November 05, 2015 Military Aviation News

What China's 'Militarization' of the South China Sea Would Actually Look Like

11/05/2015

Much has been said about the legal and geopolitical aspects of Chinese land reclamation in the South China Sea, but U.S. PACOM Commander Admiral Harry Harris’s Congressional testimony last month gave a closer look at specific U.S. military concerns posed by China’s artificial islands. Harris detailed the military utility of deep water port facilities and 3,000 meter runways on three newly built Chinese islands.

Bomb by Islamic State likely caused Russian plane crash: security sources

11/05/2015

Evidence now suggests that a bomb planted by the Islamic State militant group is the likely cause of last weekend's crash of a Russian airliner over Egypt's Sinai peninsula, U.S. and European security sources said on Wednesday. Islamic State, which controls swathes of Iraq and Syria and is battling the Egyptian army in the Sinai Peninsula, said again on Wednesday it brought down the airplane, adding it would eventually tell the world how it carried out the attack.

The Air Force’s New Bomber Faces a Pentagon Budget Battle

11/05/2015

The battle over who will build the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation stealth bomber came to a close last week, but a new conflict is already developing at the Pentagon. A defense budget passed Friday has Congress and military planners seeking $5 billion in defense cuts, as the Air Force prepares to squeeze another costly development program into a Pentagon budget already packed with big-ticket weapons buys.

Crew of the last Vulcan bomber investigated over footage of the plane performing an 'illegal' barrel roll in its final weeks in the air

11/05/2015

The last flying Vulcan bomber might have performed an illegal roll in the weeks leading up to its final flight, it was claimed today. Footage is being investigated by the Civil Aviation Authority to establish whether the much-loved Cold War aircraft - XH558 - performed the manoeuvre during a recent flight.

Watch 'cursed' $3.5bn F-35A fighter finally fire its 3,000 bullets a minute cannon in flight - but it STILL won't have a fully working gun until 2017

11/05/2015

It has so far cost over $3.5bn, and is eight years late. Hailed as the most expensive weapon in history, the controversial F-35 stealth fighter jet is undergoing rigorous testing at California's Edwards Air Force Base. Now, researchers have revealed the hugely delayed and over budget project has finally fired its first shots in the air.

Cold War-style jousting between combat aircraft a high-stakes game of chicken

11/05/2015

DEADLY games of chicken are once again playing out in the skies above Europe and the South China Sea. Combat planes from Russia, China and the United States are all out to prove a point. But a declassified video reveals how horribly wrong things can go. In recent months, footage of fully armed Russian and Chinese aircraft passing dangerously close to US and European counterparts have breathed a fresh chill into a Cold War long thought over.

Pentagon Approves Sale of 200 Hellfire Missiles to France

11/05/2015

The US Department of State has approved the sale of up to 200 Hellfire air-to-ground (AGM) missiles to France, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a news release on Wednesday. "The government of France has requested a possible sale of two-hundred (200) AGM-114K1A Hellfire Missiles; Hellfire Missile conversion kits; blast fragmentation sleeves and installation kits; containers; and transportation," the release stated. "[T]he total estimated cost is $30 million."

Southeast Asia Market Eyes BrahMos Missiles Jointly Made by Russia, India

11/05/2015

Several Southeast Asian nations, including Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, have shown interest in buying Russian-Indian supersonic BrahMos cruise missiles, a spokesman for the manufacturer said Wednesday.

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