January, 2012 Military Aviation News
01/31/2012
The A-10 Thunderbolt II provides the type of close-air support that ground-pounders love and the Taliban dread. Although the A-10s are workhorses in the war on terrorism, the Air Force in its new budget request is planning to get rid of five squadrons. As part of the Defense Department’s efforts to trim close to $500 billion in spending over the next decade, defense officials said Friday that the service intends to cut five A-10 tactical squadrons and two other squadrons as well.
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01/31/2012
Switzerland's defence ministry has not received a second offer from aircraft maker Dassault that is cheaper than the type of fighter jet it is planning to buy, a spokeswoman said on Monday. "No official offer has been received here until now," a spokeswoman for the defense ministry said.
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01/31/2012
With instability in the Sahel-Saharan region, fears are growing about the fallout from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's (AQIM) potential acquisition of portable surface-to-missiles from Libya.
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01/31/2012
Fifteen new Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters, some of which are participating in the flight testing so critical to moving the troubled Joint Strike Fighter program forward, have been grounded owing to improper loading of parachutes in their ejection seats.
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01/31/2012
As the Obama administration prepares to present a budget to Congress that includes $487 billion in military cuts over the next 10 years, some experts are warning that the downsized defense that is planned could severely jeopardize the nation’s security posture.
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01/31/2012
Boeing [NYSE: BA] has selected three Canadian firms to receive the first group of work packages for in-service support of 15 Boeing CH-47F Chinook helicopters, designated CH-147F for the Canadian Forces. Following an open competition, Boeing chose the following suppliers.
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01/31/2012
Lockheed Martin and the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) today announced the launching of a partnership to research and promote science, technology and innovation, continuing a 45 year relationship between Lockheed Martin and the Kingdom.
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01/31/2012
Lockheed Martin’s C-130 Hercules program has reached yet another historic milestone with the delivery of its 2400th aircraft. The aircraft is an MC-130J Combat Shadow II assigned to U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command and will be operated by the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.
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01/31/2012
Two Tu-95MS strategic bombers have successfully completed a routine patrol mission over the Arctic Ocean, the Defense Ministry said on Monday. The mission - the first so far this year - began on the night of January 27-28 and lasted more than 16 hours. The bombers were refueled in mid-air from an Ilyushin Il-78 tanker.
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01/31/2012
Russia's main military aircraft maker has decided not to take part in South Korea’s largest-ever arms tender, for a new fighter aircraft, The Korea Times said on Monday citing the country’s military procurement authorities. The winner of the FX-III tender will sign a $7.3-billion deal to supply 60 advanced fighter jets with stealth capability for South Korea’s Air Force.
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01/30/2012
The risk of the world being engulfed in a new and dangerous war is increasing. In recent weeks, Iran has come under greater pressure over its nuclear programme, and the chances of this leading to military conflict have escalated.
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01/30/2012
French aircraft maker Dassault has made a new offer to Switzerland for its Rafale fighter jets after the government decided in November to buy Sweden's Gripen planes instead, a report said Sunday. Dassault has sent a letter to parliament -- which has yet to approve the November decision - offering 18 Rafale planes for 2.7 billion Swiss francs (2.24 billion euros, 2.96 billion dollars), reported Le Matin Dimanche, which said it had seen the letter.
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01/30/2012
A month after the last American troops left Iraq, the State Department is operating a small fleet of surveillance drones here to help protect the United States Embassy and consulates, as well as American personnel. Senior Iraqi officials expressed outrage at the program, saying the unarmed aircraft are an affront to Iraqi sovereignty.
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01/30/2012
Military avionics designers at the Lockheed Martin Corp. Mission Systems and Sensors Division (MS2) segment in Owego, N.Y., needed a real-time operating system (RTOS) and software-engineering tools for the United Kingdom Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) radar surveillance aircraft. They found their solution from LynuxWorks Inc. in San Jose, Calif.
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01/30/2012
An Eitan-type Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Israel's largest drone, crashed near Moshav Yesodot on Sunday. No injuries were reported. An initial investigation suggests that the aircraft exceeded its flight restrictions. The damage is currently estimated at nearly $ 5 million. The investigation showed the incident was apparently the result of both a human error and a technical malfunction. The drone apparently crashed after one of its wings fell off, according to the initial investigation.
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01/30/2012
The U.S. military will operate its U2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft in South Korea through 2020 by delaying its retirement by more than five years, scrapping its plan to replace the U2 with the high-altitude Global Hawk. The U2 has been used by U.S. forces in South Korea for the surveillance of North Korea.
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01/29/2012
The Czech Republic has given a May 31 deadline for the delivery of four Spanish-made military transport planes or it will back out of the purchase of the aircraft that have been plagued by technical problems, Defence Minister Alexandr Vondra said. The Czech army returned the CASA C-295 M planes, built by EADS-Casa, last year after they failed tests.
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01/29/2012
Wars have come and gone. But for more than half a century, the CIA and U.S. military have relied on a skinny sinister-looking black jet to go deep behind enemy lines for vital intelligence-gathering missions. The high-flying U-2 spy plane was first designed during the Eisenhower administration to breach the iron curtain and, as engineers said, snap "picture postcards for Ike" of hidden military strongholds in the Soviet Union.
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01/29/2012
The Philippines is considering a U.S. proposal to deploy surveillance aircraft on a temporary, rotating basis to enhance its ability to guard disputed areas in the South China Sea, the Philippine defense minister said on Friday. Ongoing talks in Washington on security ties between the two allies include plans to deploy more littoral combat ships and spy aircraft, said Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.
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01/29/2012
The Navy’s new drone being tested near Chesapeake Bay stretches the boundaries of technology: It’s designed to land on the deck of an aircraft carrier, one of aviation’s most difficult maneuvers. What’s even more remarkable is that it will do that not just without a pilot in the cockpit, but without a pilot at all.
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01/29/2012
Detractors say the F-35 stealth fighter, the costliest military plane ever, is destined to go down as one of the biggest follies in aviation history. But it may have found a savior: deep-pocketed U.S. allies hungry to add its super high-tech capabilities to their arsenal.
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01/29/2012
Russia’s Federal Border Guard Service is planning to build a center for the production of flarecraft to improve protection of the country’s maritime borders. Russian media cited a government source on Friday saying that the center will be built at the former Avangard shipyard in the northern city of Petrozavodsk.
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01/29/2012
Hawker Beechcraft Defense Company (HBDC) announced today that Jim Maslowski, president, will retire from his positions with Hawker Beechcraft on Jan. 31.. Upon retirement, Maslowski will continue as a consultant to HBDC and its business development efforts with the title of vice chairman.
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01/27/2012
The United States is to increase its fleet of unmanned drones by nearly a third and rely more on small, specially trained ground units as part of a slimmed down military. As part of massive cuts to its budget, the army plans to shed 80,000 soldiers over the next few years, defence secretary Leon Panetta announced yesterday.
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01/27/2012
Researchers say a drone aircraft being tested by the U.S. Navy that could conduct a combat mission without human involvement raises troubling ethical questions. The drone, designed to land on the deck of an aircraft carrier, operates not only with no pilot in the cockpit but with no pilot at all, raising the specter of a pre-programmed semi-independently operating machine capable of wreaking mayhem on its own.
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01/27/2012
U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) military aircraft purchases continued to roll along on Wednesday, with a U.S. Navy order of 15 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet carrier-based jet fighter-bombers under terms of a $687.5 million contract modification. Wednesday's order brings this week's DOD combat aircraft orders to 25 in three separate deals collectively worth nearly $2.2 billion.
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01/27/2012
Boeing subsidiary Boeing Defence Australia (BDA) and Thales Australia today named the Eurocopter EC135 as the preferred platform for their bid on the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Project AIR 9000 Phase 7 – Helicopter Aircrew Training System (HATS).
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01/27/2012
All of Russia’s military airfields will be upgraded and modernized by 2020, Defense Ministry spokesman Col Vladimir Drik said on Thursday. That includes airbases, flight test and training centers, army aviation sites, and other facilities, he said.
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01/26/2012
Hawker Beechcraft today issued the following statement in response to President Obama's 2012 State of the Union Address. "The actions of the current administration do not align with the comments made by President Obama in his State of the Union address. He made very convincing statements that he wants to protect American manufacturing jobs and called for more highly skilled jobs in the U.S. and for more products to be made in America.
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01/26/2012
Two decades after evicting U.S. forces from their biggest base in the Pacific, the Philippines is in talks with the Obama administration about expanding the American military presence in the island nation, the latest in a series of strategic moves aimed at China.
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01/26/2012
The Air Force wants to save money by scrapping plans to replace the Cold War-era U-2 spy plane with the high-tech Global Hawk reconnaissance drone, a defense analyst said Tuesday. Loren Thompson wrote in his blog that the Air Force plans to sacrifice the most common variant of the Global Hawk — the Block 30 — as a “bill payer” in its 2013 budget request, retiring those already in use and halting further production by defense giant Northrup Grumman.
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01/26/2012
Last night, President Obama opened his State of the Union address by referencing the sacrifices and courage of America’s military personnel as they return home from combat. The President’s rhetoric was moving, but unfortunately, words are simply words and have not been fully backed up with action that supports America’s heroes.
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01/26/2012
The Navy is testing an autonomous plane that will land on an aircraft carrier. The prospect of heavily armed aircraft screaming through the skies without direct human control is unnerving to many.
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01/26/2012
The Pentagon plans to expand its global network of drones and special-operations bases in a fundamental realignment meant to project U.S. power even as it cuts back to eliminate at least eight brigades while reducing the size of the active duty Army from 570,000 to 490,000, cuts that are likely to hit armored and heavy infantry units the hardest. But drone and special-operations deployments would continue to grow as they have in recent years.
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01/26/2012
Ukraine’s 2012 military spending will increase by around 30 percent, to about $2 billion or 1.1 percent of GDP, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s financial department said on Wednesday. The ministry expects to spend about $120 million for purchases and modernization of military equipment, as well as scientific and military design projects, including the production of L-39 Albatros jet trainers and MiG-29 fighter jets. Ukraine’s existing fleet of MiG-29, L-39 and Su-25 close air support aircrafts
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01/25/2012
The Navy is testing a system that promises to significantly increase the endurance and range of carrier-based unmanned aircraft. As part of the Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) program, the Navy and industry partner Northrop Grumman have been developing Autonomous Aerial Refueling (AAR) technologies to refuel unmanned aircraft in flight.
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01/25/2012
Continuing with their sparkling achievements, IAF women pilots have now begun to go where no women has gone before. They are flying military cargo aircraft sorties to forbidding high-altitude forward areas like Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) and Leh. "Since December, some women IAF pilots are flying sorties of AN-32 medium-lift aircraft to DBO, the highest advanced landing ground (makeshift airstrip) in the world at 16,500-feet, and IL-76 heavy-lift aircraft to Leh," said a senior officer.
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01/25/2012
Fifth-generation fighter aircraft are key to America maintaining domain dominance in the years ahead, Air Force officials said here today. Lt. Gen. Christopher D. Miller, deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and programs, and Maj. Gen. Noel T. “Tom” Jones, the service’s director for operation capability requirements, said the technology – exemplified in the F-22 and F-35 – assumes greater importance in combating growing anti-access, area-denial capabilities.
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01/25/2012
Aircraft manufacturers at the Boeing Co. Commercial Airplanes segment in Long Beach, Calif., will build five C-17 Globemaster III military cargo jets for the U.S. Air Force under terms of a $693.4 million contract modification announced Monday from the Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.
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01/25/2012
The U.S. is maintaining a sizable ground, air and sea force in the Persian Gulf, underscoring the need to protect oil-producing states after deposing Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein and exiting a democratic Iraq in December.
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01/25/2012
North Korea’s air force or navy fare little better. Most aircraft currently operated have obsolete avionics and limited weapon system capabilities Pilots are allowed fewer than twenty flight hours per year due to high fuel costs.
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01/25/2012
South Korea has sweetened the pot in a bid to secure a hotly contested $1 billion contract for its T-50 Golden Eagle jet trainer for Israel's air force by offering to buy Rafael Advanced Defense Systems' Iron Dome counter-rocket system.
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01/25/2012
Two bilateral command post exercises with Japan kicked off yesterday and today, reflecting the growing strategic importance of the Asia-Pacific region as outlined in the new defense strategy guidance President Barack Obama announced earlier this month. Japanese and U.S. military forces launched Keen Edge 12 yesterday at Yokota, Japan. The biennial exercise continues through Jan. 27.
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01/25/2012
The Russian Air Force is testing and will soon deploy an advanced tactical air-to-air missile that will greatly enhance its operational effectiveness, the service's commander Col Gen Alexander Zelin said on Tuesday. The missile will be carried by MiG-31BM Foxhound supersonic interceptors/fighters and will subsequently be used by other warplanes, he said.
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01/24/2012
Saudi Arabia has faced challenges introducing the Eurofighter Typhoon into service, not least in establishing local production – which has yet to start. But, as Jon Lake reports, despite this the Royal Saudi Air Force is pushing hard to adopt new capabilities and is believed to have been driving the pace of the development of new air-to-ground capabilities for the tranche 2 aeroplane.
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01/24/2012
Pakistan Army on Monday rejected the investigation report by US Central Command (Centcom) on the Salala incident, involving aerial strikes by US aircraft and helicopters resulting in the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers and injuries to 13 others. In a statement issued here, ISPR said, "Pakistan does not agree with several portions and findings of the Investigation Report as these are factually not correct.
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01/24/2012
Europe's second-largest defence contractor BAE Sytems has named Dean McCumiskey as its new chief executive and managing director of its India operations with effect from March 2012, the British company announced on Monday. McCurmiskey, who is currently the Group chief information officer, will replace Andrew Gallagher, who will be returning to the UK as the company's Director of Audit, according to a company-released press statement.
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01/24/2012
The Czech Ministry of Defense is hoping talks on Jan. 23 – 24 with Iraqi government and military representatives will produce a breakthrough for a Czech offer of twenty L-159 fighter planes produced by Aero Vodochody. The manufacturer, which is heading talks on the Czech side, is less concerned about the deal going through: last year it received Kc 25.2 million for simply storing the planes, the daily Lidové noviny (LN) reported on Monday.
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01/24/2012
The Boeing Company received a $126 million contract from the U.S. Air Force on Nov. 30 for approximately 5,000 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kits. Deliveries will begin in June 2013 and continue through May 2014. This is Boeing's third major U.S. Air Force contract within a year for conventional JDAM kits. Boeing received an $88 million contract for nearly 3,500 kits in January 2011 and a $92 million contract for an additional 4,000 kits in March.
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01/24/2012
Lockheed Martin delivered the fourth P-3 Orion with new Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) modifications to U.S. Customs and Border Protection two months ahead of schedule on Jan. 20. The MLU installation and phase depot maintenance (PDM) were accomplished in record time of 11 months at Lockheed Martin’s Greenville facility.
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01/24/2012
Russia and Syria have signed a $550-million contract on the delivery of 36 Yakovlev Yak-130 Mitten combat trainer, the Kommersant daily quoted on Monday a source close to Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport as saying. Under the deal struck in late December, the jets are to be supplied to Syria once Damascus makes a prepayment, the source said.
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01/24/2012
It was at Farnborough airshow in 2008 the Omani first expressed an interest in the Eurofighter aircraft and in April 2010 the then UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, announced a deal had been done. There is no clear confirmation on numbers although it is believed it could be around 20 aircraft in the requirement.
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01/24/2012
Alliant Techsystems is to delever a second Combat Caravan to Lebanon next year following an order from the US Air Force. The American company recently delivered a third AC-208B to the Iraq Training and Advisory Mission in Kirkuk.
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01/23/2012
U.S. Navy aircraft specialists needed common fiber optic test kits for Navy aviation systems. They found their solution from military electro-optics designers at Clear Align in Eagleville, Pa. Navy officials awarded Clear Align a contract to develop what company officials say is the first common fiber optic test kits naval aviation.
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01/23/2012
A U.S. aircraft carrier sailed through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Gulf without incident on Sunday, a day after Iran backed away from an earlier threat to take action if an American carrier returned to the strategic waterway.
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01/22/2012
The Government will spend US$ 6 million (around Rs. 684 million) to overhaul three Chinese-built combat aircraft as part of modernization plans for the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF).
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01/22/2012
Australia's military has grounded its fleet of Black Hawk helicopters after fractured bolts were found during a routine inspection, the defence ministry said on Saturday.
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01/22/2012
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told sailors aboard the country’s oldest aircraft carrier that the U.S. is committed to maintaining a fleet of 11 of the formidable warships despite budget pressures, in part to project sea power against Iran.
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01/22/2012
The Canadian government is welcoming a decision by the U.S. military to renew its support for the development of the F-35, Associate Minister of National Defence Julian Fantino said Saturday.
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01/22/2012
IN democracies like ours, there have always been deep bonds between the public and its wars. Citizens have historically participated in decisions to take military action, through their elected representatives, helping to ensure broad support for wars and a willingness to share the costs, both human and economic, of enduring them.
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01/22/2012
More than 30 MiG-31 Foxhound supersonic interceptor aircraft are on round-the-clock high-alert duty every day protecting the Russian airspace from airborne threats, Air Force spokesman Col. Vladimir Drik said. “They [the MiG-31s] scramble every time they receive warnings of a potential violation of the Russian airspace, including the appearance of foreign weather balloons in the stratosphere,”Drik said on Saturday .
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01/22/2012
The Russian Air Force took delivery of the first Antonov An-140-100 passenger/transport plane on Friday, Defense Ministry spokesman Col Vladimir Drik said. “The plane’s delivery is the first step toward the implementation of a program to expand the AF transport aviation fleet,” he said, adding that another two aircraft will soon be delivered to the force.
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01/22/2012
The wing is also planning to provide one of the unique highlights of the flying display, when some of its F-15s and F-16s will escort a Gulf Air Airbus A330. Though the Royal Bahraini Air Force’s three-squadron fast jet force is one of the smallest in the region, and though its aircraft are among the oldest, the wing has an enviable reputation for professionalism, capability and competence.
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01/21/2012
Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi has flight tested its Serial Three Su-35S Flanker-E multipurpose jet fighter for the first time. During the test Tuesday, which lasted more than two hours, the aircraft's propulsion and control systems were put through their paces and "proved to be flawless," the company said.
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01/21/2012
The Pentagon will propose canceling a potential $6.8 billion Army missile program that pits Lockheed Martin Corp. against Raytheon Co., a Northrop Grumman Corp. weather satellite, and an Air Force light-attack aircraft, according to a government official.
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01/21/2012
A medium-lift transport being developed for the Brazilian air force will carry an auxiliary power unit by U.S. company Hamilton Sundstrand's Power Systems. The APU to be supplied to Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer for the KC-390 is a militarized version of a commercial Hamilton Sundstrand product.
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01/21/2012
The military saluted one of the group's few survivors today at Arlington National Cemetery. Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, a member of the storied group also known as the "Tuskegee Airmen," was laid to rest at age 90, exactly three years after the nation's first black president was inaugurated, an event for which many of the "Red Tails" feel they laid the groundwork.
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01/21/2012
The U.S. military is committed to developing the Marine Corps version of the next-generation strike fighter jet, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Friday, but he warned that the program is "not out of the woods yet."
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01/21/2012
When the Saudi Ministry of Defence was asked to send an aircraft to BIAS, it naturally chose an example of its latest fighter – the Eurofighter Typhoon. It was flown into the show by one of the Third Squadron’s senior pilots, Lieutenant Colonel Khalid Almaki.
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01/21/2012
Bahrain was the first export customer for the UH-60M Black Hawk, currently the most advanced variant in the UH-60/S-70 family, and is proudly displaying one of its new helicopters at BIAS.
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01/21/2012
Russia has returned a prepayment it received for S-300 surface-to-air missile systems it ultimately refused to deliver to Iran but has paid no penalty, Russian Technologies chief Sergei Chemezov said on Friday. “The prepayment to the manufacturer was returned to the Iranians because the delivery was not made in accordance with a UN Security Council resolution,” he said.
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01/21/2012
Aviastar SP, one of Russia's largest aircraft-building enterprises, is to build 10 super-heavy Antonov An-124 and dozens of Ilyushin Il-476 cargo aircraft by 2020, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Friday at a meeting of the United Aircraft Corporation on military aviation.
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01/20/2012
A NATO helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing six members of the international military force, the U.S.-led coalition said. The coalition said in a release early Friday morning that there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash in southern Afghanistan.
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01/20/2012
The Russian Air Force began flight testing of a modernized version of the A-50U airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft. The aircraft was improved with new on-board computers, satellite communications, and an improved radar system installed in its rotodome.
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01/20/2012
Israeli defense companies stand to gain from billions of dollars in contracts with South Korea which recently increased its defense budget to $30 billion a year, Korea’s ambassador to Israel Ilsoo Kim said on Thursday.
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01/20/2012
The United States says its military forces in the Persian Gulf region are prepared to deal with any threat from Iran. Top Iranian officials have said they might close the Strait of Hormuz, a move that would disrupt world oil supplies.
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01/20/2012
U.S. and Philippine marines plan to hold combat drills at an oil rig in the South China Sea to bolster the defense of such sensitive facilities in a bold move that may provoke protests from China, which claims waters in or near the location.
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01/20/2012
Piloted by U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Joseph Bachmann, BF-7 departs Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base at 2:07 p.m. CST on its 90 minute ferry flight to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. With the delivery of BF-7, a F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) jet, Eglin is now the home of the largest F-35 fleet in the Department of Defense (DoD).
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01/20/2012
The first night flight in the history of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Program was completed Wednesday at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Piloted by Lockheed Martin Test Pilot Mark Ward, AF-6, an F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant, launched at 5:05 p.m. PST and landed after sunset at 6:22 p.m.
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01/20/2012
The Russkiye Vityazi (Russian Knights) aerial display team will perform a new program at the 2012 Bahrain Air Show and it will be the team’s first foreign performance in four years, Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Vladimir Drik said on Thursday.
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01/20/2012
The UAEAF&AD decided to form its own formation team after witnessing the success of the Saudi Hawks and the long-established Royal Jordanian Falcons teams.
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01/19/2012
As the US shifts its focus to Asia, Alexander Neill, head of the Asia Security Programme at the Royal United Services Institute, sets out the Chinese military advances challenging the regional balance.
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01/19/2012
A U.S. video game maker says it wants a court to rule it can use images of modern weapons and aircraft without paying licensing fees to their manufacturers.
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01/19/2012
GE Aviation has been selected by Sikorsky Aircraft as a member of a newly-formed team that is building a next-generation helicopter for evaluation by the U.S. military.
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01/19/2012
Russia’s Defense Ministry has begun preparations for the Caucasus 2012 strategic command-and-staff exercise (SCSE). According to the ministry’s official announcement, this year’s exercise will be held on a larger scale and more in line with the current military and political situation than the one held in 2011.
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01/19/2012
The challenge of forging a modern, technically proficient air force in a country at war is an immense but essential element in the West's exit strategy. The target date for having an Afghan Air Force able to operate fully independently, with about 8,000 trained personnel and 145 aircraft, is 2016.
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01/19/2012
Dassault's Rafale and Eurofighter's Typhoon briefly sat side-by-side in the static display here at the show, with a US Navy Boeing Super Hornet close by. The Typhoon was later moved to a less controversial location, near the Royal Bahraini Air Force F-16.
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01/18/2012
The global market for helicopter machinery is one of the biggest in both the civil and military segments, and customers are very demanding. A striking example of the fierce competition in this market is the Indian defence ministry’s recent international tender for 22 attack helicopters.
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01/18/2012
Preparations for the Bahrain International Air Show 2012 began with the Russian Knights touching down at the Shaikh Isa Airbase at Sakhir in their blue-coloured Sukhoi combat aircraft, followed by the Russian transport aircraft.
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01/18/2012
Unmanned aerial vehicles have become a potent portion of the U.S. Air Force inventory and an indispensable weapon in the global war on terror. But a budget crunch and turf wars with old-guard pilots could threaten progress made during 10 years of combat, experts said.
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01/18/2012
On Jan 9/12, Hawker Beechcraft announced that it had sold 6 new T-6C+ military trainers to the Mexican Air Force (FAM), with deliveries to begin to “an advanced training base in Mexico’s northern region” in early 2012. This is almost certainly Santa Gertrudis, in Chihuahua.
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01/18/2012
The Navy expects to invest a growing share of its aviation research dollars in unmanned aircraft as it seeks to extend the reach and endurance of its carrier-based air wings. The science behind unpiloted flying is well understood by now, after years of progressively more frequent deployments of drones by the U.S. military.
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01/18/2012
A modernized A-50U airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft entered service with the Russian Air Force on Tuesday, Defense Ministry spokesman Col Vladimir Drik said.
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01/18/2012
Russia's Sukhoi aircraft manufacturer started test flights of its third series-produced Su-35S Flanker-E multirole fighter on Tuesday, the company said. The aircraft took off from the Komsomolsk-on-Amur airfield in Russia's Far East, spending more than two hours in the air testing propulsion and control systems.
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01/18/2012
A Russian aircraft carrier which is being refurbished for the Indian Navy will begin sea trials in May for the first time in two decades and is to be handed over to India by December 2012, a shipyard official said on Tuesday.
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01/17/2012
South Korea has ordered twenty locally made FA-50 fighter-bombers, for $30 million each. The aircraft will be equipped with South Korean, American and Israeli electronics. The single engine, single seat aircraft is intended to eventually replace South Korea's aging fleet of 150 F-5 fighters.
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01/17/2012
Brazilian Aircraft maker Embraer saw a 28% growth in sales of its E-jet line alone, delivering 204 jets and leaving a backlog of 249 firm orders worth more than US$15 Billion.
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01/17/2012
A design flaw in the US Marine Corps version of the F-35 Lightning II, which prevents it from landing on an aircraft carrier, could see the highly advanced vehicle grounded indefinitely.
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01/17/2012
The administration appears to be doing what it thinks will avert one. Military force is playing a quiet and relatively minor role. There has been more “messaging” about force in the last few weeks than actual force activity.
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01/17/2012
The U.S. military has developed the best system in the world for dealing with combat casualties. As medical technology has advanced, new methods of treatment have been developed, and the speed and efficiency of transport from the battlefield to essential medical services has greatly increased chances for combat wounded to survive.
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01/17/2012
The Russian Air Force is to acquire up to 30 Kamov Ka-226 light helicopters for courier and communications duties by 2020, Defense Ministry spokesman Vladimir Drik said on Monday. “By the end of January the (Torzhok) center will get four light Ka-226 helicopters. By 2020 we plan to buy 30 of them,” he said.
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01/16/2012
In the Afghanistan government's continued effort to independently battle counterinsurgency, a new tool will be added to their arsenal designed to allow versatility, reconnaissance and precision weapons placement to the growing Afghan air force. Announced Dec. 30, the U.S. Air Force has approved a contract worth more than $350 million that will provide the Afghan air force with at least 20 A-29 Super Tucano light air support aircraft, ground training devices and all associated maintenance.
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01/16/2012
The winner of the multi billion dollar deal to procure 126 combat planes for the Indian Air Force is expected to be announced in the next ten days. European EADS Eurofighter and Desault Rafale are in the final race for the Air Force global tender for the Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA). The process to determine the L1 (lowest bidder) is under progress and is expected to be decided in another ten days, top IAF sources said here today.
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01/16/2012
The Obama Administration recently released a military strategic guidance document, which calls for a strategic “pivot” from the Middle East to East Asia. This bold move replaces President George W. Bush’s “long war” against violent Islamic extremism with a new, ongoing effort to shape China’s military rise.
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01/16/2012
BAE Systems, Inc. and L-3 Communications today announced that L-3 Link Simulation & Training, a division of L-3 Communications, is joining the Hawk Advanced Jet Training System (AJTS) team as an exclusive partner to compete for the U.S. Air Force’s T-X program. As a principal supplier to BAE Systems, Inc., L-3 Link will lead the design and integration of the Hawk AJTS Ground Based Training System (GBTS) for the United States Air Force.
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01/16/2012
The Pentagon said on Friday that Iran's "destabilizing behavior" was a factor in its planning in the Middle East but sought to discourage speculation the U.S. military was quietly building up forces in the region to counter any perceived threat. The number of U.S. forces in Kuwait has grown to about 15,000 in recent weeks, including two combat brigades, as troops have withdrawn from Iraq following the end of the war there.
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01/16/2012
Was it an accident that on January 11, 2012 in the Seyed Khandan neighborhood
of northern Tehran an Iranian nuclear scientist was killed when a bomb was attached
to his car by two passing motorcyclists? The fact that this attack was operationally similar to an attack on an Iranian nuclear scientist a year earlier suggests that it was not an accident but an intentional killing with a message.
(Read More...)
01/15/2012
A French Mirage and a Saudi F-15 collided in the kingdom's northern region of Tabuk without causing casualties, state news agency SPA quoted a military official as saying on Saturday. "During a joint exercise on air engagement a French Mirage aircraft belonging to the French armed forces collided with a Saudi armed forces' F-15," said the statement.
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01/14/2012
U.S. defense leaders are increasingly concerned that Israel is preparing to take military action against Iran, over U.S. objections, and have stepped up contingency planning to safeguard U.S. facilities in the region in case of a conflict.
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01/14/2012
Ronkonkoma-based East/West Industries has been tapped by a Connecticut helicopter design firm to join a team tasked with building the U.S. military’s next-generation helicopter. Sikorsky Aircraft, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., recently selected East/West to join the team, bringing East/West’s patented, lightweight, energy-attenuating troop seats to the new aircraft, currently dubbed the S-97 Raider.
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01/14/2012
Dyess Air Force Base is a premier B-1 and C-130 base, but the military is intent on expanding its fleet of unmanned aircraft remotely piloted from the ground. The base's role in a military future featuring more UAVs is uncertain, but these "remotely piloted aircraft" — the Air Force's latest moniker for them — only are expected to become more important.
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01/14/2012
The military helicopter modernization, upgrade & retrofit market will reach a value of $3.98 billion in 2012, according to a report released by Visiongain, a market research company in London. The strains of recent operations combine with tighter budgets, and a need to maintain a qualitative advantage drive the upgrade and retrofit of existing helicopter platforms, the company said.
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01/14/2012
James Butcher was a 20-year-old lance corporal who had been in Vietnam only a couple of months, but that was long enough to realize that the scene in front of him — a Marine, sitting alone, waiting for his flight at the Phu Bai Air terminal in 1967 — was a powerful image of solitude and quiet that war so rarely affords.
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01/14/2012
The Marine Corps V-22 Osprey’s safety, combat effectiveness and reliability have improved in the past year, according to the Pentagon’s test office. New aircraft software evaluated in tests from August through early November “performed largely as expected,” the test office found. The improvement gives Osprey pilots greater capability to track, monitor and communicate from their cockpit with U.S. ground forces and to avoid bad weather.
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01/14/2012
A resolution to be even more expeditionary will be met this year, now that Marines here received their first two F-35B Lightning II variants of DoD's fifth generation fighter Jan. 11.
At the 33rd Fighter Wing, Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 is the home for the new aircraft where its "Warlords," pilots and maintainers, reside with a team of other professionals in preparation to deploy out anywhere in the world for the nation's defense.
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01/14/2012
Jordan's Captain Bassmah Bani Ahmad, the Arab world's first female aerobatic pilot, former instructor with Ayla aviation academy and chief pilot at the Royal Aero Sports Club, yesterday became a real Royal Jordanian pilot without being involved with the airline as she married His Royal Highness Prince Hamzah Al Hussain.
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01/13/2012
For foreign military sales (“FMS”), The Boeing Company (BA) has received a contract for the delivery of 14 CH-47F Chinook helicopters worth $370 million from the U.S. Army. Per the FMS contract, the U.S Army will deliver these to Australia and the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”).
(Read More...)
01/13/2012
On Jan. 7, the politically unstable Syria received a special visitor – Russia's only aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov. The aircraft carrier's visit to Syria during such a sensitive period immediately sparked various reactions.
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01/13/2012
The Netherlands has asked Denmark and Norway to join it in acquiring and maintaining future F-35 fighter jets, Dutch Minister Hans Hillen said Thursday after meetings at the Pentagon. The move was an example "of how far the Netherlands is prepared to go in cooperating with other countries in order to keep up NATO military capabilities," Hillens said at an address to the Atlantic Council during a brief US visit.
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01/13/2012
Nearly one in three US warplanes is a drone, with robots accounting for 31 per cent of all military aircraft, according to a congressional report. The Congressional Research Service paper, obtained by Wired, said the US military had 7,494 drones and 10,767 traditional manned aircraft.
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01/13/2012
To accomplish the new mission sets for the 21st century, the United States needs a smaller, quicker, more agile military, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said today. That is the basis behind the recently released strategy review that will set the stage for the fiscal 2013 Defense Department budget request.
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01/13/2012
Top level overview of the global military aircraft market. A breakdown of the regional spending patterns for military aircraft over the forecast period 2011 through 2021. A breakdown of the military aircraft market by segment forecasted from 2011 through 2021. Insights on the armed forces modernization and defense spending pattern by region. Extensive analysis on the emerging technological and market trends in the military aircraft market
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01/13/2012
India Today reported on January 4, that a secret report prepared by the government's joint intelligence committee has confirmed India's worst fears - China is planning a military base in Pakistan. The paper said that the report, based on inputs from the (Indian Intelligence agency) Research and Analysis Wing, is meant for the Prime Minister, members of the cabinet committee on security and the national security adviser.
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01/13/2012
Sheppard Air Force Base is a premier pilot-training base with one of the busiest airfields in the Air Force, but the military is intent on expanding its fleet of unmanned aircraft remotely piloted from the ground. Almost all pilots trained at Sheppard go on to fly manned aircraft. Flying a UAV was considered a huge step down from being at the controls of a manned aircraft not long ago in Air Force culture.
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01/13/2012
The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-35 System Development and Demonstration 2011 flight test program resulted in the completion of more test flights and test points than in any year.
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01/13/2012
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has expressed “total dismay” at a video appearing to show U.S. Marines urinating on the bloodied corpses of several Taliban fighters. The 40-second footage, which was posted on YouTube and other websites, features four men in combat gear standing over the three corpses with their genitals exposed as they relieve themselves. The men can be heard joking.
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01/12/2012
The United States has offered the air-to-air version of its famous Stinger missile to India as part of the weapons package proposed for the 22 attack helicopter deal of the Indian Air Force (IAF). The surface-to-air version of the Stinger missile is widely credited for the collapse of Russian helicopter fleet in Afghan war in 1980s and was also used by Pakistani troops to bring down an IAF Mi-17 helicopter during the Kargil war in 1999.
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01/12/2012
Sailors from VP-16 paid a visit to Diosdado Macapagal Airport near Manila, Philippines to participate in an exercise designed to build ties with the Philippine military Dec. 31-Jan. 4.
“War Eagles” aircrew flew several flights in cooperation with the Philippine Navy.
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01/12/2012
The man who goes in and out of Greece's Defence Ministry has the ministry’s wish list in his head: up to 60 fighter aircraft of the Eurofighter class, for perhaps €3.9 billion. French frigates for over €4 billion, patrol boats for €400 million.
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01/12/2012
Pakistan Air Force (PAF) will receive 18 F-16 block 52 aircraft from Lockheed Martin later this month as part of a contract for the sale of 36 F-16C/D block 50/52 aircraft announced in June 2005. Lockheed Martin had been awarded a contract for 12 F-16C and six F-16D block 52 aircraft in December 2006.
(Read More...)
01/12/2012
The U.S. military said on Wednesday that a new aircraft carrier strike group had arrived in the Arabian Sea and that another was on its way to the region, but denied any link to recent tensions with Iran and portrayed the movements as routine.
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01/12/2012
Brazil's Eurocopter EC725 Super Cougar production program is set to go into full swing this year after a deal worth more than $1 billion that saw off competition from rival U.S. and Russian manufacturers. Brazil launched its extensive military modernization program a few years ago with the express aim of becoming a major hub for international technology transfers and a regional exporter of defense hardware and integrated software.
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01/12/2012
The Boeing Company has received a U.S. Army contract valued at approximately $370 million for 14 CH-47F Chinook helicopters to support Foreign Military Sales efforts. The aircraft will be delivered to the U.S. Army beginning in 2014; all but one are intended for Australia and the United Arab Emirates.
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01/12/2012
The first two Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] production model F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft were delivered to the U.S. Marine Corps today. The two jets are now assigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing's Marine Fighter/Attack Training Squadron 501 residing with the host 33d Fighter Wing at Eglin AFB, Fla.
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01/12/2012
Russia will fulfill a contract to deliver 21 helicopters to Afghanistan in the first half of the year, the Federal Military-Technical Cooperation Service said on Wednesday. Last May, the United States signed a $367.5 million contract with Russia to buy 21 Mi-17V5 military transport helicopters for the Afghan army. By December 30, 2011, nine helicopters were delivered to Afghanistan. They are currently being assembly and tested for flightworthiness.
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01/11/2012
January 10, 2011, was supposed to be a big day for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas programme as it was on this day that the aircraft—under development for more than two decades—was to get the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC), signalling that it has crossed the first hurdle to join Indian Air Force (IAF). However, on that day, the aircraft was given only partial clearance (IOC-1) for failing to meet the IAF’s requirement. A year after, it is stuck with the IOC-1 tag.
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01/11/2012
Hawker Beechcraft announced Monday the first sale of its new Beechcraft T-6C+ military trainer to the Mexican Air Force (FAM). The T-6C+, an enhanced version of the T-6 military trainer aircraft, is capable of carrying external stores and delivering practice weapons for training purposes. The first two of six contracted FAM T-6C+ aircraft will be delivered to an advanced training base in Mexico's northern region in early 2012. The new T-6C+ trainers will replace the FAM’s aging PC-7 fleet.
(Read More...)
01/11/2012
New Canadian military search-and-rescue aircraft should be based in Gander for safety's sake, say officials in the central Newfoundland town. Reports indicate the federal cabinet approved a $3.7-billion plan to purchase new fixed-wing search-and-rescue aircraft for the military just before Christmas, after almost a decade of bureaucratic wrangling.
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01/11/2012
A $1.5 billion contract to buy 10 so-called "battlefield airlifters" will be signed in the first half of this year, and, according to insiders, it will be a sole-source deal under US foreign military sales laws to obtain the Alenia C-27J Spartan. The US has quoted about $950 million under a foreign military sales deal for 10 planes that are due in RAAF service by 2014.
(Read More...)
01/11/2012
Japan has announced that it will purchase 42 F-35 stealth fighter jets. The planes, which have experienced production delays and cost overruns, have also been selected by the Conservative government to replace Canada’s aging CF-18 fighters, starting (the government hopes) by 2017, when the CF-18s will reach the end of their expected usefulness.
(Read More...)
01/11/2012
In 2011, mobility Airmen delivering airdrops reached a new annual record with 75,956,235 pounds of cargo delivered. That's nearly 16 million more pounds delivered than the previous record set in 2010 of 60,400,000. At more than 75.9 million pounds - that's the equivalent of standing on a mountain top and watching 553 Army M1 Abrams tanks - or even 11,868 Chevrolet Silverado trucks - floating down from the sky with parachutes to a landing zone.
(Read More...)
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01/11/2012
A Russian naval task force, led by the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, has left the Syrian port of Tartus after a three-day visit, Russia’s Northern Fleet said in a statement on Tuesday. The task force called on the Syrian port on Sunday amid ongoing bloody protests in Syria against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.
(Read More...)
01/11/2012
The Russian Air Force has completed flight tests of the modernized Sukhoi Su-25UBM ground attack-trainer aircraft, Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Vladimir Drik said on Tuesday. “Air Force commander Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin signed off on the completion of flight tests for the Su-25UBM at the end of December 2011,” Drik said.
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01/11/2012
Indonesia has signed a $470 million contract with Russia to buy six Sukhoi Su-30MK2 jet fighters for the Indonesian Air Force, The Jakarta Post daily has reported. The deal was confirmed by Russian defense-industry and diplomatic sources, but the Sukhoi aircraft maker and arms exporter Rosoboronexport declined to comment. Deliveries will start after 2013.
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01/10/2012
Here are some details about the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil export route, which Iran has threatened to block if it faces sanctions on crude exports.
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01/10/2012
The United States' expanded military presence in Asia is based on a miscalculation of Beijing's intent to modernise its military defences, China said on Monday, taking a tempered stance in its first official response to Washington's plan. The United States unveiled a defence strategy last week to boost capacity in Asia, an attempt to counter China's growing ability to check U.S. power in the region, that comes with a pledged reduction in the overall size of U.S. forces.
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01/10/2012
France plans to buy airborne refueling tankers made by the military arm of Airbus, and there are no obstacles in the way of sales of French-made Rafale multirole combat jets to India, the United Arab Emirates and Brazil, Defense Minister Gerard Longuet said Monday.
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01/10/2012
Oklahoma City-based defense contractor DRG has been awarded the Air Combat Command Fighter F-15C, F-15E, F-16 and F-22A Contract Aircrew Training contract with the U.S. Air Force. The five-year prime contract is in excess of $50 million. The company will hire at least an additional 45 employees. By March 1, the company will have nearly 600 employees.
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01/10/2012
The U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a $24 million contract to upgrade weapons systems trainers used in the C-130 Aircrew Training System (ATS) II. The C-130 ATS II program provides a comprehensive academic and simulation training program for C-130 aircrews worldwide. The visual system and imagery databases in the weapons systems simulators will be updated to provide the most advanced and realistic training. The improvements are scheduled to take place through 2014.
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01/09/2012
The group of Russian military ships that set sail for violence-grippled Syria has reached its destination on Sunday, report agencies. The fleet, reported to include carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, has arrived in the Syrian port of Tartus, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, quoting official agency SANA. SANA has reported that the ships will stay in Tartus for six days as a sign of support for the Syrian people.
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01/09/2012
The republic of Seychelles has come in news with the stationing of the Chinese troops in Mahe. The archipelago nation is located at a strategic location as it lies in the path of major shipping lines. This has raised a pertinent question as to what has provoked China to station troops in Seychelles. Is piracy the only reason for this or there are other ulterior motives behind the stationing of the troops?
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01/09/2012
The U.S. Navy F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) known as the F-35C is at serious risk of never being able to land aboard an aircraft carrier. This also poses a risk to the U.K. aircraft carrier program which is supposed to use the F-35C at the end of the decade.
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01/09/2012
Air Force investigators who probed the June 28 crash of an F-16C fighter jet that killed Capt. Eric Ziegler should have focused more on the life-support garment he was wearing when he blacked out over the Nellis training range moments before the crash, according to a lawyer for a company that makes the anti-G suits.
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01/08/2012
With the New Year barely underway, South Korea is once again demonstrating a determination to build a formidable military force capable of dealing with potential enemies. The government has signed a $600 million deal with Korea Aerospace Industries (KIA) for 20 FA-50 fighter/attack aircraft based on the highly regarded T-50 advanced jet trainer.
(Read More...)
01/08/2012
British Defence Minister Philip Hammond has voiced concern about possible cuts or delays in the US F-35 fighter program as London plans to equip a future aircraft carrier with the stealthy aircraft. In a visit to the US capital, Hammond said he wanted to hear from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta about the potential effect of a new US military strategy and budget plan on the future of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
(Read More...)
01/08/2012
The U.S. military is testing a revolutionary new drone for its arsenal, a pilotless helicopter intended to fly cargo missions to remote outposts where frequent roadside bombs threaten access by road convoys. Surveillance drones for monitoring enemy activity and armed versions for launching airstrikes have become a trademark of America's wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.
(Read More...)
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01/07/2012
Asia's largest helicopter, built by China and weighing about 13 tonnes, on Thursday received the stamp of approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of the country. The move means that the massive helicopter - AC313 - is officially approved to enter the market, according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
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01/07/2012
Turkey has officially decided to purchase Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fignter jets. As a member of the international F-35 consortium, this was the country’s first official expression of commitment in buying the aircraft. The top decisive body of Turkish defense has also chosen Bell Helicopter as the next generation light copter for police
(Read More...)
01/07/2012
Washington’s new strategy for a “leaner” military that goes in line with its belt-tightening efforts is drawing keen attention here as it could affect the troop level and their operations in a contingency on the Korean Peninsula. Its moves to abandon a long-held strategy to have the ability to fight and win two wars at once have also caused concerns that the U.S. may not be able to mobilize massive ground troops in the event of a war here should it engage in another.
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01/07/2012
Among the possible cuts to defense spending, are those to the F-35 program, which has suffered extreme cost overruns. Alternative jets continue to be effective and diminishing the size of the F-35 program could help control costs without compromising American air superiority.
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01/07/2012
Electronic combat experts at the ITT Exelis Electronic Systems division in Clifton, N.J., have installed and tested an advanced self-defense airborne electronic warfare system on an international F-16 jet fighter aircraft. The company did not name the specific country for which its engineers performed the tests. The ITT Exelis ALQ-211 Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare System (AIDEWS) completed several F-16 sorties against several different kinds of radar threats, company officials
(Read More...)
01/07/2012
Australia plans to buy as many as 100 of the revolutionary F-35 Lightning II aircraft, and over the past decade estimates of its likely cost have grown from about $50 million each to close to $120m. The US has assured Australia's ambassador to Washington, Kim Beazley, its latest defence cuts will not affect its promised continued focus on the Asia-Pacific and increased presence in Australia.
(Read More...)
01/07/2012
Boeing and Warner Robins Air Logistics Center on Jan. 3 marked delivery of the first C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) aircraft modified by Warner Robins. The aircraft is the fourth to be delivered to Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.; the first three were modified by Boeing. The C-130 AMP cockpit upgrade simplifies and standardizes the multiple C-130 configurations operated by the U.S. Air Force.
(Read More...)
01/06/2012
President Barack Obama's military strategy calls for development of a new long-range stealth bomber even as the Pentagon seeks about $490 billion in reductions in the next decade. The bomber is part of the administration's goal to have weapons that are able to reach areas far from bases and where "our access and freedom to operate are challenged," according to Obama's updated defense strategy released today.
(Read More...)
01/06/2012
The Czech Republic and several other Eastern European countries have all expressed interest in buying “almost new” Eurofighter military aircraft from Germany, Financial Times Deutschland, the local version of the UK business daily, reported on Thursday, with Berlin looking to offload eight planes, which, if new, would cost some €60 million to €80 million each.
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01/06/2012
Now China is engaged in a major military buildup. Part of its plan is to force U.S. carriers to stay farther away from its shores, Chinese military analysts say. So the U.S. is adjusting its own game plan. Without either nation saying so, both are quietly engaged in a tit-for-tat military-technology race.
(Read More...)
01/06/2012
The US today said the last batch of new F-16 jets purchased by Pakistan is scheduled to start arriving in the country later this month and contended that there had been no stoppage in its programme to supply the combat aircraft to Islamabad. A statement issued by the US Embassy described reports in a section of the media about a stoppage in the US-Pakistan F-16 programme as "not accurate".
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01/06/2012
Marine Corps Air Station Yuma began building for the future in 2011, in preparation for the arrival of the new vertical takeoff F-35B Joint Strike Fighter, which will begin arriving in phases starting in September 2012. It was also another busy year for deployments, with all four of the air station's squadrons either deployed to Afghanistan or serving overseas with various Marine Expeditionary Units. In all, about 900 Marines were deployed last year.
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01/06/2012
The U.S. President Barack Obama unveiled on Thursday a new defense strategy that seeks to cut the country’s armed forces as a part of major cuts to the U.S. defense budget by almost $500 billion, RIA Novosti reported. "Our military will be leaner but the world must know – the United States is going to maintain our military superiority with Armed Forces that are agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies and threats," Obama told a press conference at the Pentagon.
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01/06/2012
IAF has 51 Mirage aircraft acquired from France beginning 1985, and the Government cleared a $ 2.4 deal in July 2011 with the French firms Dassault and Thales to modernize them with newer generation avionics, Electronic Warfare (EW) suites, and advanced beyond visual range (BVR) capability. The weapons package was separate, and has been cleared now.
(Read More...)
01/05/2012
Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works division has revealed a conceptual next-generation fighter design that offers the first hints of an ambitious, long-term technology strategy for the new class of tactical aircraft that will emerge after 2030. The concept - published in a 2012 calendar distributed to journalists - indicates the company will continue to seek new breakthroughs in performance despite the risk-averse culture of today's weapons buyers in the US military.
(Read More...)
01/05/2012
Bulgaria will not purchase new military aircraft in times of crisis and unless the problems in the education and culture sectors are solved. The statement was made Wednesday by Bulgaria's Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov. Speaking in the Black Sea city of Burgas, where he inspected and officially opened the renovated building of the city's theater, Borisov said there are a number of theater buildings in the country, which have not been repaired in the last 60 years.
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01/05/2012
The U.S., Air Force has stopped work on the recently awarded Embraer S.A. contract that could be eventually worth up to nearly $1 billion to build aircraft in Jacksonville because of a legal action requested by former contract competitor Hawker Beechcraft.
(Read More...)
01/05/2012
India has missed the aviation bus by refusing to invest in research and development. That the decks have been cleared for the Indian air force’s deal for trainer jets is good news in the ‘short term’. But strategically speaking, this is bad news for the country. Why? Because no nation can dream of being a superpower by depending wholly on imported military hardware. Such dependence gives leverage to foreign arms producers that can armtwist consumers like India during a crisis.
(Read More...)
01/05/2012
As U.S. defense officials start getting used to the idea of dramatic cuts to military spending, major contractors like Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) are bracing for mandatory reductions of $600 billion in defense and national security budgets.
(Read More...)
01/05/2012
A recent offer by the Seychelles to refuel and replenish Chinese naval ships on anti-piracy patrols in the northwest Indian Ocean was seen as the latest sign of China's expanding naval power. But it obscured an even more significant development: U.S. deployment of a mini-air force of long-range, remotely-piloted aircraft from a network of airfields in the Seychelles, the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula to track and if necessary attack suspected terrorists on land and pirates at sea.
(Read More...)
01/05/2012
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has concluded that the Army has to shrink even below current targets, dropping to 490,000 soldiers over the next decade, but that the United States should not cut any of its 11 aircraft carriers, according to Pentagon officials and military analysts briefed on the secretary’s budget proposals.
(Read More...)
01/05/2012
The LONGBOW Limited Liability Company, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] and Northrop Grumman Corporation [NYSE: NOC], received a $181 million contract from the U.S. Army for AH-64D Apache Block III LONGBOW systems. The contract includes the first international purchase of the Block III LONGBOW Fire Control Radar (FCR) by Taiwan, which will receive 15 Block III LONGBOW FCR systems.
(Read More...)
01/04/2012
About 350 school children and elders from Kandahar Province visited the Afghan Air Force Kandahar Air Wing January 1st during its third annual open house, where they had the opportunity to become familiar with the aircraft they often see or hear overhead.
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01/04/2012
The chief of the National Guard Bureau joined the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Dec. 31, to formally sit alongside the four service chiefs for the first time in the Guard's history. The change became official when President Barack Obama signed the Defense Authorization Act, which included a provision institutionalizing the Guard's seat.
(Read More...)
01/04/2012
Defence Minister Norbert Darabos has hit back after a fellow Social Democrat (SPÖ) suggested to sell Austria’s Eurofighter jet fleet. SPÖ General Secretary Günther Kräuter said on Sunday Austria could get rid of its 15 fighter aircraft due to non-existent war concerns. Kräuter argued the alpine country was under higher financial and economic risk these days. He said selling the "expensive" 15 jets might help the SPÖ-People’s Party (ÖVP) coalition to lower the state debt.
(Read More...)
01/04/2012
A US aircraft carrier currently deployed in the Middle East should "not return" to its base in the Gulf, the head of Iran's armed forces declared today, adding ominously there would be no repeat warning. We advise and insist that this warship not return to its former base in the Persian Gulf," Brigadier General Ataollah Salehi told reporters, according to the armed forces website.
(Read More...)
01/04/2012
As a Japanese weapon, the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries F-2 fighter was built in Japan—and only for Japan. In 2011 the government, taking delivery of the last of 94 F-2s, looked at how much it would cost to build more. The answer: ¥15 billion ($193 million) apiece, more than the marginal price that any country has paid for any fighter from a mature production line.
(Read More...)
01/04/2012
Defense Ministry Dir.-Gen. Udi Shani will leave Thursday morning for South Korea in a final round of talks ahead of an Israeli decision over an ongoing tender for the Israel Air Force's next trainer aircraft. Shani will meet top Korean defense officials in Seoul in an effort to nail down the level of industrial cooperation Israeli defense industries can expect to receive from Korea if the IAF selects Korean Aerospace Industries' (KAI) T50 Golden Eagle.
(Read More...)
01/04/2012
The collapse of the Soviet Union and its daunting military machine spelled the beginning of a process of decay for Russia's armed forces. Now, major reforms are underway to put the military back on track. Russia has revealed details of ambitious plans to spend over US $600 billion on upgrading its army over the next 10 years.
(Read More...)
01/04/2012
Just before the New Year, the U.S. Air Force finally selected a new Light Air Support plane for ground attack in counterinsurgency, picking the Brazilian Super Tucano over the American AT-6– whose manufacturer, Wichita, Kan.-based Hawker Beechcraft, is filing suit over the decision.
(Read More...)
01/04/2012
The recently announced $29.4 billion sale of F-15SA fighter aircraft to Saudi Arabia is just one part of a broader U.S.-Saudi military sales and defense cooperation effort that’s central to regional security, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.
(Read More...)
01/04/2012
The Pentagon has committed to $450 billion in reduced spending over the next 10 years, but may have to come up with a total of $1 trillion in cuts if Congress follows through with deeper reductions. Make your own plan to reduce the budget by choosing some of the most common, interesting or provocative cuts that have been proposed by various parties.
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01/03/2012
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $485,000,000 not-to-exceed cost-plus-fixed-fee undefinitized modification to a previously awarded advance acquisition contract. A total of $131,500,000 is being obligated at time of award.
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01/03/2012
The Air Force has awarded a $355.1 million contract to buy aircraft that will be used for flight training, surveillance and combat operations. The contractor, Sierra Nevada Corp., is to deliver 20 of the Light Support Aircraft and related equipment including ground stations by April 30, 2014, the Defense Department announced. The planes are single-engine turboprop aircraft to be used for pilot training, surveillance, air interdiction and close air support.
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01/03/2012
The Chinese Academy of Sciences projected in 2008 that China will be able to match the U.S. in terms of military power after 2050 at the earliest, while it will take a further 20 or 30 years to finally catch up - making it difficult for China to overtake the U.S. in this area within this century.
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01/03/2012
The fourth Airbus Military A330 MRTT multi-role tanker transport for the Royal Australian Air Force has been formally handed over to the service, leaving just one aircraft of its order still to be delivered.
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01/03/2012
U.S. Air Force officials announced the next chapter in a partnership with the Royal Saudi Air Force as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recently signed a $29.4 billion Foreign Military Sales Letter of Offer and Acceptance solidifying their plans to purchase 84 F-15SA fighter aircraft and upgrade their current fleet of 70 F-15S aircraft to the SA configuration.
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01/03/2012
National Guard leaders are making their case to expand their force while the rest of the Defense Department is tightening the purse strings, causing a rift between active-duty and reserve leaders. Negotiations over shrinking resources have grown tense as Guard leaders — especially those in the Air Force — worry that active-duty leaders have unjustifiably targeted Guard accounts.
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01/03/2012
In what could be the biggest change in a decade in a relationship that has been a mainstay of U.S. military and counterterrorism policy since the 9/11 terror attacks, the United States and Pakistan are lowering expectations for what the two nations will do together and planning for a period of more limited contact.
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01/03/2012
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is set this week to reveal his strategy that will guide the Pentagon in cutting hundreds of billions of dollars from its budget, and with it the Obama administration's vision of the military that the United States needs to meet 21st-century threats, according to senior officials.
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01/02/2012
Modern warfare has entered a new era. Unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, can fly thousands of miles, conduct surveillance or target and kill individuals with precision. Unfortunately, this precision does not prevent collateral damage, the military term for unintended civilian deaths. Military experts predict this will be the pattern for future military conflicts.
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01/02/2012
A new helicopter is coming to the Block. The 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, is the first unit in the Army to have their entire fleet of Apache helicopters replaced with the comprehensively upgraded Apache (AH-64D) Block III beginning in February.
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01/02/2012
The Russian Air Force will receive over 60 modernized MiG-31 Foxhound interceptor aircraft by 2020, the Defense Ministry said. A modernization contract was signed by the ministry and Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation in December last year. “We are planning to upgrade more than 60 MiG-31 interceptors to the MiG-31BM version by 2020,” Air Force spokesman Vladimir Drik said last week.
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01/01/2012
India and Pakistan officially exchanged on Sunday lists of nuclear installations and facilities in accordance with the agreement on nuclear security in the region, according to Indian and Pakistani TV channels.
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