a military aircraft on Wednesday, Yemen’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. The Soviet-era crashed roughly 30 miles north of the capital, Sana, as it was “carrying out a routine task this morning,” according to the statement, which was published on a Web site run by the ministry.
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09/29/2011
Most U.S. military helicopter crashes in Afghanistan have resulted from human error, bad weather, and mechanical problems rather than insurgent attacks — but the assaults were more deadly, reports USA Today.
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09/29/2011
Researchers from Boeing and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have created a prototype application that allows someone to fly a miniature unmanned aircraft from an iPhone. Eventually, the technology may be applied to remotely control unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as drones used by the U.S. military in combat and reconnaissance missions.
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09/29/2011
The Boeing KC-46 Tanker program successfully completed its Integrated Baseline Review (IBR) with the U.S. Air Force on Aug. 24 at Boeing program headquarters in Mukilteo. The assessment, attended by senior Air Force program officials, validated the program’s technical scope and finalized key milestones for the design and development phase of the Air Force's next-generation aerial refueling tanker.
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09/29/2011
At ceremonies today at the Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] facility here, company officials formally delivered four C-130J Super Hercules airlifters to the State of Qatar.
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09/28/2011
Turkey’s first drone airplane called Anka is seen during a roll out ceremony at the Turkish Aerospace Space Industries, or TAI, near Ankara. Turkey is striving to bolster its unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, fleet through international means, as domestic work to develop large pilotless aircraft has been faltering.
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09/28/2011
“The Rafale took the lead (built by French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation) by a narrow margin in the first stage of the assessment, but considering interoperability and the alliance between Korea and the U.S., we have finally chosen the F-15K (built by the American company Boeing).”
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09/28/2011
Saddam Hussein once commanded one of the most powerful airforces in the Middle East with 40,000 personnel and 1,000 aircraft including Soviet MiG and French Mirage fighters. Now its combat capability lies largely in three Cessna propeller planes armed with Hellfire missiles.
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09/28/2011
India and China remain Russia’s main partners in terms of military-technical cooperation. The value of the Russian-Chinese military and technical cooperation stands at one billion dollars, while the value of the Russian-Indian military-technical ties is annually assessed at 3.5 billion dollars.
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09/28/2011
Two South African companies are attempting to elbow their way into the global defense market with an unusual new aircraft developed on home soil. Paramount Group and Aerosud Holdings Ltd. on Tuesday will unveil the Ahrlac, a compact plane that they say merges the capabilities of a drone, an attack helicopter and surveillance aircraft.
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09/28/2011
Australia will allow women to serve in front-line combat roles for the first time, joining a handful of other countries that have removed gender restrictions in their armed forces.
The decision, which has bilateral political support, means women will be permitted to perform any role, provided they meet the physical and psychological requirements. The changes, to be phased in over the next five years, could lead to them serving in infantry combat units and special forces.
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09/28/2011
China will likely suspend some military ties with the U.S. following the Obama administration's approval of a $5.85 billion package of upgrades for Taiwan's aging fleet of F-16 fighter jets and pilot training, a senior U.S. State Department official said Monday. That announcement comes one week after the U.S. said it would provide upgrades to aging combat aircraft supplied to Taiwan in the 1990s.
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09/28/2011
Boeing today announced that the U.S. Air Force has granted the F-15E Radar Modernization Program (RMP) approval to begin low-rate initial production (LRIP) of the APG-82(V)1 radar system. Boeing and radar supplier Raytheon also performed extensive flight tests to validate the design and development of the system. The RMP leverages prior radar development programs on F-15C and F/A-18E/F aircraft to significantly reduce cost and integration risk for this new radar.
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09/27/2011
Civilian and military leaders of the U.S. Air Force outlined priorities they plan to defend against potentially severe budget cuts, citing the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, remotely piloted aircraft and a future long-range bomber specifically, among other systems and capabilities. In keynote addresses on successive days at the Air Force Association conference last week, Air Force secretary Michael Donley and chief of staff Gen. Norton Schwartz warned that a “hollow force” could result from indiscri
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09/27/2011
Belize is a premier training ground for many NATO allies. Military units from Britain, Poland, Norway, Spain and others have all taken advantage of the unique training experiences the Central American country can provide. Recently, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365 from MCAS New River and Marine Wing Support Squadron 271 self-deployed four MV-22B Ospreys to Belize to evaluate the merit of future Marine Corps exercises in the region.
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09/27/2011
This is the week that Pentagon policymakers begin sorting out how to assure that one of the military's most important reconnaissance systems will be available to warfighters at an affordable price. The RQ-4 Global Hawk is an unmanned aircraft conceived to replace the venerable U-2 spy plane with a longer-endurance platform that could host a wider array of sensors.
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09/27/2011
Three firms on Monday submitted bids to supply Japan’s Air Force with new fighter jets that will replace its ageing F-4 planes. Boeing and the U.S. Navy’s offer for the Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) was the F/A-18E Super Hornet Block II, the U.S. military’s most advanced combat aircraft. Boeing Japan President Mike Denton promised the JASDF new and unprecedented capability with the Super Hornet.
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09/27/2011
Iraq has signed a contract to buy 18 Lockheed Martin F-16 warplanes to bolster its air force, an adviser to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Monday. The value of the deal was not immediately known, but a senior U.S. military official said recently the offer on the table for the Iraqi government was valued at "roughly $3 billion."
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09/27/2011
"Boeing is incredibly pleased by the confidence shown by the Australian government in the unique airlift capabilities provided by the C-17 Globemaster III. Australia is widely recognized for its role as a leader in the Asia-Pacific region, for its support of allied military operations, and for its crucial role in humanitarian missions around the globe. The presence of Australia's C-17 aircraft at hotspots around the world is demonstrative of the country’s role as a valued ally and global partner
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09/27/2011
Boeing announced today the delivery of a fourth C-17 Globemaster III to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force and Air Defence from the company's C-17 final assembly facility in Long Beach. Boeing delivered the UAE's first three C-17s in May, June and July of this year and will deliver two more in 2012.
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09/27/2011
The Boeing QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Target program in August became the first target program to conduct software tests in a systems integration lab (SIL) environment. The program demonstrated key capabilities for the U.S. Air Force during a program review and tour.
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09/27/2011
Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor returned to the skies today here in a series of test and production flights, the first since a four-month fleet stand down was lifted on Sept. 19, 2011 by the U.S. Air Force.
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09/27/2011
A small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed on Monday near a highway in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia, a police source reported. "A report on Monday said that a small aircraft crashed near the Caucasus federal highway. Police confirmed after arrival at the site that it was an aerial-imagery UAV," the source said, adding that the crash did not result in any damage to ground infrastructure or casualties.
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09/26/2011
Russia's top jet engine-maker has signed an agreement to supply over 100 high powered engines for China's new fleet of fighter jets, but Beijing is yet to ratify the deal as it is apparently miffed by some stiff conditionalties of the deal, a media report said.
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09/26/2011
Kazakh Defense Minister Adilbek Jaksibekov flew to the area of the large-scale joint strategic exercises "Center-2011" on a supersonic jet fighter of four plus generation Sukhoi Su-27 from the Astana airport, the Defense Ministry reported on Friday.
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09/26/2011
Poland has been replacing its Cold War era MiG-29s with F-16s. Currently Poland has 48 F-16s and 32 MiG-29s in service, and those remaining MiG-29s are in serious need of upgrading. There is not a lot of money available to upgrade aircraft. So as a compromise, 16 of the MiG-29s will undergo a basic upgrade. At a cost of about $3 million per aircraft, the MiGs will get new electronics, including jam-resistant GPS and fire control computers.
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09/26/2011
Cassidian in Unterschleissheim, Germany, has finished upgrading the identification equipment of all German military aircraft, and has handed over the last installment of its STR 2000 military transponders to the German Procurement Authority BWB. Cassidian, the defense and security division of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V. (EADS) in Leiden, The Netherlands, has delivered more than 650 transponders were delivered since 2002 to German military forces since 2002, Cassidian offic
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09/26/2011
Union leaders will seek urgent talks with the defence group BAE Systems after it emerged the firm is planning to axe a further 3,000 jobs in a "shocking" and "devastating" blow to the industry.
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09/25/2011
Residents in the communities surrounding Holloman Air Force Base can expect the periodic sonic boom to return to the skies over the next two weeks as the base returns to regular F-22 flying operations.
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09/25/2011
Lockheed Martin today delivered the first HC-130J Combat King II to the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). The aircraft was flown from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics' facility to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., by Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force. This aircraft is the first of 11 currently on order.
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09/25/2011
In a key step towards attaining final operational clearance (FOC) from the India Air Force, the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas is undergoing weapon trials, including firing air-to-air missiles to test its capability to bring down enemy planes.
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09/24/2011
They don’t want to say it out loud, but here’s what Boeing and Lockheed are thinking right now: “Not again!” According to a report this week in the Financial Times, Japan says it would be open to choosing the Eurofighter Typhoon as its new front-line fighter jet, setting up a possible three-way battle between it, Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet and Lockheed’s F-35 Lightning II.
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09/24/2011
The United States expects some fraying of relations with China over its $5.3 billion plan to upgrade Taiwan's F-16 fleet but not as "shrill" a reaction as if it had met the request for new fighter jets, the top U.S. military commander in the region told Reuters on Friday.
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09/24/2011
With armed drones now deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen, there’s huge demand in the U.S. military and CIA to acquire “hunter-killer” unmanned aircraft such as Predators and Reapers. But one branch of the military is generally keeping its distance.
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09/24/2011
Guatemala will purchase six Brazilian military aircraft Super Tucano, radars and other equipment to combat the narcotics trade traffic of which the Central American country is considered a crucial link between South America and the United States.
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09/24/2011
The Egyptian Air Force has today has taken delivery of its first Airbus Military C295. The aircraft in military transport configuration, was delivered ahead of contract schedule and is part of a three aircraft order placed by the EAF in October last year. The other two aircraft are to be delivered during the last quarter of 2011.
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09/23/2011
The 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron recently filled its ranks with C-130J Hercules aircraft and aircrews as two new units joined the squadron. Almost two dozen C-130Js and a full complement of aircrew and maintenance personnel, split between California Air National Guard's 146th Airlift Wing and Rhode Island Air National Guard's 143rd Airlift Wing, replaced C-130H-model Guard units from Alaska and New York.
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09/23/2011
Three aviation programmes - the Boeing KC-46A tanker, Lockheed Martin F-35A fighter and a next-generation bomber - have received firm and explicit backing from US Air Force leaders against sweeping new budget cuts.
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09/23/2011
The Indian Air Force will seek a more powerful engine for the Sukhoi T-50 fifth-generation stealth fighter jet that is being jointly developed by Russia and India for delivery in 2018, a top government official said. The air force is aiming to induct 250 Sukhoi T-50s with stealth technology, 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft and 120 indigenously built light combat aircraft, known as the Tejas, in addition to upgrading RAC MiG-29, Dassault Mirage 2000H/TH and Jaguar fighter jets.
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09/23/2011
The Afghan air force has received three more G222 aircraft from Alenia North America.
The aircraft delivered were the 12th, 13th and 14th of 20 G222 aircraft ordered by the U.S. Air Force for Afghanistan. Alenia North America, a subsidiary of Italy's Alenia Aeronautica and part of the Finmeccanica group, said one aircraft deployed to Kabul this month and the second and third will deploy before the end of September.
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09/23/2011
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified U.S. Congress Sept. 21 of a possible Foreign Military Sales Order II (FMSO II) to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States for an estimated cost of $52 million.
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09/23/2011
A £17M fighter jet that will create a “virtual battlezone” in the sky is revolutionising the way pilots are trained at RAF Valley. The Hawk TMK2 is now in the process of replacing the existing Hawks at the Anglesey airbase – with state-of-the-art simulated technology bringing warfare into the cockpit. RAF chiefs have now started training-up experienced former frontline pilots that will instruct the first recruits on the new aircraft next April.
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09/23/2011
Japan is open to choosing a European aircraft as its long-awaited new air defence fighter, despite decades of reliance on the US for imports of sophisticated weapon systems, according to new Japanese defence minister, Yasuo Ichikawa.
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09/23/2011
The new arms package offered by the US to upgrade Taiwan’s F-16A/B aircraft is not enough to meet Taiwan’s security needs, the US-Taiwan Business Council said in a special commentary on Wednesday. The commentary by US-Taiwan Business Council president Rupert Hammond-Chambers was written in response to a US announcement on Wednesday that it had decided to offer an upgrade of Taiwan’s F-16A/Bs as part of a US$5.85 billion arms deal for Taiwan.
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09/22/2011
The U.S. Air Force on Wednesday cleared its F-22 Raptor fleet to return to service following a four-month grounding over concerns that the jets' pilots weren't getting proper oxygen. Bases are cleared to start flying the fighter jets under a "return to flight" plan - with new rules including daily inspections of the life-support systems - that the Air Force announced earlier in the week, said Staff Sgt. Heidi Davis, spokeswoman for the Air Force's Air Combat Command.
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09/22/2011
International Aero Engines arrives at this year's Beijing Air Show with a wider market venue than it has in the past. For the first time in its history, V2500s will be powering military aircraft -- having captured the opportunity to power Embraer's new KC-390 tanker/transport.
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09/22/2011
The Obama administration’s decision to offer upgrades to Taiwan’s aging F-16 fighter fleet will annoy Beijing and unsettle Taiwan. On Wednesday, the Obama administration officially notified the US Congress of its decision to only offer Taiwan an upgrade of existing F-16 A/Bs, rather than the sale of 66 new F-16 C/Ds as the government in Taipei had requested.
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09/22/2011
U.S. Air Force officials say the number of fighter pilots is likely to decline in coming years, due in part to fewer aircraft and training opportunities, fighter pilots increasingly assigned to non-flying jobs and the lure of lucrative jobs in commercial aviation.
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09/22/2011
The U.S. military is deploying a new force of armed drones to eastern Africa in an escalation of its campaign to strike militant targets in the region and expand intelligence on extremists, officials said.
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09/22/2011
The Boeing Company and the U.S. Army celebrated the opening of the newly renovated H-47 Chinook manufacturing facility today. The event coincided with the 50th anniversary of the H-47 Chinook's first flight.
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09/22/2011
A top–level group of Air Force leaders from around the world have confimed attendance at the Dubai International Air Chiefs Conference (DIAC) which takes place on the eve of the Dubai Air Show at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.
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09/22/2011
A team led by Boeing today delivered the first Peace Eye 737 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft to the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF). The aircraft was delivered during a ceremony attended by officials from the ROKAF, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the South Korean and U.S. governments, industry partners and Boeing at ROKAF Base Gimhae, the main operating base for the Peace Eye fleet.
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09/21/2011
Romania cannot afford to purchase second-hand F-16 combat aircraft unless granted a long-term financing plan, Romanian President Traian Basescu said yesterday.
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09/21/2011
A crucial round of armament trials of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas has just begun in Jaisalmer. Close on its heels, a second round of trials will take place in Goa next month.
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09/21/2011
Dassault Aviation hopes to capitalize on France's participation with the United Arab Emirates in the air campaign against Moammar Gadhafi's crumbling regime in Libya to promote the sale of 60 Rafale multi-role jets to the Persian Gulf state.
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09/21/2011
AgustaWestland North America, Inc. proudly enters the Air Force Association's 2011 Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition firmly committed to the U.S. Air Force with the right helicopters for the mission and the right talent for the job.
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09/21/2011
Taiwan, China and Congress won't be cheering the Obama administration's decision to upgrade Taiwan's fleet of F-16 fighter jets but not sell it new planes. But it may be a compromise they can all live with.
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09/21/2011
Looming defense cuts will lead to changes in the way the U.S. Air Force does business with industry, said Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz. In a Sept. 20 keynote address at the Air Force Association's Air and Space Conference and Technology Exposition, Schwartz said there is no room anymore for companies to “over-promise only then to under-deliver.” There will be no blank checks for industry, and the military will not be able to have everything it wants.
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09/21/2011
U.S. military aircraft are still “very committed” to the NATO-led intervention in Libya, especially refueling planes that are “schwacking” targets, a top general said Tuesday.
American tanker planes have pumped nearly 150 million gallons of fuel into U.S. and coalition combat aircraft, U.S. Air Mobility Command (AMC) chief Gen. Raymond Johns told reporters during a breakfast meeting in Washington.
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09/21/2011
Lockheed Martin’s F-35 flight test program moves closer to reaching year-end milestones since the last update issued July 26. Since then, the F-35 Lightning II 5TH Generation multirole fighter conducted 124 test flights, bringing the total number of flights for the year to 642.
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09/20/2011
A military helicopter crashed in a remote area of Camp Pendleton, killing the two Marines on board and sparking a wildfire, base officials said Monday. The crash took place after 1:05 p.m. at a training area near De Luz Road east of Fallbrook, Sgt. Art Carlson said.
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09/20/2011
The Russian army on Monday kicked off a pair of major war games aimed at making the Kremlin's forces more agile and better capable of deploying to allied countries, the Interfax news agency reported. More than 12,000 service personnel from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan were participating in the Centre-2011 exercise, which will be the region's biggest military training operation of 2011.
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09/20/2011
The fastest-growing occupation in the U.S. Air Force — warzone surveillance — soon may be reaching its peak as the Defense Department looks for ways to cut costs. The deployment of Air Force remotely piloted spy aircraft across Iraq and Afghanistan grew rapidly over the past eight years, at the same time that the Army also expanded its fleet of unmanned surveillance drones.
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09/20/2011
China expressed its opposition Monday to a reported deal between the United States and Taiwan to upgrade Taiwan's existing fleet of F-16 fighter jets, even though the U.S. apparently rejected the island's bid for a more advanced version of the plane.
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09/20/2011
The US Air Force vowed Monday to "protect" costly weapons programs despite budget pressures, saying the country needed the F-35 fighter jet, a long-range bomber and other aircraft. While acknowledging the need for reductions to the defense budget, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley proceeded to list several big ticket programs that were not up for negotiation.
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09/20/2011
Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program has successfully completed static structural testing, achieving one of five milestones established by the Joint Program Office for 2011. Static structural testing is used to verify the structural integrity of the airframe and to ensure specifications outlined in technical drawings used to produce the aircraft are accurate. Engineering teams at Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman and the Joint Program Office conducted the tests over the past two years.
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09/20/2011
Azerbaijan’s armed forces will take delivery of 60 Orbiter and Aerostar unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) by the end of this year, the Azerbaijan Press Agency (APA) said on Monday quoting military sources.
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09/20/2011
Qatar's government is said to be considering purchasing a substantial stake in EADS – the European aerospace and defence conglomerate which owns Airbus, Eurocopter and other major manufacturers.
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09/19/2011
Dassault Aviation is expected to put an offer to sell about 60 Rafale fighterjets to the United Arab Emirates this month, in a sign that negotiations are progressing, Les Echos newspaper reported on Thursday. Last month another French newspaper said an agreement could be reached between September and the end of the year.
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09/19/2011
BAE Systems is teaming with Northrop Grumman to propose its Hawk trainer for a forthcoming U.S. Air Force competition to replace the T-38C fast-jet trainer. The team plans to announce their partnership on Sept. 19 at the annual Air Force Association conference, according to industry officials. Competitors are likely to include Lockheed Martin/Korea Aerospace Industries’ T-50 and Alenia Aermacchi’s M346.
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09/19/2011
A Turkish military cargo plane was attacked by anti-aircraft weaponry after parachuting humanitarian aid into Libya on Sunday. Turkish and National Transitional Council, or NTC, executives had decided to parachute the aid into Waddan, south of Sirte and near Libya’s border with Niger, early on Sunday. The two cargo planes took off from Benghazi Military Airport and when they reached Waddan, one of them became the target of anti-aircraft fire.
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09/19/2011
The Obama administration has decided to upgrade Taiwan's existing fleet of F-16 fighter jets but not sell it the new planes it also wants, congressional staff said. The administration gave a briefing on Capitol Hill on its decision Friday, but has yet to issue a formal notification of the intended deal. An announcement is expected by the end of this month.
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09/19/2011
Pakistani troops battled Taliban militants Sunday morning to win control of the remnants of a CIA drone that crashed in the nation’s borderlands, according to Pakistani security officials.
The cause of the crash of the unmanned Predator aircraft, among the drones the CIA uses to fire missiles at Taliban and al-Qaeda hideouts in the rocky region bordering Afghanistan, remained in dispute hours after it was downed in Zangarha village in South Waziristan.
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09/19/2011
India is swiftly moving towards inking another major deal for training aircraft to teach rookie pilots the intricacies of combat flying before it stitches up the over $10.4 billion (Rs 42,000 crore) project to acquire 126 top-notch fighters. The Rs 2,900 crore deal for acquiring 75 Swiss Pilatus PC-7 turbo basic trainers is in the final stages now, with the "note" prepared for the Cabinet Committee on Security being "vetted" by the finance ministry at present, say defence ministry sources.
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09/19/2011
Romania cannot afford to purchase second-hand F-16 combat aircraft unless granted a long-term financing plan, Romanian president Traian Basescu said on Sunday. "We have no money and we cannot commit ourselves to such a contract without a long-term financing scheme," Basescu said during an interview on private TV channel ProTV.
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09/19/2011
Marines in Arizona will soon duke it out with a crop duster and a Russian helo in a new effort to understand enemy tactics and weaponry. The Antonov An-2, built after World War II, and the Russian Mi-24 Hind, a 1980s-era helo, will be flown at the biannual Weapons and Tactics Instructor course aboard Marine Corps Air Station Yuma.
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09/18/2011
Over the past decade, the Air National Guard has shrunk in size and continues to fly with some of the oldest aircraft in the Defense Department’s inventory. “I’m very concerned about the future of our Air Guard and the Air Force,” said Gen. Craig R. McKinley, chief of the National Guard Bureau.
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09/18/2011
Boeing has selected BAE Systems to provide touch-screen control panels for the U.S. Air Force's KC-46A aerial refueling tanker. The panel allows control of a variety of interior functions on the aircraft, such as lighting, potable water and waste tanks.
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09/18/2011
On Thursday, The Washington Times reported that President Obama has finally made a decision on the long-pending issue of arms sales to Taiwan. According to an unnamed official, the administration has approved the arms package worth $4.2 billion. The package is likely to include upgrading F-16 A/B fighter aircraft, but not the supply of 66 advanced F-16 C/D model aircraft requested by Taiwan.
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09/18/2011
Taiwan and Japan have been sending officers and NCOs to the United States to obtain useful tips on how to adapt American military experience from the last decade. China has also been mining this experience, but does not have the same close access to American troops that allies like Japan and Taiwan do.
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09/17/2011
Increases in defense spending over the past decade have been good for the Indiana economy, boosting the state’s defense manufacturers and increasing its take of federal dollars. But with U.S. involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, and Congress looking to cut into the massive federal debt, the spending pendulum is swinging the other way.
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09/17/2011
The annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) have approved measures designed to further strengthen the alliance's cooperation, interoperability, and capabilities of the two nations' military resources.
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09/17/2011
When Marines are in a firefight in Afghanistan and need back up, they call in helicopters to blast the enemy from the sky. Sounds simple enough, but it’s not — according to current standard operating procedures for close-air strikes, ground troops radio coordinates to a pilot who then has to rifle through 60 to 80 pounds of maps to find the building he’s supposed to hit.
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09/17/2011
The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] on Sept. 15 celebrated the 20th anniversary of the first flight of the C-17 airlifter. On Sept. 15, 1991, test aircraft T-1 took off from the Boeing Long Beach site on a two-hour flight that proved the engineering and design concepts of the aircraft and marked the beginning of the program.
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09/17/2011
Eighteen Su-30K fighter jets which were delivered by Russia to India in the 1990s could end up in service with the Belarusian air force, respected Russian business daily Kommersant said on Friday.
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09/16/2011
With two flagship programs in the balance, EADS is awaiting formal government endorsement of both its Eurofighter Typhoon active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and Talarion unmanned aircraft endeavors.
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09/16/2011
F-35 production could be frozen at around 32 aircraft for four years, if a US Senate committee's version of the fiscal year 2012 defence budget is signed into law. The Senate's defence panel, on the appropriations committee, recommended a $695 million reduction in the F-35 programme, and freezing new production orders at 32 aircraft through FY2013.
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09/16/2011
The F-16 production line at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics ' Fort Worth plant could see extended life beyond 2013 should pending orders from Iraq and Oman come through as expected. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that the company is close to landing orders from the two nations.
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09/16/2011
The potential sale of 18 Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters to Iraq looks “very promising,” according to the senior Air Force general in the country. “We are hearing very encouraging words and we certainly hope that that will be soon,” Maj. Gen. Russell Handy, commander of the 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force-Iraq and Director of the Air Component Coordination Element-Iraq, said Wednesday during a briefing at the Pentagon.
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09/16/2011
The major "Velayat 3" drills showed that sanctions imposed on Iran by the US and its European allies over the past three decades were futile, Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) Brigadier General Hassan Shah-Safi told reporters, Press TV reported with reference to IRNA.
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09/16/2011
The Israeli military has identified an operational requirement for an unmanned vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) platform that will be used to perform resupply and medical evacuation tasks from the front line. Efforts are now being made to allocate a budget for the requirement in the services' new multi-year acquisition plan and the defence ministry will participate in the funding of the proposed solution.
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09/16/2011
Lockheed Martin will establish facilities in the U.S. for the final assembly of Korea’s T-50 supersonic aircraft to meet the possible U.S. demand for trainer jets, a senior official at the defense giant said last week. It has already reached an agreement on this with Korea Aerospace Industries, the country’s sole aircraft maker which developed the T-50 with technological assistance from Lockheed Martin.
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09/16/2011
The recent NATO intervention against the regime of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya has been a considerable source of contention among many on the left, with self-proclaimed progressives, most notably Juan Cole, openly supporting this military action.
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09/16/2011
An emerging defense agreement would let the U.S. expand its military presence in Australia as the Obama administration and its allies maneuver to counter an increasingly assertive China. It would include positioning U.S. equipment in Australia, increasing access to bases and conducting more joint exercises and training.
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09/15/2011
Britain and France have extended their cooperation on drone technology to a possible unmanned replacement for fighter aircraft, Peter Luff, the U.K. defense- procurement minister, said today at a military exposition in London.
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09/15/2011
The recent edition of Pentagon’s Annual Report on ‘military and security developments involving China (2011)’ received unexpected coverage in Indian media. In particular, the focus was on how the Chinese PLA has deployed advanced and survivable solid-fuelled CSS-5 medium range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) to strengthen its deterrence posture against India.
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09/15/2011
NATO, which has been bogged down for nearly 10 years in Afghanistan and more than 12 in Kosovo, is desperately seeking a mission it can end, quickly, cleanly and for good.
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09/15/2011
South Asia is the second most unstable region in the world and is closely following West Asia in the race to reach the number one spot. Among the world’s major democracies India faces the most complex threats and challenges spanning the full spectrum of conflict from nuclear to sub-conventional.
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09/15/2011
Southern Nevada residents will be seeing more military aircraft flying overhead for the next two weeks as the Air Force begins a series of battle exercises known as Green Flag West. Missions start at Fort Irwin, Calif., and fly over the Las Vegas Valley, to and from Nellis Air Force Base, near Mount Charleston, and north of Pahrump. The exercise runs from 1 p.m. to 10:40 p.m. this week and 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. next week.
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09/15/2011
Russia’s state-of-the-art Kamov Ka-52 combat helicopter has passed all tests to be approved for deployment on Navy vessels. The aircraft will be used with Mistral-class carriers, which Russia buys from France.
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09/15/2011
The last decade has revolutionized air warfare, and air forces. This revolution was brought about by two technologies (smart bombs and UAVs) that have been around for decades but, over a decade ago, became reliable and capable enough to have a decisive effect on warfare. Now UAVs armed with smart bombs are poised to replace manned aircraft.
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09/15/2011
The defense-aerospace sector is lobbying supercommittee members not to make any additional Pentagon budget cuts, saying they could hinder America’s national security, force thousands of job losses and further erode the nation's economic viability.
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09/15/2011
Boeing today delivered Australia’s fifth C-17 Globemaster III airlifter to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during a ceremony at the C-17 program’s final assembly facility in Long Beach. A RAAF delegation led by Stephen Smith, Australia’s Minister for Defence, received the country’s latest C-17 at an event also attended by Chief of the Defence Force Gen. David Hurley, Australian Secretary of Defence Duncan Lewis, and U.S. Ambassador to Australia Jeffrey Bleich.
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09/15/2011
Lockheed Martin’s first F-35 Lightning II center wing produced here is complete and en route to the F-35 final assembly line in Fort Worth, Texas.
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09/14/2011
U.S. Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., introduced the Taiwan Airpower Modernization Act (TAMA) on Sept. 12 for congressional review. The new act is an effort to force the Obama administration to adhere to "obligations" under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act "to provide Taiwan with the military equipment it needs to maintain its self-defense capabilities," said a press release issued by the two senators.
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09/14/2011
In F/A-18A Hornet aircraft attempting to land at NAS Fallon crashed at approximately 1:10 a.m., Tuesday. The pilot ejected safely from the aircraft and was treated at Banner Churchill Community Hospital in Fallon for minor injuries.
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09/14/2011
Witnesses last night said they saw what appeared to be two air force aircraft crash into mountains near the 116km section of the Suhua Highway on Taiwan’s east coast. Following the report, the Ministry of Defense sent a search and rescue team to the area.
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09/14/2011
Beijing's admission last week that Chinese defense companies met with representatives of Moammar Gadhafi as recently as July to discuss a possible arms deal has raised questions about the kind of military support China supplied Libya's former ruler.
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09/14/2011
The Boeing Company has received a contract from the U.S. Air Force to provide mission planning support for the F-22 Raptor.
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09/13/2011
At the major international aero engine conference ISABE 2011 in Gothenburg today, Volvo Aero will present a number of technical solutions to increase the thrust produced by the RM12 Gripen engine.
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09/13/2011
A news release stated that the Belgian government would be willing to buy F-35 military aircraft: in a meeting held October 16, 2009, defense minister Pieter De Crem had discussed the matter with the US ambassador to Brussels, claiming that despite being late to enter the production process of the aircraft as a partner, Belgium would be interested in purchasing the planes once realised, "Maybe in 2020."
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09/13/2011
North Korea, East Asia’s most annoying Stalinist dictatorship, tends to get a little cranky when its neighbor to the South drills with the US military.Usually, that means Pyongyang using its GPS jammers to try and throw a wrench in the exercise.Now, South Korea’s military says the North’s electronic interference has done more than just bug folks trying to get satellite-guided directions to their favorite bibimbap spot.North Korea’s jamming pushed an American military aircraft out of the skies.
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09/13/2011
Trade up, or upgrade? That's the question when it comes to Taiwan's fleet of F-16 fighter aircraft.And if Sens. John Cornyn (R., Texas) and Robert Menendez (D., N.J.) have their way, the U.S. will be selling brand-new F-16s to Taiwan, instead of simply upgrading existing ones. The lawmakers today introduced a bill, the Taiwan Airpower Modernization Act, that would require the Obama administration to sell Taiwan 66 new F-16C/D multirole fighter jets, made by Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT).
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09/13/2011
When Peter Luff, the UK’s defence equipment minister, spoke to business leaders this summer about the Anglo-French military treaty, the most closely followed part of his speech concerned the future of drone-aircraft. Indeed, the most eye-catching industrial development to emerge from the treaty is an alliance between the UK’s BAE Systems and Dassault Aviation of France, the two countries’ fighter jet manufacturers.
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09/13/2011
Japan is apparently proceeding on schedule with the F-X fighter competition, despite the large economic impact of the recent earthquake and tsunami, and a recent government reshuffle. A Ministry of Defense spokeswoman told Bloomberg news agency that a decision is likely by year-end. Requests for proposals were issued to Boeing (for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet), Lockheed Martin (for the F-35) and Eurofighter last April. Formal responses are due at the end of this month.
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09/13/2011
NATO planes are still in the air and bombing targets over Libya, and Moammar Gadhafi is still on the loose. Nonetheless, NATO is taking something of a victory lap in the wake of an operation that broke new ground for the military alliance. But the Libyan operation also raised questions about its mission, its future role in such conflicts, and how it determines when to intervene.
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09/13/2011
The defence ministry has cleared the offloading of 10% equity of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the country's only military aircraft manufacturer, making it the third defence PSU after BEL and BEML to be headed for disinvestment. Defence minister A K Antony on Monday gave "in principle approval'' to the 10% stake sale of HAL over the next five years to mop up resources for the Navratna PSU's modernization, said officials.
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09/13/2011
If ever there was a potent reminder of the need to modernise India’s ageing defence capability, it was the regular tailspins and nosedives of its Russian fighter jets. The MiG-21 is known among the brave ranks of the Indian Air Force as the “flying coffin”. Of the almost 800 MiG-21s inducted into the Indian Air Force since 1963, more than 350 have been lost in accidents, killing about 170 pilots.
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09/13/2011
The U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] an $84.3 million contract to provide the first phase of the C-130J Maintenance and Aircrew Training System (MATS) II program. Under the award, Lockheed Martin will deliver four weapons systems trainers for aircrew instruction and provide program management and engineering services.
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09/12/2011
The Philippine Air Force (PAF), the youngest of the three major commands of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, is not capable of defending the country with its “almost nil or zero conventional capability,” the Commission on Audit (CoA) said.
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09/12/2011
A drone provides remarkable advantages. There is no chance of the pilot being killed or captured. The UAV can fly longer, carry more weapons and manoeuvre better than a regular fighter aircraft — for a fraction of the cost.
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09/12/2011
Military jets were scrambled to escort a passenger jet from Los Angeles to New York after the crew reported a disturbance among the passengers, apparently after one or more passengers refused to leave the restrooms, officials said.
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09/12/2011
An Air Force effort to get new helicopters to rescue units “as rapidly as possible” has failed to deliver and could cost the service hundreds of millions of dollars more than planned, according to officials and documents.
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09/12/2011
Six months after the U.S. Navy’s first full size combat UAV made its first flight, the U.S. Navy leadership has ordered naval aviation leaders to examine the possibility of reducing orders for the new F-35B and F-35C, and use that money to buy the new X-47B, and similar robotic combat aircraft. That move was probably helped along by DARPA (the Department of Defense’s research organization), which earlier this year decided to explore development of robotic ground support aircraft.
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09/12/2011
The events of Sept. 11, 2001, transformed the National Guard from a force associated with the slogan "one weekend a month, two weeks a year," to a force that more closely resembles the active-duty military. Although members of the National Guard have participated in every war or conflict involving the United States, Maj. Chris Heathscott, Arkansas National Guard public affairs officer, said their service over the last 10 years is unprecedented.
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09/10/2011
Elbit Systems Ltd. announced that its U.S. subsidiary, Elbit Systems of America, LLC, has been awarded a contract to supply Boeing Military Aircraft with the CV-22 Color Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) for the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas.
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09/10/2011
A U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing after coming under electronic attack from North Korea, Agence France Press reported Friday.
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09/10/2011
The Indian army will induct the attack version of the indigenously built advanced light helicopter into the army aviation corps this year, a defense official said. The Rudra light combat helicopter is a "heavily loaded" version of the advanced light helicopter Dhruv. The Rudra is armed with an array of guns and rocket pods as well as air-to-air and anti-tank missiles, a report by the Press Trust of India said, without naming any army official.
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09/10/2011
For 25 years, Marine Fighter Training Squadron 401 has been serving as the enemy for Marine Corps pilots. The squadron's mission is to improve the Marine Corps' air-to-air combat readiness by employing current threat tactics against Marine pilots. A component of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing of the Marine Corps Reserve, the Sniper squadron was activated here on March 18, 1986. In June of 1987, the squadron received its first aircraft, Israeli F-21A
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09/10/2011
Late in the morning of the Tuesday that changed everything, Lt. Heather “Lucky” Penney was on a runway at Andrews Air Force Base and ready to fly. She had her hand on the throttle of an F-16 and she had her orders: Bring down United Airlines Flight 93. The day’s fourth hijacked airliner seemed to be hurtling toward Washington. Penney, one of the first two combat pilots in the air that morning, was told to stop it.
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09/09/2011
The November 2010 crash of a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor was caused by a malfunction with the aircraft engine's bleed air system, an industry source said. The pilot, Capt. Jeff "Bong" Haney of the 525th Fighter Squadron, was killed in the accident.
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09/09/2011
With the company’s prized F-35 program facing rising scrutiny from Congress, Lockheed Martin CEO Robert Stevens argued earlier this week that the “F-35 is a fundamental investment in the security infrastructure of the nation.” While U.S. lawmakers and the Pentagon assess the importance of the F-35 program to America’s national security interests, the Australian government seems poised to do the same.
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09/09/2011
A submerged iPhone pinpointed a military aircraft crash in the Chilean sea, in another example of the durability of Apple's devices. The iPhone, which responded Apple's "Find My iPhone" feature, allowed the Chilean Navy to triangulate the location of the crash site. Search teams were unable to find the lost CASA 212 plane, but thanks to the GPS locator, authorities are now combing through the wreckage.
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09/09/2011
Pointing to a sheer wastage of public funds, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its report slammed the Ministry of Defence and the Navy for buying war planes that do not have weapons. It also pointed a finger at the Indian Air Force (IAF) for having ‘let off’ three of its officers who caused a loss of Rs 302 crore when a sensitive aerostat radar got damaged.
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09/09/2011
A decade ago on the confused morning of Sept. 11, we came perilously close to having our own nightmare in Alaska. A Korean Air Lines passenger jet on a flight from Seoul was heading to Anchorage and the military and civilian aviation authorities had good reason to believe it was hijacked.
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09/09/2011
Late last year, the UK armed forces were rocked by the effects of a Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) process overseen by a new coalition government determined to tackle a massive budget deficit head-on. Almost 12 months later, the defence industry will gather for its largest post-SDSR coming-together at the Defence & Security Equipment International show, or DSEi, which will be held in London's Docklands on 13-16 September.
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09/09/2011
Lockheed Martin delivered the sixth C-130J Super Hercules to crews at Dyess Air Force Base (AFB), Texas, today. Lt. Gen. Robert Allardice, 18th Air Force Commander, accepted delivery of the sixth of 28 C-130Js to be assigned to the 317th Airlift Group.
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09/09/2011
The fifth of six C-130J Super Hercules on order for the Indian Air Force has departed the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta. This aircraft, like its predecessors, was delivered well ahead of schedule and is now en route to Air Force Station Hindan in India. India’s sixth C-130J will be delivered in October.
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09/08/2011
Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has received a development contract for a project to create an indigenous jet training and combat aircraft. According to the agreement between the company and Turkey's Undersecretariat for Defence Industries, Savunma Sanayii Müstesarligi (SSM), the two-year project will focus on showing the needs and capacity of the nation's industry.
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09/08/2011
The new Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne, has reached out to India’s fledgling private aerospace industry. Worried by the growing inability of public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to keep the IAF fleet flying, Browne has promised to back a private sector production line that will manufacture a replacement for the vintage HS-748 Avro transport aircraft. The private sector is needed, says the IAF chief, to back the air force’s major expansion.
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09/08/2011
The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme is expected to see a series of maiden flights in the next few months. Three aircraft from the LCA stable, the Limited Series Production (LSP-7 and LSP-8) and the naval variant of the aircraft, Naval Prototype-1 (NP-1) will take to the skies.
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09/08/2011
India will procure over 300 Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets and Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) at a total cost of Rs 64,408 crore to strengthen the combat capability of the IAF, the government said today. Replying to a question on procurement of combat aircraft in the Rajya Sabha, Defence Minister A K Antony said, "Su-30 MKI aircraft and Tejas LCA are the major modern combat aircraft that have been contracted for induction into the Indian Air Force."
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09/08/2011
As many a driver knows to their cost, putting the wrong thing in your petrol tank at the local garage is an embarrassing business. But when it's military aircraft you're dealing with instead of a Ford Focus - such a mistake can be very expensive indeed. That's what red-faced air chiefs have discovered after de-icer was wrongly added to £1.5million of aviation fuel – rendering it unusable.
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09/08/2011
It is bit of a trick question: It happened last week when 28 of the fighter jets took off from Langley Air Force Base to avoid tangling with Hurricane Irene. But the experience was more than historical trivia for pilots of the 1st Fighter Wing, who have been unable to fly their aircraft since early May. The Air Force grounded its Raptor fleet on May 3, expressing initial concerns about its oxygen supply system, then expanding its examination to encompass the entire aircraft.
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09/08/2011
For four years, a doctor commuted between his clinics in Texas in a $5 million turboprop with jazzy metallic stripes and ruby stones embedded on the drink cabinet inside. The plane featured exotic wood veneers and polished chrome, and his daughter’s initials were in the tail number.
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09/07/2011
Iran began testing its military aircraft in a first phase of war games on Tuesday, official news agency IRNA reported. During the 10-day war games, different types of Iranian aircraft - including the domestically manufactured Saeqeh (Thunderbolt) - will be tested.
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09/07/2011
Granting Taiwan's politically sensitive request for new F-16 fighter aircraft would merely maintain the island's air power capabilities, not boost them, the chief executive of Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), the plane's manufacturer, said on Tuesday.
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09/07/2011
A MiG-21 ‘Bison’ fighter aircraft crashed into a paddy field on Tuesday near Shambu, about 15 km from Rajpura in Patiala district, during a routine sortie, while the pilot ejected to safety. The aircraft was on a routine sortie from Ambala airbase and the crash occurred at 10:30 am when it developed some snag while returning to the airbase from Rajpura side.
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09/07/2011
Thanks to the provisions of the Budget Control Act and the subsequent directions of President Obama's budget director, Jack Lew, the Department of Defense is figuring out how to trim $1 trillion from its current and planned budgets. Perhaps the principal target in the sights is the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program (aka the Lightning II.
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09/07/2011
When Marine Cpl. Dakota Meyer plunged into Afghanistan's Ganjgal Valley, he was sure he wouldn't come out alive. "I don't think there was ever a question in my mind if I was going to die," Meyer said. "It was just when." Inside the narrow valley, Taliban insurgents were dug into the high ground and hidden inside a village, pouring down deadly fire at Afghan forces and their American advisers. Armed militants swarmed the low ground to try to finish off the troops.
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09/07/2011
Soldiers who fly hand-launched drone scouts to spot enemies on the battlefield may soon get a deadly robotic device capable of also delivering a knockout blow. The U.S. Army has ordered its first batch of small suicide drones that are capable of launching from a small tube, loitering in the sky and then diving at a target upon command.
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09/07/2011
Boeing today announced it has been awarded a one-year, $2.9 million contract by the U.S. Air Force to develop and validate a modification of the A-10 aircraft's Digital Video Audio Data Recorder (DVADR). The modification will provide a near-term solution to supportability issues with a major subcomponent in the DVADR system.
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09/07/2011
The Lockheed Martin led unmanned K-MAX® team successfully completed a five-day Quick Reaction Assessment (QRA) for the U.S. Navy’s Cargo Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) program.
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09/07/2011
Investigators have found one of the two flight recorders at a crash site of a Russian MiG-31 Foxhound fighter jet in the Urals, a source in the investigation committee said. The jet exploded in a fireball minutes after taking off from a military airfield in the Perm region in the early hours of Tuesday. Both pilots were killed in the crash. "We have found one of the flight recorders and will continue the investigation of the crash site tomorrow," the source told RIA Novosti.
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09/07/2011
A Russian Mikoyan MiG-31 fighter jet crashed in the Urals on Tuesday, killing both pilots, officials say. The jet exploded in a fireball minutes after taking off from a military airport in the Perm region in the early hours of Tuesday. It was on a routine training flight, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said.
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09/06/2011
Boeing strategic alliance with Bell Helicopter – Textron, ‘The Bell Boeing (NYSE:BA) V-22 Program’ has received a $34 million order from the U.S. Air Force. The Bell Boeing (NYSE:BA) V-22 Program will deliver a new Wing Part Task Trainer to Kirtland. According to the contract the Bell Boeing (NYSE:BA) V-22 Program will upgrade a CV-22 Cabin Part Task Trainer (CPTT) and two fuselage aircrew/maintenance trainers at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., to create a full-fuselage Cabin Operational Flight
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09/06/2011
On September 1, 2011 at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant’s airfield – a subsidiary of JSC IRKUT Corporation, pilots of Algerian Air Force performed first solo flights on the Yak-130 combat trainer jet.
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09/06/2011
Irkut Corporation's plans to upgrade the Indian Air Force's (IAF's) Su-30MKI fleet will provide the fighter with capabilities similar to that of fifth-generation combat aircraft, Russian industry officials have said. Speaking at the Moscow Air Show on 19 August Alexei Fedorov, the head of Irkut, announced that in addition to upgraded cockpit avionics and enhancements to the aircraft's radar, the so-called 'Super Sukhoi' will also receive modifications aimed at improving stealth capabilities.
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09/06/2011
European countries, who take the lead in NATO's Libya mission, could not get the job done without vital military capabilities provided by the United States, the alliance's chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Monday.
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09/06/2011
Lockheed Martin, the world's largest defense company, is counting on stealth technology to beat Boeing and Eurofighter in a Japanese fighter contest that may be worth more than $4 billion. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has better anti-radar capabilities than Boeing's F-18 Super Hornet and Eurofighter's Typhoon, as it was specifically designed in a shape that would be hard to detect, said Craig Caffrey, a London-based analyst at IHS Jane's DS Forecast, which advises defense suppliers.
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09/06/2011
The reach and capability of China’s navy and air force are expanding, posing a growing risk to security in Asia, military officials say. A new aircraft carrier that began sea trials this summer and the public test flight in January of an advanced fighter jet designed to rival U.S. technology are just two examples of China’s growing military might, U.S. officials say.
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09/05/2011
A frame agreement for the maintenance of Bulgarian-owned jetfighters MIG-29 was signed Saturday between the Bulgarian Defense Ministry and the Russian aircraft corporation MIG. The agreement was sealed at the Krumovo airfield where Bulgaria is marking the 100th anniversary of the country's aviation with a large-scale, two-day air show, titled "Skies for Everyone."
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09/05/2011
The whereabouts of about 30 Ugandan pilots, who were flying with the Libyan air force, are unknown, following the rebels’ capture of Tripoli, Libya’s capital. The pilots, who have been flying with the Libyan airforce since 1979, were sent to Russia for training by former President Idi Amin’s regime. A source in security circles, who was privy to the pilots’ training, said; “the majority of them were from the West Nile.”
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09/05/2011
The investment should remind local authorities that just two decades ago, Romania was one of the top ten countries in the world in the field of airplane manufacturing. Prime Minister Emil Boc walks confidently towards the stand. He smiles broadly at the audience and begins his speech by congratulating the Premium Aerotec division of the EADS group for its “successful investment” in the aircraft components factory in Ghimbav.
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09/05/2011
A summer of discontent for the U.S. Defense Department and Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-35 Lightning II may be followed by an even tougher autumn as Congress' debt-ceiling "super committee" mulls big defense budget cuts that could affect the next-generation stealth jet fighter.
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09/05/2011
The Air Force is taking a deliberate, measured approach to an apparent technical problem that has kept its F-22 Raptors on the ground since May 3. The problem may have contributed to a crash last year that killed Capt. Jeffrey “Bong” Haney, 31, of the 525th Fighter Squadron, the “Bulldogs.”
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09/05/2011
In the final weeks of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s battle with Libyan rebels, Chinese state companies offered to sell his government large stockpiles of weapons and ammunition in apparent violation of United Nations sanctions, officials of Libya’s transitional government said Sunday. They cited Qaddafi government documents found by a Canadian journalist, which the officials said were authentic.
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09/04/2011
A military plane carrying businessmen, troops and journalists crashed off a Chilean island in the South Pacific Ocean, killing all 21 on board, the Andean country’s government said. All the passengers and crew died instantly, Defense Minister Andres Allamand said after touring the crash site. The twin-propeller Casa C-212 plane crashed last night off the Juan Fernandez Archipelagos, 600 kilometers (375 miles) west of Chile.
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09/04/2011
Russia's Defense Ministry and the Russian Helicopters holding have reached a long delayed agreement and signed a $4 billion deal, a senior defense sector official said on Saturday. Russia's annual defense order was seriously delayed by price disputes between the ministry and defense sector companies to a point when President Dmitry Medvedev and then Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had to step in and press for contracts to be signed until the end of last month.
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09/04/2011
The war in Libya may be one of those quietly telling moments in the history of more important nations. For the first time, the United States has taken a secondary role — “leading from behind,” if “leading” is even the right word — in a war prosecuted by the NATO alliance and driven by Britain and France, the two strongest military powers in Europe.
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09/04/2011
The engaging aerobatic demonstrations of the Indian Navy’s elite Sagar Pawan team, based in Goa, have been put on hold because of heavy training pressures on aircraft. Addressing reporters at the headquarters in Vasco, 35 km from here, Commodore Ravneet Singh said the Kiran aircraft were currently engaged in training fresh pilots for MiG- 29K and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).
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09/04/2011
With an unmistakeable 30ft radar dish bolted to the top of its fuselage, it can pick out enemy fighters 300 miles away.
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09/03/2011
As Major Dan Caine climbed into his F-16 fighter jet on September 11, he saw black smoke rising from the Pentagon in the distance and braced himself for a mission he never expected: shoot down hijacked airliners heading towards the capital.
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09/03/2011
You know the budget wars are heating up when a senior U.S. Republican senator starts attacking weapons programs important to other legislators in his own party. That’s what happened yesterday, when Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss assailed Pentagon purchases of Boeing’s carrier-based F/A-18 Super Hornet, saying the plane is “obsolete” and “will be of limited to no value in any future threat scenario.”
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09/03/2011
As Malaysia scouts for fifth-generation replacement jet fighters for its ageing fleet, at least five contenders are bidding to be part of this ambitious programme, worth billions of ringgit. France's Dassault Aviation's Rafale, the United States' Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Europe's Eurofighter Typhoon, the Swedish JAS-39 Gripen and the Russian Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E are reportedly the top contenders for the Royal Malaysian Air Force's (RMAF) new-generation front-line fighters.
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09/03/2011
Since the days of the Mexican-American War, US intentions south of the border are regarded with the highest degrees of suspicion. Today, as Mexico struggles under a barrage of violence related to drug trafficking, the idea of American military assistance is anathema to the public.
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09/03/2011
The first publicly observed flight of the Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter in January and the more recent emergence of the ex-Soviet Varyag aircraft carrier demonstrate China’s progress toward becoming a modern military power by 2020. But China’s ability to project force outside the region remains limited in the near term, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) advises in its annual report to Congress on Chinese military developments.
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09/03/2011
An armed, unmanned aerial vehicle that can be carried in a backpack has been ordered by the U.S. Army from AeroVironment Inc. The Switchblade air vehicle launches from a small tube and transmits live color video wirelessly for display on AeroVironment's standard small unmanned aircraft system ground control unit. Upon confirming the target using the live video feed, the operator then sends a command to the air vehicle to arm it and lock its trajectory onto the target.
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09/02/2011
Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), the world’s largest defense company, is counting on stealth technology to beat Boeing Co. (BA) and Eurofighter GmbH in a Japanese fighter contest that may be worth more than $4 billion.
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09/02/2011
The Czech Republic will give 2000 redundant magazines for SA58 assault rifles to the Afghan police, under a proposal that the Czech government approved on Wednesday. The Czech military does not need the magazines because it started replacing the SA58s with new assault rifles. The Defence Ministry reacted to a request from NATO and Afghanistan to help develop the Afghan police forces.
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09/01/2011
The delivery of refurbished Dutch surplus F-16 fighter aircraft to Chile is nearing its end as the final aircraft left the Dutch Volkel Air Base on Monday, 29 August 2011. This batch of six aircraft from a total of 18 fighters marks the end of a long transfer process, as agreed between the governments of the Netherlands and Chile in early June 2009. On Monday, five aircraft took off from their former home base; one straggler, which could not leave on time, followed the next day.
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09/01/2011
Washington and Baghdad have made significant progress on a deal for Iraq to buy Lockheed Martin F-16 warplanes but do not have a signed contract, a U.S. military official said on Wednesday. The Iraqi government in February delayed its planned purchase of F-16s and diverted $900 million set aside for an initial payment on the aircraft into its national food ration programme to help ease shortages and cool nationwide protests.
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09/01/2011
The Bell Boeing V-22 Program, a strategic alliance between The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] and Bell Helicopter – Textron [NYSE: TXT], has received a $34 million order from the U.S. Air Force for three new CV-22 training devices and an upgrade to an existing device.
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09/01/2011
Two Lockheed Martin F-35As, AF-10 and AF-11, along with two F-16 chase aircraft, are poised for takeoff to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Wednesday morning.
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09/01/2011
Rebel forces in Libya making the final push to end the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have been making use of modern UAV technology. According to the US-based AUVSI, the rebels have been using Canadian technology to help them know where to shoot as they surrounded Gadaffi’s compound and hometown stronghold.
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