May 01, 2015 Military Aviation News

NATO modernizes air bases in Romania for stationing of heavy combat equipment

05/01/2015

NATO has decided to modernize two more air bases in Romania and related construction has already started at the 90th Airlift Base in Otopeni, northern Bucharest, local media reported on Thursday. The Alliance will also consolidate the runway at Air Base in Campia Turzii, northwestern Romania, to ensure military maneuvers without any problems, according to local Digi24 television.

Australia Gains US Approval For Support Contracts For Warships, Fighter Jets

05/01/2015

The U.S. State Department has approved Australia’s request for U.S. sustainment packages for Australian fighter aircraft and warships through the Foreign Military Sales program. The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, in charge of the FMS program, has informed Congress of the approval.

Russian expert responds to Thinking Taiwan editor on S-400

05/01/2015

Vasily Kashin, a military commentator from the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies based in Moscow has said that the S-400 air defense system will give the People's Liberation Army the ability to control the entire airspace of Taiwan, in an article he wrote for Sputnik News in response to an article by J. Michael Cole, the Canadian chief editor of Thinking Taiwan, a media platform sponsored by Tsai Ing-wen, the chair of Taiwan's opposition Democratic Progressive Party.

House panel passes $612B defense bill

05/01/2015

The legislation rejects Pentagon proposals to close excess military bases and infrastructure and plans to trim support for military grocery stores and housing allowances for troops. The legislation backs pay raises for troops at 2.3 percent, versus a Pentagon call for 1.3 percent. The bill also adds additional funding for fighter aircraft for the Navy and Marine Corps, including six more F-35 Joint Strike Fighters than requested and 12 extra F/A-18 Super Hornets.

House panel votes to keep A-10s

05/01/2015

A House panel early Thursday approved a defense bill that would again bar the Pentagon from scrapping the Air Force’s A-10 fleet. There are 18 A-10 airplanes stationed at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township that support about 650 full- and part-time jobs.

The U.S. Miilitary's Fighter Aircraft Crisis: What Comes After the F-35?

05/01/2015

Earlier this year, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert said that he believed that the F/A-XX, the Navy’s planned eventual follow-on to the F-35C, would be "optionally manned". On April 15 at the Sea-Air-Space conference, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus leaned further forward, noting how he believed that "the F-35 should be, and almost certainly will be, the last manned strike fighter aircraft the Department of the Navy will ever buy or fly.”

Lockheed Martin Delivers 1,000th Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod

05/01/2015

ockheed Martin marked the 1,000th Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) delivery during a ceremony held yesterday at its Missiles and Fire Control facility in Orlando, Florida. The 1,000th pod, which was delivered to the U.S. Air Force, is a sensor-enhanced Sniper ATP that provides fighter and bomber aircraft with advanced modes for non-traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (NTISR); enhanced target identification; maritime tracking; and two-way datalink communication.

Boeing Upgrades to Keep B-1 Bomber Soaring for Decades to Come

05/01/2015

The Boeing B-1B Lancer celebrates its soon to be 30th anniversary with the U.S. Air Force at Dyess Air Force Base this week – marking one of many milestones in a legacy that will continue long into the future as Boeing’s B-1 team ushers the supersonic bomber into the digital age with new upgrades.

Come Fly With Me: Spanish and Russian Warplanes Meet Over Baltic Sea

05/01/2015

Just as the 37th rotation of NATO's air policing mission is coming to an end and Spanish and Polish jets are returning to their home bases, Spanish media has released some images of what it claims to be “Spanish Air Force Typhoons escorting some Russian Air Force planes”.

China’s J-11D Fighter Copied From Russian Su-27 Jet Makes Maiden Flight

05/01/2015

China's high-end J-11D fighter aircraft, a copy of the Russian Sukhoi Su-27 jet, has made a maiden flight, local media reported Thursday. Photos uploaded to the Internet on Wednesday show the latest modification of China's domestically-constructed J-11B aircraft, initially designed as a copy of the Soviet-made Su-27, the Sina.com news portal said.

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