April 17, 2015 Military Aviation News

DARPA carries out full PCAS prototype demo using MV-22

04/17/2015

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) tested a prototype of the Persistent Close Air Support (PCAS) system for the first time during the US Marine Corps’ Talon Reach exercise. A full-system PCAS was tested during the exercise in March in an effort to demonstrate the system’s ability to share real-time situational awareness data between air and ground.

GOP lawmaker works to save A-10 in defense bill

04/17/2015

Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) says lawmakers are working on a measure in the annual defense policy bill to keep the A-10 attack jet flying. “It’s best to be in the chairman’s mark because then it’s paid for. That’s what we’re working on,” the retired Air Force colonel and former A-10 fighter pilot said Thursday during an interview with The Hill.

This photo of X-47B combat drone taking fuel from tanker proves we are one step closer to unmanned aerial refueling

04/17/2015

On Apr. 16, “Salty Dog 502?, one of the two Unmanned Carrier Air Vehicle demonstrator (UCAS-D) aircraft of the X-47B program performed autonomous aerial refueling (AAR) test, plugging the in-flight refueling (IFR) probe into the hose of a Omega Air tanker off the coast of Maryland.

Saab, Embraer formalize deal for Brazil's fighter program

04/17/2015

Saab of Sweden and Embraer of Brazil have formalized their partnership to supply Gripen NG fighters for Brazil's F-X2 air force project. The agreement signed earlier this week follows a previous Memorandum of Understanding on management of the F-X2 project for the Brazilian Air Force and the transfer of Gripen technology.

NEURON European Stealth combat drone has started operational tests in Italy

04/17/2015

The first example of the nEUROn UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle), the full-scale technology demonstrator developed by France, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland and Greece, has started a new testing phase in Sardinia.

SECNAV: F-35C should be Navy's last manned strike jet

04/17/2015

The operational use of the carrier-based joint strike fighter could mark the beginning of the end of the Navy's manned bombing sorties, if the Navy secretary gets his way. The F-35C "should be, and almost certainly will be, the last manned strike fighter aircraft the Department of the Navy will ever buy or fly," Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in a speech Wednesday at the annual Sea-Air-Space Exposition outside Washington, D.C. Fighter jocks would still be needed for dogfighting.

Fighter jet makers eye Indian riches after scaled-back French deal

04/17/2015

Foreign fighter jet makers see a multi-billion dollar opportunity in India's decision to scale back purchases of high-end aircraft from France, which may free up cash in the world's largest arms importer to buy a new fleet of mid-range planes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced last week that India would buy 36 French Rafale jets for an estimated $4.3 billion (2.88 billion pounds), in effect ending talks on a larger deal for 126 planes that would have sucked up some $20 billion.

Venezuela Has Its Eye on Russia as Arms Supplier

04/17/2015

“Right now we have no arms delivery contracts with Russia, but we are considering such a possibility and deciding exactly which types of Russian-made military hardware we really need,” Brigadier-General Rafael Jose Nunez said. He also mentioned the “high probability” of the Latin American country signing contracts with Russia on repairing and upgrading weapons previously purchased from Moscow.

Iran Expects Deliveries of Russian S-300 Missiles by Year End

04/17/2015

Tehran is expecting to finalize an agreement on deliveries of Russian S-300 air defense systems within a month to ensure the implementation of the 2010 contract by the end of 2015, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said Thursday.

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