December 25, 2013 Military Aviation News
12/25/2013
Syrian warplanes have killed at least 15 people in Aleppo, raising the death toll to over 360 during the past 10 days of bombings, activists said. The opposition says it will not attend the Geneva-2 peace talks if the regime continues to launch air raids.
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12/25/2013
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe minces no words about his intention to revise the country’s pacifist constitution, while boosting military forces amid growing tensions with China over disputed islands in the East China Sea. “It is my career goal. For what purpose did I become a politician? I definitely want to carry through with it,” the premier told public broadcaster NHK on Sunday.
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12/25/2013
Greek Patriot air defense units “harassed” four Turkish F-4 military aircrafts by putting them under radar-lock while they were flying in international airspace over the Aegean Sea, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement on their website Dec. 24. Military sources told daily Hürriyet the Greek military used Patriots defense units for the first time against Turkish military aircraft, as they previously resorted to military planes.
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12/25/2013
The Israeli military says it has carried out an air strike in the Gaza Strip in response to the deadly shooting of an Israeli civilian who was working along the border fence.
The shooting prompted Israel to warn it would respond “forcefully”.
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12/25/2013
A Chinese military utility helicopter roughly equivalent to the Sikorsky H-60 made its first flight on Dec. 23, state media report. The helicopter, with the unconfirmed designation Z-20, is a 10-metric-ton (22,000 lb.) aircraft suitable for operation from high-altitude fields, China Central Television says. For almost three decades, China has relied on 24 UH-60 Black Hawks bought in the 1980s for such operations.
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12/25/2013
The U.S. Air Force has signed a contract with Pratt & Whitney to have the aerospace company provide maintenance and repair of F119 jet engines through the end of next year. The contract was announced Monday by members of Connecticut’s legislative delegation in Washington. The deal, which is worth $231.46 million, is an extension of an existing contract between the Air Force and the company, which makes and maintains jet engine.
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12/25/2013
Three U.S. aircraft from Hurlburt field were attacked while performing a mission in South Sudan on Saturday, according to a news release from U.S. Africa Command. Three CV-22 Ospreys, tiltrotor aircraft that can function as both airplanes and helicopters, were hit by small arms fire while attempting to evacuate U.S. citizens from the town of Bor, the release said.
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12/25/2013
Aerospace and defense engineers and executives, like the militaries they serve, face adversaries. Certainly, these enemies are of a different nature than those faced by warfighters, but their effect can be just as incapacitating and severe. Military officials facing tight budgets are opting to extend the life of currently fielded aerospace and defense platforms on the ground, at sea, and in the air. In some cases, lifespans are even being doubled.
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12/25/2013
A reaction force of 150 Marines is poised to enter South Sudan to help protect US Embassy personnel and, if needed, to evacuate the roughly 100 Americans who remain in the country, Pentagon officials say. The hope is that the US troops can help beef up security amid growing fears of civil war breaking out in the country.
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12/25/2013
The Swedish government is working on a joint strategy with Saab to extend the Gripen-E combat fighter offer to Brazil to include a radically up-scaled industrial dimension that would see Brazil become the primary production base for future Gripen-E sales to South America and Africa through a joint venture development and profit sharing partnership with Embraer.
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