April 24, 2015 Military Aviation News
04/24/2015
A dozen A-10 attack jets have been deployed to the Middle East in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the Air Force announced this week. The deployment of 350 airmen and the 12 "Warthogs" come as Congress and the Pentagon battle over whether to retire the popular aircraft, which provides close air support for troops in combat.
(Read More...)
04/24/2015
They’re called lethal autonomous weapons, or LAWs, and their military mission would be to seek out, identify and kill a human target independent of human control. Human decision would not be in the loop, and the only button a military commander would push would be the “on” button. In military terms, it’s called “fire and forget.”
(Read More...)
04/24/2015
SQUADRON Leader Andrew Jackson, 37, started out flying elderly Macchi jet trainers, then graduated to the RAAF's classic Hornets and Super Hornets. Since January, he's been learning to fly the advanced new F-35, making his first flight in January and now qualifying to fly F-35s and also to instruct new RAAF F-35 pilots.
(Read More...)
04/24/2015
An Indo-French naval exercise VARUNA15 began on April 23 off the coast of Goa with the aim of further strengthening Indo-French cooperation and coordination, and also strengthening bilateral ties between the two nations, the Indian Navy said in a press release. India's latest aircraft carrier INS Viraat will for the first time join the French Navy in the naval exercises. French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will be participating in the exercise.
(Read More...)
04/24/2015
The 17th Special Operations Squadron sent off the final two MC-130P Combat Shadows in the Pacific Air Forces to retire on April 15. The 17th SOS highlighted the beginning of the MC-130P Combat Shadow retirement with one final formation flight on Oct. 16, 2014, at Kadena Air Base, but now they have sent their last ones to the “boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
(Read More...)
04/24/2015
An A-10 deployed in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) suffered a "non-combat" engine failure and had to divert to Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, according to an Air Force report. The jet’s number-one engine suffered catastrophic damage during a routine refueling mission, and the pilot was able to safely land the aircraft at the air base in central Iraq, said the report Wednesday.
(Read More...)
04/24/2015
A battle of the hawks is raging on Capitol Hill. Defense hawks say the nation’s security will be endangered if the caps imposed under the 2011 Budget Control Act aren’t lifted, allowing for more defense spending. Fiscal hawks assert with equal vehemence that the nation’s long-term economic health — the foundation for all government activities, including defense — will be permanently harmed if burgeoning deficits and debts are not addressed.
(Read More...)
04/24/2015
Yesterday, my colleague Franz-Stefan Gady covered the main takeaways from a new Carnegie Endowment for International Peace report, authored by Ashley Tellis, that calls for, among other things, broader cooperation between the United States and India on developing the latter’s naval capabilities. Specifically, Tellis focuses on carrier aviation and recommends that the United States ensure that India fields a more robust carrier capability than China.
(Read More...)
04/24/2015
The US government will provide F-35 fighter jets to Israel next year to the country a strategic advantage over its rivals in the Middle East, US Vice President Joe Biden said during a speech celebrating Israeli independence.
(Read More...)
All Articles