August, 2015 Military Aviation News
08/31/2015
China has won the first round of its contest for control in the South China Sea by completing construction of an archipelago of artificial islands, say senior Australian sources. And there is little that will stop China from winning the next round, too, as an indecisive US Administration and allies including Australia struggle to follow through on earlier promises to challenge unlawful Chinese claims with "freedom of navigation" exercises, the sources say.
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08/31/2015
On Thursday, 12,000 People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops, between 100 - 200 aircraft and about 500 pieces of military equipment will participate in a military parade in the Chinese capital commemorating the 70th anniversary of the surrender of regional rival Japan to end World War II.
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08/31/2015
Irkut has demonstrated Yak-130 trainer aircraft fitted with laser rangefinder intended for visual identification of ground and surface targets and measurement of slant range to them at the MAKS-2015. Russia has upgraded the the Yak-130 (tail number 01)in a bid to showcase it as not just a trainer but also as a light attack aircraft to its foreign customers.
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08/31/2015
To gauge the joint strike fighter's ability to perform in a close-air support role, the Pentagon's top weapons tester has declared the sleek new fighter jet must face off against the lumbering A-10.
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08/31/2015
Delays with development of a new Air Force tanker scheduled to be based and serviced in Oklahoma are causing turbulence at the Pentagon, but local leaders say they're not too worried about a project that is expected to pump millions of dollars into their economies.
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08/31/2015
The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that Turkish military aircraft had started bombing ISIL targets late on Friday. “Our fighter aircraft, along with coalition fighter jets, began carrying out joint air operations as of yesterday (Friday) evening against ISIL targets in Syria that also present a threat to our national security,” said the ministry on Saturday.
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08/31/2015
Pilots flying the modernized version of Russia’s Mi-28N attack helicopters will receive a new helmet imaging and targeting system. The device was unveiled at the MAKS-2015 air expo on Saturday.
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08/29/2015
The US wants its F-22 Raptor fighters, which its plans to deploy in Europe, to learn to cooperate with the supersonic fighters of the allies, not only with the most widespread Eurofighter Typhoons but also the Gripen fighters used by the Czechs, daily Lidové noviny (LN) writes today.
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08/29/2015
The Pentagon has awarded a $171 million contract to a California-based consortium to develop wearable electronic devices as part of a push to work more closely with Silicon Valley.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the award for the so-called FlexTech Alliance, a group of companies, nonprofits, labs and universities — from Apple Inc. to Boeing Co., from the Cleveland Clinic to MIT — during a speech Friday at Moffett Field in Mountain View, California, which is also home to Google Inc.
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08/29/2015
Six Bulgarian Air Force MiG-29 fighter jets will have their engines overhauled in Poland, according to an intergovernmental letter of intent signed in Sofia on Friday. Poland’s state-owned Miltary Aviation Works WZL 2, 4 will carry out the repair and upgrade of the engines of three MiG-29s by the middle of next year and a further three by end-2016, according to the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence.
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08/29/2015
Aug 28 Two weeks of joint testing of the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jet at a California air base by the Royal Netherlands Air Force showed that the new stealthy jets are able to share a significant amount of data with older warplanes, the pilot in charge of Dutch F-35 testing told Reuters.
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08/29/2015
Airbus Helicopters reports its Tiger aircraft will perform a flight demonstration in Poland prior to the start next week's MSPO defense exhibition. The Tiger HAD chosen for the demonstration is from the French Army, which has used Tigers in operations in Afghanistan and the Sahel.
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08/29/2015
Boeing will provide the first P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft for Australia and additional P-8As for the U.S. Navy following a $1.49 billion contract award from the Navy for 13 aircraft. The order includes nine aircraft for the U.S. Navy and four Poseidon aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), a long-time partner to the U.S. Navy on P-8A development.
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08/29/2015
Belarus plans to purchase eight more Yakovlev (Mitten) Yak-130 jet trainers from Russia, in addition to the four planes that Russian aircraft manufacturer Irkut Corporation agreed to deliver on Wednesday, the country’s military said.
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08/29/2015
A top hacker for the Islamic State (ISIL) was killed in a US military airstrike earlier in the week, US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed on Friday.
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08/29/2015
Four US F-22 tactical fighter jets meant to bolster NATO have arrived at the Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany to begin training exercises, the US Air Force announced in a Friday press release.
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08/28/2015
Brazil and Sweden have signed the financing agreement for the acquisition of Gripen NG fighters for the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), allowing Saab to start the production of aircraft.
Recently, both the countries had agreed on interest rates in a financial deal to support the aircraft acquisition programme.
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08/28/2015
China will showcase a novel model of bomber aircraft in the military parade in Beijing on Sept. 3, according to military sources. The aircraft, independently developed for long-distance precision strikes, was loosely based on a previous bomber model, but 90 percent has been refitted, according to Bao Lianjing, leading pilot of the parade debut formation. "Besides the tiller and the rudder, everything else has been upgraded," Bao said.
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08/28/2015
The US Army has successfully test-fired the Raytheon-built AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder missile from its ground-based indirect fire protection capability increment 2-I (IFPC 2-I) Block 1 multi-mission launcher (MML).
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08/28/2015
After Vietnam, the Department of Defense turned its attention back to the Soviet threat in Europe. Faced with an opposing force that was numerically superior, land-power-focused, and strategically positioned to overrun Western Europe, the United States initially turned to nuclear weapons to offset a battlefield disadvantage.
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08/28/2015
The defence minister, Kevin Andrews, has asked for detailed advice on pilot and air crew safety before signing off on air combat missions over Syria. Key concerns are the ability to rescue crew if they are shot down, and keeping out of the way of other aircraft in the increasingly crowded skies. Andrews said the safety of RAAF pilots and aircrew would be foremost in the government’s mind as it considers extending existing air operations over Iraq to include Syria.
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08/28/2015
A $5-billion deal to buy 36 Rafale fighter aircraft from France is on the agenda of a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council in South Block on Friday, August 28. The Rafale deal has been listed for discussion as a ‘confidential project’ in the meeting. The government hopes the DAC will clear the purchase of the jets before French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian arrives in New Delhi on Tuesday.
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08/28/2015
The ongoing MAKS 2015 air show in Moscow features an impressive flying display by the Sukhoi T-50, the fifth-generation prototype fighter's first public outing in two years. But even the rousing applause fails to mask the disappointment of Russian officials at the Indian Air Force's (IAF's) foot-dragging in co-developing the T-50 into a "fifth generation fighter aircraft" (FGFA) that the IAF will buy.
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08/28/2015
Japan launched the second and final ship in its new Izumo-class helicopter carrier – the largest Japanese ships since World War II – at the Japan Marine United shipyard in Yokohama on Thursday.
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08/28/2015
A memorandum on the implementation of the agreement to supply Russian S-300 missile defense systems to Iran was signed, according to a senior official from the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation.
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08/27/2015
The missile and the launcher are ready. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) has modernized its first multi-role combat aircraft, the Su-30 MKI and integrated the launch system. Recently, we carried out the first flights with the launch system and everything has gone well.
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08/27/2015
The US Air Force's reserve pilots from the 302nd fighter squadron have successfully dropped joint direct attack munitions (JDAMs) from the F-22 Raptor tactical fighter aircraft. Conducted during a recent unit training assembly (UTA), the training involved the upgraded F-22 aircraft installed with increment 3.2A, a software upgrade package.
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08/27/2015
The U.S. Army and Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) successfully test fired an AIM-9X Block II missile from the Army's ground-based Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2-I (IFPC 2-I) Block 1 Multi-Mission Launcher (MML). AIM-9X is traditionally fired from aircraft toward aerial targets and this test demonstrated that the latest AIM-9X can be used in both air-to-air combat and now, without modification, in ground-based air defense.
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08/27/2015
A privately-owned Chinese sensor company has unveiled a suite of air-to-air and air-to-ground sensors in development for the latest Chinese and Russian fighters. Wang Yanyong, technical director for Beijing A-Star Science and Technology, confirms that two systems – the EOTS-89 electro-optical targeting system (EOTS) and the EORD-31 infrared search and track (IRST) – are in development for China’s J-20 and J-31 fighters.
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08/27/2015
Alenia Aermacchi reported the successful completion of the flight-test phase in Italy of the pan-European Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) demonstrator. The company said that “12 highly sensitive sorties to verify the radar cross section (RCS) and infrared signature” had taken place from Decimomannu airbase in Sardinia. The single Neuron air vehicle is now undertaking further RCS flight tests in Sweden, plus the dropping of GPS-guided bombs on the Vidsel range.
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08/27/2015
Last week, NATO headquarters announced Exercise Swift Response-15, the largest Allied airborne training event on the European continent since the end of the Cold War. About 5,000 soldiers from 11 countries in the alliance will take part in the maneuvers, which will last until Sept. 13.
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08/27/2015
Pakistan could become the fourth country to operate the Yak-130 combat trainer aircraft, the website Defenseworld.net has reported, saying that Islamabad has expressed an interest in the aircraft. The website claims that the parties have already held preliminary talks. Industry sources told defenseworld.net that Pakistan Air Force officials have been talking to executives from Rosoboronexport and Irkut.
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08/27/2015
Boeing has signed an agreement with Saudia Aerospace Engineering Industries (SAEI) and Alsalam Aircraft Company to create the Saudi Rotorcraft Support Center in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The joint venture will have locations in Riyadh and Jeddah providing comprehensive, in-country maintenance repair and overhaul support for Saudi Arabia’s diverse rotorcraft fleet.
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08/27/2015
The MAKS-2015 International Air Show in the Moscow Region city of Zhukovsky enters its second day on Wednesday. Taking part in the event are more than 150 foreign companies from 25 countries, including Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Italy and France.
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08/27/2015
The Turkish government on Tuesday denied allegations it tipped off an al Qaeda-linked group that went on to capture Syrian rebels trained by the United States to battle the Islamic State. Multiple Syrian rebel groups said the Nusra Front had been alerted by Turkish intelligence, McClatchy reported on Monday.
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08/26/2015
As pressure builds on the US Air Force to keep the beloved A-10 alive despite crushing budget cuts, the service is taking another look at the future of close-air support (CAS) and the most effective way to protect soldiers on the ground.
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08/26/2015
China’s rapid effort to build artificial islands in the South China Sea is far more than a diplomatic challenge. For China’s neighbors and the United States, it could soon become a serious military problem as well.
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08/26/2015
Teams from five leading Indian universities recently presented design concepts supporting the disaster relief operations here as part of the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules Roll-On/Roll-Off University Design Challenge.
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08/26/2015
The Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter will be making its first appearance at the largest defense show in Poland – the MSPO International Defence Industry Exhibition – in Kielce, September 1-4.
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08/26/2015
Russia's nascent fleet of fifth generation fighter jets could welcome a new member of the cutting-edge aircraft family in the years to come: Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG is currently developing a brand new lightweight fighter jet.
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08/26/2015
Russia's fifth generation fighter jet has been outfitted with a unique fully digital weapon guidance system offering the pilot fire-and-forget capabilities that allow the aircraft to lock on a target and hit it when it is no longer in line-of-sight.
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08/26/2015
Turkish intelligence orchestrated last month's capture of a group of Syrian moderate rebels trained by the United States to fight the Islamic State, according to rebel sources who spoke with McClatchy.
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08/25/2015
Russia's biennial International Air and Space Salon — known as MAKS, its Russian acronym — launches on Tuesday and will run through Sunday. Its first three days are considered to be business days for defense industry officials, and the show opens to the general public on Friday.
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08/25/2015
Russia’s contract for supplying China with Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets (NATO reporting name: Flanker-E) is at an approval stage, the first deputy director general of Russia’s arms exporter, Rosoboronexport, said on Monday. "We are holding talks with our Chinese partners on agreeing a draft contract for the supplies of fighter jets," Ivan Goncharenko told TASS ahead of the MAKS-2015 air show held near Moscow.
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08/25/2015
Thunder Over Michigan roars into Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti this weekend. Aerobatics master, Michael Goulian will attack the sky with breathtaking rolls and tumbles in his EXTRA 330SC airplane. The U.S. Navy Blue Angels will show off speed and precision as its pilots demonstrate daring maneuvers overhead.
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08/25/2015
To celebrate the ingenuity of flying beast machines, we created this awesome video that catalogs all of the US Navy’s combat jets. You’ll see modern jets like the Harrier and F-18 and F-35 along with old school, bad ass planes with names like Banshee and Phantom and Panther and Skynight.
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08/25/2015
The United States will deploy F-22 fighter jets to Europe very soon as part of a broader effort to support eastern European members of the NATO alliance unnerved by Russia's intervention in Ukraine, Air Force Secretary Deborah James said on Monday.
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08/25/2015
A Mig-21 Bison aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in the fields of Soibugh, Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir this morning, with no loss of life reported in the accident. The pilot was able to eject from the aircraft and was rescued by an army helicopter.
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08/25/2015
German Air Force fighters will guard Baltic airspace beginning Tuesday, taking over from the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) under regular NATO rotation, the Latvian Defense Ministry said in a statement Monday.
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08/25/2015
The Vympel R-73 (NATO reporting name: AA-11 Archer) is an infrared heat-seeking air-to-air missile with an operational range of up to 19 miles. It was designed to engage virtually any type of aircraft – from cutting-edge jet fighters to drones and cruise missiles.
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08/25/2015
As militants of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) continue to hold off an international air strike coalition and advances from local fighters in Syria and Iraq, the terror group is now facing a new threat that has already wiped off some of its members: sexually transmitted disease.
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08/25/2015
Turkey and the United States will soon launch "comprehensive" air operations to flush Islamic State fighters from a zone in northern Syria bordering Turkey, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Reuters on Monday. Detailed talks between Washington and Ankara on the plans were completed on Sunday and regional allies including
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08/24/2015
A total of 41 members of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were killed in military operations carried out in southeastern Anatolia and northern Iraq on Friday and Saturday, the Turkish military said on Saturday.
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08/24/2015
South Korean and US fighter jets were spotted sweeping through the skies of South Korea in a powerful show of force against North Korea's threat of military action. Eight planes simulating bombing of enemy targets circled the skies as tensions mount between the North and South.
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08/24/2015
A day after a relic military jet plunged from the sky and crashed onto a busy UK highway, authorities searched Sunday for more possible victims. Sussex police announced at a press conference that they have the names of 11 people whom they are treating as "highly likely" to be dead. The identification process was a "technical" one that requires the help of the victims' next of kin. Earlier, they said seven people had been killed.
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08/24/2015
For almost five months, B-1 crews from the 9th Bomb Squadron at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, focused on one town — Kobani in Syria — in the battle against the Islamic State group.
Kurdish forces were entrenched in their own city as waves of Islamic State fighters advanced.
The enemy was “sending troops there constantly,” said a weapons systems officer from the 9th Bomb Squadron identified for security reasons only as Scram. “They were very willing to impale themselves on that city.”
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08/24/2015
The Marine Corps has made strides to improve standards for the MV-22B Osprey nearly two years after a report found unsettling evidence the service was deploying squadrons that were not mission-ready. But some problems persist due to high operational demand and a lack of resources.
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08/24/2015
A Chinese avionics marketing and manufacturing firm has put Israeli-US relations under a microscope after marketing an advanced fire control radar identical to Elta’s ELM-2052 active electronically scanned array (AESA). Elta is the same Israeli state-owned subsidiary at the heart of an incendiary chapter in US-Israel relations that continues to reverberate 15 years after Washington forced Israel to cancel a controversial Phalcon airborne early warning aircraft contract with Beijing.
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08/24/2015
Iran could receive S-300 missile defense systems from Russia by the end of 2015, country's Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said. No new agreement between Iran and Russia was reached on the issue, but only a complement was added to the previous deal, because some changes were introduced in some parts of the S-300 systems, which increases its costs, the minister was quoted by Iran's ISNA news agency as saying.
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08/24/2015
Briefing reporters in Tehran, Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan said Russia had agreed to cooperate with Iran after learning about the Islamic Republic’s capabilities, Tasnim news agency reported. “In the field of (manufacturing) fighter jets, we will not develop such cooperation with any country other than Russia,” General Dehghan emphasized.
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08/23/2015
The terror group’s advance on Syria’s capital is slow but relentless; one major incident, such as the fall of a base or a strike against a key figure, could bring about the collapse of Assad’s military system.
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08/23/2015
Political upheaval over the last year has created a radically different business, political and security environment for this week's biennial International Aviation and Space Salon (MAKS) compared with the 2013 exhibit. Russian defense firms under Western sanctions imposed for Moscow's annexation of Crimea last year have effectively cut the industry off from Western credit and customers.
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08/23/2015
The serial drama of the MMRCA tender; for purchase and licensed production of 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft; reached an intermediate junction. During a visit in April 2015 to France by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an announcement was made about the signing of an ‘agreement in principle’ on direct purchase of 36 fighter jets by the Rafale Company which, in 2013, was declared the formal winner of the MMRCA Tender.
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08/23/2015
The Israeli fighter jet was targeted over the city of Al-Quneitra on Friday, Iran’s Fars news agency reported on Saturday. Israel regularly violates the Syrian airspace and launches missile attacks against the country. On Friday, the Israeli Air Force resumed airstrikes on Western Syria, targeting a government army base at Khan Al-Sheih in Damascus province and another in the al-Quneitra province after a six-hour halt in attacks that followed their multiple air raids over the Golan Heights.
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08/23/2015
Iran’s air defense shot down an unknown drone on a surveillance mission, which had crossed the country’s western borders, Iranian media reported on Saturday.
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08/23/2015
The Sino-Russian joint naval exercises started in the Sea of Japan. The drills include 25 ships, 15 aircrafts, 8 helicopters, and 400 marines. The theme of the exercises is joint protection of routes.
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08/23/2015
Eight South Korean and US fighter jets took to the South Korean skies on Saturday, simulating bombings of enemy targets as tensions shot up on the peninsula after North Korea fired shells on Thursday in protest of Seoul’s anti-North loudspeaker broadcasts.
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08/23/2015
Russia has not sent Mikoyan MiG-31 supersonic interceptors to Syria and does not intend to operate the aircraft in the war-torn country, CEO of Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG Sergei Korotkov stated refuting recent rumors.
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08/22/2015
The Pentagon released a new maritime security strategy for the Asia-Pacific region Aug. 21 that criticizes China’s aggressive claims to sovereignty over most of the South and Southeast China Seas and declares that the US “will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows.”
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08/22/2015
Russia and Egypt have signed an intergovernmental contract for the delivery of Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters, a source in the MiG Corporation told Interfax-AVN on August 21. "A contract has been signed with Egypt at an intergovernmental level, and we will be next," the source said.
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08/22/2015
The war scenario that we were required to analyse was that a major power, with significant naval assets including an aircraft carrier, had invaded and established a considerable military force presence in north Western Australia. Due to the size of our coastline and our limited logistic ability, we were unable to prevent the successful hostile establishment of a bridgehead.
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08/22/2015
When P.E. MacAllister uncovered the flag of the Air Force's 71st Fighter Training Squadron, he uncovered the flag of a unit he helped establish in World War II — a unit that had been inactivated five years ago.
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08/22/2015
China has been accused by some countries of designing its military aircraft by copying the fighters of other countries, after an Internet user published a black and white photograph of the "number 2013" prototype of the Chengdu J-20, China's first stealth fighter on a test flight, Sina's military news Web portal reported.
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08/22/2015
In Syria, the airstrikes struck ISIL tactical units, infrastructure, a sniper position and weapons. “Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 10 airstrikes in Syria… 23 airstrikes in Iraq, coordinated with the Iraqi government,” the release read on Friday.
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08/22/2015
With nearly $400 billion spent on developing the F-35, the next-generation fighter jet which is still not entirely combat-ready, the Pentagon has touted the aircraft’s high-tech weapons systems. Equipped with stealth technology and electronic warfare capabilities, the military is also considering laser weapons, as well as a mysterious pod-mounted cyberattack system.
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08/22/2015
Islamic State second-in-command Fadhil Ahmad al-Hayali was killed on Tuesday by a US airstrike in Iraq, White House National Security Council spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement on Friday.
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08/22/2015
China’s construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea sent Washington into a panic. But according to a new Pentagon report, the US now believes the land reclamation project to be even larger than initially predicted.
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08/21/2015
A plan to upgrade Indian Air Force (IAF) Su-30MKI aircraft to the “Super Sukhoi” configuration may be delayed owing to unresolved issues with the Su-30MKI aircraft. Russia’s Rosoboronexport and Irkut Corp. had proposed in 2011 to equip the Su-30MKI with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, improved weapons and stealth characteristics to bring it close to the level of a fifth-generation fighter aircraft.
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08/21/2015
Pakistan could be showing an interest in the Yak-130 trainer of Russia after concluding a deal to purchase four Mi-17 Hind helicopters. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) does not have a modern combat trainer though it operates advanced aircraft such as the American F-16, and the Pakistani-Chinese JF-17.
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08/21/2015
Israel insists it will undertake the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of its on-order fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35 combat aircraft, going against the airframer’s strategy of creating regional sustainment centres for the Joint Strike Fighter. "We have made it clear that the maintenance of the aircraft including depot-level [work] will be done in our bases," a senior Israeli air force officer tells Flightglobal.
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08/21/2015
The Russian Navy's only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, undergoing three months of refit and repair work at a floating dock in Russia's northwest region of Murmansk, is getting set to head back to its Northern Fleet base, Navy spokesman and Captain 2nd Rank Andrei Luzik told Russian media on Thursday.
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08/21/2015
The formal US request for expanded air cover, including enhanced intelligence-gathering, support for US and coalition fighter planes in Syrian air space and the potential for Australian airstrikes, was sent to the Australian embassy in Washington DC yesterday.
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08/21/2015
Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, has ordered the country’s army to bring the troops to full combat readiness following the Thursday exchange of fire between North and South Korea, the Yonhap News Agency reports.
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08/21/2015
The US-led coalition against the Islamic State conducted an airstrike on Wednesday and destroyed a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) facility, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a release on Thursday.
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08/21/2015
The Philippine Navy is preparing to deploy weaponized versions of its AgustaWestland AW109 helicopter on board its Pilar-class frigates, the Navy's director of public affairs said Wednesday. According to Commander Lued Lincuna, the frigates had previously embarked non-weaponized versions of the helicopter for testing, qualification, and crew familiarization, IHS Jane's reported.
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08/21/2015
By the end of November 2015, Argentina’s Air Force will retire its fleet of Mirage fighters, according to the local web portal El Eco; the nation’s air defense will then be mostly entrusted to domestically-produced FMA IA-63 Pampa training and combat aircraft.
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08/21/2015
According to the Russian Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan signed a contract for Russia's Mi-35M transport and attack helicopters. Pakistan will acquire four Russian Mi-35M helicopters, the Russian Embassy in Islamabad said Thursday.
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08/20/2015
Renewed fighting in Ukraine has claimed the lives of dozens of civilians and soldiers in the past two weeks alone. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin have both called emergency war councils since Aug. 4, as the ceasefire and diplomacy have further broken down. In its recent reports, the Ukrainian military has used the phrase “most shelling in six months” multiple times, and with increasing frequency.
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08/20/2015
Russia is moving new, specially modified air-defense systems that can withstand harsh arctic environments to key areas along its border with Norway and the U.S., the U.S. Army’s Foreign Military Studies Office (FSMO) said in its August report.
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08/20/2015
Turkey and Azerbaijan will conduct joint air force exercises next week on Saturday. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced that the exercises will include a series of operations such as airstrikes against joint targets. They will feature a variety of military aircraft including Mig-29, F-16 and Su-25 fighters, F-4E bombers, C-130 Hercules transport planes and Mi-35, Mi-17 and Skorski UH-60 attack helicopters.
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08/20/2015
Over the past few years, the F-35 Lightning II – the fifth-generation, Lockheed Martin wunder-plane set to eventually take over from almost every fighter jet in the US and UK militaries – has received a public relations kicking. It’s expensive – the total cost for the programme so far is an incredible, not-even-hyperbolic trillion dollars.
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08/20/2015
Israel is upgrading its Lockheed Martin F-16I combat aircraft with several undisclosed systems in order to cope with the increased threat from surface-launched missiles. A senior air force officer tells Flightglobal that intelligence reports indicate that the enhancement is necessary.“The threats we are facing and will face, according to intelligence assessments, require the installation of new systems," he says.
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08/20/2015
The failure of an onboard electrical generator caused the crash of a drone in February during a mission over Africa, an Air Force investigation announced Wednesday. The Air Force crew in charge of the aircraft intentionally crashed the MQ-9A Reaper over international waters after they were unable to fix the problem Feb. 4, according to the report by the Accident Investigation Board.
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08/20/2015
India’s expanding aerospace industry has expressed regret about the government’s decision to buy 36 Dassault Rafale combat jets directly from France, without an offsets clause. Delhi has committed to signing the inter-government contract by the end of calendar year 2015, AIN has learned from sources close to the negotiations. The tender for 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA), which has now been withdrawn, specified 50 percent offsets as well as licensed production of 108 aircraft.
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08/20/2015
An internet user recently published a black and white photograph of the "number 2013" prototype of the Chengdu J-20 fighter, which hasn't made an appearance in quite some time, on a test flight, according to Sina's military news web portal. The angle of the photograph suggests that the area of the canard wings are quite large and that the body of the plane is long and thin, which suggests that it will have quite a high-speed cruise capability.
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08/20/2015
The Syrian army has retaken 16 villages and killed up to 350 rebels during the ongoing offensive in Syria's central Hama province, a military source said on Wednesday. The Syrian military launched a large-scale offensive on Monday aiming to take back territories captured by a rebel alliance that includes al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate, the Al-Nusra Front.
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08/19/2015
The first Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) integrated air-defense-system combat-training exercises kicked off near Moscow, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced Tuesday.
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08/19/2015
The U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC) last week released its 2015 strategy review, “Securing the High Ground,” primarily a guide for updating and modernizing the existing fleet. Near the end of the 15-page document the ACC says, “We must also continue to develop a balanced close air support (CAS) capability across all [Global Precision Attack] platforms, explore opportunities for a future CAS platform, and enact specific initiatives to ensure we maintain a CAS culture throughout the.”
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08/19/2015
At the weekend, the United States air force also declared it will be sending another 12 A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack planes to reinforce NATO’s Operation Atlantic Resolve — an ongoing show of force aimed at deterring mounting Russian hostility towards Ukraine and East European states.
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08/19/2015
The Marine Corps is working on training V-22 Osprey crews faster in order to keep pace with the growing demand for the tilt-rotor aircraft, officials said. With its ability to hover like a helicopter and fly like an airplane, cargo carrying capacity, 280-knot speed and 450 nautical mile combat radius, the Osprey is proving to be an indispensable asset for amphibious and expeditionary Corps units involved in training exercises, humanitarian missions and other operations.
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08/19/2015
The first of 24 AH-64 Apache helicopters were scheduled to arrive Tuesday in Alaska as part of the Army’s sweeping five-year reorganization of its aviation assets. The Apaches, which were coming from Germany, were being delivered via an Air Force C-5 Galaxy, landing Tuesday afternoon local time at Ladd Army Airfield on Fort Wainwright.
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08/19/2015
Despite the “air-to-air” capabilities of its South Korean-made F/A-50 “Fighting Eagle” jet aircraft, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) still has its sights on acquiring a more advanced and capable jet fighter. This was announced by PAF chief Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Delgado in an interview Monday.
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08/19/2015
The US government’s intention to significantly expand drone flights over the next four years indicates that Washington is trying to remove a human role in wars, activist Melinda Pillsbury-Foster of the Drone Free Zone group told Sputnik.
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08/19/2015
The US Air Force is urging service people to show discretion when it comes to their social media accounts, warning in a new poster: "Loose tweets destroy fleets." The poster, issued by Captain Jonathan McDonald of US Air Force Central Command, is an updated version of the World War II warning "Loose lips sink ships."
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08/19/2015
The United States continues to have concerns about Russia’s sale and potential delivery of a defensive weapons system to Iran even though the transaction does not violate any UN resolutions, US State Department spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday.
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08/18/2015
The Syrian government has received six MiG-31 'Foxhound' interceptor aircraft from Russia under a deal that was said to have been signed in 2007, a regional media source has reported.
The aircraft recently arrived at Mezze Airbase on the outskirts of Damascus, the Turkish BGN News agency reported on 16 August.
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08/18/2015
The US has the largest and most powerful Air Force in the world. The US Air Force operates more than 5,000 total aircraft, and the air service flies more than just fighters and bombers. The Air Force also runs missions ranging from surveillance to aerial refuelling to supply airlift, each of which requires a specialised aircraft.
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08/18/2015
The Pentagon will significantly expand the number of daily drone sorties conducted around the globe during the next several years and will for the first time expand the mission beyond the Air Force, a defense official said. The plan reflects a high-level recognition that the Air Force's remotely piloted vehicle fleet can no longer meet the forcewide demand for combat air patrols flown by drone pilots, mainly due to severe pilot shortages.
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08/18/2015
A new strategy document released last week by US Air Combat Command lays out an updated roadmap for modernizing the Air Force's legacy fleet, underlining in particular an effort to develop a future close-air support platform. The ACC's 2015 command strategy, unveiled Aug. 10, calls for "exploring opportunities" for developing a future close-air support platform — presumably a replacement for the Air Force's primary close-in attack aircraft used to protect ground troops, the legacy A-10.
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08/18/2015
Russia is working on several futuristic fighter and bomber models in addition to the PAK-FA stealth fighters, scale models of some of which will be displayed at the upcoming MAKS 2015 air and defense exhibition in Moscow this month-end.
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08/18/2015
Last week the Argentine Air Force formally bid farewell to the remaining French built Mirage jet fighters, which saw combat during the Falkland Islands conflict in 1982, since in three months time they will be decommissioned after four decades service. The occasion was the 103 anniversary of the Air Force (10th August but celebrated on the 13th).
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08/18/2015
The commander of the Navy’s Fifth Fleet was in his office on the afternoon of July 25 when he got the phone call: An Iranian Navy frigate in the Gulf of Aden had approached a ship where an American military helicopter had just landed.
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08/18/2015
The Department of Defense awarded a contract worth more than $85 million to Textron’s Bell Helicopter division to develop updates for weapons systems for the US and Pakistani helicopter fleets, the US Navy said in a press release.
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08/18/2015
Saudi Arabia has been on a course to boost its military capabilities focusing lately on its naval forces and the possible purchase of the two Mistrals originally built for Russia by France could be central to these efforts.
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08/18/2015
Amid peace talks in Geneva aimed at stabilizing Libya, the civil war between the official government in the east and its rival group in the west continues to rage in the North African country.
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08/17/2015
Pakistan Army aircraft swung into action and pounded hideouts in North Waziristan, killing 40 terrorists, hours after Punjab home minister was killed in a suicide attack on Sunday. Forty terrorists were killed and several injured in bombardment by fighter jets in Shawal area Sunday afternoon, ISPR said . Several other militants were injured in the aerial operation, it said.
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08/17/2015
China and Russia are stepping up their military collaboration by holding another round of naval exercises, this time in the Sea of Japan, following recent measures adopted by Tokyo that could deepen its military ties with Washington. On Saturday, the Chinese navy dispatched seven Chinese warships for the Sea of Japan. They will join the Russian Navy’s 16 surface ships, two submarines, 12 naval aircraft, nine amphibious vehicles and 200 marines.
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08/17/2015
The United States has extended an offer to India to jointly produce a line of fighter jets to both enhance military ties as well as provide for India’s frontline fighter fleet shortage. This comes right after the Indian government announced that the MMRCA (Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft) deal, originally signed with France’s Dassault Aviation, was, for all intents and purposes, over.
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08/17/2015
The Philippine Air Force (PAF) will receive on Monday 10 new helicopters as part of its modernization program. The eight Bell-412EP and two AW-109E helicopters will be turned over to the PAF in a ceremony led by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.
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08/17/2015
The Pentagon plans to sharply expand the number of U.S. drone flights over the next four years, giving military commanders access to more intelligence and greater firepower to keep up with a sprouting number of global hot spots, a senior defense official said.
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08/17/2015
The China-made J-10 multi-role fighter jet is a suitable choice for Iran if the Middle East power decides to upgrade its aging military aircraft fleet, Chinese aviation experts said. "Once the sanctions against Iran are completely lifted, the country will definitely renovate its civilian and military aircraft fleets. The J-10 is a good option for the Iranians because it can fulfil all operations they want to conduct," said Wang Ya'nan, deputy editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine.
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08/17/2015
The H-6K boasting nuclear strike capabilities made its maiden flight in 2007 and entered service with the People's Liberation Army some two years later. At least two regiments of the Chinese Air Force are believed to be operating the H-6Ks at the moment.
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08/17/2015
he representatives of the United States and Italy will perform the observation flights over Russia from August 17 to 22, under the international Treaty on Open Skies, said Sergey Ryzhkov, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry's National Center for Nuclear Risk Reduction.
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08/16/2015
Although they were not conceived to play this kind of role, F-22 Raptors have emerged as some of the U.S.-led Coalition’s most reliable combat assets in supporting coalition planes during air strikes in Syria and Iraq. At the beginning of July, U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor jets had flown only 204 sorties out of 44,000 launched by the U.S.-lead coalition against ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
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08/16/2015
The Nigerian Military, in its resolution to incapacitate and further degrade the fighting spirit of Boko Haram Terrorist Group, has carried out several bombings and air strike missions in Sambisa Forest, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Air Force, Dele Alonge, has said.
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08/16/2015
US has offered to help India manufacture fighter jets and aircraft carrier. "I see no reason why the US and India can't produce fighter aircraft together, US ambassador to India, Richard Verma said at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi Friday. “Both countries have established a new aircraft carrier working group to support India’s indigenous program. The first meeting of the group took place this week,” Verma said referring to the recent visit to New Delhi by Defense Minister Ashton C
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08/16/2015
NATO might look uniform from the outside but take a closer look at some states in the 28-member bloc and you could see a picture of broken promises, shady arms deals, reckless spending and mismanagement.
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08/16/2015
The term ‘Promising Aviation Complex’ has been used to describe the ongoing massive project. In order to get basic information about the project, below is a list of some of the major aviation complexes functioning in Russia currently.
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08/16/2015
While Libyan troops clash with ISIL militants in attempts to take control of the city of Sirte in the south of Libya, state authorities are urging world powers to unite in the battle against the jihadist group and carry out airstrikes on its positions across the country.
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08/15/2015
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force conducted a drill involving "multiple types of aircraft" in the western Pacific on Friday, a military spokesperson said. PLA aircraft flew over the western Pacific via the Bashi Channel and returned on the same day, reaching 1,000 km beyond the First Island Chain, spokesperson Shen Jinke said at a news briefing.
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08/15/2015
The Air Force didn’t help its long-standing argument that the A-10 Thunderbolt II attack jet should be retired when the service announced this week it would deploy more of the aircraft to Europe this fall. The 23rd Wing at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia announced it will send 12 attack planes and crews to Central and Eastern European to bolster NATO’s “Operation Atlantic Resolve,” an ongoing show of military might meant to deter Russian aggression in the region.
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08/15/2015
RAAF pilots are poised to begin flying deadly American Reaper drones over Syria, taking for the first time Australia's involvement in the fight against the so-called Islamic State from Iraq into the more complex neighbouring country. A Defence spokesman has told Fairfax Media that five RAAF personnel are embedded with the United States Air Force's 432nd Operations Group, which flies armed MQ-9 Reaper drones.
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08/15/2015
The last day of July was momentous for the Marine Corps as it declared that a squadron of F-35B joint strike fighters was ready for combat. It was the first of the joint strike fighter models to reach initial operating capability.
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08/15/2015
It’s tough being the world’s most expensive weapon system. Years behind schedule and billions over-budget, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program has had to absorb its fair share of critiques. Over the past several years, it’s been described as too complex, too reliant on high-tech sensors and software, and—at $400 billion for development and procurement—far too costly.
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08/15/2015
Have Jordan and Israel finally overcome decades of poor diplomatic relations? Military observers are speculating about a new era of relations between the two countries after Israeli air force fuel tankers escorted Jordanian fighter jets across the Atlantic Ocean earlier this week to participate in military exercises in the western United States, an American website devoted to military aviation news reports.
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08/15/2015
In a renewed drive to crush the fighting will of the Boko Haram terrorist group, the Nigerian Air Force says it has deployed additional combat platforms to North East Nigeria in support of the ongoing counter-insurgency operation codenamed ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’. The spokesperson for the Air Force, Dele Alonge, an Air Commodore, said in a statement Thursday that the new deployment came on the heel of the recent visit of the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar.
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08/15/2015
Russia remains the primary supplier of arms to India despite reports that the country is no longer the leading weapons supplier, Russian Ambassador to India Alexander Kadakin told Sputnik on Friday.
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08/15/2015
At least four countries - Iran, Algeria, South Africa and Kazakhstan - had shown interest in buying the Il-76MD-90A (also known as Il-476), the general director of aircraft-maker Aviastar-SP said Friday.
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08/14/2015
Self-proclaimed Islamic State militants are gaining a foothold and conducting limited military operations in Afghanistan, for now primarily targeting Taliban insurgents and their territory, a defense official said. The apparent growth of the Islamic State group in Afghanistan is a "great concern" to U.S commanders and could influence plans for ending the 14-year American military mission there next year, the defense official said.
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08/14/2015
China and Russia are planning on bolstering Iran’s armed forces with new fighter jets and air defense systems as part of their strategy against the United States, according to a recently published report from the Beijing-based Sina Military Network.
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08/14/2015
Indian Air Force chief, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha today said all the plans are in place and a lot of activity is going on for new acquisitions to replace old aircraft. He said the plans for induction of combat aircraft relates to issues with legacies of some of the fleets which need to be replaced which, for obvious reasons, as they cannot carry on for long and all plans are in place and process was underway to replace old aircraft.
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08/14/2015
China is working hard to develop a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft for strategic and economic purposes, reports the Beijing-based Sina Military Network. Citing the Kanwa Defense Review, a Canada-based Chinese-language military magazine, the report said China is believed to have been developing VTOL technology for more than a decade already but appears to be another 15-20 years away from a finished product.
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08/14/2015
Australian combat aircraft already fly close to the border with Syria and it would be no great stretch for them to extend bombing operations to include Syria. The challenge is finding Daesh targets for them to bomb. Australian rules of engagement set a high bar to minimise risk of civilian casualties and much of the time the required standard won't be met.
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08/14/2015
Dele Alonge, the director, public relations and information NAF, said the combat aircraft is an addition to the aircraft already available in the area for the fight against insurgents. Alonge, an Air Commodore said the deployment of these aircraft is a renewed determination to decimate the insurgents in the area, an effort channelled to support the “operation Lafiya Doyle”.
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08/14/2015
Taiwan’s Air Force recently selected Lockheed Martin’s (NYSE: LMT) Sniper® Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) for its F-16 aircraft, becoming the 20th international customer to choose Sniper ATP to fulfill precision attack requirements. In the initial contract, Lockheed Martin will provide two Sniper ATPs and integration support to Taiwan. Lockheed Martin will also provide integration support of LANTIRN targeting and navigation pods on Taiwan’s recently upgraded F-16s.
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08/14/2015
A top US Navy commander unveiled the force's vision for the future of its carrier-based air power, and it involves stealth fighter jets, carrier-launched drones, submarine-detecting helicopters and laser weapons.
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08/14/2015
Major General Oleg Dvigalev said the country has signed two contracts for four Russian Yakolev Yak-130 Mitten trainer/strike aircraft. He also confirmed that an order for 12 Mil Mi-8MTV-5 Hip helicopters had been signed in June, the BelTA news agency reported.
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08/13/2015
Marking a milestone for the joint strike fighter program, Rockwell Collins this week delivered the first Generation 3 helmet for the F-35. The Generation 3 Helmet-Mounted Display System (HMDS), which was handed over to the Joint Program Office Tuesday in a ceremony at the company's headquarters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is crucial to the F-35's advanced suite of technologies.
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08/13/2015
The U.S. on Wednesday launched its first airstrikes by Turkey-based F-16 fighter jets against Islamic State targets in Syria, marking a limited escalation of a yearlong air campaign that critics have called excessively cautious. In a brief statement the Pentagon announced the F-16 strikes were launched from Incirlik air base in southern Turkey but provided no details on the number or types of targets struck.
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08/13/2015
Navy fighter jets roar off this nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in support of Iraqi troops approaching Ramadi, a city in Anbar Province overrun by Islamic State fighters in one of the worst defeats for the American-led coalition.
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08/13/2015
India's order of 36 French-made Rafale fighter jets has run into trouble with government officials struggling to agree sales terms, sources said, four months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi intervened to break a logjam in previous commercial negotiations. Two senior Indian defence officials said that both sides were wrangling over the unit price of the aircraft and a condition that planemaker Dassault Aviation invest a big percentage of the value of the multi-billion dollar contract in India.
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08/13/2015
Locked away in a large shed in the north of England, surrounded by fields of cows, is one of Britain’s most closely guarded secrets. It is home to Taranis, the unmanned stealth jet built by BAE Systems to test the technology that could drive the next generation of combat aircraft to fly for Britain.
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08/13/2015
Notwithstanding the dwindling fighter jet fleet, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has decided to opt for fewer Russia-built advanced stealth fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA). IAF is currently looking at only 65 aircraft, with 18 each for three squadrons and the rest for training. FGFA is based on the T-50 aircraft under the Russian PAK-FA (Prospective Airborne Complex of Frontline Aviation) programme that will challenge F-22 Raptor of the US.
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08/13/2015
Lockheed Martin celebrated the opening of its cruise missile annex with a ribbon cutting ceremony today at its Pike County Operations facility in Troy, Alabama. Customers, state officials and community leaders joined employees in opening the annex, which will support an increase in U.S. and international orders.
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08/13/2015
The U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin a $21.7 million Lot 4 follow-on contract to continue production of the Modernized Day Sensor Assembly (M-DSA) for the AH-64E Apache attack helicopter.
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08/13/2015
The Russian Air and Space Forces will receive approximately 1,000 new airplanes and helicopters by 2020, Air and Space Forces Commander Col.-Gen. Viktor Bondarev said Wednesday. According to Russia's $325-billion rearmament program, fourth-generation aircraft are being replaced with new models, increasing by 2020 the amount of upgraded military equipment to 70 percent.
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08/13/2015
The Russian Defense Ministry plans to sign a contract for the purchase of more than 30 MiG-35 (Fulcrum-F) multirole jet fighters no earlier than 2018, Air and Space Forces Commander Col.-Gen. Viktor Bondarev said Wednesday. The MiG-35 is an advanced version of the Mig-29 aircraft and features the integration of 4++ generation Russian fighter aircraft technology.
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08/12/2015
China has conducted night combat training of its J-11 regiment of the PLA air force in Tibet. “A group of J-11 heavy fighters were seen taking off amid twilight on August 9. They were engaged in a confrontation drill carried out at night,” Chinamil reported Tuesday. The regiment has carried out various night training of air battle as part of its annual training plan.
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08/12/2015
The US Air Force’s first two combat-coded Lockheed Martin F-35s have come off the assembly line at Fort Worth in Texas, with the second aircraft completing its first flight last week. Those aircraft, AF-77 and AF-78, are being prepped for delivery to Hill AFB in Utah where they will be operated by the 34th Fighter Squadron, the air force’s first operational F-35 group.
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08/12/2015
A pilot ejected from a U.S. F-16 before it crashed Tuesday morning in a forested area in Germany's Bavaria region, the U.S. Air Force said. The pilot was safe, though it wasn't immediately clear if there were any injuries, the Air Force said.
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08/12/2015
Anti-Houthi forces supported by the Saudi-led coalition have built up significant momentum in Yemen. To the south, Southern Resistance fighters have renewed their efforts after capturing Aden, pushing north and northeast from the port city. Greatly assisted by an influx of combat power, including Saudi-operated armored units, they captured Lahj and al-Anad air base last week and are advancing.
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08/12/2015
A new report titled “Thunder without Lightning,” (PDF) authored by Bill French and Daniel Edgren for the National Security Network (NSN), argues that the United States’ fifth-generation fighter, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), has major shortcomings that will leave it particularly ill-suited to project air power in the Asia-Pacific region.
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08/12/2015
Dutch officials investigating the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine are examining parts recovered in the area that are suspected of having come from an antiaircraft missile. The recovery of such parts, if confirmed, would be the clearest indication on what brought down Flight 17 on July 17, 2014, while it was cruising at 33,000 feet.
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08/12/2015
The Russian Defense Ministry and the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) will sign a contract for the delivery of 48 Sukhoi Su-35 aircraft (NATO reporting name Flanker-E) at the MAKS-2015 air show in late August, local media reported Tuesday.
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08/12/2015
The Serbian Ministry of Defense announced that the country was awaiting the signature of an agreement with Russia on the purchase of two new helicopters. The Republic of Serbia is awaiting the signature of an agreement with Russia on the purchase of two new helicopters this week, the Serbian Ministry of Defense announced Tuesday.
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08/12/2015
Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) vehicles are used to quickly transport and fire surface-to-air, cruise and ballistic missiles. Chinese drivers have recently spotted a new version of the vehicle, which appears similar to the military's standard TEL, except that the latest model is "much, much larger," according to Popular Science.
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08/11/2015
Green drapes were drawn against the sun, cloaking the room where members of a Syrian Kurdish militia huddled around walkie-talkies, assiduously taking down GPS coordinates. Talal Raman, a 36-year-old Kurdish fighter, worked on a Samsung tablet, annotating a Google Earth map marked with the positions of the deserted apartment buildings and crumbling villas from where his colleagues were battling Islamic State fighters south of this northern Syrian town.
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08/11/2015
The Jordanian airforce will buy nine Pilatus training aircraft for fighter jet pilots, the Swiss company said Monday, without divulging the price tag on the deal. The deal for the nine PC-9 M two-seater planes also includes a simulator, training equipment and logistics support, Pilatus Aircraft said in a statement.
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08/11/2015
The Air Force awarded three contracts for modernization of its high tech radar surveillance plane designed to scan large geographical areas for activity, the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, or JSTARS, service officials said. Describing the effort as a recapitalization, or recap, the service is looking at a range of airframes from Gulfstream jets to Bombardier airplanes and Boeing 737-700's as potential replacements for its aging fleet of 16 E-8C JSTARS airplanes.
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08/11/2015
China hit back on Monday at U.S. criticism that it restricts navigation and overflights in the South China Sea amid a festering marine territorial dispute with some of its neighbors. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims..
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08/11/2015
Even with no cost overruns, Abbott is committed to spending well over $100 billion on new destroyers, frigates, corvettes and subs. This compares to about $35 billion to import over 150 highly capable planes, including F-35 and Super Hornet fighters, aerial refuellers, maritime surveillance planes, radar jamming and early airborne warning aircraft.
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08/11/2015
The Russian T-50 PAK-FA could become the new king of aerobatics with the stealth aircraft being capable of flying at Mach 2 speed and bringing its speed down to Zero in mid-flight. It is capable of performing all known aerobatic manoeuvres while introducing some new ones which promise to take onlookers’ breath away. a feature that sets it apart from any foreign competitors such the American F-25 and F-22, Ria Novosti reported quoting officials of the Sukhoi Design Bureau.
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08/11/2015
A proposed $1.5 billion sale of two ship sets worth of Aegis combat systems, anti-submarine warfare systems and a cooperative engagement capability (CEC) equipment will give Japan’s planned new class of destroyers the capacity to connect and receive information from American battle networks, according to a list of items in a foreign military sales (FMS) notification issued by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency on Friday.
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08/11/2015
A small number of MiG-29s are still being upgraded in Poland with new mission computers, navigation technology and radios, and at Military Aviation Plant No. 2 (Wojskowe Zaklady Lotnicze Nr 2), designers and engineers are using 3D printers manufactured by Zortrax as a tool to aid them in many of these upgrades. The 3D printers are being used for a variety of parts, and the teams there say the technology has significantly reduced the time needed to carry out the upgrades.
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08/11/2015
Looking to cut costs and prune military imports, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has halved its demand for Russian-built fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA). It now wants just three squadrons of the fighter jets which are to be inducted into the Russian Air Force in 2016.
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08/11/2015
Lockheed Martin received a direct commercial sale contract through Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to integrate the Sniper® Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) onto the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s (JASDF) F-2 aircraft. This initial contract, awarded in 2014, includes a Sniper pod, spares and support equipment for integration. The F-2 is the eighth aircraft platform to be equipped with Sniper ATP, joining variants of the F-15, F-16, F-18, A-10, B-1, B-52 and Harrier.
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08/10/2015
Iran is closing in on a deal to acquire a fleet of J-10 fighter jets — most likely the J-10A — from China to upgrade its air force, reports the Beijing-based Sina Military Network. While UN arms sanctions against Iran are yet to be lifted following a historic deal to curb the country's nuclear program last month, Beijing is already said to be nearing an agreement to sell and/or lease J-10 multirole fighters to Tehran.
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08/10/2015
After Shenyang Liming Aircraft Engine Company failed to reduce the failure rate of the WS-10 Taihang engine developed for Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group's J-10 fighter, the Chinese jet will have to be equipped with the Russian-built AL31FN-S3 engine, according to the Beijing-based Sina Military Network.
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08/10/2015
France is laying the groundwork for a new trainer competition, with signs that the Pilatus PC-21 turboprop is well regarded inside the French Air Force. The new training aircraft, which has attracted close interest from industry, will help prepare pilots to fly the Dassault Rafale multimission fighter.
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08/10/2015
CAN Australia’s next generation combat jet beat this? Possibly not. Video footage of Russia’s new T-50 stealth fighter shows the extreme manoeuvrability the F-35 is up against. Earlier this year a damning report from an F-35 test pilot revealed the troubled $400 billion dollar single-seat stealth fighter was easily outmanoeuvred by a two-seat 1980s vintage F-16D combat jet.
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08/10/2015
India's cancelation of a $12 billion program to purchase 126 combat aircraft eliminates an opportunity for domestic industry to build sophisticated aircraft based on transfer of Western technology and once again leaves the Air Force without a plan to rebuild its dwindling fleet, analysts said.
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08/10/2015
It was designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau. The aircraft will be used to achieve air superiority and assist in ground attacks. Besides its ability to fly at speeds well above Mach 2, the T-50 boasts other, even more important, features such as invisibility to radar and powerful weapons which will be unveiled later.
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08/10/2015
The US Air Force is deploying six of its F-16 fighter jets to the southern Turkish base of Incirlik for its ongoing campaign against the Islamic State jihadist group, the US Mission to NATO announced Sunday.
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08/10/2015
A number of fighter bombers and AWACS reconnaissance planes are taking part in the latest and largest of the summer’s US Pacific Air Forces Red Flag exercises now underway in Alaska.
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08/10/2015
The new pilot gear can arguably be considered a technical revolution in the field. The suit was specially designed to make the pilot feel comfortable during supersonic-speed flights. It is equipped with an anti-G system which features a hose for delivering air to the pilot.
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08/09/2015
The U.S. military is planning to move fighter jets to Turkey as part of the mission to target the Islamic State in Syria, Fox News has learned. The U.S. Air Force is planning to send six F-16s from an undisclosed location in Europe to Turkey after the Turks agreed to allow manned flights from Incirlik Air Base and others last week. This would put U.S. jets only a 30-minute flight from ISIS targets in Syria.
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08/09/2015
On Aug. 7, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted nine airstrikes using bomber, attack, fighter, fighter-attack and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 10 airstrikes coordinated with the government of Iraq using attack, fighter, fighter-attack and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets.
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08/09/2015
The objective of the Experimental Spaceplane XS-1 program is to demonstrate relevant technologies and then fabricate and fly a reusable, unmanned aircraft to the edge of space. The XS-1 would then deploy a small expendable upper stage able to launch a 3,000-pound spacecraft to Earth orbit at a cost of no more than $5M, or about one-tenth the cost of today’s launch systems.
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08/09/2015
If, as a Naval Aviator, you have practiced only one style of landing for the many years of your naval career, both landing aboard an aircraft carrier and also on a 12,000-foot runway, it is quite understandable that unlearning that conditioned, familiar landing style and learning a new style—flaring*—may take some time before being perfected.
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08/09/2015
The new carrier fleet will significantly expand the capabilities of the People’s Republic of China for the protection of its interests beyond its borders, experts said, referring to the disputed territories in the South China Sea.
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08/09/2015
The newest Russian jet fighter was caught on camera smoothly performing the famous spin maneuver. The video published by the TV channel Zvezda shows a PAK FA prototype easily decelerate to 0 kmh and perform a spin without a flaw.
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08/08/2015
The current situation in Iraq and Syria clearly indicates that the coalition, and not ISIL, now dictates the pace of operations, a U.S. Central Command spokesman said today during a telephonic press conference with Pentagon reporters.
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08/08/2015
The German military is to invest billions of euros to fix recurring problems with its aircraft, helicopters and other military equipment, an official said on Friday. "We will invest up to €6 billion ($6.5 billion) in the next seven to eight years to obtain improvements in these areas," a defense ministry spokesman told AFP.
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08/08/2015
Beechcraft Defense Co. LLC on Friday announced a milestone delivery of its 900th T-6 military training aircraft. No. 900 was handed over Friday at Beechcraft’s Wichita headquarters to the U.S. Navy Air Wing 5 out of Whiting Field in Milton, Fla.
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08/08/2015
The Russian military released details of a new Air Force and air defense unit Friday that will be based in the Far East of the country and operate in the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, according to Col. Alexander Gordeye, press-secretary for the regional command. Both units will add to the increased militarization of the general Asia-Pacific region after China and the United States have both established a significant military presence there over the last two years.
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08/08/2015
Once upon a time in America, competition was the source for swift innovation and best value. Yet today’s Air Force is attempting to destroy a once vibrant market with a sole-source award of an F-16 advanced radar for the homeland defense mission. Worse yet, their already latent action uses mission urgency as a fallacious justification to bypass acquisition polices and common sense.
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08/08/2015
India rejected a proposal by US defense company Sikorsky Aircraft to increase the price of a delivery contract for S-70B multirole naval helicopters, Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said in the Indian Parliament on Friday.
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08/08/2015
A war of words has broken out over a series of 'friendly' war games between the UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Indian Air Force (IAF), whose Russian-made aircraft reportedly beat the RAF 12-nil in mock battles over the skies of Britain.
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08/08/2015
Despite a number of technical details and specs about the Russian Sukhoi PAK FA (also known as the T-50) fighter jet being known to the general public, the main mystery surrounding the newest aircraft still remains to be unraveled.
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08/08/2015
Russia and India are exploring the possibility of exporting and cooperatively manufacturing Russian helicopters and other military hardware, Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said Friday.
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08/07/2015
An Afghan military helicopter crashed, killing all 17 people on board on Thursday, officials said, in a blow for a fledgling air force whose resources have been stretched since the withdrawal of most international troops last year. The Taliban, mounting a growing insurgency, said it shot down the helicopter in the southern province of Zabul, but a government official blamed a technical failure and said there had been no gunfire.
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08/07/2015
Just weeks after Iran agreed in Vienna a deal limiting its ability to manufacture a nuclear bomb, the Iranian air force is already positioning itself to revamp its ageing inventory, all but crippled by 36 years of international sanctions, reports Gareth Jennings .
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08/07/2015
The armed forces held a rehearsal in mid-June in preparation for a military display next month to mark the 70th anniversary of the Republic of China's 1945 victory over Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War, a part of World War II in which Japan and the other axis powers were defeated.
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08/07/2015
What sets Yang Wei apart from his Western counterparts? Robert Beckhusen points to his commitment to “parallel development.” It’s an approach that incorporates previously flawed solutions into new hardware so that China can build fighter aircraft cheaply and quickly.
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08/07/2015
Iran is beginning to reap the fruits of its nuclear deal with the world powers. According to a report in the Taiwanese press, China is set to provide the Islamic Republic with 24 J-10 fighter jets. In exchange, Iran will permit China access to its largest oil field for the next 20 years. The total estimated value of the deal is $1 billion.
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08/07/2015
Lockheed Martin delivered another C-5M Super Galaxy to the U. S. Air Force on Aug. 5. A Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) aircrew ferried the aircraft from the Lockheed Martin facility here to Travis Air Force Base, in Fairfield, California, where it will be permanently based. It will be the 12th Super Galaxy assigned to Travis.
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08/07/2015
The coalition has carried out more than 5600 airstrikes in its air campaign against the Islamic State. “In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 11 airstrikes using fighter, fighter-attack and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 16 airstrikes coordinated with the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter-attack, bomber and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets.”
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08/07/2015
While the talks are still in the preliminary phases, the Japanese government is interested in donating three Beechcraft TC-90 King Air planes to the Philippines. Used by Tokyo to train military pilots, Manila could outfit the TC-90s with surface and air surveillance radar which allow it to conduct patrols over the South China Sea.
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08/07/2015
Since 2008, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has worked to design and manufacture fifth generation jet plain design concepts, both for its own use and to sell on a global scale. The Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (J-20) and the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (J-31) are subsidiaries of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). These two companies have been working on the designs of the super jets.
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08/07/2015
A US drone hit an unspecified ISIL target in northern Syria on Monday, as revealed by the Pentagon spokesperson Navy Capt. Jeff Davis Wednesday. The official said the use of Turkish-based airpower will “put coalition aircraft significantly closer on the map to where these potential targets are.”
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08/06/2015
In some of the most intense international air combat exercises ever featuring the Indian Air Force, IAF pilots flying Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighters had a resounding 12-0 scoreline in their favour against Royal Air Force Typhoon jets in Within Visual Range (WVR) dogfighting operations.
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08/06/2015
Although China is not the first state to build an airstrip in the South China Sea, it is the first state to employ island-building technologies to transform a contested maritime feature into a military base that extends the reach of offensive military capabilities. Other countries have worked to project power to contested South China Sea features; with the airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef, China has worked to project power from them.
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08/06/2015
The US Marine Corps says its first combat F-35 squadron is “ready for battle,” but after 14 years of development marked by cost increases and delays, it is time for the combat jet to prove it is as advanced, stealthy and lethal as advertised. The fifth-generation fighter, conceived in the mid-1990s, has travelled a long, long road to reach initial operational capability, arriving five years behind the original target.
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08/06/2015
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is finalizing a new tender for purchase of medium-sized multirole fighters. The tender’s main condition is that the supplier consents to the aircraft being assembled in India. The main issue to watch will be whether the Russian MiG-35 can out-manoeuvre its French competitor, the Rafale fighter, this time around.
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08/06/2015
The cockpit of a supersonic Tornado attack bomber is a much more peaceful place than you might expect. "It's incredibly quiet," says Jas Hawker, a former RAF wing commander who flew the aircraft over Iraq and Kosovo. "The pilot and the navigator could drop their oxygen masks and talk to each other. It's not silent but it's a lot quieter than people think."
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08/06/2015
If ever a technology was awe-inspiring, robotics is it. Robots have a long, storied past in literature, dating back at least to the Iliad — and possibly further back depending on your definition of a robot. Robots have long been widely used in the government and commercial sectors — more so now than ever. But as promising as the technology is in a wide range of areas, air combat is not one of them.
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08/06/2015
The US-led coalition against the Islamic State undertook 29 airstrikes in Syria and Iraq on the militants’ personnel and infrastructure, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a release on Wednesday.
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08/06/2015
Washington and Moscow are fully engaged in efforts to counter the Islamic State in Syria, US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner told journalists on Wednesday.
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08/06/2015
In June, when a CIA drone strike killed an al-Qaeda leader who the agency did not know was among a group of militants, the United States showed that it continues to fire drone missiles at targets whose identities are a mystery.
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08/05/2015
A Syrian military aircraft that crashed during a bombing run over rebel-held territory killed at least 37 people and injured more than 60, activists said. The victims died when the plane crashed Monday in the town of Ariha in Idlib province, and in preceding airstrikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which originally said 31 were killed.
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08/05/2015
The Pentagon has asked for an additional $7.5 million in the current fiscal year for the Marine Corps to get started on installing the Link 16 communication system on its fleet of Boeing AV-8B Harriers. In a reprogramming request to Congress, the Defense Department wrote that “funding is required to begin Link 16 Tactical Datalink integration into the AV-8B aircraft for relevancy, safety improvements, and interoperability.
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08/05/2015
Russia and China are scheduled to hold joint military drills in the waters and airspace of the Sea of Japan, Bejing's Defense ministry announced. The exercises are set to take place between August 20 through August 28 in the Peter the Great Gulf and other areas of the Russian coast, reported The BRICS Post.
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08/05/2015
The Air Force has kicked off a $60 million overhaul of communications on its E-3 Sentry fleet to better track enemy aircraft. It is installing the AN/UPX-40 system, meant to eliminate ground clutter to better detect, identify and track enemy and friendly low-flying aircraft, according to a news release on the system. The AWACS aircraft will use the information to send intercepting aircraft to enemy targets.
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08/05/2015
The British government has reprieved a squadron of Tornado GR4 strike jets from being axed in order to maintain its operations against Islamic State group targets in Iraq. The announcement that 12 (Bomber) Squadron will be kept flying for a further year was made by British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon during a visit to Baghdad on Aug. 3.
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08/05/2015
India could avail consultancy from some of European aircraft manufacturers who had bid for the multi-crore tender for fighter jets, won by Rafale, for the development of the Mark-II version of Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, timeline for which has been extended.
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08/05/2015
India has canceled its $12 billion program to purchase 126 medium multirole combat aircraft.
According to a July 30 press release from the Indian Ministry of Defence, "The RFP issued earlier for procurement of 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) has been withdrawn. In this multi-vendor procurement case, the Rafale aircraft met all the performance characteristics stipulated in the Request for Proposal (RFP) during the evaluation conducted by Indian Air Force."
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08/05/2015
A ground force of 2,800 pro-government troops, accompanied by tanks and armored personnel carriers, pushed toward a Houthi-controlled military base in Yemen Monday as Saudi-led coalition airstrikes cleared their path.
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08/05/2015
NATO estimates that reducing its air patrols over the Baltic states in half would be appropriate for the current level of threat, a NATO official told Sputnik on Tuesday. On Monday, NATO announced its plans to halve the number of military aircraft it had allocated to the Baltic Air Policing Mission. The program is aimed at helping Baltic NATO members Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia improve their capability, readiness, and responsiveness to deter against aggressors in the region.
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08/05/2015
Japan will suspend work on the relocation of a US military base in Okinawa Prefecture for 30 days to ease tensions with local authorities, the country’s cabinet chief announced Tuesday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga was quoted by the Kyodo agency as saying at a news conference that Tokyo will hold “intensive consultations” with the local authorities to resolve an ongoing standoff.
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08/04/2015
Turkey’s procurement authorities approved a new contract to acquire reconnaissance and observation aircraft. The procurement agency, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM), released a request for information (RfI) to which potential bidders must reply no later than Aug. 12.
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08/04/2015
A Syrian military aircraft crashed while on a bombing run over the rebel-held northwestern town of Ariha on Monday, leaving at least 23 people dead, a monitoring group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was not immediately clear how many of the dead were from the crash and how many from the prior bombardment.
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08/04/2015
China has reportedly built the world's largest aircraft carrier dock at its naval base in the South China Sea. The 700 meter-long dock is able to accommodate ships on both sides, allowing it to service two aircraft carriers or other large ships at the same time.
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08/04/2015
World powers are reporting surges in airspace violations and instances where aircraft are scrambled to intercept foreign jets, amid a sharp rise in geopolitical tensions in Europe and Asia. Nato member aircraft were forced to conduct more than 500 scrambles over Europe in 2014 – a fourfold increase on the previous year. Nearly 85% of these were to intercept Russian aircraft.
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08/04/2015
There's aircraft designers, and then there's ace designers. There are thousands of engineers around the world producing planes, but ace designers only come along once every few decades. The United States had Kelly Johnson, the designer of the SR-71 Blackbird. Germany's Willy Messerschmitt produced a line of famous fighter planes. The Soviet Union's Mikhail Simonov created the muscular Su-27 fighter-bomber to compete with America's F-15 Eagle.
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08/04/2015
U.S. military aircraft will provide defensive air cover to “moderate” Syrian rebels, the Pentagon announced on Monday. My colleague, Richard Sisk, has the story on Military?.com:
The small group of lightly equipped “moderate” Syrian rebels vetted and trained by the U.S. and now on the ground in northern Syria will be provided with limited defensive air cover, a Pentagon official said Monday.
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08/04/2015
As Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) take to the skies, it is essential for safety that UAS operators and pilots are aware of each other. To help provide this shared situational awareness, Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has deployed the first components of a UAS traffic management (UTM) system that is available to the UAS community now.
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08/04/2015
A ground force of 2,800 pro-government troops, accompanied by tanks and armored personnel carriers, pushed toward a Houthi-controlled military base in Yemen Monday as Saudi-led coalition airstrikes cleared their path.
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08/04/2015
The United States has started flying armed drones from a Turkish airbase, but they have not conducted any airstrikes against the Islamic State yet, according to US media reports citing Pentagon on Monday.
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08/03/2015
Egyptian armed forces killed a leading member of the country's Islamic State affiliate in a shootout outside his North Sinai home, the army spokesman said in a statement on Saturday.
Selim Suleiman al-Haram, identified in the statement as a leader of the militant group known as Sinai Province, was asked to turn himself in by a group of soldiers that surrounded his house in the town of Sheikh Zuweid, the army said.
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08/03/2015
The United States has decided to allow airstrikes to defend Syrian rebels trained by the U.S. military from any attackers, even if the enemies hail from forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, U.S. officials said on Sunday. The decision by President Barack Obama, which could deepen the U.S. role in Syria's conflict, aims to shield a still-fledging group of Syrian fighters armed and trained by the United States to battle Islamic State militants -- not forces loyal to Assad.
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08/03/2015
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 based in Yuma, Arizona, is the first squadron in military history to become operational with an F-35 variant, according to a Marine Corps release. A five-day Operational Readiness Inspection that ended July 17 cleared the way for Friday’s announcement.
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08/03/2015
Latvia’s National Defense Forces say a Russian naval ship was spotted nine kilometers from the country’s territorial waters. According to the Latvian military’s official Twitter feed, the vessel was a Russian mine launcher, the Aleksandr Obukhov, which had entered the country’s exclusive economic zone, an area stretching some 200 nautical miles from its shores.
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08/03/2015
A flying contingent of the Indian Air Force (IAF) are on a maiden visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They are in the Kingdom from Aug. 1-4. Indian Embassy Charge d’Affaires Hemant Kotalwar, while addressing a press conference, called the visit significant, and yet another feature that is set to give the Indo-Saudi relations a boost.
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08/03/2015
It is one of the most famous lines in 1980s movies. “I feel the need...” bellows an impossibly young Tom Cruise as he marches across the runway to a waiting F14-A Tomcat fighter jet, “...the need for speed!” And there have been plenty of Top Gun fans who’ve felt a similar desire to experience the heady rush of combat aircraft roaring across cinema screens one more time.
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08/03/2015
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pressed Egypt’s leadership to move forward with political reform as part of a strategy to combat religious extremism, citing parliamentary elections this fall as an important test for the Arab country. The Obama administration’s top diplomat stressed in weekend meetings with senior Egyptian officials that the U.S. is committed to supporting President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi’s fight against extremist groups who have launched attacks across their country.
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08/03/2015
In another major step towards self reliance in the defence sector, a plan is being finalised to produce 90 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) in India, informed sources said. A Request for Proposal (RFP) is expected to be drafted soon after the new Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) comes in place.
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08/03/2015
A video reveals a Mi-28N Night Hunter helicopter crash at a competition in central Russia. The commander of the crew was killed in the crash as the second pilot narrowly escaped from the burning fuselage.
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08/02/2015
After nearly 15 years of development and a half-dozen years of testing, the first squadron of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters is officially operational. The decision was formally announced by Marine Commandant General Joseph Dunford on Friday, making the Marines the first military branch to declare its version of the aircraft combat-ready.
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08/02/2015
Airbus confirmed the news that a CN235 military transport aircraft crashed in Colombia today claiming the lives of 11 Colombian military personnel. Their transport plane suffered motor failure and crashed in the northern province of Cesar, killing all on board, according to a statement from the Air Force.
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08/02/2015
South Korea authorities confirmed a North Korea military aircraft crashed at an airfield in the port city of Wonsan around July 15 and the casualties may have included members of Kim Jong Un's entourage. The site of the accident is most likely the same place where Kim Jong Un attended an air force tournament held in commemoration of North Korea's July 27 "Victory Day," South Korean television network SBS reported.
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08/02/2015
Throughout its history, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has lagged behind the aerial programs of other world powers such as the United States. Now, the PRC has set its sights on producing indigenously designed “fifth generation” fighter jets comparable to the US F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.
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08/02/2015
The Block 60 is the latest upgraded version of the Kfir, which was used by the Israeli air force between 1975 and 1994. Some aircraft are being offered with General Electric J79 engines with zero hours following a complete overhaul, while other examples would need to have this work performed after their powerplant reaches 1,600 flight hours.
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08/02/2015
TURKEY has killed 260 Kurdish militants in a week-long air offensive on targets in northern Iraq as regional Iraqi authorities said it was time the Kurds withdraw from the front line with ISIS as concerns grow over civilian casualties.
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08/02/2015
Russian MiG-31 interceptor jet pilots performed a unique six-hour non-stop flight with three air refueling operations, head of the press service of the Russian Central Military District, Col. Yaroslav Roshchupkin, said Saturday. "The pilots from the Central Military District devoted the unique flight of MiG-31BM interceptor jets to today's opening of the International Army Games," Roshchupkin said in a statement.
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