November 02, 2011 Military Aviation News

US under pressure on F-16 sale

11/02/2011

The administration of US President Barack Obama came under new pressure on Thursday to sell advanced F-16C/D aircraft to Taiwan. While Obama has refused to sell the fighters as part of an arms package announced last month, the White House has said that a sale is still under consideration. That consideration is likely to be boosted by a new report from Stephen Fuller, an economist at George Mason University in Virginia.

Finmeccanica deals eyed as Italian minister visits Qatar

11/02/2011

Italian junior defence minister Guido Crosetto leaves for Qatar on Tuesday on a visit during which he is hoping to help sell M346 military trainers built by Finmecanicca's aircraft unit Alenia Aermacchi, the minister told Reuters.

“Omnirole” Rafale Steals Lead Over Eurofighter Typhoon in Libyan Operations

11/02/2011

While NATO forces fielded the Dassault Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon in the UN-mandated war against Gaddafi’s forces in Libya, details emerging from briefings by the U.K. and French air forces about the use of their respective fighters tell that the Rafale was the primary attack plane while the Eurofighter Typhoon provided intelligence through its targeting pods.

India Revises Air Force Training Regime

11/02/2011

That the frequency of Indian combat aircraft crashes is galling would be a bit like calling the Taj Mahal a nice hut. The Indian air force (IAF) is now rebuilding its training regime to finally cure the long-running problems that have attrited men and machines.

RCAF worried Ottawa buying too few F-35 stealth fighters

11/02/2011

Military planners are concerned the Harper government is buying too few F-35 fighters with almost no room for any loss of the stealth jets throughout their projected lifetimes, according to internal Defence Department briefings. “Canada is the only country that did not account (for) attrition aircraft” in its proposal, said an undated capability-and-sustainment briefing given to senior officers late last year.

Hero pilot lands crippled plane

11/02/2011

A Boeing 767 with 231 people on board has made an emergency landing, skidding down the runway on its belly at Warsaw Airport after its landing gear failed. Fire and ambulance crews were deployed and all 220 passengers and 11 crew on the plane of national carrier LOT Polish Airlines were able to disembark safely.

NATO officially ends Libya operations

11/02/2011

NATO has ended its Libyan military campaign after thousands of combat sorties and billions of dollars of alliance and individual participant expenditures. The alliance's no-fly zone and naval blockade, which began in March, were terminated at midnight Monday after the U.N. Security Council closed the book on the mandate authorizing military action to protect Libya's people from the Moammar Gadhafi regime.

Stealth Jet Could Be Unsafe for Flight Training

11/02/2011

The military could be putting pilots’ lives at risk in its hurry to begin training with the next-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Investigation Finds U.S. Military Drones Have Flown Close to 3 Million Hours

11/02/2011

They fly over Africa, Asia and Europe, as well as North and South America. Some are literally thrown into the air by human hands. Others take off like traditional airplanes. Some carry only simple video cameras. Then there are those packing 3,750 pounds worth of bombs and missiles whose operators “fly” the planes from air-conditioned trailers located thousands of miles from the war zone.

New Kyrgyz president calls for closure of U.S. air base

11/02/2011

Kyrgyzstan’s President-elect Almazbek Atambayev has called for the closure of the United States’ airbase at Manas in the central Asian republic. “I don’t think the base at Manas guarantees the security of our country. I would not want to see another country carry out a retaliatory strike against the base. A civil airport is a civil object, and it should remain so,” he said.

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