February 20, 2013 Military Aviation News

Pilots eject safely as Su-30 combat jet crashes on drill in Rajasthan

02/20/2013

A SU-30 MKI combat jet belonging to the IAF crashed in the Pokhran firing range in Rajasthan on Tuesday evening during a firepower demonstration drill. The aircraft, flown by Squadron Leaders JPS Chauhan and A.R. Tamta, was carrying out a night-flying mission when it crashed. The pilots managed to eject. There was no loss of life or damage to property on the ground, defence spokesperson S.D. Goswami said.

Smaller version of BrahMos missile being developed for IAF

02/20/2013

A smaller variant of the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is being developed for arming IAF's fighter aircraft. A new version of the missile is to be fitted on the frontline aircraft of Air Force including Su-30MKI, Mirage 2000 and the future inductions such as the 126 multirole combat aircraft, BrahMos officials said today.

Procurement norms bent to favour Agusta

02/20/2013

A rare exception was made in the technical trial of AgustaWestland VVIP helicopters. All flight tests were held in the UK, in violation of all norms of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) that makes it mandatory for all trials to be held in India. The DPP, which lays down the process for buying a weapon system for India, stipulates that the vendors bring their systems here for extensive trials in all types of terrain and weather conditions.

Gulf states buying up military hardware

02/20/2013

Fears of Iran and unrest around the Middle East have prompted a shopping spree by Gulf countries for military hardware, ranging from anti-missile systems to unmanned surveillance drones. At the Middle East’s biggest arms fair in the United Arab Emirates this week, leading companies are wooing Arabian Peninsula states for deals on weapons ranging from warplanes to the technology that could underpin a future regional missile defence shield.

Stephen Harper struggles to regain control over military projects

02/20/2013

Canada could soon have a Department of Military Procurement, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper struggles to regain control over much-delayed and increasingly expensive projects — like the effort to replace CF-18 fighter jets with F-35s. Yet the plan for a new department misses the point. In the style of the classic BBC show, politicians have long been “Yes Ministered” by the Department of National Defence.

The Trials and Tribulations of India’s Armed Forces

02/20/2013

While spending billions of dollars on defense equipment, India's military faces a number of challenges in its quest to enter the 21st century. The old saying that a developing country is at a crossroads, whether it’s India or Indonesia, is especially tempting when it comes to India’s armed forces. Decades of underinvestment, corruption, bureaucratic ineptitude and hazy strategic thinking have left the country with a decidedly mixed bag of military capabilities.

Are we losing out on the Indian market?

02/20/2013

Moscow showcased its state-of-the-art export models of aircraft engineering and air defence facilities at the Aero India 2013 show, which was held in Bangalore from 6 to 10 February 2013. There is a popular belief that Russia is losing the Indian market for combat aviation to the West but is this true?

Yemeni fighter plane crashes in Sanaa

02/20/2013

A Yemeni fighter plane has crashed in a residential area of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, killing several people, reports Reuters. The Ministry of Defense said in a text message that the plane had been on a training flight when it came down in a western residential district. A military official said the aircraft was a Russian SU-22 fighter/ground attack aircraft.

Lockheed Martin’s SMSS Unmanned Autonomous Vehicle Operates Via Satellite Control

02/20/2013

Lockheed Martin completed a successful demonstration at Camp Grayling, Mich., recently in which its Squad Mission Support System (SMSS™) was being controlled via satellite from more than 200 miles away. The SMSS vehicle conducted several battlefield surveillance operations while being controlled beyond line-of-sight via satellite from the U.S. Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center in Warren, Mich.

Belarus Phases Out Russian Warplanes, Radars

02/20/2013

Belarus’ Armed Forces will replace a Russian radar station with an indigenous one and get rid of Russian-made Sukhoi Su-27 fighters, Belarusian Defense Minister Yury Zhadobin said on Tuesday. The Russian P-18 radar station will be replaced with the domestically manufactured Vostok (East) radar, he said.

All Articles