June, 2012 Military Aviation News
06/29/2012
Canadian air force officials are examining options to buy a new jet trainer aircraft to replace its aging fleet of BAE Systems-built CT-155 Hawk aircraft. The official Canadian position on the planned purchase remains unclear but the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper is looking at an upgrade with the option to allocate the existing Hawks elsewhere in the Canadian armed forces.
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06/29/2012
"Combat ready" Chinese naval and aerial patrols have been deployed to the disputed Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea to protect Beijing's interests, the Chinese Defense Ministry said Thursday. Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said China will "resolutely oppose any militarily provocative behavior" from other countries also claiming ownership of the Spratlys.
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06/29/2012
United Technologies Corp o n T hursday admitted selling China software that helped Beijing develop its first modern military attack helicopter, one of hundreds of export control violations over nearly two decades.
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06/29/2012
A Russian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27UB fighter jet crashed in the Petrozavodsk district of Russia's northeast Karelia Republic on Thursday morning, although the pilots ejected safely according to Russia's Defense Ministry. "The plane went down in the region of the village of Besovets," a local law enforcement source said.
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06/29/2012
The first consignment of three Mil Mi-25 helicopter gunships for Syria has been overhauled and will be delivered to the customer within the contracted time, a senior arms official said on Thursday. The contract for the repair of the helicopters was signed by Russia and Syria in 2008, Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation director Alexander Fomin said.
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06/27/2012
Russia’s main weapons producer has allegedly suspended its contract with Syria to supply S-300 long-range missile systems. Russia’s ‘Vedomosti’ daily published the report, citing unnamed sources within the military-industrial complex. The very fact of the contract’s existence was not known until it was revealed in an annual report made only last week and published online by the makers of the S-300 systems, Almaz-Antey.
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06/27/2012
Recent crashes involving the U.S. military's latest transport aircraft are fueling an uproar in Japan that could threaten plans to deploy them to Okinawa by the end of the year. Following an uproar in Okinawa and in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, another city likely to host the MV-22 Osprey, U.S. officials briefed Japanese government representatives in Washington on Friday, emphasizing the aircraft's safety and capability.
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06/27/2012
From 27 June to 1 July, the Rossiya Transportation & Exhibition Complex in Zhukovsky, near Moscow, will be hosting the 2nd International Forum "Engineering Technologies 2012". The Forum’s program encompasses the OboronExpo International Exhibition of Weapons and Military Equipment.
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06/27/2012
Ten minutes into Lieutenant Colonel Matt J. Martin's first mission as a Predator drone pilot, he marked a target in Baghdad for a "Spooky" gunship. And then it opened fire. "Death from above. Poor bastards down there in the windows never knew what hit them," he wrote in a 2010 book. As he stood up to stretch in a trailer at Creech Air Force Base near Las Vegas, he remembered that his wife had asked him to buy some milk on his way home.
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06/27/2012
Despite the total chaos after USSR collapse the military-industrial complex remains an important sector of Ukrainian economy. And for the last years it has been improving its performance. However, there are still problems and the defense industry does its best to solve them.
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06/27/2012
The Boeing Company and Embraer today announced an agreement to collaborate on the KC-390 aircraft program. Under this agreement, Boeing and Embraer will share some specific technical knowledge and evaluate markets where they may join their sales efforts for medium-lift military transport opportunities.
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06/26/2012
With new territorial challenges facing the Philippines and an antiquated military force riddled with inefficiencies, the Philippine’s ABS-CBN news released a report on 20 June that the Philippine Air Force (PAF) has decided to acquire twelve South Korean TA-50 trainer/fighter jets.
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06/26/2012
The Danish Ministry of Defence announced that it has selected Northrop Grumman’s LITENING G4 targeting system for its F-16 fighter aircraft. First deliveries are expected in August 2013. The Litening G4 pods will be supplied with datalinks and full logistics support package.
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06/26/2012
For anyone who is a computer gamer, it’s a familiar story. Advances in software development provide real advantages but inevitably you need the latest hardware if you want to play the games at blistering speeds. Well it’s pretty much the same with today’s combat aircraft – operational flight programmes are becoming more capable as functionality is added but you need some pretty powerful kit to play it on.
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06/26/2012
Turkey on Monday accused Syria of firing at one of its search and rescue aircraft while searching for a Turkish warplane shot down by Syrian forces last week, making the second such confrontation between the two nations in less than a week.
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06/26/2012
North Korea today called the use of its flag during U.S.-South Korean military drills last week a serious provocation and evidence of U.S. hostility that justifies the growth of Pyongyang's nuclear arms program. The statement from an unidentified Foreign Ministry spokesman came on the 62nd anniversary of the start of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in a truce, leaving the Korean Peninsula still technically at war.
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06/26/2012
The civil war in Syria has now escalated to crisis status as of last Friday. Syria shot down a Turkish warplane over the Mediterranean. Ankara ominously warned the trigger-happy Syrians they would “respond decisively” to the knee-jerk incident This action opens a whole new chapter in the growing conflict creating an international dimension to the 16-month revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
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06/26/2012
The foreign ministers of 27 EU members states condemned on Monday Syria’s shooting down of a Turkish military plane and urged a thorough investigation into the incident. “The European Union notes that this is a matter which needs to be investigated thoroughly and urgently,” the EU Council of Ministers said in a statement. Syria downed a Turkish F-4 Phantom jet on June 22, saying that it had violated Syria’s airspace.
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06/26/2012
An innovative Airborne Multi-Intelligence Laboratory (AML) developed by Lockheed Martin for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) is now being used by the Italian Air Force in a live operational environment. Lockheed Martin signed a use agreement with the Italian Ministry of Defence (MoD) to provide the AML aircraft, three ground intelligence processing systems as well as flight crew and maintenance personnel for the plane. This agreement is for one year.
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06/26/2012
Boeing recently completed wind tunnel tests on the Silent Eagle Conformal Weapons Bay (CWB). The tests, conducted at the company's St. Louis facility, validated the aerodynamics of the CWB design. CWBs are integral to the adaptable configuration and balanced survivability of the Silent Eagle.
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06/25/2012
Turkey on Sunday charged that Syria shot down a Turkish F4 Phantom jet Friday over international waters without any warning and called for a meeting of its NATO allies. Both the United States and Britain denounced Syria in response to the new details, and NATO set a meeting for meeting for Tuesday under its treaty, which allows any party can to call for consultations if it feels its territory or security is threatened. The meeting, however, falls well short of asking for military support.
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06/24/2012
Turkey was weighing its response Saturday to the shooting down by Syria of one of its planes, an incident that sent tensions soaring between two neighbors already at odds over the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.
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06/24/2012
A Russian Federation Tupolev TU-154M aircraft will conduct observation flights over Canada between June 26 and 28 in accordance with the Treaty on Open Skies, an agreement that allows aerial observation flights over the territories of 34 countries to promote openness and the transparency of military forces and activities.
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06/24/2012
Last month China sent its first aircraft carrier Shi Lang to sea for trials. At 66,000-tons, the reconfigured former Soviet ship is a significant new player in a building South Asia arms race that has drawn the attention of both the US and Canada. Now India has followed suit. Its refurbished aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya began long-delayed sea trials June 8, leaving Sevmash shipyard in northern Russia for the White Sea.
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06/23/2012
Syria shot down a Turkish warplane over the Mediterranean on Friday and Ankara warned it would respond decisively to the incident that threatened a new international dimension to the 16-month revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syria said the Turkish aircraft was flying low, well inside Syrian territorial waters when it was shot down.
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06/23/2012
Recent crashes involving the U.S. military's latest transport aircraft are fueling an uproar in Japan that could threaten plans to deploy them to the southern island of Okinawa by the end of the year. Following an uproar on Okinawa and in another city likely to host the Osprey aircraft, U.S. officials were to brief Japanese government representatives in Washington on Friday.
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06/23/2012
Boeing [NYSE: BA] delivered the 100th modified CH-47F Chinook helicopter to the U.S. Army today in a ceremony at the company's modification center in Millville. "The Boeing Millville team is proud to have delivered 100 modified Chinooks to the Army on time, using efficient, cost-saving processes," said Peri Widener, Boeing vice president of Rotorcraft Support.
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06/22/2012
Turkey's government has called an emergency security meeting amid reports that one of its fighter jets was shot down by Syrian security forces. The Turkish military lost contact with an F-4 Phantom over the Mediterranean Sea, south-west of Hatay province.
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06/22/2012
Norway on Friday ordered the first two fighter jets of an expected combined order of 52 from Lockheed Martin's troubled Joint Strike Fighter program as it embarked on a 2008 plan to replace its aging fleet of F-16 combat aircraft. Defense Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement that the F-35A Lightning II jets are expected to arrive in 2015, with a further 50 aircraft expected to follow two years later at a total cost of 60 billion kroner ($10 billion).
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06/22/2012
A Syrian air force pilot flew his MiG-21 fighter plane over the border to Jordan and was granted political asylum on Thursday, the first defection with a military aircraft since the start of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. olonel Hassan Hamada landed at the King Hussein military air base 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Amman and immediately asked for sanctuary, Jordanian officials told Reuters.
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06/22/2012
Spurred by recent battlefield gains, the Pentagon is making plans to send U.S. military aircraft to Yemen for the first time to help move government troops and supplies more quickly into battle against Islamic militants, U.S. officials said.
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06/22/2012
Senior Defense Department officials will brief a Japanese delegation at the Pentagon tomorrow on recent incidents involving U.S. MV-22 and CV-22 Osprey aircraft variants, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said today. “This is a tangible demonstration of how seriously the Department of Defense takes the issue and inquiries made by the government of Japan on this matter,” Little said.
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06/22/2012
An Indonesian air force plane slammed into a military housing complex and ignited a huge fireball Thursday while trying to land in Jakarta, killing all seven people aboard as well as two toddlers and their nanny in a home. The pilot, co-pilot and five trainees aboard the Fokker F-27 were on a routine training flight when it crashed into houses in a neighborhood about 1.5 kilometers (nearly a mile) from the runway where it was trying to land, Indonesian military spokesmen said.
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06/21/2012
The Syrian air force is one of the largest in the Middle East, with 30,000 members and composed of aircraft provided first by the Soviet Union and, later, by Russia. They include MiG-21 interceptors, MiG-23 ground assault aircraft and the more modern MiG-29 combat aircraft. They also have a fleet of Sukhoi fighter jets.
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06/21/2012
The Air Force will acquire 12 fighter jets and six other fixed-wing aircraft by next year. Defense Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez told The STAR the jet fighters would be acquired from suppliers based in South Korea, Italy, United Kingdom and Russia. Each jet costs about P1.2 billion, he added.
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06/21/2012
Boeing delivered the sixth United Arab Emirates (UAE) C-17 Globemaster III to the UAE Air Force and Air Defence earlier this month at the company's final assembly facility in Long Beach. The delivery completes an agreement announced on Jan. 6, 2010, for six advanced airlifters to modernize the UAE's transport capabilities. Boeing delivered four C-17s to the UAE in 2011 and a fifth aircraft in May.
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06/20/2012
The Kenyan military has denied that the United States is using its territory or airspace to conduct surveillance flights over Africa, but confirmed the presence of US troops at the Manda Bay naval base. Last week the Washington Post ran a story on US spy flights in Africa and stated that the US military had plans to establish a surveillance base in Kenya, as well as South Sudan.
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06/20/2012
A C-17 lifted out of Ramstein Air Base, Germany, one afternoon last month packed with crates of servicemembers’ household goods up front and explosive munitions stacked on the cargo ramp in back. From there they could be jettisoned in a hurry if a fire broke out.
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06/20/2012
The U.S. and South Korean militaries will mark the 62nd anniversary of the start of the Korean War with a bang. Many, in fact. More than 2,000 U.S. and South Korean servicemembers — along with an array of fighter jets, attack helicopters and tanks — are scheduled to participate Friday in what is being called the largest one-day, joint live-fire exercise they have ever conducted.
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06/20/2012
The upcoming centennial jubilee of the Russian Air Force is going to be one of the most magnificent events this summer, with a solemn celebration hosted by the city of Zhukovsky in August 2012. The show is expected to attract flocks of aviation pundits, journalists and spectators. Still, this anniversary is also a good day to venture a look into the near future of the Russian military aviation.
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06/20/2012
The U.S. Air Force plans to cut back on the number of Hawker Beechcraft's MC-12 spy planes it wants to operate after the drawdown from Afghanistan and Iraq, official data indicated. There was no immediate comment from Hawker Beechcraft on its future marketing plans for the MC-12. The MC-12 Liberty aircraft is the newest intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft used by SAF in Project Liberty, which includes operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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06/20/2012
The United States is planning a significant military presence of 13,500 troops in Kuwait to give it the flexibility to respond to sudden conflicts in the region as Iraq adjusts to the withdrawal of American combat forces and the world nervously eyes Iran, according to a congressional report.
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06/20/2012
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Tuesday he was in favor of development of the PAK DA long-range bomber for the country's air force, just hours after saying the project was unnecessary, in apparent contravention of President Putin's call last week for domestic aerospace industry to develop just such an aircraft.
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06/20/2012
The Russian Air Force's Central Military District will receive its first ten modernized MiG-31BM interceptors this year, the District's press service said on Monday. "The air forces of the Central Military District will take delivery of 10 MiG-31BM fighter-interceptors and two Mi-26 heavy transport helicopters this year," a Central Military District representative said.
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06/20/2012
The “landmark” 18,000 square metre workshop was officially opened by HRH Prince Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the deputy minister of defence, last week. The new facility provides space for the Saudi joint venture company to provide new advanced technologies and technical services alongside the maintenance of some of the world’s most modern military engines.
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06/20/2012
Airbus Military has successfully demonstrated the loading of NH Industries NH90 and Eurocopter EC725 helicopters onto the A400M new generation airlifter.
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06/18/2012
Hawker Beechcraft’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing includes a plan called “Project Flight,” which assesses what the company could look like as it emerges from reorganization. The document, among the materials provided by Hawker Beechcraft as an exhibit when the company filed for bankruptcy last month, outlines three options, each one eliminating all or some business jet models.
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06/18/2012
From next year onwards, IAF will kick off a major upgrade in its entire training programme for rookie pilots who go on to fly expensive top-notch fighter jets, transport aircraft and helicopters. Better initiation into the intricacies of combat flying, inherently dangerous in contrast to civil aviation, is critical for new pilots since over 39% of the 1,010 crashes recorded by IAF since 1970 have been attributed to ``human error (aircrew)''.
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06/18/2012
U.S. Navy researchers are looking to military communications experts at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to investigate design approaches and technologies for a new military tactical data link that offers improved throughput, anti-jam capability, and low probability of intercept.
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06/18/2012
Over the next two to three years, the Philippine Air Force expects to be more able to defend the country's territory with the acquisition of an array of aircraft ranging from utility helicopters to long-range patrol aircraft. Lieutenant Colonel Miguel Okol, PAF spokesman told GMA News Online via phone interview that the acquisitions are parts of a capability upgrade program designed to “strengthen territorial defense.”
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06/17/2012
After conducting an internal investigation, bringing in senior staff and briefing members of Congress, the U.S. Air Force expects this month to restart a contentious competition to purchase single-engine turboprop attack aircraft for Afghanistan that pits the Brazilian company Embraer and its A-29 Super Tucano against Wichita, Kan.,-based Hawker Beechcraft and its AT-6.
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06/17/2012
Boeing today announced the successful de-orbit and landing of the second X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) for the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. The X-37B landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base at 5:48 a.m. Pacific time today, concluding a 469-day experimental test mission. It was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on March 5, 2011.
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06/16/2012
Researchers from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) are helping convert an aircraft used to train pilots into one with intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) and light attack capabilities. The new aircraft would provide a less expensive alternative to legacy warbirds like the A-10 and F-16 and could be used by foreign military allies as well as U.S. homeland security agencies.
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06/16/2012
Norway placed its first firm order for Lockheed Martin's (LMT.N) F-35 Joint Strike Fighter on Friday in a big victory for a program troubled by cost overruns, production delays and order cuts. Norway formally ordered two aircraft and expects to order another 50 for a total procurement cost of $10 billion, the largest ever public purchase, Minister of Defence Espen Barth Eide told a news conference.
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06/16/2012
The Philippine government will buy military aircraft and equipment from Italy. The purchase of Italian military equipment was announced by Malacañang after President Benigno S. Aquino III met with Italian Defense Minister Giampaolo Di Paola yesterday. The meeting sought to forge “strong defense cooperation between the two countries,” according to a Palace press statement.
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06/16/2012
The Belarusian Defense Ministry has suspended flights by military combat aircraft following the recent crash of a Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot attack plane, local news agency BELTA reported.
The Soviet-era ground attack jet crashed in Belarus during a low-level training flight on Tuesday killing the pilot, who prevented the aircraft from crashing into a village, BELTA said.
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06/16/2012
Russia must start development of a long-range bomber aircraft, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday at a meeting on defense orders. "We have to develop work on the new PAK-DA long-range bomber aircraft for Long-Range Aviation. I know how expensive and complex this is. We have talked about this many times with ministers, and with the head of the General Staff. The task is not easy from a scientific-technical standpoint, but we need to start work," Putin said.
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06/16/2012
Russia must develop a range of military unmanned air vehicles (UAV) including strike and reconnaissance types, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday during a visit to an air force base. "We need a program for unmanned aircraft. Experts say this is a most important area of development in aviation," he said. "We need a range of all types, including automated strike aircraft, reconnaissance and other types," Putin said.
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06/16/2012
Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) is to introduce a fourth Sukhoi T-50 stealth fighter into its test and development program this year, the company's President Mikhail Pogosyan said on Thursday. "We are now testing three aircraft. A fourth will be brought in this year," he said.
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06/16/2012
The Boeing Company has selected Elbit Systems to provide a low-profile head-up display (LPHUD) that will be part of the Advanced Cockpit System for Boeing fighter jets. The LPHUD decision presents additional opportunities for Elbit Systems to develop advanced cockpit avionics capabilities at its Brazilian subsidiary AEL Sistemas.
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06/16/2012
Boeing and the U.S. Navy have successfully completed an in-flight demonstration of a satellite communications (SATCOM) system that, if implemented, will enable F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircrews to conduct two-way, secure voice and data communications with other SATCOM-enabled aircraft, ships, ground forces and command centers.
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06/13/2012
Another one of the Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) aircraft was lost to crashes today, when a Dassault Mirage 5 fighter jet went down near the town of Othal, in the Hub district of Balochistan province. According to the PAF officials, the aircraft, which took off from the port city of Karachi, was on a routine training mission. Both the pilot and the trainee successfully ejected to safety, but the aircraft was completely damaged, beyond repair.
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06/13/2012
Coolheaded discussions are needed on the deployment of new military aircraft in Okinawa Prefecture. Attention must be paid not only to the safety aspects but also to the need for strengthening combat readiness of U.S. forces in Japan.
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06/13/2012
Afghan President Hamid Karzai took a defiant stand on Tuesday against NATO on airstrikes, saying the military coalition can no longer fire on homes from aircraft in any circumstance -- even in defense of Afghan and foreign forces. Karzai said that's what he and the U.S.-led coalition agreed following last week's airstrike in eastern Afghanistan's Logar province that killed 18 civilians.
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06/13/2012
Lockheed Martin Corporation [NYSE: LMT] today announced a Centennial Flight Contest to be held in conjunction with the 2012 Farnborough International Airshow. The contest invites Lockheed Martin’s Twitter and Facebook followers to share personal stories related to aviation history for a chance to claim a seat aboard a historic Lockheed Super Constellation flight at Farnborough, United Kingdom, on Tuesday, July 10.
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06/13/2012
The U.S. Third Army has teamed with the Kuwaiti military for a joint medical evacuation exercise at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait according to the US magazine, Rotor and Wing,
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06/11/2012
The Michigan Air National Guard has landed in Estonia. Operating as part of Saber Strike 2012, a multi-national exercise based in Estonia and Latvia, the Michigan ANG has landed KC-135 Stratotanker and A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft at Amari Air Base, Estonia. It is believed to be the first time that A-10s have landed in Estonia.
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06/10/2012
The delivery of six more Saab aircraft from Sweden has been delayed, a Royal Thai Air Force source said yesterday. The delivery of the six Saab 340 AEW airborne early warning aircraft was set for last Tuesday at Don Muang military air base with the ceremony to welcome them scheduled for last Wednesday at Wing 7 in Surat Thani.
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06/10/2012
The appeal of running exotic supercars against military aircraft never seems to get stale, and in recent years we’ve seen the Spyker F1, the Bugatti Veyron and the Lamborghini Reventon throw down against various fighter aircraft. We've even seen Top Gear USA pit a Dodge Viper against an attack helicopter, though not in an outright drag race.
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06/10/2012
For European defence aeronautical company Airbus Military, the focus regarding South Africa is now on the light/medium aircraft category, for both transport and mari- time patrol. This was confirmed recently, in Toulouse, France, by Airbus Military CEO Domingo Ureña. He also affirmed that his company and South Africa had agreed to draw a line under the country’s cancellation of the A400M military airlift aircraft and look forward, not back. The two sides had different views on the cancellation.
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06/10/2012
Israel's military leaders are expected to give the green light to buying more of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighters to equip a second squadron when they meet this month to finalize the military's procurement plan. The contract for as many as 20 of the fifth-generation stealth fighters is "one of the key elements" in the multiyear program, known as "Oz" -- Hebrew for "strength" -- The Jerusalem Post reported Friday.
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06/10/2012
The history of Russian-Chinese relations are full of turnarounds and mutual distrust, even disdain at times A century of unequal treaties between the two countries, resulting in Russia’s encroachment on China’s sovereignty and ideological tensions dating back to the 1960s, have left deep marks on the consciences of policymakers on both sides.
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06/10/2012
On May 30 the two officials most in charge of the U.S.'s formidible global military machine, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey, visited Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii to launch multi-nation tours of the Asia-Pacific region and formally commence the announced shift of American military concentration and assets to the area.
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06/10/2012
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday reiterated plans to develop a new, fifth-generation strategic bomber. “Alongside a fifth-generation fighter there are also plans to develop an advanced long-range aviation complex. I am talking about a new strategic bomber,” he said. Maintenance and modernization of the existing strategic bombers is not enough, he added.
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06/09/2012
On June 7 and 8 Minister of National Defence Rasa Jukneviciene with the Baltic counterparts Minister of Defence of Estonia Urmas Reinsalu and Defence Minister of Latvia Artis Pabriks will gather in Amari, Estonia, to discuss defence cooperation of the Baltic States as well as fundamental NATO and regional security points.
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06/09/2012
About 150 Michigan Air National Guard personnel are deploying to Estonia for a training exercise. It was announced Wednesday the airmen will be overseas for two weeks in support of Saber Strike 2012.
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06/09/2012
Bell Helicopters has delivered the first OH-58D Kiowa wartime replacement helicopter to the US Army. "We just finished the general maintenance test flight [and] acceptance flight approximately 1h ago," says a maintenance test pilot. "There are a few small issues to be fixed [but] it's very, very smooth flying."
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06/09/2012
Australian Department of Defence issued the following departmental media release:
The Royal Australian Air Force's Wedgetail aircraft is participating in the most advanced international air combat training activity, Exercise Red Flag in Alaska. Red Flag Alaska, led by the United States Pacific Air Forces Command is a large force employment exercise designed to replicate a high-end combat environment. The two week long exercise officially commenced on Thursday June 7.
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06/09/2012
The Ugandan Air Force has taken delivery of another two Sukhoi Su-30MK2 fighters from Russia, completing the delivery of six aircraft ordered last year. The first two aircraft were delivered in July last year, followed by another two in October. On May 30 a ‘military diplomatic source’ told Russia’s Interfax news agency that the final two Su-30MKs had been delivered to Uganda.
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06/09/2012
The Indian Navy's Russian-built aircraft carrier Vikramaditya (formerly Admiral Gorshkov) began sea trials early on Friday morning in the White Sea - four years after it was originally due to take to sea again. The ship was refitted at the Sevmash shipyard in northern Russia. It was originally scheduled to begin sea trials, which will last 120 days, on May 25.
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06/09/2012
A long-running dispute between the Russian military and defense industry over procurement of new weaponry may enter a new phase as Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has questioned the need to develop a new strategic bomber, the Izvestia daily said on Wednesday. Russia announced plans in 2009 to develop a fifth-generation strategic bomber, which will feature new airframe and elements of stealth technology, by 2025.
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06/09/2012
The Boeing Company has accepted delivery of the first Aluminum Launch Support Structure (ALSS) produced by Danish Aerotech A/S for ship-based deployment of the Harpoon weapon system. The Karup-based supplier received the contract, valued at nearly US$1.5 million, two years ago.
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06/09/2012
Boeing is being awarded a $66,814,404 military sales contract for the installation of Group A and B radar system improvement kits for the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) fleet of five Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft.
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06/06/2012
he Air Force is not calling a “ground incident” involving an F-22 Raptor last week a “crash.”
The F-22 was in a “touch-and-go” practice session at about 5 p.m. Thursday when it was put out of commission. The “ground incident” put the plane on the sidelines and benched the pilot, officials said. “Everything around this is in freeze frame right now,” said Herman Bell, chief of Tyndall’s 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs.
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06/06/2012
As Japan seeks to become an exporter of military aircraft, the government is careful to stress that its equipment should be used only for peaceful missions. At the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue here June 1-3, Shu Watanabe, Japan’s senior vice minister of defense, pitched the ShinMaywa US-2 amphibious aircraft, which is designed for search-and-rescue (SAR) work. “The US-2 plays an important role in rescue operations in Japan.
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06/06/2012
An air projection for plateau camping training conducted by the Air Force of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) was unveiled at 05:00 on May 29, 2012 at an airport in the hinterland of central China. A total of 5 military and civil airplanes were mobilized for this air projection mission from the hinterland of central China to the snow-covered plateau.
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06/06/2012
The tail markings on the warplanes flying overhead in Fairbanks starting Thursday might be unfamiliar. Military aircraft from South Korea, Japan, Poland, Germany and the states of Washington and South Carolina will be stationed at Eielson Air Force Base with Alaska forces in the first Red Flag-Alaska exercise of the year. The exercise begins Thursday and runs through June 22.
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06/06/2012
Last Saturday U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced in Singapore that by 2020 the U.S. will be deploying “six aircraft carriers, a majority of our cruisers, destroyers, combat ships and submarines” in the Asia-Pacific region. This armada will constitute 60% of U.S. naval power, a “rebalancing ” from the current 50% of naval resources currently committed to the region.
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06/06/2012
Proclaiming its fate to be strongly tied to Asia, the United States unveiled on Saturday detailed plans to build and strengthen its military presence in the region. Time will tell whether the growing US presence becomes a positive force for the peace, development and prosperity of Asia, or simply heightens the tensions in a region already convoluted by an arms race.
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06/06/2012
The military is hunting for seven strategically placed nations willing to host a network of Canadian bases aimed at cutting costs and boosting response times to future wars, disasters and humanitarian crises. Two of those bases — in Germany and Kuwait — have already materialized, but the full extent of the plan to create overseas beachheads for military planes, ships and equipment has not been previously acknowledged.
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06/06/2012
The Indian Air Force (IAF) purchase of 126 Rafale fighters has made global headlines, and the Indo-Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) could be another jaw-dropper. But Indian military aviation could see an even more prominent growth area in helicopters, where the defence services are poised to induct well over 1,000 rotary wing aircraft in the coming decade, the majority of them developed and built in the country.
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06/05/2012
B-1B Lancers are currently undergoing their most advanced hardware and software upgrades to date as part of the Sustainment-Block 16 program. Sustainment-Block 16 upgrades include a fully integrated data link in the aft station and vertical situation display upgrade in the front station as well as updates to navigation, radar and diagnostic systems.
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06/05/2012
South Korea announced its shortlist of contractors in competition for a multi-billion competition to supply 36 attack helicopters on 29 May. The attack helicopters will be used to strengthen the South’s ability to contend with Pyongyang’s fast gunboats often deployed in the Yellow Sea.
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06/05/2012
Canada’s military focus appears to be turning increasingly westward, as evidenced by Defence Minister Peter MacKay’s attendance at a major Asia-Pacific security forum over the weekend and the announcement 1,400 Canadian military personnel will be participating in a major exercise later this month.
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06/05/2012
The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] on May 2 delivered the sixth and final Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
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06/05/2012
Boeing's Phantom Eye unmanned airborne system (UAS) completed its first autonomous flight June 1 at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The 28-minute flight began at 6:22 a.m. Pacific time as the liquid-hydrogen powered aircraft lifted off its launch cart. Phantom Eye climbed to an altitude of 4,080 feet and reached a cruising speed of 62 knots. After touching down, the vehicle sustained some damage when the landing gear dug into the lakebed and broke.
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06/04/2012
An email from Air Power Australia earlier today links to a series of You Tubes of China’s Chengdu J-20 fifth generation stealth jet which raises a whole set of questions for defence experts to consider.
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06/04/2012
The Philippines will be looking to non-U.S. sources for combat aircraft, and officials want to equip two squadrons to enhance the nation’s war-fighting capabilities, according to a report in Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin. One of the primary concerns is China, which is encroaching in areas of the South China Sea that Philippines officials claim as being their territory.
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06/04/2012
Hawker Beechcraft filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 on May 3, and if activity at the recent European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition is any indication, the Wichita aircraft manufacturer may be down, but it is definitely not out.
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06/04/2012
Details of the potent military Australia would need to fight a possible war with China were contained in a secret "force structure review" prepared with the Rudd government's 2009 defence white paper, analysts say.
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06/04/2012
The F-16 move is not the only Air Force policy that has Alaska’s senators on the defensive.
In addition to opposing the Air Force’s plans to move Eielson Air Force Bases’ F-16 fighter planes to Anchorage, U.S. Sens. Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski are second-guessing the way the military deploys a new aircraft, the KC-46A.
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06/04/2012
A U.S. drone strike today killed 10 suspected militants in Pakistan as they 'offered condolences' to the family of a commander who died in an attack 24 hours earlier. Four missiles were fired at the tribal village of Mana Raghzai in South Waziristan near the border with Afghanistan, intelligence officials reported.
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06/04/2012
The Pentagon will shift more Navy warships to the Asia-Pacific region over the next several years and by 2020, about 60% of the fleet will be assigned there as part of a new strategy to increase U.S. presence in Asia, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Saturday. While noting it may take years to complete the transition, Panetta assured his audience at a security conference in Singapore that U.S. budget problems and cutbacks would not get in the way of changes.
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06/04/2012
The Government of Canada today announced that over 1,400 Canadian sailors, soldiers, and airmen and airwomen will participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2012 combined and joint exercise taking place near the Hawaiian Islands from June 29 to August 3. RIMPAC is the world's largest multi-national exercise and is designed to prepare military forces from Pacific Rim nations to work together in missions ranging from providing humanitarian aid to full-combat operations.
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06/04/2012
Governments and companies around the world should stop signing new contracts with arms suppliers such as the Russian firm Rosoboronexport that are providing weapons to the Syrian government. In light of compelling evidence that the Syrian army is responsible for crimes against humanity against Syria?s people, the Russian state-owned arms trading company?s continued dealings with Syria place the company at risk of complicity in these crimes.
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06/03/2012
After more than 46 years of heartbreaking uncertainty, the remains of a U.S. Air Force colonel who served in Vietnam are coming home to America. Col. Derrell Jeffords, a Florence native, was 40 when the AC-47D aircraft he commanded and piloted disappeared on Christmas Eve 1965. A mayday signal was sent from the plane, known as “Spooky,” which was carrying six men over southern Laos while on a combat strike mission.
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06/03/2012
AUSTRALIA has thrown its support behind a ''rebalancing'' of American military might in the Pacific region, which promises to deepen strategic rivalries with China. Defence Minister Stephen Smith yesterday spoke of the ''positive impact'' of the United States on regional security, just hours before the US presented its most detailed plan of how it will bulk up military might into the Pacific region while making budget cuts elsewhere.
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06/03/2012
U.S. Defence Secretary Leon E. Panetta, seeking to persuade a sceptical audience of Asian officials that the United States is committed to enhancing its military presence in the region despite coming budget constraints, unveiled here on Saturday the most detailed inventory to date of planned new weapons for the region. The Navy, Mr. Panetta said, would reconfigure its forces from a 50-50 split between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific to 60 per cent of the Navy's assets assigned to the Pacific
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06/02/2012
A regional court ordered an expert appraisal in a lawsuit filed by Chelayabinsk residents to stop Su-24 bombers from flying over the city. The residents allege that the noise exceeds permissible levels, the court reports on Friday. Experts will establish the noise level and the health hazards for the local population.
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06/02/2012
Southern Nevada residents may notice increased military aircraft activity as the United States Air Force Weapons School begins its Mission Employment phase. Ninety aircraft from both the Air Force and Navy will participate in the two-week-long event, held on the Nevada Test and Training Range. 90 students from 23 separate combat specialties will take part in the exercise.
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06/01/2012
Kenya has renewed its long-stalled offensive against al-Qaida's affiliate in Somalia, just days after the Kenyan government blamed the Somali Islamists for an apparent terrorist attack in downtown Nairobi.For the second day in a row, Kenyan naval forces on Wednesday bombarded the Somali seaport of Kismayo, a key stronghold of Somalia's al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab insurgents, while ground troops attacked Afmadhow, a major town that Kenya says it must capture before advancing by land against Kismao.
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06/01/2012
Internal federal documents show crashes by unmanned aerial vehicles are increasing the number of accident investigations undertaken by the military's flight-safety branch. The latest annual fleet airworthiness review, obtained by The Canadian Press under the access-to-information law, paints a compelling portrait of how military aviation is being changed by drones.
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06/01/2012
The First Lebanon War might not be known for its helicopters but it was the first time the Israel Air Force used attack helicopters in combat, providing results and helping to establish a doctrine that is still studied as a new conflict looms on the horizon. The Israel Air Force’s history with attack helicopters dates back to before the Yom Kippur War in 1973 when Brig.-Gen. (res.) Nehemia Dagan, a decorated helicopter pilot.
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06/01/2012
Thailand's defence capability has been boosted significantly with the recent purchase of the JAS 39 Gripen military fighter jet from Saab of Sweden. This small, agile aircraft can take off and land on highways, while carrying the latest technologies and weaponry, providing a potent deterrent in times of peace and a highly effective air combat capability in times of conflict.
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06/01/2012
Northrop Grumman Corporation NOC -0.17% recently hosted the U.S. military at its 11th LITENING Users' Conference to share operational experiences with the targeting pod and identify priorities for capability upgrades. The Northrop Grumman LITENING family of targeting pods is a self-contained, multisensor system with built-in connectivity to land forces.
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06/01/2012
Russia's Military Transport Aviation (VTA) is to receive 60 Antonov An-70 propfan tactical transport aircraft by 2020, the service's commander Lt. Gen. Viktor Kachalkin said on Thursday. "From 2014, we will start to get the Ilyushin Il-76-MD90A (Il-476) and also the modernized Il-76MD. We are also counting on getting the new An-70," he said.
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06/01/2012
Lockheed Martin submitted its proposal today to the U.S. Air Force for the KC-46 Aircrew Training System, a program that will prepare pilots, boom operators and other on-board personnel for air refueling, cargo transport and medical evacuation. The KC-46 Aircrew Training System supports the Air Force’s strategy for global mobility. Aircrews will refuel fixed-wing receiver-capable aircraft for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and coalition forces.
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