October, 2013 Military Aviation News
10/31/2013
An F-35 Lightning II has completed the fighter jet's first guided weapon delivery against ground target, marking the "first time the F-35 truly became a weapon system," the jet's maker Lockheed Martin said Wednesday.
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10/31/2013
Turkey's two F-16 fighter jets on Wednesday intercepted a Syrian aircraft after Turkish military spotted the plane approaching the Turkish border, said a Turkish military statement. A Syrian SU-24 warplane was spotted during a routine flight along the Gaziantep and Hatay region of the southern Turkish border and two Turkish jets taking off from Incirlik Airbase in Adana province in southern Turkey were diverted to avert the Syrian plane.
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10/31/2013
Pakistan will begin exporting the JF-17 Thunder multirole fighter jet next year Pakistani media outlets reported on Friday, citing unnamed officials from the Ministry of Defense Production.
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10/31/2013
Global aerospace giants have moved beyond a wait-and-see approach to make sales pitches for South Korea's fighter jet program during an ongoing international aerospace fair here, carefully navigating the direction of the new acquisition under review by Seoul officials.
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10/31/2013
Defence Minister A K Antony today refused to set a deadline for conclusion of a multi-billion dollar deal to procure 126 Rafale combat aircraft for the Air Force. "This is not the issue. Issue is that contract negotiation committee (CNC) is going on and I or the Government cannot interfere with it... How can I set a deadline," he told reporters here.
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10/31/2013
LONGBOW LLC, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, received a $92.8 million contract from the U. S. Army to provide Life Cycle Contractor Support (LCCS) for LONGBOW programs on the AH-64D and AH-64E helicopters.
The LCCS contract provides integrated logistics support for LONGBOW Fire Control Radar (FCR) systems equipping AH-64D and AH-64E Apache helicopters.
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10/31/2013
Boeing delivered the 12th production P-8A Poseidon on schedule on Oct. 25, enhancing the long-range maritime patrol capabilities of the U.S. Navy. The P-8A departed Boeing Field in Seattle for Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., where it joined the other Poseidon aircraft being used to train Navy crews. The aircraft is the sixth from the second low-rate initial production contract lot awarded in November 2011.
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10/31/2013
Two Russian Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers arrived in Nicaragua on Thursday after taking off from an airbase in Venezuela, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The nuclear-capable bombers “flew above the neutral waters of the Caribbean Sea, entered the airspace of Nicaragua and performed a planned landing,” the ministry said.
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10/31/2013
The United States covertly tested Soviet MiG fighter planes at the mysterious Area 51 site in the Nevada desert in the 1960s, including one plane secretly obtained by Israel, according to declassified US government documents published this week.
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10/30/2013
Each maintainer loves his jet the most, and for the maintainers of the 4th Fighter Wing, it’s the Strike Eagle.
“It’s the most called upon jet in the Air Force,” said Staff Sgt. Trever Edwards, a dedicated crew chief with the 4th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. “It’s reliable; it gets the pilots home safe. ... It’s the most efficient and best airplane. It’s the most combat capable jet that the Air Force has.”
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10/30/2013
The Marines say the V-22 tilt rotor aircraft has deployed and flown “with properly trained and equipped combat ready Marines and mission capable aircraft” over the last six years. That statement stands in stark contrast to the findings of a classified Pentagon Inspector General’s report released late Friday afternoon. In an unclassified summary, the IG said:
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10/30/2013
Turkey plans to manage combat communications among multiple networked platforms to give commanders the most comprehensive picture possible of the battlefield. In the overall picture, the military command here wants to see full integration, with various assets effectively talking to each other, and allowing commanders to benefit from an all-electronic warfare management system.
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10/30/2013
Last week Boeing and Lockheed Martin announced they would form a team to compete for the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B), the first new heavy bomber that the Air Force has developed in 30 years. Boeing will be the prime contractor, while Lockheed is described as the “primary teammate.” The announcement sets up a David versus Goliath fight between the two aerospace giants and Northrop Grumman, the only other credible bidder for the program.
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10/30/2013
Air Marshal Arup Raha, who will take over as IAF chief from Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne on December 31, has his task cut out. His topmost priority will have to be faster induction of new fighters, grappling as IAF is with just 34 fighter squadrons when at least 44 are needed for "effective dissuasive deterrence'' against China and Pakistan.
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10/30/2013
Another C-130J Super Hercules airlifter designated for assignment to the 314th Airlift Wing (Air Education and Training Command) at Little Rock Air Force Base (AFB), Ark., was ferried to the base today from the Lockheed Martin facility here.
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10/30/2013
Lockheed Martin received a $113 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to design, develop, field and sustain aircrew training devices for HH-60G Pave Hawk search and rescue helicopters.
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10/30/2013
A Russian military helicopter crashed Tuesday afternoon in a district on the edge of Moscow, injuring the two pilots on board. A law enforcement official told RIA Novosti the ejection seats on the twin-seat Kamov KA-52 Alligator attack helicopter activated inadvertently, sending it crashing to the ground near the Vykhino-Zhulebino district in southeast Moscow.
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10/30/2013
Russian Helicopters, the country’s leading rotorcraft manufacturer, said Tuesday that it was presenting its newest addition to the legendary Mi-8/17 family at an international airshow in South Korea. The company said it was showcasing the new chopper, the Mi-171A2, at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition, which runs till Sunday.
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10/29/2013
Russia is hoping to capitalize on the current difficulties America is experiencing in its relations in the Middle East, beginning with efforts to launch greater cooperation with Egypt that could result in Moscow gaining access to the country's Mediterranean ports.
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10/29/2013
Cassidian, the defence division of EADS, has successfully finalized its flight testing of the Eurofighter Typhoon Phase 1 Enhancements (P1E) programme. After an intensive test programme of this First Batch of Enhancements on Instrumented Production Aircraft 4 and 7, this enhancement is confirmed to deliver a robust simultaneous multi-/swing-role capability to the Nations' Air Forces. It will be ready for the customers by the end of 2013.
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10/29/2013
BAE Systems Inc. expects the South Korean and U.S. governments to sign a letter of acceptance later this year to authorize the foreign military sale (FMS) of an F-16 upgrade program for the South Korean Air Force, a company executive said Tuesday.
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10/29/2013
The government on Tuesday announced that Air Marshal Arup Raha will take over as the next chief of the Indian Air Force after Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne retires on December 31, 2013. Commissioned into the IAF in December 1974 in the "Fighter Stream", Air Marshal Raha is currently posted as the IAF vice-chief.
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10/29/2013
Two Russian Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers on Monday flew from an airbase in southwestern Russia and landed in Venezuela, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The nuclear-capable bombers, which took off from the Engels airbase in the Volga region, “flew over the Caribbean, the eastern Pacific and along the southwestern coast of the North American continent, and landed at Maiquetia airfield in Venezuela,” the ministry said in a statement.
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10/29/2013
A fifth flying prototype of Russia’s future T-50 fighter jet has flown for the first time at a manufacturing plant in Russia’s Far East, the Sukhoi aircraft maker said. The 50-minute flight at the Gagarin factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur has successfully tested the aircraft's overall performance, including its stability in the air and the work of its engines.
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10/29/2013
Russian military inspectors will begin monitoring flights over the United States starting Sunday under the international Open Skies Treaty, a Russian Defense Ministry official said. Experts from Russia will be conducting flights on board of a Tupolev Tu-154M Lk-1 aircraft between October 27 and November 4, Sergei Ryzhkov, the head of the ministry’s National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center, said.
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10/29/2013
Lockheed Martin is co-hosting the 2013 P-3 International Operators Support Conference (IOSC) here, October 28-31. This year’s co-hosts are Blue Aerospace and Kellstrom Defense Aerospace, Inc., both Lockheed Martin authorized P-3 distributors supporting the P-3 and CP-140.
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10/29/2013
Lockheed Martin received a $33.9 million follow-on production contract from the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Crane Division, for the Target Sight System (TSS), the fire control system for the U.S. Marine Corps’ AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopter. TSS’ advanced sensors provide pilots with enhanced capabilities to acquire, track and designate targets. TSS Lot 10 deliveries will be complete in December 2015.
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10/28/2013
On October 25, the US Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS George Washington entered Manila Bay. At the head of Carrier Strike Group Five, the aircraft carrier had spent the past week sailing the disputed waters of the South China Sea, visiting various regional claimants.
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10/28/2013
As part of the National Naval Aviation Museum’s 50th anniversary, the Museum is proud to present the Navy’s latest in aerospace technology, a full-scale mock-up of Northrop Grumman’s X-47B unmanned combat air system. The X-47B was originally scheduled to be part of the Museum’s 50th anniversary which was postponed due to the government shutdown.
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10/28/2013
The Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) will open this week to showcase cutting-edge defense and satellite technologies to defense contractors and military officials across the globe, organizers said Monday.
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10/28/2013
A radar-absorbing paint developed by the Korea Maritime and Ocean University’s Stealth Technology Center could provide camouflage of surface naval vessels, military aircraft and combat vehicles Yonhap News reports. The new ‘stealth paint’ was unveiled by the university laboratory during the Navy Week event held in the southeastern port city of Busan last week.
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10/28/2013
Raytheon Company has completed the first delivery of APX-119 Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) transponders for the Republic of Korea Army's Surion helicopter, the utility helicopter built by Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. The IFF transponders provide military aircraft with a secure combat identification capability to reduce fratricide and enhance situational awareness, in addition to providing safe access to civilian airspace.
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10/27/2013
The incident over the Black Sea on Wednesday in which Turkish F-16 jets pursued a Russian military aircraft flying near Turkish airspace must not be assessed as a sign of tension between the countries, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Saturday, Anadolu Agency reported.
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10/27/2013
Japan Air Self-Defense Force fighter planes were scrambled Saturday for a second straight day to respond to four Chinese military aircraft flying over international waters between Okinawa's main island and Miyako Island, the Defense Ministry said. The four Chinese planes - two Y8 early-warning aircraft and two H6 bombers - did not violate Japan's airspace as they flew from the East China Sea to the Pacific Ocean and back again, it said.
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10/27/2013
The South Korean Navy believes it can deploy two light aircraft carriers by 2036 and expand its blue-water force to cope with the rapid naval buildups of China and Japan, according to a Navy source. The service has been exploring ways of securing light aircraft carriers based on an interim feasibility study, the source said.
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10/27/2013
The Eurofighter Typhoon multi-role combat aircraft first entered service in 2004 and over 350 aircraft have since been delivered. The Eurofighter is the result of Europe's largest military collaborative program and seven nations are now Eurofighter customers. At the start of 2013 the Eurofighter fleet has accumulated more than 160,000 flying hours around the world.
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10/27/2013
The famed 61st Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base has been reactivated. The U.S. Air Force brought the squadron back to life Friday, designating it as the first of six planned units that will train pilots on F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters.
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10/27/2013
Boeing said Friday it has renewed its previously suspended partnership with Lockheed Martin to prepare a bid to build the next-generation long-range bomber for the Air Force. The $55 billion bomber program aims to develop a long-range strike aircraft to replace the B-2 Stealth bomber.
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10/27/2013
Military air traffic controllers fear the long hours they spend in front of consoles and having to carry out other jobs while they are supposed to be resting is increasing fatigue to a level that compromises safety. After a report critical of the relatively high number of planes flying too close to each other in military-controlled air space, two former RAAF air traffic controllers have spoken out about the heavy workload and high staff turnover that have led to a lack of experienced personnel.
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10/26/2013
Air Commodore Anwar, air officer commanding (AOC) of the Bangladesh Air Force base at Jessore scanned the skies as he heard the sound of rotors. Shortly, the Mi-17V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) came into sight and the pilot sought permission to land. Barely had the chopper touched down when the AOC went ahead to greet the crew. After all, this was a new beginning. An IAF aircraft had been allowed permission to enter Bangladesh airspace and land after nearly 42 years.
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10/26/2013
Errors in the maintenance paperwork used to track readiness of the U.S. Marine Corps V-22 aircraft were so numerous between 2008 and 2011 they could have led officers to deploy squadrons that were unprepared for their missions, investigators reported on Friday.
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10/26/2013
The Baghdad government wants the immediate delivery of U.S. drones and F-16 fighter jets in order to combat al Qaeda insurgents, who are making swift advances in the west of the Iraq, a senior Iraqi security official said. Washington agreed in August to supply a $2.6 billion integrated air defense system and F-16 fighter jets, with delivery due in autumn 2014.
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10/26/2013
The U.K.’s unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator Taranis has made its first test flights, according to documentation given to a government inquiry committee regarding the use of remotely piloted vehicles. In the public evidence, being heard by the Commons Select Committee and supplied by the U.K. Defense Ministry, ground tests of the UCAV commenced in 2010 and “flight trials took place in 2013.” No further detail is given about when or where the test flights may have taken place.
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10/26/2013
The Venezuelan government has issued new warnings to drug smugglers after the country's armed forces shot down two aircraft allegedly carrying narcotics from Central America over the weekend. “I will radicalize actions against drug smugglers,” President Nicolas Maduro stated this week, while congratulating the armed forces for destroying two light planes that reportedly entered Venezuelan airspace without authorization on Saturday and Monday.
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10/26/2013
The nation lost a great hero with the passing of retired Air Force Brig. Gen. James Robinson “Robbie” Risner, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said today. Risner, a highly decorated fighter pilot who served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War during his 30-year military career, died Oct. 22 at age 88 at his home in Bridgewater, Va., following a stroke.
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10/26/2013
The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) fourth Boeing C-17 Globemaster III departs for India from Long Beach on Oct. 19, keeping the company on track to deliver a total of five advanced airlifters to the IAF this year. Boeing will deliver five more C-17s to India in 2014 to complete the contract.
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10/26/2013
The Boeing Company and Lockheed Martin Corporation are teaming to compete for the United States Air Force's Long-Range Strike Bomber program, with Boeing acting as the prime contractor and Lockheed Martin as the primary teammate.
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10/26/2013
India’s share in research-and-development work for the joint Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project with Russia is currently limited by India's domestic industrial capabilities but will gradually increase with the project’s implementation, a Russian military expert said Friday.
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10/25/2013
Rescuers have recovered the bodies of the two people on board a Swiss army fighter jet that crashed into a mountainside, as well as the aircraft’s black box, the defense ministry said Thursday. “Both people onboard the F/A-18 fighter jet that crashed yesterday have been found dead,” the ministry said in a statement.
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10/25/2013
A former State Department official in Yemen says every U.S. drone killing there of an al Qaeda operative creates 40 to 60 new enemies of America. In an article for the Cairo Review posted Wednesday, Nabeel Khoury, the deputy chief of mission in Yemen from 2004 to 2007, writes, "Drone strikes take out a few bad guys to be sure, but they also kill a large number of innocent civilians.
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10/25/2013
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels and U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will be back on the airshow circuit in 2014: A yearlong grounding of both teams was lifted by a memo from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel released on Oct. 18. Pilots are now working to scrape off some rust, with the Air Force team having been forced to find creative ways to use their time in Las Vegas.
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10/25/2013
For more than three months, the 421st Fighter Squadron was reduced to “basic mission capable” flying hours, and the 4th FS stood down completely, causing a ripple effect for commanders, maintainers and pilots alike.
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10/25/2013
The government is considering increasing the 8.3 trillion won (US$7.2 billion) budget to finance a fighter jet project aimed at buying 60 stealth jets, an official source said Thursday. The state arms procurement agency last month rejected Boeing's F-15 Silent Eagle, the only bid that met Seoul's budget, with concerns over its weak stealth capability, and formed a task force team to restart a new project to get advanced, radar-evading aircraft.
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10/25/2013
Under IAF's over Rs 10,000 crore modernisation programme, the first Mirage 2000, upgraded by its manufacturer, has successfully completed it maiden flight at an air base in France. India had signed an upgrade programme worth over Rs 10,000 crore with the French manufacturer Dassault Aviation for upgrading the fleet of its Mirage 2000 aircraft.
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10/25/2013
The F-35, which was touted to become the most sophisticated combat aircraft in history, went into development in 2001. Fast forward 12 years to January, when J. Michael Gilmore, the Pentagon's director of operational test and evaluation, appeared before the U.S. Senate's Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. It wasn't pretty.
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10/25/2013
A U.S. Air Force crew ferried an MC-130J Commando II Special Operations Forces tanker from the Lockheed Martin facility here today. The Lockheed Martin-built aircraft is assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command. The Commando II supports such missions as in-flight refueling, infiltration/exfiltration, and aerial delivery and resupply of special operations forces.
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10/25/2013
The 61st Airlift Squadron at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., received its first Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] C-130J Super Hercules today. A crew from the squadron ferried the aircraft from the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., facility here.
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10/24/2013
Israeli warplanes targeted a convoy of trucks loaded with advanced missiles bound for Hezbollah along the Syria-Lebanon border on Monday, Kuwaiti daily Al-Jareeda reported, citing an official in Jerusalem. On Friday, the same paper reported that Israel had information regarding the location of long-range missiles transferred from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon and was considering a military action to destroy the weapons.
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10/24/2013
US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed Oct. 15 that it had successfully tested the Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System (APKWS) earlier this year on fixed-wing aircraft and that it had wrapped up the Joint Capability Technology Demonstration on the system. The tests included both ground launches and aerial launches from the A-10 Thunderbolt, AV-8B Harrier and F-16.
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10/24/2013
In 1995, when Air Force Col. James Clark was based in Hungary as part of a U.N. peacekeeping mission, he got a chance to play with a Gnat, a remotely piloted glider powered by a skimobile engine. Drone aircraft—or, as the Air Force prefers, unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs—were not unprecedented. In World War II, radio-controlled B-24s were sent on bombing missions over Germany. Remotely controlled aircraft carried still cameras over battlefields in Vietnam.
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10/24/2013
Sequestration could cause the US Air Force to delay purchasing “four to five” F-35A joint strike fighters in fiscal 2014, according to top Air Force acquisition officials. The Marine Corps and Navy could each cut one of its F-35B and F-35C variants, as well, if the automatic cuts are not overturned by Congress.
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10/24/2013
From munitions to missiles, top officials of all four U.S. services on Wednesday told a congressional panel that continued forced spending cuts will bring “historic lows” that would seriously threaten the military’s readiness and capability.
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10/24/2013
A Swiss fighter jet crashed in poor weather in central Switzerland on Wednesday, and the pilot and a passenger were missing with little chance they survived, the military said.
The Swiss Federal Department of Defense confirmed the F/A-18 two-seater fighter jet went down in the afternoon near a military airport in Alpnachstad in the Lake Lucerne region.
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10/24/2013
Two Turkish fighter jets have been recently scrambled to intercept a Russian military plane in international airspace over the Black Sea in a rare air incident between the two countries, the Turkish military said. The General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces said in a statement on Wednesday that two F-16 jets were scrambled on Tuesday afternoon to prevent a potential violation of Turkish airspace after a Russian Ilyushin II-20 plane was detected flying in parallel to Turkish coast.
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10/24/2013
Russia’s Defense Ministry will send a delegation to NATO military exercises in November, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday. The exercises, named Steadfast Jazz 2013, will be held on November 2 to 9 in Poland and Baltic states, the North Atlantic alliance has announced.
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10/23/2013
The government is to acquire additional multi-purpose military aircraft from Air Bus Military of Spain to boost Ghana’s air services support operations at the United Nations-led mission in Mali. The Ghana Air Force recently won a UN air services contract to operate a UN aviation unit in Mali in support of the peacekeeping mission in that country.
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10/23/2013
The Pentagon is preparing to pull out of Kyrgyzstan, the former Soviet bloc nation where Fairchild-based tanker crews have flown thousands of combat refueling missions over Afghanistan since the start of the war. The Defense Department said Monday it will vacate Manas Transit Center by July rather than attempt to negotiate a lease extension for continued use of the expeditionary base. The transit center serves as a staging point for aerial refueling missions and as a northern air supply route.
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10/23/2013
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's back-to-back visits to Russia and China from October 20 to 24 reflect the evolution of India's external relations in a world with shifting power balances. The challenges lie in consolidating relations with tried and trusted friends with declining power, while forging understandings with adversaries with rising influence who seek to advance their interests through tactical overtures of friendship.
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10/23/2013
The back-and-forth volley between critics and backers of a plan to base F-35 fighter jets in Vermont continued Tuesday, featuring new claims about safety issues involving the plane. Pierre Sprey, who helped design the F-16 jet for the Pentagon in the 1960s and 1970s, said the F-35 is not being built fast enough, or being flown enough, to work out any glitches by 2020, when the Vermont Air Guard hopes to begin flying it.
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10/23/2013
Niger’s air force inaugurated a new helicopter hanger last week, to accommodate its recently acquired Gazelle helicopters. The new facilities are further evidence of the Air Force’s expanding capabilities – Niger has taken delivery of seven new aircraft this year. The new hangar was formally opened on October 17 at the Niger Air Force’s Base Aerienne 101 next to Niamey-Diori Hamani International Airport in a ceremony attended by various French and Nigerien officials.
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10/23/2013
The United States may have committed war crimes in its campaign of drone strikes on targets in Pakistan and Yemen over the past four years, killing civilians indiscriminately in its stated pursuit of terrorist targets, two prominent human rights groups said in reports released Tuesday.
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10/23/2013
Russian aircraft maker MiG has started flight tests of series-produced MiG-29K/KUB carrier-based fighter jets slated for delivery to the Russian Navy, the company said Tuesday. The Russian Defense Ministry signed a contract with MiG in February 2012 for delivery of 20 MiG-29K single-seat and four MiG-29KUB two-seat carrier-based fighter aircraft.
MiG is expected to deliver the first four aircraft by the end of 2013.The aircraft will operate from Russia's sole serving carrier.
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10/23/2013
Iran's Revolutionary Guards have presented Russia with an unmanned spy plane that Tehran says was reverse-engineered from a US machine it claims to have captured last year, local media reported. "The drone built by the IRGC is a symbol of the technical capabilities of Islamic Iran and today we presented a real model of it as a gift to (Russian Air Force Commander) Lieutenant General Viktor Bondarev and the Russian people," Commander of Iran’s Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base.
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10/23/2013
Lockheed Martin is hosting the 25th Hercules Operators Council (HOC) here, Oct. 21-24. More than 900 representatives from 36 nations are attending to discuss C-130 Hercules support, operations, upgrades and new fleet acquisition. This year’s theme of “Proven and Still Proving It” provides insight into how the C-130 Hercules has not only proven that it is the world’s most versatile airlifter, but also continues to set new standards for flexibility and multi-mission capabilities.
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10/23/2013
Boeing is assembling a third KC-46A test aircraft for the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation aerial refueling tanker program at the company’s Everett factory, keeping the program on schedule to complete production of four test aircraft by the third quarter of 2014.
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10/22/2013
Turkey will get the first batch of Airbus A400M Military Transport Aircraft in November 2013, the Anadolu agency reported today. According to a report, this type of military aircraft was previously purchased by such countries as Germany, France and Belgium.
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10/22/2013
As Iraq's government grapples with a rising al-Qaida insurgency in which thousands have been killed, officials say the military has started taking delivery of Russian arms as part of a landmark $4.3 billion contract signed in October 2012.
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10/22/2013
Turkey’s procurement authorities will reissue an order for the first two F-35 joint strike fighters the country intended to buy but suspended at the beginning of this year.
“We will submit a request to the Defense Industry Executive Committee in December or January to renew our order for the first two aircraft,” Turkey’s top procurement official, Murad Bayar, said.
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10/22/2013
The head of Russia’s air force, Gen. Viktor Bondarev, met his Iranian counterparts in Tehran to discuss boosting military cooperation between the countries, local media reported Monday. Talks centerd on “electronic listening systems, radar and missiles,” Brig. Gen. Farzad Esmaili, head of Khatam-ol-Anbia Air Defence Base, said in comments quoted by daily Sharq.
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10/22/2013
NATO intends to dramatically scale back its ambitious plan to train a fully functional Afghan air force and focus only on the most critical missions Afghans will need to perform after the combat mission ends by December 2014, according to the head of the Afghan air training command for the Western alliance.
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10/22/2013
Senior Defense Department officials have been accelerating a dialogue with China, carried out through personal visits with Chinese counterparts to establish and strengthen military-to-military relationships. In a flurry of travel by top Pentagon officers, Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, the Air Force chief of staff, just returned from China – the first visit there by the Air Force’s top officer in 15 years.
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10/22/2013
Madagascar’s Air Force recently received a second Humbert Aviation Tetras light aircraft from France, the latest in a series of aircraft acquired from that country. France’s Ambassador to Madagascar, François Goldblatt, handed the aircraft over to Général de Corps d’Armée, André Lucien Rakotoarimasy, at Base Aéronavale Ivato, Antanànarìvo, on April 10.
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10/22/2013
The South Korean Air Force has lost an average of 2.5 fighter jets in crashes every year since 2000, with many of them involving aging, soon-to-be retired aircraft deployed over three decades ago, a report showed Monday. A total of 35 combat jets have crashed nationwide since 2000, killing 38 pilots and one mechanic, according to the Air Force report submitted to parliament for an annual audit.
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10/22/2013
In the skies above Djibouti, members of the U.S. and French Air Forces joined together in an unlikely training scenario, pitting helicopters against fighter aircraft in a simulated hostile rescue situation. Members of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa's 303rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron partnered with French air force Mirage 2000-5 fighter pilots here to conduct a combat exercise in which U.S. HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters recovered downed aircrew while being engaged by enemy fighters.
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10/22/2013
Lockheed Martin has entered into an agreement — known as an Undefinitized Contract Action — with the U.S. Government for the Foreign Military Sale of the first two of 25 potential C-130J Super Hercules airlifters for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Specifically, this contract action is for the purchase of two KC-130J refueling tankers.
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10/21/2013
On 18 October a new headquarters building was opened at Šiauliai Air Base of the Lithuanian Air Force for NATO’s Air Policing mission in the Baltic States, the Ministry of National Defence of Lithuania has informed. The new object, a part of the vital infrastructure of NATO’s Air Policing mission, will ensure more convenient service conditions for air contingents deployed to protect the Baltic airspace.
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10/21/2013
From the moment Turkey announced plans two years ago to acquire a long-range missile defense system, the multibillion-dollar contract from a key Nato member appeared to be an American company's to lose. For years, Turkey's military had relied on Nato-supplied Patriot missiles, built by the American companies Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, to defend its skies, and the system was fully compatible with the air-defense platforms operated by other members of the alliance.
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10/21/2013
For six decades, slow progress in developing indigenous defence equipment and a Nehruvian squeamishness about exporting arms have together made India’s presence in the international arms only that of a buyer — last year the world’s biggest. That has begun to change. A large Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO) team is heading to Seoul, in South Korea, where it will be one of the biggest exhibitors at the Aerospace and Defence Exhibition (ADEX-2013) later this month.
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10/21/2013
Turkish ambitions to develop and build the first ever made-in-Turkey fighter aircraft and at the same time buy a new generation, multinational combat jet may go beyond Turkey’s financing capacity, industry sources and experts said.
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10/21/2013
India had scrambled scores of fighter jets to tackle migratory birds for weeks mistaking them for enemy drones in a sensitive border region. The Indian Air Force (IAF) deployed fighter aircraft after radars flagged unsolicited intrusion into Indian territories along the border region in the western state of Gujarat.
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10/21/2013
A group of military inspectors from Germany and Latvia is set to fly above Russia and Belarus starting from Monday under the international Open Skies Treaty, a Russian Defense Ministry official said.
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10/20/2013
The move follows a series of US weapons deals in recent years that have bolstered the air power and missile arsenals of Gulf States, which view Iran as a menacing rival with nuclear ambitions. The pending sale comes as the United States and five other major powers pursue high-stakes diplomacy on Iran’s disputed nuclear program, with talks this week portrayed as positive by both sides.
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10/20/2013
In declining to accept a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council that it had actively sought for two years, Saudi Arabia pouted that it could not abide by the Security Council’s “double-standards.” Saudi Arabia had just won the seat last Thursday at a UN General Assembly election, along with Chad, Chile, Lithuania and Nigeria.
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10/20/2013
The title is both subtle and clever, red for the communist aircraft designs flown and eagles for the pilots from the USA who tested them. The aircraft addressed by author Steve Davies (one of the Red Eagle pilots) are the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 17 “Fresco”, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 21 “Fishbed” and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 23 “Flogger” — each individual aircraft given a program name which began with HAVE (e.g., HAVE DOUGHNUT for the MiG 21 flight testing in early 1968).
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10/20/2013
Russia will begin Sunday monitoring flights over NATO members Slovakia and the Czech Republic under the international Open Skies Treaty, the Russian Defense Ministry said. “A group of Russian inspectors is scheduled to conduct surveillance flights over Slovakia and the Czech Republic on board an An-30B aircraft from October 20 to 26 as part of the implementation of the international Open Skies Treaty,”.
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10/20/2013
Russia and Brazil are at the final stages of talks on the delivery of Russian Pantsir-S1 air defense systems to the Latin American country, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
A Russian delegation, led by Shoigu, visited Brazil to discuss prospects of bilateral defense and space cooperation, including the sales of Pansir-S1 and Igla missile systems, during the Latin American tour on October 14-17.
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10/19/2013
Boeing Co. officials were in Ottawa this week to promote the Super Hornet fighter jet as the best choice to replace Canada’s CF-18s, using the U.S. budget crisis to raise doubts about the long-term viability of the rival Lockheed Martin F-35 program.
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10/19/2013
Boeing says it is still very much in the running for Korea’s multibillion-dollar fighter jet tender, despite opposition from the military. The firm looked to be in pole position to secure a massive order of F-15 Silent Eagle fighter jets, but Seoul pulled the plug and restarted the tender process after former military top brass and ruling party lawmakers criticised the plane for lacking stealth capabilities.
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10/19/2013
South Africa’s official arms procurement agency, was once again in the news for the wrong reason as a court reinstated the fired chairman retired General ‘Mojo’ Motau - for the second time - along with deputy chairman Refiloe Mokoena. But military expert Helmoed Römer Heitman argues that Armscor’s crisis goes much deeper.
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10/19/2013
The Royal Air Force will axe the final C-130K special force Hercules from its fleet of airlifters by the end of this month. The Defence Ministry is cannibalizing the Lockheed Martin-built aircraft of its defensive aids suite to fit into some of the C-130J models being equipped to fill the role according to the MoD.
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10/19/2013
It's a dark night over Baghdad. Storm clouds rumble with the sound of thunder. In poor weather, Air Force pilots move in to escort a navy strike package, dodging surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft artillery fire, wondering whether they will make it back alive. This is part of the job for Air Force fighter pilots, but a love for the job and good training keep pilots ready to fight.
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10/19/2013
The naval variant of India's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is gearing up for carrier compatibility tests at the shore-based INS Hansa in Goa, according to sources in the Aeronautical Development Authority (ADA) which is developing the aircraft. The first prototype completed its maiden flight on April 27, 2012.
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10/19/2013
President Benigno Aquino III said the Philippines was close to finalizing a deal with a state-owned Korean aerospace firm to buy a squadron of FA-50 fighter jets worth P18.9 billion—a move seen to bolster the country’s aerial power and defend its territory in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
(Read More...)
10/19/2013
Russia will strengthen its air contingent at the Erebuni air base in Armenia with a helicopter squadron in the next few months, the base commander said Friday. Russia’s 3624th Air Base at the Erebuni airport in Yerevan currently hosts at least 16 MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jets operating under the framework of air defense agreements concluded between the members of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
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10/19/2013
Russia’s armed forces will receive aircraft flight simulators in November worth almost 670 million rubles ($20.1 million), a federal agency said Friday.
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10/18/2013
Throughout fiscal 2013, the key aspect of Pacific Air Forces was engagement as more than 45,000 Pacific Air Forces Airmen conducted a broad spectrum of operations, from humanitarian relief to decisive combat employment, in an area covering 13 time zones and 100 million square miles.
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10/18/2013
The Philippines and South Korea on Thursday signed agreements on flood mitigation, defense and sports development as President Aquino began a two-day state visit here. Aquino arrived here at noon on a chartered Philippine Airlines flight and met with President Park Geun-hye, South Korea’s first female leader.
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10/18/2013
Sikorsky Aircraft, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., has delivered to the Colombian Army two S-70i(TM) BLACK HAWK helicopters incorporating a Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System (HTAWS) as standard equipment. Colombia is the first country to field S-70i helicopters equipped with HTAWS, which Sikorsky has customized for the unique requirements of the combat assault and utility missions.
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10/18/2013
For the first time, India will display at an international event its latest, state-of-the-art weapon systems, platforms, sensors, communication systems and equipment designed and developed by Hyderabad-based DRDO (Defence Research & Development Organization, Ministry of Defence, Govt of India).
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10/18/2013
Air Force fighter and bomber crews owe much of their success in Iraq and Afghanistan to their reliance on a collection of high-tech tools: GPS, data links, communications and radar.
But with the drawdown and the pivot to the Pacific, the Air Force is preparing for new enemy threats and has been asking a new question: What happens when those tools are taken away?
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10/18/2013
South Korea's arms procurement agency said Thursday it will speed up the process to buy advanced fighter jets, with the aim of concluding the deal by the end of 2014. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) conducted bids with three contractors to buy 60 combat aircraft between June and August, and listed Boeing's F-15 Silent Eagle as the only jet to come within the 8.3 trillion won (US$7.2 billion) budget for approval.
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10/18/2013
India will finalise a $15 billion deal to buy 126 Rafale fighter jets from France's Dassault Aviation by March 2014, an Indian air force official said on Thursday, after the deal had been held up by differences over local manufacturing. New Delhi picked the Rafale for exclusive negotiations in January 2012 after a bidding contest against Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, made by a consortium involving EADS, Finmeccanica and BAE Systems.
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10/18/2013
Boeing will showcase proven capabilities and technology advances designed to meet the needs of the U.S. Army during the Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting and Exposition, held Oct. 21-23 in Washington, D.C.
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10/18/2013
Russia has started implementation of a multibillion dollar arms deal with Iraq, an official with the Middle Eastern nation’s government said Thursday. Russia is to supply over 10 fully armed and equipped Mi-28NE Night Hunter attack helicopters to Iraq under a $4.3 billion agreement on cooperation in the defense and technology sector signed in 2012.
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10/17/2013
Top Pentagon officials will examine the cost of building and operating the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jet at a major review of the $392 billion program next week that will also provide updates on lingering technical issues. Kyra Hawn, spokeswoman for the Pentagon’s F-35 program office, said a high-level Defense Acquisition Board meeting was expected to proceed on Monday despite the partial government shutdown. The meeting has already been postponed several times.
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10/17/2013
Recent news reports suggest that the US has identified a list of 10 defence technologies for transfer to India. The government is reported to be “reviewing” these offers which could reach as high as 90. The US appears to be finally moving to realise its oft stated stand that it considers India an important strategic partner. It is a significant move from the earlier tightly controlled defence technology exports to India.
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10/17/2013
A spokesman for Boeing’s Ridley Township facility denies the aerospace manufacturer overcharged the federal government for aircraft refitting, a conclusion put forth in an audit report from the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General.
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10/17/2013
After eight years of research and postponement, India’s first indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas, positioned at HAL Bangalore, has finally been fitted with electronic warfare (EW) systems. Now, new test flights will happen with electronic warfare anytime during November or beginning of December. The 2,348 test flights of the LCA so far have not had electronic warfare.
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10/17/2013
Travelers who fancy themselves flyboys and girls can test their skills at Fly the Dream, a new virtual entertainment store where customers can navigate a simulated flight of an F-16 Falcon, a single-engine fighter aircraft developed by General Dynamics for the Air Force in the early 1970s.
(Read More...)
10/17/2013
The U.S. Air Force’s Air Combat Command has restarted flying operations of training aircraft after civilian defense employees returned to work, Defense News reported Tuesday.
Aaron Mehta writes the command also intends to maintain the mission readiness of combat-coded aircraft as those units remain grounded.
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10/17/2013
Brazil said Wednesday it hopes to develop state-of-the-art combat aircraft with Russia, and purchase surface-to-air missile batteries from Moscow. Brasilia is already in talks with other countries to modernize its air force by purchasing 36 fighter jets valued at up to $5 billion.
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10/17/2013
Russia has proposed establishing a servicing and maintenance center in Peru for its Russian- and Soviet-made helicopters, a senior government official said Wednesday. The offer was discussed at a meeting between Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Peruvian counterpart Pedro Cateriano, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said.
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10/17/2013
Russia’s state arms export monopoly has signed a $1 billion deal package with Angola to deliver military equipment, build an ammunition plant and provide maintenance services, Vedomosti business daily reported Wednesday. Rosoboronexport will supply 18 Su-30K fighter jets to the southern African nation, the daily said, citing sources at the arms exports company and the Russian military.
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10/16/2013
Another Russian Su-25 ground attack aircraft crashed on September 23rd, killing the pilot. All Su-25s were immediately grounded until the cause of the crash could be found. This is the 17th Su-25 lost in the last decade, which is not unusual for a Russian military aircraft that has been in service since the 1980s. Despite these losses, the Su-25 is still a popular aircraft.
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10/16/2013
The Netherlands recently agreed to buy 37 of the new American F-35 fighter-bombers, and possibly more if money became available. Originally the Dutch were going to buy 85 but the escalating cost of the F-35 forced them to reconsider. Some Dutch leaders wanted to stick with the F-16 and upgrade it or consider another new fighter (Gripen, Eurofighter, or F-18E).
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10/16/2013
The U.S. deployment of 200 Marines to a naval base in Sicily for possible operations in Libya, a short hop across the Mediterranean, underlines how the Americans have been building a network of bases in Italy as launch pads for military interventions in Africa and the Mideast.
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10/16/2013
The Swedish government’s promise to bolster defense spending and inject more capital into equipment procurement programs has failed to impress the country’s military establishment.
The Defense Ministry said in September that expenditures on defense would increase by US $220 million in 2014-17, yielding an annual increase of $60 million a year. The armed forces budget for 2013 amounts to $6.2 billion.
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10/16/2013
India’s Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) contract with Dassault Aviation is not likely to be signed before April 2014, despite the Indian air force’s (IAF) concerns about maintaining its tactical air deterrent capability.
(Read More...)
10/16/2013
The US Air Force’s Air Combat Command (ACC) ended a shutdown-imposed grounding of training aircraft last week , but some combat craft remain grounded.
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10/16/2013
It seems that water and air are incompatible as natural element. However, there is such a thing as naval aviation. Judging by modernization plans, Russian naval aviation will see great changes in the future. After years of debate about whether Russia needs a fleet of vessels with aircraft on decks or surface ships and submarines would be enough, Russian admirals have chosen a sort of "American" model of the fleet: naval groups with an aircraft carrier in the center.
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10/16/2013
The U.S. decision to award Israel's Elbit Systems the contract to co-produce the flight helmet for Lockheed Martin's advanced F-35 stealth fighter illustrates the close links between the U.S. and Israeli defense sectors. Israel's buying 20 of the fifth-generation jets and eventually wants as many as 75. State-owned Israel Military Industries is already manufacturing components for the F-35.
(Read More...)
10/16/2013
The US Navy conducted float tests of the USS Gerald R. Ford on 11 October and its sea trials are likely to begin in 2016, reports say. "USS Ford is bound to pose a huge impact on the existing Chinese naval equipment," Chen Hu, executive editor of a Chinese military magazine, told the Wen Wei Po, adding that the "Chinese aircraft carrier technology is currently 30 years behind that of the US".
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10/15/2013
The Pentagon has spent the last two decades plowing hundreds of millions of tax dollars into military bases in Italy, turning the country into an increasingly important center for U.S. military power. Especially since the start of the Global War on Terror in 2001, the military has been shifting its European center of gravity south from Germany, where the overwhelming majority of U.S. forces in the region have been stationed since the end of World War II.
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10/15/2013
Israel has completed what officials termed a long-range air combat exercise that included air refueling, an element vital in any attack on Iran. The Israel Defense Forces said several squadrons of U.S.-origin fighter-jets participated in an exercise over Greece and its islands in the Mediterranean.
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10/15/2013
Four times in the past five years, the Pentagon’s inspector general has found that Boeing Co. (BA:US) collected excessive or unjustified payments on U.S. defense contracts.
In the latest of four audits since 2008, the watchdog office said the Chicago-based company charged the U.S. Army for new helicopter parts while installing used ones “Boeing significantly overstated estimates” of new components needed for CH-47F Chinook helicopters and “primarily installed used parts instead”.
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10/15/2013
"MOJO 1 is engaged, Bullseye 323/24," said Lt. Col. Christopher 'Moto' Davis, 325th Training Support Squadron Adversary Air Operations officer. He had just merged at more than 400 knots bringing him beak to beak with an F-22 Raptor. "MOJO 1, PRESS!" his wingman said over the fight frequency. Colonel Davis puts his 1960's T-38 Talon in a full afterburner, maximum G-defensive turn to try to survive mere seconds more against the world's most advanced fighter jet.
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10/15/2013
Norway’s 2014 budget is $7.2 billion, up from $7.06 billion the previous year. The 2014 budget also will be the last major executive financial action by Labor Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg’s socialist administration, which has been in power since 2005.
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10/15/2013
The United States is loosening controls over military exports, in a shift that former U.S. officials and human rights advocates say could increase the flow of American-made military parts to the world's conflicts and make it harder to enforce arms sanctions.
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10/15/2013
A Russian military delegation about to visit Brazil will offer joint development of a fifth-generation combat aircraft “of the type” of its own most newest fighter to Brazilian defense officials, a member of the delegation told RIA Novosti Monday.
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10/15/2013
A group of US and Swedish military inspectors is set to fly over Russia and Belarus starting from Monday under the international Open Skies Treaty, a Russian Defense Ministry official said. “Within the framework of the international Open Skies Treaty, US and Swedish inspectors flying a Boeing OC-135B observation aircraft will perform surveillance flights above the territories of Russia and Belarus in the period between October 14 and 19,” said Sergei Ryzhkov, head of the ministry’s National Nucl
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10/14/2013
The US decision to suspend delivery of tanks, helicopters and fighter jets to Egypt is more of a symbolic slap than a punishing wound to the military-backed government for its slog toward a return to democratic rule. Egypt has the tanks and aircraft it would need to fight a conventional war, and spare parts from US manufacturers will still be delivered.
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10/14/2013
The Russian answer to the American F-22, the “5th generation” T-50 (or PAK-FA), is in big trouble. Several key components are facing serious development problems. The key item in trouble is the new engine, which is still stuck in development. Russia always had problems building competitive engines. In the past, to get the power needed, they built engines that lasted only a fraction as long as Western engines.
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10/14/2013
China will continue to develop attack helicopters to build on the success of the WZ-10 and WZ-19 unveiled last year, said Du Wenlong, a military analyst from Beijing, in a interview with the People's Daily Online, the official website of the state-run People's Daily.
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10/14/2013
Last year, the IAF purchased 75 PC-7 Mark II trainers for 557 million Swiss Francs (Rs 3,725 crore). Pilatus has delivered at least 15 of those trainers. When the purchase of 75 trainers from the global market was approved in 2009, it was decided that HAL would simultaneously design and build 106 trainers. But, in July, as reported first by Business Standard (July 29, 'Indian Air Force at war with Hindustan Aeronautics; wants to import, not build, a trainer') the IAF chief wrote to Antony.
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10/14/2013
Seoul and Washington have agreed to reset the timing of the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) next year after reviewing North Korean threat and the South Korean forces capabilities to deal with it, the defense ministry here said Monday.
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10/13/2013
Airbus Military, the multinational consortium that builds the A400M, will soon deliver the first airlifter to the Turkish military, consortium and Turkish officials said. The first Turkish A400M will operate at an air base in Kayseri in central Turkey. “The first aircraft for the Turkish military will be delivered in the coming weeks,” Tom Enders, CEO of EADS, Airbus’ parent company, said at a Sept. 30 ceremony here for the delivery of the first A400M for the French Air Force.
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10/13/2013
According to information first published by the Dayton Daily News, a dozen transport planes valued at approximately $50 million a pop are going from the assembly line to the graveyard. That's on top of the $567 million the Air Force has spent on the Italian-made C-27J aircraft since 2007. Sequestration is being cited as the reason for the planes not being used.
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10/13/2013
Sailors from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 25 helped rescue four people whose plane went missing on a flight from Tinian to Saipan of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Oct. 6.
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10/13/2013
The Air Force is telling Congress that the double whammy of sequestration budget cuts and the partial government shutdown “endangers the safety of our airmen” and “unnecessarily adds risks” to everyday missions. In a memo to Capitol Hill Friday night, Air Force headquarters at the Pentagon said it has been forced to “take extraordinary actions” to make do with less money.
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10/13/2013
The Syrian government’s shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles and launchers could imperil civil aviation if they fall into the hands of terrorist groups, according to an independent report examining the global proliferation of portable missiles.
(Read More...)
10/12/2013
A combination of budget cuts and escalating compensation costs will reduce the U.S. military’s fighting forces by at least 50 percent by 2021 and threaten national security, according to a report released Friday. The report by the Bipartisan Policy Center also said that the nearly $1 trillion in defense funding reductions over the next decade, known as the sequester, would cripple the readiness and modernization of military forces.
(Read More...)
10/12/2013
Chemring Group Plc, a U.K. supplier of countermeasures for combat jets, fell the most in 16 years after saying global political turmoil, currency shifts and production snags will reduce earnings this year and next. Chemring plunged 23 percent, the biggest drop since April 1997, to 220 pence, the lowest price since November. The stock has fallen 4.2 percent this year, reversing gains that reached as high as 40 percent in July.
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10/12/2013
President Obama’s decision to reduce but not terminate military aid to Egypt is a measured attempt to protect American interests in a tumultuous region while affirming the president’s support for democracy. One message is that the relationship between the two countries remains crucial to regional stability.
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10/12/2013
Two Cuban fighter jets seized from a North Korean ship in July were in perfect condition to operate and the 15 plane engines that were found along with them were relatively new and could be used as replacements, a Panamanian official said Friday. The comments by Belsio Gonzalez, director of Panama's National Aeronautics and Ocean Administration, appear to contradict the explanation of the cargo given by Cuban authorities.
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10/12/2013
During a testy video conference in June, President Barack Obama drew a line in the sand for Afghan President Hamid Karzai. If there was no agreement by Oct. 31 on the terms for keeping a residual U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, Obama warned him, the United States would withdraw all of its troops at the end of 2014.
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10/12/2013
Three of the South African Air Force’s Rooivalk combat support helicopters will be in the DRC before year-end to boost MONUSCO and its Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) in executing its offensive mandate in the aircraft’s first ever combat deployment. Captain (SAN) Zamo Sithole, SA National Defence Force (SANDF) Joint Operations media liaison officer, confirmed to defenceWeb that three of 16 Squadron’s 11 combat helicopters would join up with the aviation unit of the UN Mission in the DRC.
(Read More...)
10/12/2013
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has expressed concern that major aviation-related defense procurements will be delayed following the sudden death of Arun Kumar Bal, Ministry of Defense chief negotiator for air acquisitions. “It will take around three months for his replacement. This is a setback for anything the IAF is acquiring,” Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne told AIN.
(Read More...)
10/12/2013
The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) state-owned and -operated Aviation Industry Corporation of China (Avic) presented a full line of its products and plans for further expansion of its export markets at last month’s Aviation Expo China exhibition, which was held in the Chinese capital, Beijing. The centerpiece of the Avic display was a line-up of models of those military aircraft programs that the conglomerate has been permitted to make public.
(Read More...)
10/12/2013
The Syrian government's shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles and launchers could imperil civil aviation if they fall into the hands of terror groups, according to an independent report examining the global proliferation of portable missiles.
(Read More...)
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10/11/2013
A total of 48 aircraft in the Brazilian Air Force will be retrofitted with the new IFF transponders. Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer has awarded Thales a contract to supply IFF (identification friend or foe) transponders for the upgrade of A1M fighters and E-99 AEW surveillance aircraft in service with the Brazilian Air Force. A total of 48 aircraft will be retrofitted with the new IFF transponders.
(Read More...)
10/11/2013
The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber can avoid most modern adversaries’ defenses, but it is currently facing a different threat: defense budget cuts. Of the 20 B-2s in existence, only 16 are operational at any given time due to maintenance schedules; a recent report claims there may only be nine available. In addition, a handful of B-2s are constantly used for training, so the availability of combat-ready Spirits actually declines further.
(Read More...)
10/11/2013
While the U.S. Navy often depends on U.S. Air Force KC-135 aerial tankers to refuel its aircraft, it has sometimes also found it more convenient to use a civilian firm, Omega Air, to provide aerial refueling service in the United States. The air force controls all the large tankers (the navy can use some smaller aircraft, even fighters, for refueling in a pinch) and makes them available to the navy and other foreigners only when the air force has taken care of its own needs.
(Read More...)
10/11/2013
The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) today informed Lockheed Martin that it has decided to halt the development of the alternate F-35 helmet and focus exclusively on maturing the Vision Systems (VSI) 2nd Generation helmet currently used in training and testing. As a result, the program will recoup approximately $45 million in funds it had originally allocated for the development of the alternate helmet. Beginning with aircraft in Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) lot 7.
(Read More...)
10/11/2013
Ground testing of the most complex version of Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 jet has uncovered two small cracks the Pentagon describes as minor, according to a statement to congressional staff. The cracks were discovered in late August during an inspection of the U.S. Marine Corps’ short-takeoff and vertical landing model that’s used in ground testing to evaluate an airframe’s long-term durability. The airframes are designed to last through 8,000 flight hours. They are tested on the ground to the eq
(Read More...)
10/11/2013
The Pentagon said on Thursday it would halt work on a second pilot helmet being developed for the F-35 fighter jet by Britain's BAE Systems Plc, and focus exclusively on the main helmet built by Rockwell Collins Inc and Israel's Elbit Systems Ltd. The Pentagon's F-35 program office said the move followed improvements to the Rockwell-Elbit helmet, including a better night vision camera, and would save about $45 million in funding that would have been needed to finish the BAE helmet.
(Read More...)
10/11/2013
For two years, the rebels in Al Qusayr held out against the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Then in April the regime, supported by fresh fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, renewed its attack on the mountain town overlooking the Lebanon border.
(Read More...)
10/11/2013
Israeli Air Force fighter squadrons have carried out exercises testing their capability to conduct missions at long ranges from base, the Israeli military said Thursday. The drills included air-to-air refueling and dogfights against foreign combat planes.
(Read More...)
10/11/2013
The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) today informed Lockheed Martin that it decided to halt development of the alternate F-35 helmet and focus exclusively on maturing the Rockwell Collins Elbit Systems of America Vision Systems Generation 2 (Gen 2) helmet currently used in training and testing. The program will recoup approximately $45 million in funds it had originally allocated for the development of the alternate helmet.
(Read More...)
10/10/2013
Tough International Monetary Fund conditions on Pakistan and concerns about untested technology likely will delay Islamabad’s plan to buy 36 J-10B Vigorous Dragon multirole fighters from China under a $1.4 billion deal signed in 2009, analysts said. Current economic conditions “preclude any possibility of acquiring new weapon systems in the next two to three years, at least,” said retired Pakistani Air Commodore Kaiser Tufail.
(Read More...)
10/10/2013
Afghanistan took delivery on Wednesday of two C-130 transport aircraft from the United States, part of an effort to give the country's military the ability to better fight insurgents around the country. Afghanistan will get another two of the airplanes, a mainstay of many militaries around the world, by the end of next year. The plane gives the nascent Afghan air force the ability to quickly ferry forces around the country along with their equipment and supplies.
(Read More...)
10/10/2013
The medium-lift Osprey, proven in combat as a troop and equipment transport, could soon get a new mission: refueling other aircraft. A series of tests in August and September has given aviation officials hope that the Osprey could be used to extend the range of other platforms, including helicopters and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
(Read More...)
10/10/2013
CAE today announced that it was awarded approximately $140 million in military contracts, including approximately $85 million to CAE USA alone. The US contracts also include options valued at an additional $50 million over the next five years. The contracts are part of CAE’s second quarter order intake and are in addition to contracts already announced.
(Read More...)
10/10/2013
A plan to attract private Indian firms to help build military aircraft could be delayed after Heavy Industries Minister Praful Patel said the proposal was unfair to state-run companies. India has emerged as the world's biggest arms importer as it tries to update archaic weapons systems to keep up with neighbours China and Pakistan in a $100 billion modernisation drive.
(Read More...)
10/10/2013
Praful Patel, minister of heavy industries and public enterprises, on Monday wrote to Defence Minister A K Antony, demanding that the defence ministry (MoD) tender to build 56 transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) be opened to public sector undertakings (PSUs), and not just to the private sector. On Wednesday, Antony asked MoD officials to “examine the issues raised by Shri Patel.”
(Read More...)
10/10/2013
Lockheed Martin and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) celebrated the beginnings of the first F-35 Lightning II for Australia yesterday. The aircraft, designated as AU-1, officially began the mate process, where major components of the aircraft are joined together to form the aircraft’s structure. AU-1 will then make its way down the assembly line and roll out of the factory for delivery to the RAAF in the summer of 2014.
(Read More...)
10/10/2013
The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-35 Lightning II program continues its operational maturation, surpassing 10,000 flight hours in September. More than half of the total hours were accumulated in just the past 11 months. Through September, F-35s flew 6,492 times for a total of 10,077 flight hours. The new milestone effectively doubles the safe flight operations of the F-35 in a year, compared to reaching 5,000 flight hours in six years.
(Read More...)
10/10/2013
Russia’s Defense Ministry is planning to buy 32 shipborne helicopters from Russian Helicopters’ Progress Arsenyev division, a Deputy Defense Minister said Wednesday during a visit to the factory. “These helicopters are to undergo final testing in 2014. If all goes well, we are ready to order them,” Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov said during a visit to the producer in Russia’s Far East, without specifying the type in question.
(Read More...)
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10/10/2013
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu will depart next week on a four-day trip to Brazil and Peru to promote the sales of Russian weaponry to these countries, the Kommersant daily reported Wednesday. The success of Shoigu’s talks with Brazilian and Peruvian counterparts will significantly boost Russia’s chances to sell military equipment worth at least $1.7 billion, the paper said citing a source in the Russian General Staff.
(Read More...)
10/09/2013
September was not a good month for The Boeing Company’s defense operations. On September 15, Defense News reported that Air Force planners were considering retirement of all 59 Boeing KC-10 tankers, even though they are the newest aerial refuelers in the fleet. On September 18, the company announced it would close the California plant assembling its highly-regarded C-17 airlifter in 2015 due to low overseas demand.
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10/09/2013
Syrian government warplanes bombed rebel positions near a strategic northern city on Tuesday, activists said, as international inspectors toured production and storage sites of the country's chemical weapons arsenal. The rebels captured Maaret al-Numan a year ago, after systematically seizing the army's outposts in the city, along astride a major supply route linking the capital, Damascus with the contested Idlib region and Syria's largest city, Aleppo.
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10/09/2013
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors called on the U.S. Department of Defense Tuesday to transfer as many as seven excess aircraft to the U.S. Forest Service for aerial firefighting in the region. Air Force officials plan to retire some C27 aircraft this fall and make the twin-engine, turboprop-driven cargo planes available to the Forest Service, which, according to Supervisors Greg Cox and Dianne Jacob, has a shortage of firefighting planes.
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10/09/2013
Five brand new military cargo airplanes slated for delivery to the U.S. armed services early next year will go directly to an Arizona “boneyard” set aside for equipment no longer in use, according to Military.com. The report, citing the Dayton Daily News, said about a dozen of the new C-27J Spartan equipment haulers already have been taken out of service and sent to Tucson, where the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base stores unused equipment and airplanes.
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10/09/2013
In the not-so-distant future, U.S. special operators, like those who used scuba gear boats and SUVs to go after terrorists this weekend, may be carried into combat by quiet, ultra-fast helicopters that bear only a passing resemblance to today's models.
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10/09/2013
By stockpiling weapons, China will be able to take Taiwan by force by the end of the year 2020, even if Taiwan gets help “from outside”, says Taiwan’s military report. Western military analysts say that China targeted the island with at least 1,600 ballistic missiles.
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10/09/2013
Circling around this air force base in southern France, an orange helicopter earlier this year completed a test flight—without a pilot. Made by Eurocopter, a unit of Franco-German aerospace giant European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., the military chopper was controlled by technicians in a distant control room.
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10/09/2013
Boeing has delivered the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) fifth CH-147F Chinook helicopter one month ahead of schedule and only three months after the arrival of the first in June, expanding Canada’s military cargo capability while continuing the Chinook program’s history of excellence.
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10/08/2013
U.S. SOCOM’s (Special Operations Command) Air Force Special Operations Command has come up with a quicker way to get Special Forces troops high quality reconnaissance no matter where these operators are in the world. This is done by partially breaking down two MQ-1 Predator UAVs and flying them where needed in a C-17.
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10/08/2013
Turkey has been preparing for an air war with Syria.
The Turkish military said four U.S.-origin F-16 multi-role fighters were sent to the Syrian border on Oct 5. The military said the F-16s were deployed to stop the approach of Syrian Air Force warplanes.
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10/08/2013
China plans to enhance its combat capabilities to a level sufficient to mount a full attack against Taiwan by 2020, showing that its military threat to Taiwan has not diminished, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) has concluded in a report.
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10/08/2013
Mirage 2000s has been the backbone of Indian Air Force since decades. The French multirole, single-engine fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by French-based Company Dassault Aviation was inducted in Indian Air Force in 1980s.
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10/08/2013
In 2005 the enemy was the Taliban, but now the Canadian Armed Forces have slapped a target on a fresh adversary: waste and inefficiency. The military will squeeze up to $1.2-billion in annual savings from existing spending and redirect it to higher priority areas in an effort to keep soldiers, sailors and air force personnel in a higher state of readiness, Defence Minister Rob Nicholson announced Monday. The goal, in military parlance, is “more teeth and less tail.”
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10/08/2013
Textron, in partnership with Airland Enterprises, recently unveiled the Scorpion, a largely clean-sheet light combat/ISR jet that is being prepared for a first flight this month. New military aircraft are so scarce that any new prototype is bound to garner attention, including an Aviation Week cover story, and it's good to see innovation make an appearance in the aerospace and defense industry.
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10/08/2013
Practically the entire fifth generation fighter ideology has come to fruition in the shape of the Su-35S. This gives Russia the potential to set about creating a sixth generation combat aircraft ahead of all the other nations.
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10/08/2013
The Indian Air Force needs to take a call on how it is to acquire a new set of trainer aircraft, balancing indigenisation concerns with practical considerations. There is a considerable degree of conceptual confusion here. It took over a decade to decide on and acquire the Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT). The British Hawk Mk 132 finally entered service in the IAF in early 2008 for advanced jet training.
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10/08/2013
Russian military inspectors will begin monitoring flights over Portugal and France starting on Monday under the international Open Skies Treaty, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. Experts from Russia will be conducting flights on board of a Tu-154M Lk-1 aircraft between October 7 and 11 taking off from Lisbon Airport in Portugal and Getafe Air Base in Spain.
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10/07/2013
No one really likes to talk about the business of war, but for the United Kingdom the defence industry has an important role in the economy. Last month, a record 1,600 companies from around the world flocked to London’s International Defence and Security Exhibition to display their military wares and to meet potential buyers of these arms.
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10/07/2013
Once equipped with cruise missiles with a range of 2,000km, China's H-6 strategic bombers will be more of a threat to US military bases in the Western Pacific than its aircraft carrier, reports Taipei-based magazine Asia-Pacific Defense.
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10/07/2013
The Air Force could lose up to 78 C-130s as the Defense Department determines its intra-theater airlift requirement, Air Mobility Command officials said. The results of a Defense Department study are classified, but one proposal calls for cutting the C-130 fleet from 358 to 280 aircraft, officials said.
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10/07/2013
A wall of Connecticut Air National Guardsmen from the 103rd Airlift Wing stood at attention Saturday afternoon at Bradley Air Base in East Granby waiting to receive their long-awaited next mission. They did it with smiles, and because of the government shutdown, they did it without pay.
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10/07/2013
Like the secret handshake of an elite club, coordination between air traffic control and airborne aircraft involves precise, sometimes complex series of movements. After scheduled avionics upgrades, Navy C-130Ts will know the handshake and be part of the club.
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10/07/2013
Jodhpur Air Force station, a front-line air base, is all set to receive a batch of five Dhruv advanced light helicopters, which will eventually replace the ageing Chetaks, a defence spokesperson said today. The advanced helicopters, developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, will replace Chetak helicopters and used primarily for training, rescue and light transport, Defence spokesperson Col S D Goswami said.
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10/07/2013
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is offering a modernized version of its 1970 era delta-winged Kfir Mach 2+ fighter aircraft. Equipped with advanced avionics and mission systems that, the IAI claims its old fighter jet could rank in the same class of contemporary ‘fourth generation’ fighter jets.
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10/07/2013
The Indian Air Force (IAF) dreams of developing its own combat aircraft in 20 years. At least that is what IAF chief NAK Browne hopes, given the fact that the Air Force has acquired significant expertise in overhaul and upgrade of aircraft.
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10/06/2013
Indonesia is aiming to create eight new squadrons of fighter aircraft by 2024 as part of military upgrade programs, the head of the air force said. The Indonesian Defense Force also is set to train more pilots to cope with what could be more than 100 new jet fighters if each squadron has around 16 aircraft, the Jakarta Globe newspaper reported.
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10/06/2013
Boeing’s H-6U Little Bird, a staple of the special operations community, is in the running for the Marine Corps’ future unmanned lift platform. The traditionally manned Little Bird helicopter, which is used for a variety of missions, including Special Forces raids, will be evaluated here in February, putting it in a head-to-head competition with Lockheed Martin/Kaman’s K-MAX helicopter.
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10/06/2013
Britain became more enthusiastic about using armed UAVs as its troops in Afghanistan got used to having this kind of air support. Thus in 2012, RAF (Royal Air Force) large UAVs flew 892 missions over Afghanistan and 10 percent of the time these missions resulted in a UAV firing a missile at something it had spotted (or was looking for) on the ground.
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10/06/2013
A U.S. military research program that seeks to develop a medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can launch and recover from relatively small ships for long-term maritime surveillance has grown to five separate contractors.
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10/06/2013
Russian military inspectors will begin monitoring flights over Portugal and France starting on Monday under the international Open Skies Treaty, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. Experts from Russia will be conducting flights on board of a Tu-154M Lk-1 aircraft between October 7 and 11 taking off from Lisbon Airport in Portugal and Getafe Air Base in Spain.
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10/05/2013
The shutdown has grounded Air Force planes at key locations across the country as furloughs and the absence of a budget begin to take a toll on a service working to sustain its operational tempo in support of combatant commanders worldwide, Air Force officials said.
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10/05/2013
Greek and Israeli Air Forces will carry out joint aeronautical exercises in the Aegean and the Peloponnese in the coming week of October. According to the Hellenic Air Force, Greece and Israel will conduct in common the following activities as part of a Greece – Israel Military Cooperation Program,
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10/05/2013
U.S. officials swear that America's military and diplomatic build-up in Asia is not an attempt to contain a rising China. But they sure are parking lots of advanced firepower on Beijing's doorstep. The U.S. is even welcoming the increased militarization of Japan, the country America barred from having an offensive force in the aftermath of World War II.
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10/05/2013
The French Air Force reports two new Rafale fighters have been delivered to its flight trial unit by the military's Directorate General of Armaments. The aircraft, the first from production lot 4, were handed to the directorate last month by Dassault Aviation. The Rafales are equipped with Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, next-generation sensors, new missile launch detectors and frontal sector optronics for target identification and range-finding.
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10/05/2013
Marines with Marine Wing Support Squadron 171 pushed their envelope of training when they arrived at the Combat Center Aug. 14, to conduct a variety of training exercises during the Integrated Training Exercise. What was extraordinary about this iteration of the ITX was that the squadron heavily expanded on their initial training utilizing every available asset.
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10/05/2013
It was a moment of high anticipation when, on October 1 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., the Navy’s “Grim Reapers” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 101 rolled out their newest aircraft — an F-35C Lightening II. The F-35C is a break-through achievement of a Navy-industry partnership that was built to redefine U.S. air fighter support power from the sea.
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10/05/2013
Just ahead of its 81st anniversary on October 8, the IAF has virtually sounded the red-alert over its fast-dwindling number of fighter squadrons. Confronted with the government's slow decision-making, fund crunches and Hindustan Aeronautics' sluggish performance, the force is now being forced to further stagger the already long-delayed retirement of its ageing MiG-21s and MiG-27s.
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10/05/2013
To ensure military aircraft are fit for combat operations any time, India has to develop sensor technology with condition monitoring system as a vital part of their maintenance, a top defence scientist said Friday.
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10/05/2013
The IAF is operating with "much less" aircraft than its authorised strength of 42 combat squadrons and in case of any further delay in the proposed 126 fighter jet deal, the force levels in the service will "go down rapidly", its chief NAK Browne said today.
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10/04/2013
For weeks, Iraqi officials have been publicly floating the idea of using American drones to hit the increasingly lethal al-Qaeda-affiliated militants on their soil. But the ordinarily drone-friendly Obama administration is apparently in no mood to open up a new front in global campaign of unmanned attacks. An administration official tells The Cable that American drone strikes in Iraq are now off the table.
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10/04/2013
Many in the West view China's rapid military expansion as a growing threat to global and regional security. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth, or so writes Ai Zhong-Guo. Beijing has little time for global or regional domination, which it reminds everyone in its 2013 Defence White Paper.
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10/04/2013
The Netherlands recently agreed to buy 37 of the new American F-35 fighter-bombers, and possibly more if money became available. Originally the Dutch were going to buy 85 but the escalating cost of the F-35 forced them to reconsider. Some Dutch leaders wanted to stick with the F-16 and upgrade it or consider another new fighter (Gripen, Eurofighter, or F-18E). Some of the other original F-35 customers (like Canada and Denmark) have begun looking at alternatives again.
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10/04/2013
Last week, two F-16s took off, broke the sound barrier, executed several complex maneuvers including barrel rolls and "Split S" rolls, and landed -- all without a pilot. Ostensibly, these aging jets have been retrofitted by Boeing to be used as unmanned planes for target practice and training, but the implications for the future of drone warfare is clear.
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10/04/2013
The partial shutdown of the federal government notched its largest and loudest impact in this military-centric region Thursday: cancellation of this weekend's air show at the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.
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10/04/2013
The military is closely eyeing the V-22 Osprey for a new role as a refueling tanker after a recent successful Texas demonstration trial, Bell Helicopter officials said. In August, experts from Bell Helicopter’s Xworks facility teamed up with military pilots for an aerial trial to demonstrate that the V-22 is capable of refueling strike aircraft and possibly other military platforms, said Ken Karika, a Bell Helicopter business development specialist and former V-22 pilot.
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10/04/2013
A top Indian defence official negotiating a $12 billion deal to buy France's Rafale fighter jets has died of a heart attack, further complicating talks over the delayed contract, officials said Thursday.
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10/04/2013
Entire fighter squadrons are grounded. The Defense Department's Middle East specialists are barred from the Pentagon. Thousands of the Intelligence Community's top geeks are at home playing Minecraft. The shutdown of the United States government is starting to have very real impacts on the American defense and intelligence infrastructure.
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10/04/2013
The prototype of Russia’s first 20-ton combat drone will be unveiled in 2018, a defense industry source said Thursday.
The 20-ton unmanned combat aerial vehicle is being developed by the Sukhoi company, and will be based on the fifth-generation T-50 fighter, United Aircraft Corporation president Mikhail Pogosyan said during the MAKS 2013 airshow near Moscow in August.
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10/03/2013
A new fighter plane built by China is drawing more snickers than raves from aviation experts, and the People's Army is now saying the jet was really ticketed for export all along.
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10/03/2013
A McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II combat aircraft operated by the Turkish Air Force (Türk Hava Kuvvetleri - THK) crashed in the country's central Sivas Province, national media reported on 30 September.
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10/03/2013
Held every year in the town of Nizhny Tagil in the Ural region, the Russian Arms Expo is a weapons-makers’ version of Mardi Gras: lots of costumes, noise and tourists.
Amid the constant thud of target practice by demonstration tanks, severe-looking military attachés mingle with camouflage-clad dads, children in tow, out for a day of spotting the latest military hardware.
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10/03/2013
An additional squadron of advanced combat aircraft Sukhoi-30MKI is likely to be stationed at the Indian Air Force’s eastern-most station in view of the strategic importance of the base.
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10/03/2013
Perhaps the most impressive of Namco Bandai's upcoming free-to-play efforts is Ace Combat Infinity. It certainly doesn't hurt that Project Aces' PS3 game is absolutely gorgeous. Utilizing the latest version of their engine, it looks absolutely phenomenal.
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10/03/2013
Draken International Inc., a provider of commercial and tactical fighter aircraft, has received 25 MiG-21 fighters for U.S. Department of Defense pilot combat training and test pilot schools.
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10/03/2013
THE confusion over the operational readiness of the South African Air Force deepened further on Wednesday following the tabling of the Department of Defence’s annual report, which appears to contradict itself.
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10/03/2013
Against the backdrop of pressing regional tensions, the United States and Japan agreed Thursday to broaden their military alliance, including by adding a new missile defense radar system in Japan and cooperating to combat cyberthreats.
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10/03/2013
Air Combat Command is grounding aircraft that are not immediately training to deploy, officials said Wednesday. The stand down is because of the government shutdown, the command said.
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10/02/2013
Britain is supposed to finally get its own locally made large UAVs this year. Back in 2006 the British began developing the Watchkeeper UAV and by 2010 got its Watchkeeper into the air for the first time. There are two models of this UAV; the Watchkeeper 180 and the Watchkeeper 450. Both are based on Israeli designs (the Hermes 180 and 450).
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10/02/2013
The medium-lift MV-22 Osprey, proven in combat as a troop and equipment transport, could soon get a new mission — refueling other aircraft. A series of tests in August and September has given aviation officials hope that the Osprey could be used to extend the range of other platforms.
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10/02/2013
Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee and NATO conducted joint exercises Vigilant Skies. This is a rare example of cooperation in the face of the deteriorating situation on the Syrian issue where the parties stick to the opposite positions.
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10/02/2013
The F-35C aircraft, affectionately dubbed "Charlie" was rolled out in a special ceremony at Eglin Air Force Base, Tuesday. The fifth generation jet is the latest in defense machinery and it's what some call "the future" of naval aviation.
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10/02/2013
The Indian Air Force (IAF) will not let its fighter squadron strength drop below the existing 34 till 2017 as the Soviet-era workhorse, Mig-21s, are being gradually replaced with Sukhoi-30 MKIs.
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10/01/2013
Facing the challenge of US and Japanese submarines operating within disputed territorial waters, the People's Liberation Army is preparing for a three-dimensional anti-submarine system consisted of aircraft, surface combat vessels and submarines, according to the Hong Kong-based Wen Wei Po.
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10/01/2013
The U.S. Air Force is moving to retire outdated aircraft from its fighter inventory, including F-16s and A-10s that have for decades been operated by the Air National Guard.Scorpion
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10/01/2013
The first Chinese combat aircraft built specifically for aircraft carrier use, the J-15, appears to have started mass production. Last November one was seen making touch and go landings on the new carrier Liaoning. Since then several J-15s have been seen at navy air bases painted as combat (gray), not development (yellow), aircraft.
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10/01/2013
Job creation will stand as the chief factor when the Danish government convenes to select a replacement type for its aging F-16 fleet in mid-2015.
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10/01/2013
UK public spending on military research and development has long been among the highest in the world. Its advocates argue that this spending is focused on defending Britain and keeping our soldiers safe – an argument that has been hard to challenge because of the opaque nature of Ministry of Defence accounting practices.
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10/01/2013
September was not a good month for Boeing’s military platforms. Last week, South Korea’s air force indicated that Boeing’s F-15SE (Silent Eagle) proposal, which had earlier been selected as sole compliant bidder by the country’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), would not be acceptable for the FX-3 fighter competition.
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