April, 2014 Military Aviation News
04/30/2014
The Israel Air Force held a large exercise for fighter jets and combat helicopters in recent days to practice shooting down hostile drones. The drill is part of a series of training exercises designed to prepare pilots for the growing threat of the drones that Hezbollah and Hamas have.
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04/30/2014
Twenty-three nations, about 40 ships, six submarines, hundreds of aircraft and 25,000 people are participating in this year's Rim of the Pacific war games in and around Hawaii June 26 to Aug. 1, the Navy said. Details until now have been few, but Navy officials released some of the specifics of this summer's iteration of the world's largest international maritime exercise.
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04/30/2014
The US F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is capable of combating China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, reports Huanqiu, the website of China's nationalistic Global Times tabloid. In a hypothetical aircraft carrier battle between China and the United States, the main fighter jets would include the United States' F-35C fifth-generation multirole fighter developed by Lockheed Martin and China's J-15 carrier-based jet developed by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation.
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04/30/2014
The fate of the A-10 close-air support platform has been the most contentious issue between the Air Force and Congress over the last six months. If comments made Tuesday are any indication, it’s a fight that isn’t going away. At a hearing called to discuss the future force mixture among active, Guard and Reserve components, Secretary Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh ran into an A-10 themed assault in the form of Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain.
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04/30/2014
There are no shortage of GoPro aviation videos online, but very few of them are of active combat squadrons in the US Navy. The VFA-27 Royal Maces, a squad of Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter aircraft, recently took to the skies with some cameras on-board. The video is of training exercises (not live combat), but it should give you an idea of how fighter pilots view the world strapped into a fourth-generation fighter jet.
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04/30/2014
Under an agreement signed by the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the countries’ air forces will launch joint air patrols in January. The initiative has been debated for several years, but was recently accelerated by the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and related security concerns of the two governments, reported daily Gazeta Wyborcza.
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04/30/2014
Four French Air Force Rafales have deployed to Poland. The aircraft don’t sport the traditional tail markings and the reason may be their unit fough alongside the Soviets in WWII. At 09.40 GMT, four French Air Force Rafale “omnirole” jets landed at Malbork airbase in Poland, where they have been deployed to reinforce NATO and its allies presence around Ukraine.
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04/30/2014
This summer, two separate British air shows will host the overseas debut of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a next-generation fighter jet that is being billed as the most advanced warplane of its type yet developed. Two or three F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, which are capable of taking off on a short runway and landing vertically, will make their first trans-Atlantic flights — from the United States to the United Kingdom — in July, officials from the U.K. Ministry of Defence said.
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04/29/2014
According to information available, in Romania military units are moving towards the eastern borders – a military echelon loaded with anti-aircraft guns, trucks and ground -to- air missile systems has moved via Bucharest towards the Black Sea port of Constanta. The military units are needed for conducting joint military exercises with the participation of the US servicemen and four American F-16 fighter jets, according to the Romanian Defense Ministry officials told newsmen.
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04/29/2014
The United States has a vested interest in maintaining the strategic status quo in the Asia-Pacific given that its position as a power in the region could be undermined should China succeed in changing the regional security landscape. As anxiety has grown about China’s intentions following an increase in tensions over the Senkaku/Dioayu dispute between it and Japan, and a host of territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
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04/29/2014
Moscow is ready to discuss military aspects of the crisis in Ukraine within the framework of the OSCE’s Forum for Security Cooperation, the Russian delegation to the Vienna talks on military security and arms control said Monday. However, the discussions should not be linked to chapter three of the Vienna document, which defines mechanisms for consultation and cooperation regarding unusual military activities, the ministry said.
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04/29/2014
The US Air Force (USAF) has received into service the first of 76 B-52H Stratofortress bombers to go through the Combat Network Communications Technology (CONECT) digital data suite upgrade. The aircraft was accepted during a ceremony at Barksdale Air Force Base (AFB), Louisiana, on 25 April after having gone through the nine-month upgrade at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex located at Tinker AFB.
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04/29/2014
On April 2, India’s outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, told a conference that: “As a responsible nuclear weapon state that remains committed to non-proliferation, India supports the idea of a nuclear-weapon-free world because we believe that it enhances not just India’s security, but also global security.”
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04/29/2014
Bulgaria's defense minister has announced job cuts in the army to free funds for the modernization of the armed forces. Angel Naydenov said Monday that the army will be downsized by 1,300 servicemen by the end of this year and called the purchase of new combat aircraft "the most urgent task" which should have government approval by mid-year.
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04/29/2014
Built in more than 11,000 examples and acquired by countless countries around the globe, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 was introduced in several Arab arsenals in the early 1960s, becoming the most modern among the Soviet jets flown in the Middle East in that period.
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04/29/2014
Britain is dispatching four Typhoon fighter jets to patrol the airspace of Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, British media said Monday. They will perform their patrolling mission alongside with six fighter jets of the Polish Air Force and will serve as a replacement for six F15 jets of the US Air Force.
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04/29/2014
The Australian Government's mission to upgrade the defence force fleet of ageing aircraft with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been controversial since it began more than a decade ago. Australia formally began looking for options to replace its F/A-18 and F-111 aircraft in May 1999 with the creation of project AIR 6000 – New Air Combat Capability. Phase 2, a Project Definition Study, was to commence in the 2002/03 financial year with a final decision expected around 2005/06.
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04/28/2014
The Malaysian prime minister has finally confirmed reports that the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was tracked by military radar, as he prepared to host US President Barack Obama in Kuala Lumpur seven weeks after the plane disappeared. Najib Razak said a preliminary report into the incident would be made available to the public over the course of the coming week.
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04/28/2014
The U.S. military has prepared options for a muscular response to any future Chinese provocations in the South and East China seas, ranging from displays of B-2 bomber flights near China to aircraft-carrier exercises near its coastal waters, officials said. The menu of options, described by officials briefed on the action plan, reflects concerns that U.S. allies in Asia have questions about the Obama administration's commitments to its security obligations.
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04/28/2014
China has surpassed Japan in the construction and purchasing of new surface combat vessels, according to an Apr. 25 article on the Canada-based Kanwa Defense Review operated by military analyst Andrei Chang, also known as Pinkov.
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04/28/2014
While many stealth proponents point to Red Flag exercises as proof of superiority of stealth aircraft, reality is, as usual, very different from official accounts. It is simple truth that exercises never can replicate reality perfectly; limitations must be placed to ensure safety of pilots and aircraft; other limitations are also in place which would not be in war, such as operational g limit being placed at 9 g for most modern fighter aircraft, despite many of them being able to pull 11-12 g.
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04/28/2014
The US Air Force’s decision to divest itself of the A-10 has created a massive headache to the service, with the Warthog community teaming up with supporters on Capitol Hill to try to block the combat jet’s retirement. But one constituency that has not chimed in? The powerful adjutants general leading the military forces at the state level.
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04/28/2014
The F-35 will go places other jet fighters cannot go safely and it will shoot down the enemy before it knows it is there. That is what a "fifth generation" fighter will deliver, according to US Lt-Gen. Christopher Bogdan, who heads the Pentagon's F-35 program.
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04/28/2014
A perilous face-off intensified Saturday when Russia state news complained that Ukraine had mobilized 15,000 troops in the suburbs of Slavyansk in eastern Ukraine "in order to wipe out the city and its residents." Quoting a Russian Defense Ministry source, RIA Novosti said satellite photos showed the force forming around the city that has become a friction point between the Ukraine military and pro-Russian militants.
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04/28/2014
The crew parachutes came out of the U.S. Air Force KC-135 flying members of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's entourage during his 1959 visit to the United States. It would have been awful public relations, after all, if an emergency forced the U.S. crew to bail out while leaving Soviet passengers behind to die in a crash. The crew didn't care, pilot Bill Lusk said, because they knew parachutes are about as useful in a KC-135 as they are on a submarine.
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04/28/2014
The Philippines used to be a central hub for U.S. military operations in the Asia-Pacific, and the Southeast Asian country looks set to fulfill that role once more – albeit on a smaller scale – as the two countries reboot their long-standing alliance. U.S. President Barack Obama and his Philippine counterpart Benigno Aquino III are expected to sign a new security pact – the Agreement on Enhanced Defense Cooperation – in Manila on Monday.
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04/28/2014
A first batch of five F-16 fighters was added to fleet of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on Sunday. Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt said that addition of new fighter aircrafts would increase the capacity of air force. The PAF chief was speaking at the PAF Base Mushaf in Sargodha where the force received its first batch of five F-16 fighter jets from Jordan.
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04/27/2014
A fatal helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan which killed all five UK personnel on board appears to have been a "tragic accident", the MoD has said. An investigation has begun into how the Lynx helicopter came down in Kandahar province on Saturday morning.
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04/27/2014
As new U.S. sanctions against Russia loom, the Kremlin has shut down—at least for now—intensive high level communications between top U.S. and Russian officials. Since the invasion of Crimea, President Vladimir Putin and President Barack Obama have had regular phone calls in an often half-hearted attempt to deescalate the ongoing crisis inside Ukraine. But as the U.S. and EU prepare to unveil new sanctions against Russia, Putin has decided the interactions should stop.
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04/27/2014
Five troops have been killed in a British military helicopter crash in Afghanistan, with the cause of the incident under investigation. The identities of those on board are yet to be confirmed, though sources say they are all thought be to British service personnel. The crash in southern Afghanistan is the largest single loss of life for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) since a US helicopter crashed in December after being hit in a Taliban insurgent attack.
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04/27/2014
As Western governments vowed to impose more sanctions against Russia and its supporters in eastern Ukraine, a group of foreign military observers remained in captivity Saturday accused of being NATO spies by a pro-Russian insurgency. The German-led, eight-member team was traveling under the auspices of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe when they were detained Friday.
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04/27/2014
President Benigno Aquino III on Friday unveiled a plan to acquire more air assets, including patrol aircraft, to boost the capability of the Air Force. Presiding over the Philippine Air Force change of command in Lipa City, the President said the Armed Forces would purchase eight combat utility helicopters, six close air support aircraft, two-long range patrol aircraft and radar systems.
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04/27/2014
The G7 group of nations agreed on Saturday to impose sanctions on Russia over its meddling in Ukraine, adding to international pressure on Moscow. The move effectively adds the voices of Canada and Japan to Friday's announcement by America, Germany, France, Italy and the UK that further sanctions were imminent.
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04/27/2014
US President Barack Obama’s visit to Japan this week came at an opportune time, given the growing friction between Asia’s two largest military powers over disputed territories. Just last week, Japan began its first military expansion in more than 40 years by breaking ground on a radar station on Yonaguri, a tropical island off Taiwan.
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04/27/2014
With the arrival of the last four F-22s earlier this month, the Air Force’s newest Raptor squadron is operational, and Tyndall Air Force Base is now home to the largest group of the fifth-generation fighter. Four F-22s touched down April 8 at the Florida base, completing the transfer of 24 Raptors originally scheduled for early 2013. The flight finished the transfer of the 24 F-22s, seven T-38 Talons and most of the planned contingent of 620 active-duty and 230 Air Force Reserve airmen at the ba
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04/26/2014
Five Nato troops have been killed in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan, the Nato-led security mission Isaf has said. Isaf gave no further details, saying in a statement that it was still reviewing the circumstances of the crash. Afghan officials said the helicopter had come down in Kandahar province because of a mechanical failure.
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04/26/2014
Last week, Saudi Arabia bought its first drone fleet, according to a dispatch from Tactical Reports. Saudi Crown Prince Salman met with Chinese General Wang Guanzhong to sign a contract for a shipment of Chinese Wing Loong drones, also known as Pterodactyls.
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04/26/2014
The Ukrainian crisis that has already prompted Sweden to consider raising military spending is boosting interest in military hardware in other European states, Saab AB Chief Executive Hakan Buskhe said. "The number of questions about enhancing defense capabilities from a handful of nations in continental Europe and also in the Nordic area have increased," Mr. Bushke said in an interview. "The discussion about possibilities is more active today than just a couple of months ago."
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04/26/2014
The US says Russian military aircraft have entered Ukrainian airspace several times in the past 24 hours, amid rising tension in the east of the country. A Pentagon spokesman told the BBC late on Friday that the incidents had happened mainly near the border with Russia, but gave no further details.
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04/26/2014
The Russian Defense Ministry is prepared to discuss the crisis in Ukraine with the Pentagon, although it has not received a request for such talks, Gen. Maj. Igor Konashenkov said Friday.
Media reports earlier said that Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel had attempted to contact Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to discuss the situation on Ukraine’s border.
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04/26/2014
The replacement of Russian helicopters with American ones in Afghanistan will be costly and quite troublesome for the Pentagon, Lajos Szaszdi, a defense analyst and expert in international affairs, told RIA Novosti Friday.
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04/26/2014
Alenia Aermacchi, and ATK announced today that the demonstrator of a fully configured MC-27J multi-mission tactical transport aircraft completed its first flight from the company's Turin test flight centre.
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04/25/2014
The U.S. is so far providing more resources to shoring up eastern European allies made nervous by a newly assertive Russia than other NATO members, again testing the alliance that has struggled throughout the war in Afghanistan. On Wednesday, a company from the Vicenza-based 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team arrived at an air base in northwestern Poland, part of a commitment the U.S. announced Tuesday to send about 600 troops to Poland and the Baltics for training exercises.
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04/25/2014
Boeing has been pushing hard to come on strong into the tactical ISR market. Despite the sputtering of the Enhanced Medium-Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance System (Emarss) program for the U.S. Army, it seems the company had secretive customer that helped underpin the business a few years ago. But, what was known as the Yellow Jacket demonstrator for that unnamed customer has been morphed for roughly three years into what we now know as Ramis.
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04/25/2014
The Swedish government defended plans Thursday to equip fighter jets with cruise missiles capable of striking targets in Russia, days after announcing a military spending hike linked to the Ukraine conflict. “In the future the ability to combat longer range targets can be important,” Defence Minister Karin Enstroem told public broadcaster Sveriges Radio, adding that the missiles would have “a high precision which acts as a deterrent.”
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04/25/2014
In the last year the U.S. Army has been experimenting with the use of its AH-64 Apache helicopter gunships from navy ships. This is all about being ready to participate more fully in future military operations in the Pacific. For the last few years the United States has been shifting its military forces and war plans to the Pacific.
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04/25/2014
China’s navy commissioned 17 new warships last year, the most of any nation. In a little more than a decade, it’s expected to have three aircraft carriers, giving it more clout than ever in a region of contested seas and festering territorial disputes. Those numbers testify to huge increases in defense spending that have endowed China with the largest military budget behind the United States and fueled an increasingly large and sophisticated defense industry.
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04/25/2014
Technical complexity is rising, as engineers work toward “more electric aircraft,” including commercial airliners and military combat aircraft, points out Dr. Nick Smith, business development director, Integrated Electrical Systems Division at Mentor Graphics. Dr. Smith delivered the keynote presentation opening the Integrated Electrical Solutions Forum (IESF) 2014, hosted by Mentor Graphics, at the Future of Flight Museum at Boeing’s Paine Field in Everett, Wa.
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04/25/2014
In the military aircraft market, the sky is not falling; we are just experiencing erosion” and the effects of sequestration, budgets, and politics, says Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at Teal Group Corp., “Back in Black: Aviation/Defense Industry Overview and Forecast” at the Integrated Electrical Solutions Forum (IESF) hosted by Mentor Graphics at the Future of Flight Museum at Boeing’s Paine Field in Everett, Wa.
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04/25/2014
he U.S. Army has awarded Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] a $25 million contract to design, build and test a 60-kilowatt electric laser to be integrated and tested in a truck-mounted weapon system demonstrator. The laser weapon is designed to significantly improve the warfighters’ ability to counter rockets, artillery, mortars and unmanned aerial threats.
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04/25/2014
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced Thursday that Russia will conduct military drills in response to the developing situation in Ukraine’s southeast, where a special operation has targeted the country’s own citizens. “We are forced to react to such a development in the situation,” Shoigu said.
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04/25/2014
Russian Tu-95MS “Bear” strategic bombers, accompanied by supersonic Mikoyan MiG-31 interceptors, have conducted test flights over neutral waters of the North Sea, a senior Air Force official told reporters Thursday. Russia’s strategic bomber force regularly performs flights over neutral waters of the Arctic, the Atlantic, the Black Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
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04/24/2014
Fighter jets were scrambled after two Russian military aircraft were spotted approaching UK airspace, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said. Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets took off from RAF Leuchars in St Andrews, Fife, on Wednesday. The jets were sent to investigate the Russian planes, which are believed to have turned away shortly afterwards.
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04/24/2014
Dutch fighter jets scrambled Wednesday to intercept a pair of Russian military aircraft that entered their airspace, a fairly routine action that comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and NATO, a Dutch official said. Maj. Wilko Ter Horst said that the military learned around 3:50 p.m. (9:50 a.m. ET) that two Russian TU-95 bombers, known as Bears, had come a half-mile inside its airspace.
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04/24/2014
The US Navy is close to the next phase of its plan to build squadrons of robotic “top guns,” carrier-based unmanned aircraft capable of collecting intelligence, watching for enemies, and bombing them if necessary. On April 17, the Naval Air Systems Command issued a “restricted” draft request for proposals for the Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) system to the four contenders who have already been involved in the preliminary design review.
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04/24/2014
After a series of battle successes in the Syrian civil war over the last few months, Syrian President Bashar Assad may direct his army to renew efforts in the south of the country, primarily along the border with Jordan. The Arab media have published several reports in recent weeks to the effect that a major military campaign is in the works for the region in which the Syrian uprising erupted a little more than three years ago.
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04/24/2014
The failure of contracted pilots to keep their aircraft over water during an Oct. 5 night flight over Panama led to a crash that killed an Air National Guard member and three other crew members, according to an Air Combat Command-directed Accident Investigation Board report released Wednesday. The two pilots survived.
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04/24/2014
China’s military has used annual budget increases in excess of 10 percent to buy precision-guided weapons, fighter jets and an aircraft carrier. Now it’s seeking to upgrade its recruits to operate them. For Wu, a 20-year-old journalism student at a university in Beijing, that means his college fees are paid and he has an extra 3,500 yuan ($561) a year to live on.
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04/24/2014
Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced in Canberra his government has approved the acquisition of a multi-billion jet fighters to boost Australia’s air defence capability. Australia will spend $12. 4 billion for 58 Texan-built F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter jets. Boasting the fighter planes’ capability, the prime minister gave some specs: a top speed of 1960km/h, fire air-to-air missiles, guided bombs and a cannon using the most sophisticated avionics and sensors.
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04/24/2014
Canada is about to station combat-ready fighter aircraft in Eastern Europe. The six CF-18s we are sending abroad will apparently be based in Poland. The only reason for their presence is a perceived threat from one country only – Russia. While this gesture may be tokenism, be assured it will nonethless be expensive (our contribution to the “liberation” of Libya came in at around $100-million).
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04/24/2014
Flying military combat aircraft requires an exceptional amount of decision making in a very short window with lots of distractions. Now, the Defense Department wants the defense industry to build them much better autopilot. The Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency, or DARPA, announced a new program to build an automatic pilot kit to install into military planes.
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04/24/2014
Lockheed Martin’s Group 1 family of unmanned aircraft systems is migrating to enhanced automation capabilities using its Kestrel™ “Fly Light” flight control systems and industry-leading mobile Ground Control Station (mGCS) software. The increased automation allows operators to focus on executing the mission, rather than flying various aircraft.
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04/23/2014
The U.S. Air Force on Tuesday issued what is called the Final Record of Decision on McConnell Air Force Base and the new KC-46A tankers, a move that officially makes McConnell the main operating base for the new aircraft. "It's literally the last shoe to drop," Kansas Congressman Mike Pompeo told me Tuesday. Of near-term importance, he said, it means the USAF can start spending money to get the base ready for the new tankers.
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04/23/2014
The U.S. military in Europe is sending four company-sized infantry units, a total of about 600 soldiers, to Eastern Europe, the latest effort to reassure NATO allies in light of Russian aggression in Ukraine, a Pentagon official said Tuesday. Four countries — Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — each will receive a company of paratroopers from the U.S. Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team based in Vicenza, Italy, said Pentagon spokesman Rear. Adm. John Kirby.
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04/23/2014
Syrian rebels have been sighted wielding anti-aircraft weapons in various combat sectors including the Damascus region in the last few days. Just as on April 6, DEBKAfile was the first publication to disclose the arming of Syrian opposition forces with their first US weapons, BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles, our military sources now reveal that they have also acquired - and are using - Russian-made 9K310 Igla-1 aka SA-16 anti-tank rockets, which have an operational range of 5.2 km.
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04/23/2014
Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun to react to subtle U.S. military deployments in the periphery of Russia. The U.S. has sailed an Aegis anti-ballistic warship into the Black Sea, and the Pentagon announced Tuesday that U.S. troops would be sent for exercises in Eastern Europe to reassure allies on Russia’s border.
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04/23/2014
China plans to fold developers of military hardware into listed state-owned companies, people familiar with the matter said, giving them access to capital markets as the country prioritizes high-technology defense capability.The plan would allow military research institutes to be incorporated into state-owned enterprises, said the two people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to discuss the plans publicly.
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04/23/2014
The United States and her Western allies are facing some of the most difficult challenges to national security in modern history. Russia’s annexation of Crimea and rising Chinese tensions in Asia painfully expose how airpower is critical to holding freedom’s line around the world, yet deteriorating fiscal stability means every tax dollar spent must be prioritized on platforms that work and win on the battlefield.
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04/23/2014
Ukraine's president orders anti-terrorist operation in the east to restart after politician "tortured to death" as defence ministry says Ukrainian military aircraft hit by gunfire while on reconnaissance flight over Slavyansk
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04/23/2014
Australia will buy 58 more F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) at a cost of more than $12 billion after the Federal Government gave the go ahead for the purchase yesterday. The extra aircraft will bring Australia's total Joint Strike Fighter force to 72 aircraft, with the first of them to enter service in 2020. The $12.4 billion price tag makes the Joint Strike Fighters Australia's most expensive Defence asset.
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04/23/2014
Dassault Aviation announced that last month it came a step closer to making science fiction reality when it conducted a formation flight of the nEUROn unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) with a Rafale fighter and a Falcon 7X business jet. The flight off the coast of the south of France took place on March 20, and for almost two hours the nEUROn kept station with the other planes as they flew over the several hundred kilometers out over the Mediterranean.
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04/22/2014
Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Sunday there have been an “abnormal” number of flights by Russian military aircraft close to Japanese islands in recent days. The country’s air defense force scrambled fighter jets for seven days in a row through Saturday after spotting Russian military planes flying along the Japanese archipelago, according to the Defense Ministry.
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04/22/2014
National Guard attack helicopter units just can’t be as battle-ready as full-time regular Army ones, Deputy Secretary of Defense Christine Fox has been telling the Hill. That’s why the Guard should give all its AH-64 Apache gunships to the active-duty force to replace older aircraft lost to budget cuts.
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04/22/2014
The Russian Ministry of Defense has placed an order for its first 16 Mikoyan MiG-29 SMT jet fighters in the “new light tactical version,” Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG said in a statement The fighters were modernized and fitted with improved ability to eliminate air, ground and sea targets with air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, the statement said.
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04/22/2014
The U.S. approved plans to sell Mexico as many as 18 Black Hawk helicopters in a $680 million deal aimed at bolstering efforts to combat drug trafficking. The State Department approved the potential sale of 18 UH-60M Black Hawks made by Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. in an announcement that comes ahead of a planned visit to Mexico this week by U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.
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04/22/2014
The NATO alliance should focus on its historic mission of deterring Russian aggression in Europe as members wrap up their mission in Afghanistan, Poland’s defense minister said.
NATO members need to properly fund their militaries at “the level of defense spending that would guarantee that capabilities would grow and not deteriorate,” Tomasz Siemoniak said during a visit here last week.
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04/22/2014
The German government is taking part in the NATO mobilization in Eastern Europe with at least one warship and six combat planes. According to the Ministry of Defence, the vessel “Elba” will head a flotilla of five mine detectors due to depart soon from the port of Kiel in the Baltic Sea.
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04/22/2014
Those fighting to save the A-10 jet fighter are missing the point. The U.S. Air Force is the best in the world at close air support in a permissive environment like Afghanistan, even without the A-10. In the future, elite U.S. forces can do without it as the military continues to chase terrorists across the Middle East and Africa, and the A-10 has even less purpose in any future high-end combat in more contested areas, like China, with rapidly improving air defenses.
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04/22/2014
More than 150 representatives of the Russian Air Force and their colleagues from Belarus will meet this week to discuss joint exercises and test the integration of the countries’ air forces and air defense systems, a spokesman for the Russian military said Monday. The meeting will take place at the Ashuluk Firing Range in Russia’s southern Astrakhan region from Monday to Friday, with Russian Air Force commander Lt. Gen. Viktor Bondarev overseeing the operations.
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04/21/2014
Australia will decide in a few days whether to alter or scale back the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, but will consult all countries involved on any changes, Australia's ambassador to the United States said on Sunday. Kim Beazley told CNN the search countries would "regroup and reconsider" if nothing is found in a section of the Indian Ocean floor now being scanned by a U.S. Navy underwater drone.
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04/21/2014
Japan's defense minister said Sunday there have been an “abnormal” number of flights by Russian military aircraft close to Japanese islands in recent days. The country's air defense force scrambled fighter jets for seven days in a row through Saturday after spotting Russian military planes flying along the Japanese archipelago, according to the defense ministry.
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04/21/2014
Saudi Arabia will soon sign several contracts to purchase military hardware from Russia. It goes about a major deal to buy various modifications of combat helicopters, T-90C tanks, armored vehicles and anti-aircraft missile systems. The deal approximately totals $2 billion. Saudi Arabia will purchase Mi-171, Mi-35 choppers and T-90C tanks until the end of this year Pravda.Ru reports.
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04/21/2014
The Yankee Air Museum at 47884 D Street in Belleville Mich., intends to honor America’s fallen service members with a tribute and ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand opening of the Vietnam War exhibit. This event will take place on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26 at 9 a.m.
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04/21/2014
The Air Force met with representatives from 35 companies last week to discuss its plans for replacement of the J-STARS fleet at Robins Air Force Base. According to a release, the meeting was held with about 100 representatives of aircraft and communication companies around the country who were gathered for industry week at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.
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04/21/2014
Scientists from Russia and India have begun to work on a more compact version of the BrahMos supersonic missiles, the BrahMos-M, which will be used by the Indian fifth-generation fighter.
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04/21/2014
China’s recent announcement that it would increase defense spending by 12.2 percent in 2014 is making some American allies nervous in a region where perception matters and the possible flashpoints are numerous.
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04/21/2014
The signature policy of Turkey’s outgoing procurement chief of “aggressively going national as much as possible” may gain pace under his successor, but Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s authority on major decisions likely will also rise, officials, analysts and industry sources agree.
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04/21/2014
Though it feels absurd to say this — like a bad joke at a lame 80's themed party — the Canadian government has announced that this country is sending reinforcements to our NATO allies in Europe. Six CF-18 fighter jets and necessary support personnel will soon deploy to an Eastern European location (expected, but not confirmed, to be Poland), to join other NATO forces in a “patrol” mission.
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04/20/2014
India and France would start a ten-day joint Air exercise 'Garuda-5', aimed at training the pilots and crew of Indian and French fighters in air superiority operations in Rajasthan's Jodhpur airbase from June 3, IAF sources said. Both the Indian Air Force and French Air Force would be engaged in various missions ranging from close combat engagement of large forces, slow mover protection.
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04/20/2014
Japan’s defense ministry’s Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI) is planning to unveil the country’s advanced technology demonstrator-experimental (ATD-X) plane within months; the lightweight stealth aircraft is scheduled to make its maiden flight later this year, Japan’s defense minister Itsunori Onodera has confirmed. ATD-X is positioned to become Japan’s next generation stealth fighter, replacing 94 locally produced F-2 that entered service in the year 2000.
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04/20/2014
U.S. combat air forces are ill equipped to fight a technologically empowered enemy, and it could be years or decades before the Pentagon deploys more advanced weapons. Such is the grim picture painted in a new study by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. The authors, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. David Deptula and CSBA analyst Mark Gunzinger, make the case that aviation forces are not up to the challenges of 21st century warfare and the Pentagon has only itself to blame.
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04/19/2014
According to satellite pictures and military intelligence, some 50,000 Russian troops are massed along the border with Ukraine. The forces represent a substantial fraction of Russia’s 270,000-strong army, and they cannot indefinitely maintain the high state of readiness they have been in since early March, not least because it is now the time of year when conscripts at the end of their term have to be sent home, and new ones trained.
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04/19/2014
The Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. military and American intelligence agencies have quietly pushed the White House in recent weeks to deny a new Russian surveillance plane the right to fly over U.S. territory. This week, the White House finally began consideration of the decision whether to certify the new Russian aircraft under the so-called “Open Skies Treaty.” And now the question becomes: Will the spies and generals get their way?
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04/19/2014
Textron AirLand’s new small military jet, the Scorpion, has completed more than 50 hours of flight time since flight testing began in December, the company said. “It’s performing extremely well – up to the design expectations and beyond in some cases,” said Textron spokesman David Sylvestre. “It’s right on schedule.”
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04/19/2014
The leading Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today called for the Obama administration to provide lethal weapons to the Ukrainian military and stop "holding their coat." "It's time for us to consider anti-tank weaponry, anti-aircraft weaponry," Corker said in an interview with CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper."
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04/19/2014
Pro-Russian insurgents in Ukraine's east who have been occupying government buildings in more than 10 cities said Friday they will only leave them if the interim government in Kiev resigns. Denis Pushilin, a spokesman of the self-appointed Donetsk People's Republic, told reporters that the insurgents do not recognize the Ukrainian government as legitimate.
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04/18/2014
As the war in Afghanistan begins to wind down, the Air Force foresees its resources shifting to Africa. Col. Kelly Passmore of the 449th Air Expeditionary Group commander at Camp Lemonnier said he believes it’s already happening. “Our presence here in Djibouti is enduring and I think it is growing,” Col. Passmore told Stars and Stripes. “As DOD has capacity that is freed up from our transition out of Afghanistan, it gives us forces that are able to now focus on this region.”
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04/18/2014
An unmanned U.S. Navy helicopter built by Northrop Grumman Corp and a precision ship-landing system built by Raytheon Co face mandatory reviews that could lead to their cancellation after quantity reductions drove unit costs sharply higher in 2013, the Pentagon announced on Thursday.
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04/18/2014
The United States will send helmets, medical supplies and other non-lethal military aid to Ukraine amid fears of another Russian incursion there, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel says.
Hagel said on Thursday he had informed Kiev that President Barack Obama "has approved additional non-lethal military assistance for health and welfare items and other supplies".
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04/18/2014
The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), which is looking to replace its fleet of 18 Russian-made Mikoyan-29N Fulcrum jet fighters, will soon be accepting tenders for multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) from defence aviation companies.
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04/18/2014
Six Air Force F-35A Joint Strike Fighter aircraft are currently at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to test the aircraft's stealth and sensor technologies against representations of Russian, Iranian and Chinese air-defenses. "The surface threat is a tough problem because it is a system of systems and the emerging threats that we have right now can see you hundreds of miles away.
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04/18/2014
Jordanian military warplanes struck a convoy of vehicles as they were trying to enter Jordan from Syria, the Jordanian army said in a statement Wednesday. A Syrian military official acknowledged the vehicles did not belong to the Syrian army. According to the Associated Press, the statement did not say how many vehicles were in the convoy, nor did it offer casualty figures.
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04/18/2014
The F-35 Lightning II aircraft will make its international debut in July this summer, the British Defence Secretary has announced. The F-35 Lightning II will participate in the flight demonstration at the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford (11-13 July, 2014). It will continue to the Farnborough International Air Show (14-20 July) where it will also participate in the aerial flight display.
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04/18/2014
Canada is deploying six CF-18 fighter jets to Eastern Europe as part of NATO’s response to the worsening crisis in Ukraine, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Thursday. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Ukraine was on the brink of civil war, stoking fears of outright Russian intervention.
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04/18/2014
Aviation history will be made in the UK this summer when, in a major airshow first, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, the Joint Strike Fighter, makes its much-anticipated European debut. This hugely important multi-role combat aircraft, which has never before been seen outside of the US, will display at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford between July 11 and 13.
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04/17/2014
When Russian attack aircraft buzzed the USS Donald Cook in the international waters of the Black Sea, even as tensions in the region ratchet up, Pentagon officials decried the move as “provocative.” How big a deal are these “provocative” actions on the part of the Russian military – or were these just a couple of rogue Russian pilots out for a joy ride?
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04/17/2014
A top Air Force official had one word to describe the proposed cuts threatening to ground the A-10 fleet. "Heinous." Rep. Ron Barber relayed the comments from Gen. Michael Hostage, the commander of the Air Combat Command, shortly after the pair toured Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to discuss the fate of the iconic attack aircraft known as the Warthog.
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04/17/2014
While the armed services are grappling with fewer dollars to spend on personnel, procurement, maintenance and operations accounts, Special Operations Command came out as one of the few winners of the fiscal year 2015 Defense Department budget request.
Renowned for being the military’s most agile and cost-effective force, SOCOM’s overall budget is slated to increase in the upcoming fiscal year, allowing for more procurement and personnel funding.
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04/17/2014
The Obama administration has removed all operational combat tanks from Europe and key strike aircraft, limiting the options for a show of force to bolster eastern NATO allies as Russia contemplates invading Ukraine. Most analysts, and President Obama, say direct military aid to Kiev in the form of weapons, air power or ground troops is off the table.
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04/17/2014
France intends to deploy fighter aircraft and AWAC air surveillance planes to NATO duty in eastern Europe because of the crisis in Ukraine and to reassure Alliance members in the east, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Wednesday. "The Ukrainian crisis is the most serious since the end of the Cold War and the responsibility for this escalation is known to all--it belongs to Russia," Le Drian told the French parliament.
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04/17/2014
While the Typhoon is not a “stealth” aircraft like the F-35, it was designed with a focus on reducing its radar cross section (RCS). Constructed of 80% composite material, the Typhoon is stealthier than the current CF-18, and roughly equivalent to the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.31
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04/17/2014
The U.S. Defense Department has approved the first trans-Atlantic flight of Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 fighter jet in July to take part in two international air shows near London, U.S. and British officials said Wednesday. The new warplane will make its international debut at the Royal International Air Tattoo, or RIAT, an annual military air show held outside London in July, followed by appearances at the show, held every other year, said the officials.
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04/17/2014
The Defence Minister is entirely justified in refusing to sign a $20 billion contract with Dassault Aviation of France for 126 Rafale fighters while life cycle costs are still disputed; these costs are typically at least three times as much as the initial acquisition price over the three to five decades that combat aircraft often operate for. As we head for a new government in Delhi, it is appropriate to consider alternatives to this hugely expensive acquisition.
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04/17/2014
The Predator drone has become the symbol for America’s unmanned war, zooming over the heads of low-tech foes like the Taliban. But the battles to come are likely to be against more sophisticated, better-equipped foes—especially with a newly-aggressive Russia on the march. And in those conflicts, the Predator would be all-but-useless. The drone is too easy for an advanced military to spot and shoot down.
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04/16/2014
In order to keep the B-1B Lancer's capabilities ready to operate now and well into the fast-paced integrated battlefield of the future, the 419th Flight Test Squadron began testing Sustainment Block 16A (SB 16A) software upgrades here April 1, to work in conjunction with the long-range bomber's recently added glass cockpit configuration.
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04/16/2014
Its original purpose was to serve as Korea's own light combat aircraft, but it's finding a home in the international market. The FA-50 is the light attack variant of the the T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic advanced jet trainer operated by the South Korean Air Force. Co-developed by Korea Aerospace Industries and U.S. defense firm Lockheed Martin, the FA-50 is capable of combat action, with advanced radar and missile capabilities.
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04/16/2014
krainian armed forces launched a special operation to recapture the airport near the town of Kramatorsk, in the Russian speaking east, taken by pro-Moscow separatists. The operation involved several Ukrainian troops disembarked from helicopters and supported from the air by at least four combat planes: two Su-27 Flanker fighter jets and Su-25 Frogfoot attack planes.
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04/16/2014
Sweden’s Saab Group, which makes the Gripen Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA), has proposed to lease its fighter jets to the Malaysian government with full warfare capabilities and no restriction. Saab’s vice-president and head of Saab Malaysia, Thomas Linden, said the leasing solution is the latest development and it has made similar proposals to Brazil and Switzerland.
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04/16/2014
Just days before the second anniversary of its maiden flight the naval variant of the Light Combat Aircraft-LCA Navy (NP-1) has successfully completed its first super sonic flight signaling that the aircraft is now able to fly faster than the speed of sound. The Bangalore-based Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) the nodal agency for the development of the LCA said that this feat was achieved in the month of March.
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04/16/2014
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fleet recently surpassed 15,000 flight hours, marking a major milestone for the program. “Flying 15,000 hours itself demonstrates that the program is maturing, but what I think is even more impressive is the fact that operational F-35s accounted for more than half of those flight hours,” said J.D. McFarlan, Lockheed Martin's vice president for F-35 Test & Verification.
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04/16/2014
NATO is not discussing a military response to the situation in Ukraine and is counting on political and diplomatic decisions to resolve the crisis, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Tuesday. "We are not discussing military options. We do believe that the right way forward is to find a political diplomatic solution. However, we're focused militarily on strengthening defense of our allies. That's our core task," Rasmussen said before a meeting with EU defense ministers.
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04/16/2014
The Russian Defense Ministry has signed a $470 million contract with the MiG corporation for the delivery of 16 advanced MiG-29 SMT fighters, the ministry said Tuesday. The company had earlier confirmed the deal in an interview with RIA Novosti, but did not specify its value.
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04/15/2014
Australia is likely to commit to buying 58 more Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightnings this month, setting aside the alternative of consolidating its combat aircraft squadrons on the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The decision will increase the country's total commitment to 72 F-35s and expand the Royal Australian Air Force's fast-jet fleet, counting a separate order for 12 EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft as additional to, not part of, the fighter force renewal.
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04/15/2014
Boeing’s development of a new aerial-refueling tanker for the U.S. Air Force is “generally on track,” according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, as it starts a fast-paced flight testing schedule with little margin for delays or other problems. However, the airplane maker could have to pay for projected cost overruns, which the Air Force estimated to be as much as $787 million, according to the report, which was released last week.
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04/15/2014
Israel has been preparing to produce the first components for the U.S.-origin Joint Strike Fighter. The state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries is working on production lines for the wing assembly of the F-35 fighter-jet. The wing assembly was awarded by Lockheed Martin as part of Israel’s order of 19 fifth-generation combat aircraft over the next four years.
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04/15/2014
The United Nations Security Council has held an emergency session to discuss the escalating crisis in Ukraine, just hours before a deadline by Kiev for pro-Russian separatists to disarm by Monday morning or face a "full-scale anti-terrorist operation" by its armed forces.The Council began meeting at 8pm (0000 GMT on Monday) at Russia's request after Moscow called Kiev's plans to mobilise the army to put down a rebellion by pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine "criminal."
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04/15/2014
Not surprisingly, 2014 will be another big year for the U.S. Navy’s X-47B UCAV (unmanned combat air vehicle). During the last few years this unmanned combat aircraft has successfully carried out numerous tests aboard aircraft carriers. There are two X-47Bs available for this and both are being used. The X-47B made its first catapult launch from an aircraft carrier on May 14th 2013.
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04/15/2014
Pro-Russian protesters cemented their control of administrative buildings in at least nine cities in the east of Ukraine on Monday, refusing to abide by an order from the central government in Kiev to leave or face being forced out by an “anti-terrorist operation”.
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04/15/2014
The troubled F-35 combat aircraft program has turned a corner. At least that’s what program advocates claimed last Tuesday at a hearing before the Airland Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Program head Lt. Col. Christopher Bogdan asserted that “the program is making slow and steady progress on all fronts.”
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04/15/2014
In much of Southeast Asia, budgets are smaller and ambitions more limited compared with neighbors to the north, and many countries are trying to rid themselves of much older equipment. But Singapore and Vietnam are generally better equipped and have more extensive plans.
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04/15/2014
Denmark has fired the starting pistol in its contest for a new fighter aircraft, sending out requests for information to four manufacturers. Officials from the New Combat Aircraft Program have sent what they call Requests for Binding Information (RBI) to Boeing for the F/A-18F Super Hornet, to Eurofighter for the Typhoon, to Lockheed Martin for the F-35A and to Saab for the Gripen E, as the country looks to replace its aging fleet of F-16 Fighting Falcons.
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04/15/2014
Malaysia is likely highly interested in acquiring Russia’s latest air defense missile systems, building on existing bilateral military-technical cooperation, Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said Monday.
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04/14/2014
Turkey has scrambled four F-16 planes to intercept a Russian military plane flying near the Turkish coast over the Black Sea, the military said on Sunday. The Russian IL-20 was flying over international waters on a west-to-east course parallel to the Turkish coast about 15-20 nautical miles off the shores of the Black Sea on Saturday,
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04/14/2014
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has said that the country should synergise the competences available to tide over the oft-repeated time and cost overrun concerns. DRDO Director-General (Aero) Dr K Tamilmani told Express in an interview that any Indian initiative would be supported so as to build a robust eco-system.
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04/14/2014
The Asia-Pacific naval market is heating up, with massive quantities of new ships to boost regional navies in coming years. According to AMI International, a US-based naval analysis firm, Asia-Pacific has already surpassed Europe as the world’s second largest naval market. AMI projects the region will spend $200 billion on new ships and submarines by 2032, making up roughly 25 percent of the global projected new ship market.
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04/14/2014
The Pentagon is looking at new ways to disperse its forces throughout the Asia-Pacific as military planners explore alternatives to the large US super bases in the region vulnerable to cruise missile strikes. Instead, the Defense Department is reviewing a host of options, including ways to operate combat aircraft in austere locations and strengthening overseas bases.
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04/14/2014
China’s military modernization efforts over the past 20 years have been marked by broad efforts, according to an expert, as opposed to focusing on specific services. “So, we see new naval forces, air forces, ground forces and missile forces,” said Dean Cheng, a China military specialist at the Heritage Foundation.
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04/12/2014
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. of Poway received a four-year, $141.4 million U.S. Air Force delivery order for work on the Block 50 ground control station for unmanned aircraft. Under the deal, GA-ASI will deliver four ground control stations — two fixed and two mobile — as well as three system integration laboratories. It will also conduct engineering development work on the Block 50 station and provide the Air Force with spares.
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04/12/2014
An advanced British radar system is being deployed by the South Korean military amid fears that North Korea could use unmanned aerial vehicles to launch an attack with biological or chemical weapons. South Korea has purchased 24 long-range radars made by Essex-based Blighter Surveillance Systems and has been testing the equipment for frontline defence and to protect key locations in Seoul.
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04/12/2014
Following on from last year’s popular Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) demonstration, which saw Prince Harry in his first air show appearance, the RAF Chinook and Army Apache will again be at Cosford as part of the planned six-hour flying display. As well as performing their individual displays, they will showcase the combat capabilities of the two helicopters in an exciting joint demonstration with the RAF Regiment.
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04/12/2014
The aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower was finally in sight. The pilot of the F/A-18 Super Hornet hurriedly flipped switches and pushed levers. The aviator in the backseat leaned forward, straining to see the flight deck floating in the distance. The jet’s right engine had locked up, its landing gear jammed, the main fuel tank almost empty. At nearly 350 mph, the Super Hornet hurtled over the warm waters of the North Arabian Sea last April.
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04/12/2014
Russia has begun the process of transferring the first Ukrainian naval vessel in Crimea back to Ukraine, a source in the Black Sea Fleet Headquarters told RIA Novosti on Friday. “Two Black Sea tugs have begun taking the missile boat from Karantinnaya Bay in Sevastopol,” the source said, referring to Ukraine’s Priluki missile boat.
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04/12/2014
Cubic Defense Systems has been awarded a contract valued at more than $5 million from the U.S. Air Force to supply its P5 Combat Training System (P5CTS) to the Moroccan Air Force. Morocco will join the United States Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, along with a number of other air forces, in using the P5CTS to support high-fidelity, TOPGUN-style live and post-mission training.
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04/11/2014
Fresh hope fueled the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane Thursday after a plane detected a possible underwater signal. The crew of an Australian P-3 Orion dropped dozens of buoys equipped with underwater sensors into the ocean, and they heard something. The signal - the fifth picked up by search teams so far -- may be from one of the so-called black boxes aboard Flight 370, the Australian agency coordinating the search announced.
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04/11/2014
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's F-22 Division is on-track to complete installation of the Automatic Back-up Oxygen System, or ABOS, in the Air Force's F-22 Raptor combat fleet by December 2014. In January 2012, following a series of incidents in which a number of F-22 pilots experienced physiological symptoms in flight, the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board made a list of recommendations to improve the aircrew life support system.
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04/11/2014
The F-35 Lightning II will enhance combat capabilities, project U.S. power and deter potential adversaries, Air Force officials told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on tactical air and land forces in a hearing on tactical aircraft programs there, April 8. “The F-35 will form the backbone of U.S. air combat superiority for generations to come,” said Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office executive officer.
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04/11/2014
The KC-135 Stratotanker is the star of a new video recently released by the 127th Wing Public Affairs office. The 5-minute mini-documentary showcases the refueling capability of the KC-135, which is operated by the 171st Air Refueling Squadron, 127th Air Refueling Group, 127tth Wing at Selfridge Air National Guard Base.
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04/11/2014
he commander of the UK Royal Air Force’s operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan has praised the UAE for staging one of the world’s best air-combat exercises. Air Commodore Al Gillespie spoke on Thursday, the final day of the advanced tactical leadership course (ATLC), an international major exercise hosted by the UAE Air Force.
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04/11/2014
NATO’s next move in response to the crisis in Ukraine is likely to be more of the same: more NATO fighters patrolling over the Baltics, more rotations of warships into the Black Sea and more surveillance of Russian movements around Ukraine. Since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula last month, NATO has sought to reassure jittery members concerned about Moscow’s suspected expansionist aims by boosting its presence in those countries that border Russia, Ukraine and Moldova, officials said.
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04/11/2014
Russia's sleek new military machine, currently poised on Ukraine's eastern borders, has a problem: It runs on components produced in Ukraine, which are still being delivered by Ukrainian companies. And now, Ukraine's beleaguered interim government is warning that it might call a halt to all arms supplies to Russia: "Manufacturing products for Russia that will later be aimed against us would be complete insanity," Vitaliy Yarema, Kiev's first deputy prime minister, said.
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04/11/2014
It’s often called the military’s ugliest aircraft, a snub-nosed tank of a plane that’s nicknamed “Warthog” for its appearance and ferocity. The A-10 Thunderbolt II has been the Air Force’s equivalent of an in-the-trenches grunt for almost 40 years: heavily armed and armored, designed to fly low and take out the enemy at close range.
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04/11/2014
An unmanned American navy drone flew into Canadian-controlled airspace on Tuesday morning, which surprised officials who were not expecting to see it. The drone was supposed to land in Maryland but was sent to Maine due to bad weather, Nav Canada director of public affairs Michelle Bishop said.
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04/11/2014
The Nigerian Air Force has revealed that it will be acquiring additional fighter aircraft and combat helicopters, with approval having already been received from the government. Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Adesola Amosu made the revelation during a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday ahead of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Nigerian Air Force. However, he did not disclose the type of aircraft involved in the new acquisition plans, or numbers.
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04/10/2014
An important milestone was recently reached on a significant upgrade improving capabilities for the Airborne Warning and Control System, better known as AWACS. The 40/45 block upgrade is the largest modification on the U.S. AWACS fleet. It provides a complete replacement of mission computer systems - some of which were originally installed in the 1970s - and a new open, network-based architecture, which enables future net-centric operations.
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04/10/2014
The Navy is integrating a vertically-launched longbow Hellfire missile onto the Littoral Combat Ship as a way to give the platform more fire-power, service officials said Wednesday.
Unlike other missiles that would require laser-designation to pinpoint targets, the longbow Hellfire can use what’s called millimeter wave seeker technology that can autonomously track and destroy multiple targets simultaneously.
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04/10/2014
NATO's top military commander in Europe, drafting countermoves to the Russian military threat against Ukraine, said Wednesday they could include deployment of American troops to alliance member states in Eastern Europe now feeling at risk. U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove told The Associated Press he wouldn't "write off involvement by any nation, to include the United States."
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04/10/2014
If you spin a globe to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, you will discover that almost no land is visible in any direction. That’s because the Pacific covers nearly half of the Earth’s surface. The good news is that all that water protects America from potential enemies in Asia. The not-so-good news is that the Western Pacific has become the industrial heartland of the new global economy, so it is also becoming the main focus of U.S. military strategy.
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04/10/2014
The NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission is to be boosted substantially next month with the disclosure on 8 April that the normal complement of four fighters will be increased to 12.
With the Polish Air Force set to take on the mission with four MiG-29 'Fulcrum' fighters from May through to August, the UK will also send four Eurofighter Typhoons and Denmark four Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons, the Reuters news agency quoted an alliance official as saying.
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04/10/2014
Japanese fighter jet scrambles against Chinese planes hit a record high in the year that ended in March, the Defense Ministry said on Wednesday, as Sino-Japanese ties were strained by disputes over territory and interpretations of history. Japan scrambled combat planes against Chinese aircraft 415 times during the year, up 36 percent from a year earlier. It was the highest number since the ministry started disclosing country-specific figures in 2001.
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04/10/2014
The planned sale of the redundant L-159 combat planes to Iraq may fail for three reasons: the Czechs may not be able to quickly deliver the planes, the Czech military may consider the sale unprofitable, and a new Iraqi government may reject the sale, daily Lidove noviny (LN) writes yesterday. The aircraft producer, Aero Vodochody, and Iraqi officials agreed on the sale of 12 old L-159s for $200 million on Sunday, the paper writes.
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04/10/2014
Israel’s first Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules airlifter arrived at Nevatim Air Base today. Along with senior Israeli officials, Chairman, President and CEO Marillyn Hewson attended the ceremony and made remarks. Israel ordered its C-130Js through a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) contract with the U.S. Government. This is the first ferry of the C-130Js currently on order for the IAF, which has operated legacy C-130s since 1971.
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04/10/2014
The Turkish Air Force finally formally accepted the aircraft from Airbus Defence and Space at the A400M Final Assembly Line in Seville, Spain, on Monday 7th April. A further ceremony will take place in Turkey at a later date.
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04/09/2014
Two Turkish F-16 fighter jets followed a Russian reconnaissance plane that was flying parallel to the Turkish coast in international airspace. The General Staff said on its website Tuesday that an IL-20 type reconnaissance jet had flown near Turkey's Black Sea coastline and the Turkish Air Force responded by sending two F-16 fighter jets to intercept it.
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04/09/2014
The impact of the speed and range of the Osprey is driving an opportunity to add speed and effectiveness for situational decision makers in the ground combat element flying aboard the Osprey as well.
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04/09/2014
An agreement on U.S.-Philippine defence cooperation, expected to be signed this month during a visit by President Barack Obama, will be a clear sign of a U.S. “rebalance” to Asia despite U.S. preoccupations elsewhere, the Philippines’ top diplomat said. The deal will enable the sharing of Philippine bases, an increase in the rotation through the Philippines of U.S. ships, aircraft and troops, and will reassure U.S. allies of support against a rising China.
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04/09/2014
The A-6 Intruder was developed in the 1950s with the US Navy demanding as capable of an attack machine as possible. That's why it was built to use a rather modern idea: thrust vectoring. It wasn't quite ready for primetime back then, but the idea was there and the need to make the Intruder so advanced and so innovative arguably led to its longevity.
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04/09/2014
This is the low-cost, high performance fighter jet that Australia overlooked when the RAAF spent more than $6 billion to fill a capability gap between its retiring F-111 and Hornet fleets and the controversial stealth F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
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04/09/2014
The Defense Department decision to retire an Air Force plane built specifically to support ground forces has ignited a firestorm of criticism from the airmen whose job is to embed with Army ground forces and spot enemy targets. Meanwhile, one top Air Force commander is defending his service’s decision to eliminate the A-10 Warthog, despite acknowledging the aircraft’s value.
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04/09/2014
After a series of successful tests, the U.S. Navy last month certified that the Boeing Phantom Badger combat support vehicle can be transported inside a V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. That is another step toward providing warfighters with more options to deploy the versatile vehicle.
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04/09/2014
Modernized MiG-31BM interceptor aircraft have started combat alert duty at an airbase in Tver Region in western Russia, with the full modernization of the unit to be completed by the end of the year, a military spokesperson said Tuesday.
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04/08/2014
Navy engineers are making final adjustments to a laser weapon prototype that will be the first of its kind to deploy aboard a ship late this summer. The prototype, an improved version of the Laser Weapon System (LaWS), will be installed on USS Ponce for at-sea testing in the Persian Gulf, fulfilling plans announced by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert at the 2013 Sea-Air-Space Expo.
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04/08/2014
You know the old saying “you could knock me over with a feather?” Well, that is the way I felt when I heard Secretary of Defense [Chuck] Hagel state that the Obama administration wants to reduce the U.S. military forces back to pre-WWII size. Huh! Have any of these people read a history book?
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04/08/2014
The Pentagon has a new fight with Congress. This one is over the Pentagon’s plan to cut costs by moving the AH-64 Apache attack helicopters assigned to Army National Guard units to the active Army and replacing them with newer UH-60 Black Hawks, which are used mainly for transportation.
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04/08/2014
Representatives from Iraqi Defense Ministry have signed a purchase contract with Aero Vodochody on buying 12 mothballed L-159 combat planes from the Czech military on Sunday. Penta Investments that owns Aero Vodochody confirmed the news on Monday.
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04/08/2014
The Israeli air force has unveiled a new strategy intended to increase the operational capabilities of its fighting squadrons at a time of war – operating two different types of aircraft very closely.
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04/08/2014
The U.S. is going to station more F-16 fighter jets to Romania, amind rising tensions after Russia’s invasion and subsequent annexiation of Crimea. Even if the aircraft will take part in a pre-planned joint exercise, the deployment of the American warplanes close to Ukraine, is a just the last of a series of actions aimed at reassuring eastern Europe and Baltic allies worried by Russia’s seemingly aggressive posture.
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04/08/2014
The Sultanate of Oman accepted the first of its second order of Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons in a ceremony April 3 at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth facility. The fighter aircraft will ferry to Oman later this year. In 2002, the Sultanate of Oman became the 23rd member of the F-16 family and now joins the 15 other countries which have ordered additional F-16 jets for their air defense.
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04/08/2014
Boeing will broaden its support for the U.S. Navy's fleet of Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft through a recent order for maintenance simulators. The Navy plans to begin using six virtual trainers, one ordnance load trainer and 14 hardware-based devices to train P-8A maintenance personnel at Naval Air Station Jacksonville starting in 2016.
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04/08/2014
Boeing today adjusted slightly the timing for ending C-17 Globemaster III production and closing its Long Beach, Calif., C-17 final assembly facility after a successful two-decade production run of the world’s premier airlifter.
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04/07/2014
Britain and its Nato allies must respond to Russia’s “illegal aggression” against Ukraine by spending more on defence, the alliance’s secretary general has said. Writing in The Telegraph, Anders Fogh Rasmussen appeals for Nato members to modernise their armed forces as Russia tries to “carve up” Europe.
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04/07/2014
The third Royal Malaysia Air Force (RMAF) C-130 Hercules aircraft has arrived today at the Royal Australian Air Force Pearce base to assist the search of the missing MAS flight MH370.
The additional third military aircraft is part of the Malaysian programme to intensify the search for the jetliner after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak announced the plan to send more military assets during his two-day visit to Australia last Thursday.
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04/07/2014
The Turkish army is preparing to launch a naval and land exercise on Monday. The major exercise comes amid tensions with Syria and a changing map in Ukraine, both in close proximity and of geopolitical importance to Turkey. The Turkish Air Force's 11-day military exercise, nicknamed Anadolu Kartali (Anatolian Eagle), will commence on Monday in the central Turkish province of Konya.
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04/07/2014
Turkey recently conducted a successful test of its Hellfire clone, the Mizrak-U. With a range of 8 kilometers the Turkish missile can use either an infrared imaging guidance system or laser homing. Turkey becomes one of a growing list of nations that have produced their own version of the Hellfire. Britain produces a Hellfire variant, called Brimstone which is unique mainly in that it can be fire from jets. This version has become very popular as well.
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04/07/2014
India’s 13.1-lakh strong armed forces may be waiting for the new government in May to sign key defence deals, but the defence ministry under the present UPA regime seems to be working to make that difficult. At least three of the five major deals—cumulatively worth over `1.2 lakh crore—that are almost ready and waiting to be signed have been pushed into controversies.
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04/07/2014
Those are words that describe Lt. Col. Colin “Rage” Donnelly when he talks about his squadron’s A-10 “Warthog” attack jets, the airmen who maintain them, the pilots who fly them, and the troops they train for combat search-and-rescue, close air support and forward-air control.
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04/07/2014
The Italian Air Force will be well represented at this summer’s Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in the Cotswolds. Headlining the Italian involvement in the weekend’s flying display on July 12-13 will be the country’s national aerobatic team, the world-renowned Frecce Tricolori. Flying 10 examples of the Aermacchi MB339 PAN jet trainer, the Frecce are joining celebrations to mark the 50th display season of their British counterparts, the Red Arrows.
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04/06/2014
Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder has positioned himself to become the Jeff Bezos of the Pentagon. Much as the Amazon.com Inc. founder envisions mini-drones that deliver small packages across America, Adm. Klunder, the Navy's research chief, wants to create innovative unmanned helicopters able to perform tasks now carried out by humans: resupplying troops in remote areas and rescuing wounded Marines from the battlefield.
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04/06/2014
North Korea's unmanned attack drones are believed to be capable of striking all targets in South Korea, a government official said Sunday, amid new security concerns over North Korea's spy drones. North Korea has deployed unmanned attack drones it unveiled in March last year during military drills meant to destroy low-flying cruise missiles and test the accuracy of unmanned combat aerial vehicles.
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04/06/2014
In a continued effort to reduce the number of convoys and rapidly resupply front-line troops, the Office of Naval Research recently tested technology that could eventually enable any rotary wing aircraft to take off, complete a mission, and then land with little or no guidance from the ground.
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04/06/2014
Britain plans to send the Watchkeeper to Afghanistan this year, possibly to serve with a French Army unit working with the British Army team flying the tactical UAV, a British officer said on April 3 at a high-level defense conference here by the Franco-British Council.
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04/06/2014
A few weeks ago, at the height of the crisis in Ukraine, representatives of some of the biggest defence contractors in the US were munching canapes on Capitol Hill at a fundraiser for a top Republican congressman and committee chairman. Russian president Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea may have frightened Russia’s neighbours and generated widespread fears of a new cold war, but the mood at the fundraiser was, according to one attendee, “borderline euphoric”.
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04/06/2014
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program is flying into this year’s budget wars on Capitol Hill with renewed lift under its wings from a lower government cost estimate and progress refining technical glitches. Another boost for the long-delayed and over budget program — testimonials by pilots who say its flight control systems could usher in a new era of naval aviation, one in which landing by night on ships is a breeze, freeing training dollars and time.
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04/05/2014
South Korea's defense chief vowed Friday to promptly prepare measures to step up its air defense, in light of recent border incursions by North Korea's spy drones that have emerged as a new security challenge. In an interpellation session, Kim Kwan-jin said Pyongyang could develop more advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for attack, though the two small aircraft, equipped with small cameras, recently found near the inter-Korean border were rudimentary spy drones.
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04/05/2014
Taiwan's Air Force said Friday that it will begin the process of upgrading its fleet of over 100 F-16 A/B fighter jets in the second half of 2016. Before upgrading its entire fleet of the fighters, Taiwan has sent several of the planes to the United States for a trial to see if the upgrade will work. The planes will be brought back to Taiwan once they pass the testing process, the air force said.
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04/05/2014
Ukraine’s belated decision on March 29 to stop supplying weapons and military equipment to Russia, a month after its troops seized the Crimean peninsula, is likely to lead to the cancellation of numerous international contracts signed by Moscow. The decision is likely to impede Russia’s military-defense industry significantly.
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04/05/2014
I made a simple mathematical error a couple of weeks ago. I said we’ll be buying 54 Joint Strike Fighters but we’re actually getting 58 for a total of 72; unless, of course, we add a couple of spares. At less than $100 million each the nice people from Lockheed will tell you these are virtually giveaway prices – even if the jets do (currently) require more than 16 hours of maintenance for every hour they spend in the sky.
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04/05/2014
Eight 412EP aircraft are being supplied to the Philippine military by Bell Helicopters in a deal financed by the Canadian Commercial Corporation. The utility helicopters that will be manufactured in Canada by Bell have a normal cruise speed of 140 miles per hour and a range of 463 miles.
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04/05/2014
In a ratcheting up of tensions between NATO and Russia, both are accusing the other of failing to uphold agreements signed between the two sides since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Following Russia's annexation of Crimea and the buildup of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, NATO announced that it was suspending "all practical civilian and military cooperation" with Moscow.
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04/05/2014
Saab has successfully test flown a key passive detection capability for its in-development Gripen E fighter, using dedicated test aircraft 39-7. Developed by Selex ES’s Airborne & Space Systems division, the Skyward-G infrared search and track (IRST) sensor will give the combat aircraft a long-range means of detecting and identifying potential airborne threats, without the need to first switch on its active electronically scanned array radar.
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04/05/2014
As South America continues increasing its defense expenditures, air fleet modernization is driving numerous requirements and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future. Brazil, accounting for half of South America’s defense expenditure, is conducting the region’s most ambitious modernization of air military assets, and local industry is involved in both the production of foreign equipment under license as well as indigenous development.
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04/05/2014
Several mothballed Mikoyan Mig-29 Fulcrum fourth-generation fighter jets were returned to combat service in western Ukraine, the country’s Defense Ministry said on Friday. “Specialists of our team have already returned several planes to service,” the ministry quoted an unnamed commander of an Air Force unit near Ivano-Frankivsk as saying. “We are now conducting test flights. Soon, more mothballed fighter jets will take off again.”
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04/03/2014
The first ever European Air-to-Air Refuelling Training (EART14) taking place at the Eindhoven Air Base in the Netherlands starts today. Between 31 March and 11 April aircraft and crews from Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands will participate in realistic Air-to-Air Refuelling training scenarios within a modern air combat environment.
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04/03/2014
NATO foreign ministers moved yesterday to beef up the defences of frontline alliance members feeling menaced by Russia, with Secretary of State John Kerry proclaiming the US commitment to their security is “unwavering”.
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04/03/2014
An MQ-1B Predator flying a 20-hour mission in Africa crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on Sept. 17, the Air Force announced today. A failed power converter led to the crash, which destroyed the unarmed drone and its communication pod valued at $5.3 million, according to an Air Combat Command abbreviated accident investigation board report released Wednesday.
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04/03/2014
Two U.S. fighter jets under NATO command were scrambled from the Siauliai air base in Lithuania Tuesday (1 April 2014) to exercise with two Swedish Gripen fighter aircraft over the Baltic Sea, in a training event designed to improve coordination and emergency procedures.
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04/03/2014
NATO will suspend cooperation with Russia on the maintenance of Afghan helicopters and a joint anti-drug operation, a source in the alliance told RIA Novosti. Foreign chiefs of NATO's 28 member states earlier froze "practical civilian and military cooperation" with Moscow but vowed to keep intact the NATO-Russia Council and diplomatic contacts at the ambassadorial level and above.
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04/02/2014
The U.S. embassy in Cairo on Tuesday denied that Washington had refused to return to Egypt a number of Apache combat helicopters that had been sent to the U.S. for maintenance, conflicting with earlier claims by a retired Egyptian army general.
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04/02/2014
Last year, North Korean state media reported that the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, had overseen North Korea's biggest annual military exercise using “super-precision drone planes.” Now, South Korea has recovered what may be part of the vaunted North Korean drone force after it crashed on an island south of the countries' border. And let’s just say that it wasn’t exactly the height of drone technology.
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04/02/2014
Bulgaria has put on high alert or deployed its air force about 30 times in two months in response to a recent spike in Russian military aircraft flying near its aerial borders on the Black Sea, its defense minister said on Tuesday.
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04/02/2014
NATO continued its military build-up on the Russian border even as US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Paris Sunday evening to discuss the conflict over Ukraine. The meeting, involving four hours of “frank” talks, ended with no breakthrough and separate news conferences.
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04/02/2014
Nato's foreign ministers have ordered an end to civilian and military co-operation with Russia and told their generals and admirals to quickly devise ways to better protect alliance members that feel threatened by Moscow.
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04/02/2014
Developed as an advanced version of the F-5 fighter, the Northrop F-5E was selected to be the International Fighter Aircraft to follow the F-5A, and over 950 Tiger II were delivered to a wide variety of countries around the world. Moreover the F-5E demonstrated to be the perfect fighter to provide Dissimilar Air Combat Training (DACT), that’s why U.S. Navy and Marines still use it as adversary in mock air-to-air engagements.
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04/02/2014
These photos show how British pilots are putting a £100million fighter jet through its paces ahead of its first appearance in British skies this summer. The first of the UK's F-35s – dubbed the Lightning II by maker Lockheed Martin – are at a giant military airfield in Florida’s Panhandle region, where pilots are practicing flying them backwards, stopping them in mid-air and reaching top speeds of 1.6 times the speed of sound.
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04/02/2014
Tanks headed north into Ukraine this week from Russian-controlled Crimea. Not at the head of an invading army, but on a trainload of military equipment in such poor shape that Moscow had no use for it. This humiliation illustrates the yawning chasm in the two former Soviet nations' armed forces — one hollowed out by a lack of finances, the other benefiting from booming oil revenues.
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04/02/2014
Two C-130J Super Hercules aircraft operated by the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) ferried from the Lockheed Martin facility here today to South Korea. ROKAF accepted delivery of these two aircraft last week at a ceremony in Marietta, home to the C-130J Super Hercules production line. These Super Hercs will be flown by ROKAF aircrews, which currently operate a fleet of C-130H legacy aircraft.
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04/01/2014
Israel installed a “spying device” near its border with Lebanon, Lebanon’s Daily Star reported on Monday. Residents of Kfar Kila, a village near the border, saw a military unmanned vehicle driving slowly before the device was planted along the border’s barbed wire fence, according to the report. Israeli combat aircraft were also spotted flying over the Kfarshouba and the Shebaa Farms, as well as over other areas in south Lebanon.
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04/01/2014
A ceremony was held today at Australian company, Marand, commemorating the delivery of the first ship of Australian made F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter vertical tails. The Honourable Dr. Denis Napthine, Premier of Victoria, and The Honourable Michael Ronaldson, Senator for Victoria representing the Defence Minister, were among the distinguished guests in attendance.
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04/01/2014
NATO will hold air drills over the ex-Soviet Baltic countries on Tuesday - an annual exercise that has gained added significance this year amid growing concerns over Russia's territorial ambitions. "It is yet further proof of the alliance's solidarity and commitment," Lithuanian Defence Minister Juozas Olekas told AFP on Monday.
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04/01/2014
Still baffled by the crash of its brand new C-130J Super Hercules aircraft on Friday, the Indian Air Force has sent its voice recorders to the US expecting data to demystify the causes within this week.
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04/01/2014
France and India are fully on track to seal the deal for the around $20 billion MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) project, under which IAF will acquire 126 Rafale fighter jets, French ambassador Francios Richier said.
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