July 11, 2013 Military Aviation News

S. Korea to re-examine fighter jet project

07/11/2013

South Korea will stop the current bidding for fighter jets and revise the project as high price tags have made the chance of selecting a satisfactory contractor slim, a senior official said Thursday. The move comes after the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) carried out 55 separate biddings with three defense groups to buy 60 advanced jets with an 8.3 trillion won (US$7.2 billion) budget, but the procedure was put on hold last week due to their expensive price tags.

Japanese fighter jets scramble record 115 times against foreign planes

07/11/2013

Japan's Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) scrambled its fighter planes a record 115 times in the second quarter of this year in response to foreign aircraft approaching Japanese airspace, the Defense Ministry's Joint Staff said Wednesday. This marked the highest level for the April-June period since comparable data became available in fiscal 2005.

Former Navy Blue Angels Pilot to Tell of Adventures Aloft

07/11/2013

Retired four-star Adm. Patrick M. Walsh of Dallas will discuss his experience as a combat pilot and member of the Navy’s precision Blue Angels flight squadron in a sold-out public lecture Saturday, July 13.

Germany's Ernst takes command of NATO Maritime Air Forces

07/11/2013

Rear Admiral Thomas Ernst, German Navy, has relieved French Navy Rear Admiral Jacques de Solms as NATO's Commander, Maritime Air (COMMARAIR) and Deputy Chief of Staff Maritime Air for NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM).

Why Pilots Prefer The F-35

07/11/2013

American fighter pilots (air force, navy and marine) are largely in agreement that, while the F-22 is a superior air-to-air fighter, the new F-35 is a better, if still flawed, all-round combat aircraft. A lot of this has to do with technology.

Air Force moves closer to getting Korea-made fighter jets

07/11/2013

The government is moving closer to acquiring 12 fighter trainer jets for the Air Force after the defense department’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Wednesday approved the terms of reference for the project. Defense Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez said the terms of reference, which contain key details of the acquisition, would soon be forwarded to Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin for final approval.

Drones Landing On Aircraft Carriers? Don't Cheer Just Yet

07/11/2013

Call me an aviation Luddite, but I do have a few questions about the latest Triumph of the Drone. Yes, landing on an airfield that’s moving at 35 miles per hour in the middle of the ocean is no mundane chore, no matter how easy U.S. Navy pilots make it look. And the fact that an X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS), the Navy’s prototype fighting drone, landed on the carrier USS George H.W. Bush off the Virginia coast today is a big deal.

Russia to Get New Su-35, MiG-35 Jets Within 3 Years - Minister

07/11/2013

New MiG-35 and Su-35 fighter jets will be delivered to the Russian Air Force in large numbers within the next three years, after resolution of some problems found during their final tests, Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov said on Wednesday. "There are problems with completion of the state order for these models," he said. "They will start to enter service en masse in the next three years, I think," he added, but did not elaborate.

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