March 16, 2012 Military Aviation News

Gaddafi’s Advanced Anti-Aircraft Missiles Are Now Pointed at Israel

03/16/2012

Advanced anti-aircraft missiles which belonged to former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi have fallen into the hands of Hamas and Hezbollah, according to a new report. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. State Department. Speaking to Aviation Week, which first broke this story, about the Russian made hardware, the Israeli official said,“They are in the Gaza Strip. I don’t know in what numbers. They also are in Lebanon.”

MIT studying how to land drones on carriers

03/16/2012

MIT says it is trying to make design changes to military drones that will enable the aircraft to recognize the hand gestures of flight crew assigned to guide them on to the deck of aircraft carriers. The Navy has long-term plans to add robotic drones to carrier air wings, and Northrop Grumman's San Diego operation has has been doing work on a prototype of the plane known as the X-47B.

Crews search for missing Norwegian military plane

03/16/2012

Search crews were looking for a Norwegian military aircraft that went missing over Swedish mountains Thursday, officials said. The Hercules airplane from the Norwegian Air Force was taking part in a military exercise when it lost radio contact with authorities, said Per Froberg, a spokesman for Sweden's air navigation services. There were five people on board.

Military giving Air Guard cuts a harder look

03/16/2012

U.S. Air Force officials confirmed Wednesday they are considering a counterproposal to a plan for cutting 5,100 jobs in the Air National Guard, including 152 at the Fort Wayne base. Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said he and the chiefs of the National Guard Bureau and the Air National Guard have been reviewing suggestions on base realignments offered two weeks ago by President Obama’s Council of Governors.

China’s Defence Budget 2012: Implication’s For India’s Security – Analysis

03/16/2012

China’s Defence Budget 2012 announced in the first week of March 2012 significantly draws global and regional attention in that China has shot through its defence expenditure over the $ 100 billion mark, making China’s military expenditure at the global level, second only to that of the United States, even though there exists a wide differential between the two.

Defence Budget hiked by more than 17%

03/16/2012

With several defence deals including the one to procure 126 combat aircraft for the IAF expected to be clinched this year, the Defence Budget was today substantially hiked by more than 17 per cent to Rs 1,93,407 crore from last year's Rs 1,64,415 crore. Of the total outlay, over Rs 79,500 crore would be spent on procuring modern weapons systems and military hardware.

Russian Specialists to Modernize Helicopters in Bulgaria

03/16/2012

Moscow and Sofia signed a deal to repair and modernize Soviet-era helicopters in Bulgaria, the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation said on Thursday. The agreement “to organize repairs and modernization of Mi-17 (Mi-8) and Mi-35 (Mi-24) helicopters and its modifications” was signed in Bulgaria’s defense ministry on March 9.

First Flight For Last Raptor

03/16/2012

The final Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor took to the skies for its first test flight here yesterday with company test pilot, Bret Luedke at the controls. Raptor 4195 has a May delivery date and will join other F-22s in the U.S. Air Force’s 3rd Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

Boeing Wins Contract to Paint Royal Australian Air Force Fleet

03/16/2012

Boeing subsidiary Boeing Defence Australia (BDA) has been awarded a three-year contract to perform aircraft surface finishing services for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft fleet. The contract, worth approximately AUS$20 million, involves preparing, remediating and painting AP-3C Orion, C-130H Hercules, F/A-18 Hornet, and Hawk-127 aircraft across multiple locations in Australia and New Zealand.

Boeing Delivers 1st Aircraft Under US Navy F/A-18E/F and EA-18G MYP III Contract

03/16/2012

Boeing has completed delivery of the U.S. Navy's first aircraft acquired through the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G Multi-Year Procurement (MYP) III contract, ahead of schedule. Aircraft G-57, an EA-18G Growler, was the first of 148 F/A-18E/Fs and EA-18Gs that the Navy will purchase through the contract. The aircraft was delivered to the Navy on Jan. 26 and arrived at its home base at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island on Jan. 30.

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