February 15, 2012 Military Aviation News
02/15/2012
Italy will cut investment in Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 stealth fighter plane as part of an overall reduction in military spending, Defence Minister Giampaolo Di Paola said on Tuesday.
"The F-35 was revised like all the other weapons programmes," Di Paola said after a Cabinet meeting that approved the military spending plan.
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02/15/2012
Switzerland’s defense minister and military commanders have defended the government’s decision to buy Swedish fighter jets, even though a secret air force report had recommended two rival offers. Defense Minister Ueli Maurer told reporters in Bern, the Swiss capital, and in a statement that the Swedish-made Gripen is the best long-term financial choice, despite the Swiss Air Force’s recommendation to buy other planes.
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02/15/2012
Brazil hopes the current economic downturn will give it an edge over competing suppliers and help secure a cheaper deal for its purchase of up to 36 fighter jets. Brazil is looking to replace obsolete fighter aircraft, including French Mirage jets, at the high end of its air force inventory as part of the so-called FX-2 fighter competition.
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02/15/2012
Cubic Defense Applications, Inc., a defense systems business of Cubic Corporation CUB -0.12% , has received a new contract valued at more than $11 million. Cubic and its principal subcontractor, DRS Training and Control Systems LLC, a unit of DRS Defense Solutions LLC, will provide the P5 Tactical Combat Training System (P5TCTS) to the Royal Australian Air Force for use in training F/A-18F Super Hornet crews.
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02/15/2012
Unmanned aircraft have been billed as the ultimate in efficiency, a model for the Pentagon’s vision of substituting technology for labor. But don’t be fooled, Pentagon officials warn. Unmanned aerial vehicles are great for spying over enemy territory, but they are a huge drain on human resources. In fact, a combat air patrol that relies on UAVs demands more operators and support staff than if it were conducted by conventional aircraft with a pilot in the cockpit.
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02/15/2012
MPs from a parliamentary committee that oversees defence matters are to visit the Falklands next month in a move that is likely to heighten tensions between Britain and Argentina over the islands. Members of the defence select committee are expected to visit military installations on the islands, where a garrison of more than 1,000 troops is stationed at Mount Pleasant Complex, 35 miles (56km) from the capital, Stanley.
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02/15/2012
Russia has postponed indefinitely all flights of Su-24 Fencer tactical bombers after one of them crashed in Russia’s Urals, a source in the Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. The Su-24 combat aircraft crashed in the woods of the Kurgan region during a routine flight on Monday. Both pilots ejected safely. “The Air Force commander has cancelled all flights of this type of aircraft until the cause of the crash is established,” the source said but did not specify how long it could take.
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02/15/2012
Pratt & Whitney used the Singapore Airshow today to announce a $19.2 million material management programme (MMP) contract with three, one-year options from the United States Air Force in support of F100-PW-220E engines powering the Royal Jordanian Air Force fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters.
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02/15/2012
Hawker Beechcraft Defense Company (HBDC) today announced its AT-6 Light Attack aircraft has successfully employed laser-guided rockets during recent test sorties at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
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