2018 Military Aviation News
12/30/2018
The People’s Liberation Army said that Taiwan would run into a “dead end” if it resisted the mainland’s reunification efforts with force, and that Beijing would continue its “encirclement patrols” in waters and airspace around the island.
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12/30/2018
An U.S. Air Force T-38 Talon jet trainer went skidding off the runway at Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport in Virginia earlier today, but thankfully no one was injured. This is the latest in a series of major accidents for the T-38 community, which has suffered multiple crashes, including one that led to the death of a pilot, this year already.
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12/30/2018
The problem with a 21st Century Blackjack may have less to do with the plane than with the factory. As the U.S. is discovering with its older aircraft, spare parts and – most importantly – manufacturing expertise are permanently lost when a production line is closed down.
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12/30/2018
The initial prototype of Ilyushin’s Il-112V transport has begun taxi trials on the runway at the VASO manufacturing plant in Voronezh, as United Aircraft (UAC) prepares the twin turboprop for its maiden flight.
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12/29/2018
Pakistan has said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a bilateral economic project and has no military dimensions. Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said this at the weekly media briefing here on Thursday when asked about a US media report that alleged that China has hatched a secret plan to build fighter jets and other military hardware in Pakistan as part of the USD 60 billion project.
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12/29/2018
China is trying to devise ways to make its nonstealthy aircraft radar resistant. This week, the Hong Kong–based South China Morning Post reported that China is working on experimental technologies to make even its older aircraft appear stealthy to most radar systems. Citing scientists working on the project, the SCMP said, “The technology involves the use of a ‘metamaterial’, a fabricated layer comprising microscopic structures similar to integrated circuits.
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12/28/2018
The Israeli air force (IAF) attack on Iranian targets in Syria was performed by standoff weapon systems, learned BulgarianMilitary.com. According the Middle Eastern sources, the Israeli fighter aircraft released their weapons while flying over Lebanon. This to avoid entering the foot print of the Russian S-300 air defense systems deployed recently in Syria
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12/28/2018
The Kazakhstan Air Defense Forces (KADF) has received a four new Sukhoi Su-30SM multirole fighter aircraft from Russia, according to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Defense. “Within the framework of the agreement on military-technical co-operation with the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Kazakhstan received next shipment newest Su-30SM multirole aircraft,“ – according to a 25 December statement.
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12/28/2018
The United States Air Force and Navy appear to be closing in on a partial solution to a complicated set of problems that have for years caused pilots to experience adverse physiological symptoms midair, endangering them and the aircraft. Officials from both services said that by early 2019 they will replace faulty oxygen-supply systems with new hardware and software in their T-6 Texan trainer aircraft.
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12/27/2018
The Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon has been the mainstay of the U.S. and allied air forces for decades. Over the years, the aircraft has evolved from a lightweight visual range dogfighter into a potent multirole warplane that flies the gamut of missions ranging from the suppression of enemy air defenses to air superiority. Though it has been operational since 1980, the “Viper” continues to evolve and will remain in service with the U.S. Air Force and other militaries for decades to come.
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12/27/2018
Sikorsky and Boeing have unveiled the SB-1 Defiant helicopter, providing a pair of images showing the rotorcraft from the front and rear. The type had been expected to fly in 2018, but in mid-December the Sikorsky-Boeing team decided to push this into 2019.
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12/25/2018
Boeing is being awarded with a seven-year maintenance contract external link supporting US Special Operations Command aircraft. The IDIQ, firm-fixed-price, cost reimbursable contract is valued at $1.1 billion and allows for life cycle contractor support the MH-6, MH-47, and MH-60 aircraft.
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12/25/2018
The first pre-production L-39NG jet trainer (msn 7001) completed its maiden flight on 22 December from Vodochody airport in the Czech Republic. This new-generation derivative of Aero Vodochody's long-established trainer was flown by company test pilots David Jahoda and Vladimír Továrek.
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12/24/2018
More than a dozen advanced Russian fighter jets have arrived at a base in the Ukrainian region of Crimea, which Moscow occupied and annexed in 2014. The Reuters news agency cited witnesses who saw the Su-27 and Su-30 fighters arriving at the Belbek air base on December 22.
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12/24/2018
The Bulgarian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced a plan to procure eight F-16V Block 70 fighter jets aimed at replacing its ageing Soviet-designed MiG-29s. On Friday, Bulgaria’s defense ministry commission recommended that the government starts talks with the United States to buy new F-16V Block 70 fighter aircraft to improve its compliance with NATO standards.
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12/22/2018
Last July, I broke a story about the existence of Boeing's F-15X Advanced Eagle concept, one that the plane-maker had been in discussions with the USAF about for many months. That aircraft would be procured to replace America's existing F-15C/D aircraft, the vast majority of which are operated by the Air National Guard. Since my expose, the USAF has officially remained somewhat flippant about the F-15X and its talks with Boeing.
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12/22/2018
Leonardo has flown the production-standard version of its M-345 jet trainer, as it works towards service entry with the Italian air force in 2020. Performed from the company's site in Venogono Superiore in the north of Italy, the sortie was conducted by test pilots Quirino Bucci and Giacomo Iannelli.
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12/20/2018
Footage recently released by the Russian Ministry of Defense shows Russia's flagship fifth-generation stealth fighter, the Su-57, being aerially refueled by an Il-78 tanker. Before this, the Su-57 can be seen imitating a refueling formation behind an An-12 transport aircraft.
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12/20/2018
The U.S. Air Force is getting bases ready for its new B-21 Raider stealth bomber. But it’s still unclear how many B-21s the flying branch might buy. The Air Force selected Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma as the primary maintenance facility for the new bomber, the service announced on November 16, 2018.
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12/20/2018
Russian media outlets are reporting that the Kremlin is planning to establish a forward outpost on the Venezuelan island of La Orchila in the Caribbean Sea and base nuclear-capable Tu-160 Blackjack bombers, two of which just wrapped up a recent deployment to the country, at the site. If true, this could help bolster the embattled regime of Venezuela’s dictatorial president Nicolás Maduro and would significantly change the strategic reality in the Western Hemisphere for the United States.
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12/20/2018
The Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) scrambled fighter jets to intercept and escort an undisclosed number of People’s Liberation Air Force (PLAAF) Xian H-6K bombers, Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft, and a Shaanxi Y-9JB (GX-8) electronic warfare and surveillance plane conducting a long-range patrol near Taiwan on December 18, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense.
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12/19/2018
The Argentine Air Force (FAA, in Spanish) strengthened its airspace defense capabilities during Exercise Integrador (Integrator in English ) 2018, as part of preparations for the 2018 G20 Buenos Aires Summit, carried out in the city of Buenos Aires, November 30th-December 1st. The event gathered the world’s main heads of state.
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12/19/2018
Boeing Defense, Space & Security recently won a hotly contested contract to design, develop, fabricate, test, deliver, and support four MQ-25A Stingray unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), integrating them into the aircraft carrier air wing, something the US Navy has been looking at for some time.
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12/19/2018
The Japanese cabinet has approved a plan to add an additional 105 Lockheed Martin F-35s to its planned fleet of 42 examples, potentially making it the world’s second largest F-35 operator. In a press briefing, the chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga confirmed that the country’s Medium Term Defence Program has been approved by the cabinet.
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12/19/2018
Bell’s V-280 demonstration programme plans to continue to expand the tiltrotor’s flight envelope, with additional focus on manoeuvrability, after reaching 250kt this September. So far, the aircraft has been tested on 50° banked turns at 200kt, which is the equivalent of 1.8g, says Vince Tobin, Bell executive vice-president for military business. During upcoming tests the manufacturer expects the aircraft to fly turns that generate more than 3g, he says.
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12/18/2018
The Congressional Budget Office floated a number of cost-cutting ideas for the US federal government including reducing the number of additional Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II purchases, retiring the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor or Rockwell B-1B Lancer bomber fleets, and deferring development of the Northrop Grumman B-21 stealth bomber.
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12/18/2018
Boeing and Embraer have agreed the terms of their planned joint venture under which the US manufacturer is set to take control of Embraer’s commercial aircraft activities in 2019. The deal still is subject to approval by Brazil’s government, shareholders and regulatory authorities, the two airframers say.
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12/18/2018
The Chengdu/Pakistan Aeronautical Complex JF-17 Thunder has appeared at a celebration to mark the 71st anniversary of Myanmar’s air force. Images and video of the 15 December event on social media show four JF-17s are visible on static display in Myanmar’s distinctive blue camouflage scheme. One image shows a Myanmar officer inspecting a JF-17 cockpit, with a special ‘71’ logo visible on the jet’s fuselage.
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12/16/2018
A pilot has been killed in a Su-27 fighter jet crash in Ukraine on 15 December, said in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to a statement of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on Dec. 15, 2018, at around 3 p.m., the Su-27 fighter jet crashed on landing while making routine training mission.
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12/16/2018
Russia says a pair of its Tu-160 Blackjacks flew a 10-hour patrol over the Caribbean Sea from a base in Venezuela. The Kremlin had recently sent the strategic bombers, along with other aircraft and supporting personnel, to the Latin American country, which is in the grips of a protracted political and economic crisis. The deployment also came in the wake of renewed criticism of Russia's intervention in Ukraine following a skirmish in the Kerch Strait in November 2018.
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12/15/2018
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov expressed hope on December 14 that the offer to supply his country with US-made F-16s would be improved “because I’ve talked with the pilots and a new F-16 is a much better aircraft than all the others available”. Borissov’s statement, against a background that Bulgaria’s decision on its choice of new fighter jets may be largely driven by political considerations, may deal a blow to the other two bids, Sweden’s Gripen and Italy’s Eurofighters.
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12/15/2018
Slovakia has signed an agreement with Lockheed Martin for 14 Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70/72 combat aircraft (12 single-seat and 2 two-seat models). Slovakia has signed the contract on Wednesday with Lockheed Martin vice president of international business development Ana Wugofski for new. F-16 Block 70/72 combat aircraftto replace its Russian made MiG-29 jets.
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12/15/2018
India’s state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) concluded a deal on October 26 with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) subsidiary Elta Systems for the purchase of 83 ELM-2052 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars and ELL-8222WB electronic warfare (EW) suites to be integrated with the Mark-IA Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), according to local media reports.
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12/15/2018
The USA could have a counter hypersonic weapon developed by the mid-2020s. However, creating a workable defense against hypersonic vehicles and missiles would require developing longer range radars and new space-based sensors to track and target an adversary’s weapons soon after they are launched, said Michael Griffin, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, at a National Defense Industrial Association event on 13 December, according to a transcript and press release from the Pe
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12/15/2018
The US Air Force’s average funding level in recent years is too little to replace, on a one-for-one basis, aging aircraft with new aircraft in the coming decades. That’s according to research by the Congressional Budget Office, which notes that costly-to-replace Lockheed Martin F-16C/D and Boeing F-15C/D fighters, F-15E multirole fighters, Lockheed Martin C-130 cargo aircraft, and Rockwell B-1B bombers are nearing the end of their service life.
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12/12/2018
Northrop Grumman was awarded a $49.9 million contract by the US Navy for long-lead parts and associated support for the production of two E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. The aircraft are expected to be completed by December 2023 and will be funded with fiscal 2019 procurement funds, according to a Department of Defense notice online.
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12/12/2018
The US Air Force has completed its critical design review of the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider, marking another milestone in development of the next-generation stealth bomber. The technical review, completed on 30 November, ensured the proposed aircraft has a stable and mature design before the USAF moves the program into manufacturing and flight testing.
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12/12/2018
UK Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons have begun flying quick reaction alert (QRA) sorties armed with MBDA Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles, the Ministry of Defence confirms. A first QRA mission with the new weapon was conducted from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland on 10 December, the MoD says. "The introduction of Meteor brings a new and innovative long-range capability, and further enhances Typhoon's already potent arsenal," it notes.
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12/10/2018
The F-35A Joint Strike Fighter has taken 26 years to get from the beginning of development in 1992 through to its first operational use in combat earlier this year by the Israeli Air Force over Syria. It is the most advanced warplane in the world today, and the RAAF is not only taking delivery of the first two of 72 F-35As, but has the option to order another 28 aircraft next decade.
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12/10/2018
The first of Australia’s F-35A joint strike fighters will touch down at Williamtown RAAF Base on Monday. Defence Minister Christopher Pyne and the Governor-General, Sir Peter Cosgrove, will be among the waiting dignitaries as two of the $125 million planes arrive from Brisbane after leaving Arizona last week.
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12/08/2018
Increased anti-GPS electronic warfare from adversaries and delays to the launch of the GPS III network are forcing the US Air Force Special Operation Command to look for GPS hardening technology for its MC-130J and EC-130J aircraft to be used as a stopgap.
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12/08/2018
Boeing received a $159 million contract from the US Air Force to build a second KC-46A tanker for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. The aerial refueling tanker will be manufactured in Seattle and is expected to be completed by 30 June 2021. In December 2017, the USAF awarded Boeing a $279 million contract to produce Japan's first KC-46 tanker aircraft.
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12/08/2018
After more than a decade of study, experimentation, modelling and simulation, the UK has successfully completed a first phase of testing using a shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL) manoeuvre for the Lockheed Martin F-35B on board the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth.
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12/06/2018
When there aren’t enough F-35s to go around, who should get them: The air force or the navy?
That question is reportedly roiling the British military as the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy dogfight over which F-35 stealth fighters the cash-strapped UK should buy. The Royal Navy is furious at alleged RAF plans to grab many of the 138 F-35s that Britain is purchasing, according to Britain’s Sky News .
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12/06/2018
Germany and France will welcome Spain as a full partner in their program to develop a next-generation air combat system, and expect to sign an agreement finalizing the move at the Paris Air Show in June, German government sources said on Wednesday. Paris and Berlin initially planned to offer Spain only observer status on the program, but changed their plans after extensive discussions with Spanish officials, according to a separate source familiar with the matter.
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12/06/2018
An air and sea search has been launched off the coast of Japan for seven US Marine aircrew after a F/A-18D Hornet fighter and a KC-130 Hercules tanker collided during a refuelling manoeuvre. Both aircraft crashed into the sea about 300km out from their base at Iwakuni. The incident happened about 2am local time (4am AEDT).
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12/06/2018
In addition to providing the Texan II trainers, Affinity has sourced 23 G120TPs from Grob Aircraft and five Embraer Phenom 100s – all "configured to meet the needs of the UK Ministry of Defence". The new types are respectively employed in the basic, elementary and multi-engine crew training categories.
Deliveries commenced with a first batch of G120TPs being accepted at RAF Barkston Heath in Lincolnshire in November 2016. Affinity notes that the final aircraft's transfer was made ahead of its
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12/06/2018
A key milestone in the UK Military Flying Training System (MFTS) programme was met on 3 December, with the early arrival of the last of 38 fixed-wing aircraft acquired via Elbit Systems UK/KBR joint venture Affinity Flying Training Services. The last of 10 Beechcraft T-6Cs acquired as replacements for the Royal Air Force's Short Tucano T1 turboprops – registered ZM332 – arrived at the service's Valley base in Anglesey, north Wales, following a delivery flight from Wichita, Kansas.
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12/05/2018
China's J-10C fighter aircraft, currently taking part in the Pak-China joint air force exercise, is equipped with an Active Electronically Steered Array system (AESA) as well as an optoelectronic detection system.
An improved version of China's J-10, the aircraft was activated for the combat missions in April this year, Wang Zhiming, a Chinese military expert told the news website China.org.cn on Tuesday.
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12/05/2018
Sikorsky's parent company Lockheed Martin intends to register an office in Chile to help push aircraft sales in Latin America. The company said it is in the process of registering an office with the Chilean government, adding that it intends to also use the site as a base for naval business in the region.
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12/05/2018
The US Air Force has started to field its Joint Service Aircrew Mask (JSAM) for helicopter aircraft in November as part of a larger effort to shield its personnel against contamination from weapons of mass destruction. The JSAM mask provides better protection against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear contamination for aircrew on the HH-60G Pave Hawk and UH-1N Huey aircraft, said the USAF. It replaces the Aircrew Eye and Respiratory Protection system.
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12/05/2018
Airbus and Lockheed Martin have signed a memorandum of agreement to jointly "explore opportunities" in the US aerial refuelling market, eight years after the European airframer lost out to rival Boeing in a bid to supply new tankers to the US Air Force.
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12/05/2018
Leonardo's aircraft division has performed the first flight of its C-27J transport in a new baseline configuration. The sortie took place on 3 December from the manufacturer's plant in Turin, northern Italy. Featuring a number of avionics and cockpit upgrades, the new configuration is designed to make the aircraft compliant with next-generation air traffic management requirements and reduce military obsolescence issues.
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12/04/2018
Poland is to accelerate the replacement of its air force's RAC MiG-29 fighters and Sukhoi Su-22 ground-attack aircraft on the instructions of the country's defence minister. Mariusz Blaszczak, minister of national defence, has repeatedly stated his aim of removing Soviet-era aircraft from Warsaw's inventory.
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12/04/2018
The Italian Air Force declared its F-35A Lightning II fleet initial operational capable on 30 November, making the force the first in Europe to achieve the mark. Italy intends to procure a total of 90 F-35 aircraft. The country’s air force, Aeronautica Militare, plans to buy 60 F-35A conventional-takeoff-and-landing aircraft and 15 F-35B short-take-off-and-vertical-landing aircraft (STOVLs), while the navy, Marina Militare, is planning to acquire 15 F-35B STOVLs.
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12/04/2018
The Boeing KC-46A aerial tanker programme completed its Phase II receiver aircraft tests after finishing three weeks of flights with F-15E aircraft out of Edwards Air Force Base, California. Receiver certification for the KC-46A started in April 2018 with the Lockheed Martin F-16, says Boeing. A joint US Air Force Boeing team has completed receiver tests with Boeing KC-135, Boeing C-17, Fairchild Republic A-10, KC-46, Boeing B-52 and Boeing F/A-18 aircraft since then.
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12/03/2018
Think tanks normally do not put the fear of God in you, but a new report from the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) does the job. The report, “AirShow China 2018: ‘China Dream,’ Air Power and Deterrence,” demonstrates that China’s defense modernization and industrial efforts are “underscoring the role the sector has in President Xi Jinping’s broader nationalist vision of turning China into a great power.”
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12/03/2018
Ukraine’s state-owned defense industrial group, UkrOboronProm, has officially handed over a combat aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to the Armed Forces of Ukraine on 1 December. UkrOboronProm said in a statement that the Armed Forces of Ukraine received multirole upgraded MiG-29 fighter jets, heavy multirole high-maneuvering all-weather Su-27 fighter aircraft, combat and transport helicopters, L-39 training aircraft, and Spectator unmanned aerial systems.
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12/02/2018
Japan’s planned upgrade of its Boeing F-15 Eagle fighter jets will involve support from the United States and Boeing, the Japanese Defense Ministry has confirmed. Shigeyuki Uno, the principal deputy director of the defense planning and programming division of Japan’s Ministry of Defense, told Defense News during an interview at the ministry’s headquarters that the U.S. government and Boeing will provide support for the upgrade through the Foreign Military Sales process.
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12/02/2018
More than 80,000 Russian soldiers are present at Ukraine's borders and the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula, as well as the rebel-held regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, according to the Ukrainian president. As he rallies for international support against Moscow, Poroshenko said Russia had about 1,400 artillery and rocket systems, 900 tanks, 2,300 armoured combat vehicles, more than 500 military planes and 300 helicopters in and around Ukraine.
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12/01/2018
Satellite imagery recorded 24 units of fighter aircraft, including 16 units of Sukhoi Su-27 of different modifications, 8 Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter aircrafts. Russia deployed fighter aircraft and other military equipment at the Belbek airfield, which is located in the occupied by Russia Crimea. The press office of the Ministry for temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons reported this.
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12/01/2018
Given the current status of our combat aircraft, the recent directive by Secretary of Defense James Mattis that all the Air Force, Navy and Marines achieve a mission capability rate of above 80 percent by Oct. 15, 2019, for their four key tactical aircraft — including the F-16, F-18, F-22, and F-35 fighters — would appear to be both an impossible goal and, more importantly, an empty gesture that will not change much.
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12/01/2018
China’s rising military prowess is a cause for concern among those of its neighbours unfortunate enough to be locked in territorial disputes with Beijing, but also increasingly for the US armed forces and any number of Western companies trying to export their equipment around the globe.
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11/30/2018
Capt. Jonathan “Holster” Morgan was on a routine training mission slicing through clear blue sky over Washington. He had lifted off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland at 9:13 a.m. on a spring day in 2017, heading to a Pennsylvania shooting range with three other F-16s to practice bombing runs. Less than a minute into the air, his jet accelerated faster than he had ever felt. Warning lights flashed in the cockpit. “Lead,” Morgan radioed to his commander, “my engine’s giving out.”
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11/30/2018
China has indeed long depicted the J-20 as a competitor to America’s fifth-generation jets, the F-22 and F-35. But a new report casts doubt on those claims. Specifically, the Hong Kong–based South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that “China rushed its first advanced stealth fighter jet into service ahead of schedule last year, using stopgap engines, in the face of rising security challenges in the region.” According to SCMP, that “means its capabilities will be severely limited.
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11/30/2018
The US Air Force awarded Sierra Nevada a $329 million foreign military sales contract to build 12 A-29 Super Tucano aircraft for the Nigerian Air Force, which are intended for use against Boko Haram and ISIS.
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11/29/2018
Russia and Ukraine have embarked on one of their most tense encounters since Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula amid political unrest in 2014, prompting politicians and experts to speculate on the prospect of open warfare between the two rivals.
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11/29/2018
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov’s Cabinet has approved an 81 million leva project to overhaul eight MiG-29 fighter jets and a 99 million leva project to overhaul Su-25 fighter-bombers, a government statement on November 28 said. The move, involving proposed spending of more than 183 million leva (about 93.5 million euro) on overhauling the Bulgarian Air Force’s ageing Soviet-made combat aircraft comes as a process to choose a modern Nato-standard fighter jet is pending.
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11/29/2018
Tokyo is reportedly considering the acquisition of an additional 100 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters, adding to the 42 F-35As already planned. According to an unsourced report in Japan’s Nikkei newspaper, Tokyo would spread the acquisition between the conventional takeoff and landing F-35A variant and the short take off vertical landing F-35B.
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11/29/2018
Helicopter manufacturers are circling an upcoming Japanese requirement for over 50 attack helicopters. A request for information in May elicited responses from Bell, Boeing, Leonardo Helicopters, Airbus Helicopters, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. While the requirement was previously designated AH-X, this appears to have changed to NAH for ‘New Attack Helicopter.’ The deal is aimed at replacing the AH-1S, and possibly other types in service with the Japan Ground Self Defence Force.
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11/28/2018
Japan is considering upgrading its helicopter carriers to enable them to transport and launch fighter jets and include the decision in its new defense guidelines, a government source said Tuesday, indicating a departure from the country's strictly defense-oriented policy. The government is looking to upgrade the Izumo, a flat-top destroyer that currently accommodates helicopters, as it sees having an aircraft carrier as indispensable in the face of China's maritime assertiveness.
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11/28/2018
The United States’ often-fraught relations with NATO ally Turkey, which have enjoyed a relative upswing in the wake of American cleric Andrew Brunson’s release from a Turkish prison last month, face another possible nose-dive in the near future. U.S. lawmakers have threatened to demand the Trump administration delay or cancel delivery of F-35 stealth fighter aircraft the Turks help build and have already paid for, if Turkey does not void its purchase of a sophisticated Russian missile system.
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11/28/2018
An interesting “close encounter” in the Black Sea was captured on video. During the filming of a documentary, UK’s Channel 5 captured interesting footage of a Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer “buzzed” by Russian fighter jets off the coast of Crimea, in May 2018. The video, embedded below via the Daily Mail, indeed shows several Russian Navy (and probably Air Force) jets, including Su-30SM Flanker derivative and Su-24 Fencer jets flying in the vicinity of HMS Duncan.
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11/28/2018
Boeing could soon secure a fresh order for the AH-64E Apache attack helicopter after the US State Department approved a possible 10-unit sale to Egypt. To be acquired via the Foreign Military Sales process, the deal is worth an estimated $1 billion.
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11/27/2018
According to news24.jp, Japan is officially has decided to buy vertical takeoff F-35B Lightning II aircraft to operate from its Izumo-class helicopter destroyers. The newspaper said that the government has decided to procure the F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter aircraft which could be operated from a modified Izumo class ship and Island bases.
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11/27/2018
Commonly known as Battlefield Airborne Communications Node, or BACN, the E-11A is a U.S. Air Force aircraft that provides unparalleled communications capabilities to coalition forces on the ground and aircraft in the air.
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11/27/2018
Earlier this month, the Air Force buying command responsible for developing a next-generation ejection seat to be installed on combat aircraft issued a curious request for information. It solicited industry inputs concerning whether the safety standards the service has established are too hard to meet.
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11/27/2018
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have demonstrated specially-programmed UAVs collaborating and executing a mission autonomously after electronic warfare disrupted their communications link with a human controller.
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11/27/2018
Lockheed Martin has received a $108 million contract for phase two of its Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Block II Infrared Search and Track (IRST) upgrade program. The contract pays for the development, platform integration, flight test, and qualification of IRST21 Block II sensor system on the US Navy’s jet and was awarded by the aircraft’s manufacturer Boeing. The Block II upgrade enhances the IRST system’s ability to detect and track enemy aircraft at greater ranges.
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11/27/2018
Saab's Gripen E flight-test programme made a significant advance on 26 November, when a second aircraft joined the activity. Flown from the Swedish manufacturer's Linkoping site, test aircraft 39-9 completed a 33min debut sortie, more than 17 months after its first example had taken to the air, in June 2017.
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11/26/2018
There is no evidence that China has ever contemplated using its nuclear weapons to coerce another state. Instead, China has maintained a “no first use policy” on nuclear weapons. Surprising as it may sound to many, China wants to build an image of itself as a responsible power.
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11/26/2018
As a stealth bomber engineered during the height of the Cold War, the B-2 was designed to elude Soviet air defenses and strike enemy targets – without an enemy ever knowing the aircraft was even there. In a special interview designed to offer a rare look into the technologies and elements of the B-2, Mickelson - who flew B-2 bombing missions over Libya in 2011 - explained that the platform has held up and remained very effective – given that it was designed and built during the 80s.
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11/26/2018
As fighter jets roared off the flight deck and darted above the South China Sea, visitors onboard the carrier USS Ronald Reagan raised their phones for the inevitable selfies. Among those clicking souvenir images was a lieutenant general from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, who was part of a VIP guest list as the carrier moved through contested waters.
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11/26/2018
The sudden intrusion by the Ukrainian ships prompted Russia to deploy it’s naval assets, along with military aircraft and combat helicopters, in order to contain the situation which Russian Federal Security Service described as “provocation.”
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11/25/2018
"In short, big planes still confer big advantages for air forces interested in strike capabilities. But fighters, whether of the legacy or the stealth variety, will continue to pose a major obstacle for any bomber trying to reach its target."
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11/25/2018
A half-dozen F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets arrived here Tuesday as aircraft and personnel from units of the 325th Fighter Wing at hurricane-damaged Tyndall Air Force Base began their operational transition. In all, 31 Raptors are headed to Eglin Air Force Base as Tyndall some 70 miles to the east continues to rebuild in the wake of last month’s Category 4 Hurricane Michael, which made a direct hit on Tyndall on Oct. 10, according to Eglin spokesman Andy Bourland.
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11/25/2018
The Russian military has been showcasing its latest fifth-generation jet fighter, but the U.S. will continue to maintain its advantage in the aerial battlespace. Lately, the Russian military deployed the Su-57 to Syria in an attempt to test its capabilities and performance in combat conditions. During the flights, the Russian pilots tested the aircraft’s on-board systems, data management and coordination software, and the overall performance (for example, arming a weapon in extreme temperatures)
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11/24/2018
Announcing that France and Germany were pressing ahead with development studies for a joint future fighter, French defence minister Florence Parly signed off her Tweet with a flourish. "Ca avance!" she wrote; "It's moving!"
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11/24/2018
A new Rand Corporation report has highlighted China’s development of modern airpower capabilities in the context of its perceived rivalry with the USA. The report notes that the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and the industrial base supporting it has taken great strides in the last two decades.
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11/23/2018
The air forces of 13 nations including the United States are taking part this week in air combat exercises and non-conventional warfare training at a base in northern Brazil, the Brazilian Air Force said on Wednesday. Some 100 planes are involved in the so-called Southern Cross or CruzEx exercises, including six F-16 from the Texas Air National Guard alongside aircraft from Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Peru and Uruguay.
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11/22/2018
Embraer successfully completed a test of troop unloading and evacuation via the front and rear doors of its KC-390 at Brasília Air Force Base, in Brazil on 21 November. The tests are required for the aircraft to achieve Final Operational Capability, which is part of the final military certification of the aircraft, expected to occur in the last quarter of 2019, Embraer says. The KC-390 is a medium-sized military transport aircraft powered by two International Aero Engines V2500 turbofans.
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11/22/2018
France and Germany are progressing their plans to develop a next-generation combat aircraft and will launch demonstrator programmes for the aircraft and engine in mid-2019. Announcing the move on Twitter, French defence minister Florence Parly said the partners have taken a "decisive step" to build on June's decision to pursue the joint effort.
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11/21/2018
The Royal Canadian Air Force’s fleet of CF-18 fighter aircraft is unable to meet its commitments to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) due to a lack of pilots and technicians, according to a report by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada.
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11/20/2018
The Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II dropped a GBU-49 precision bomb for the first time in combat training at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The test on 7 November was conducted by the US Air Force 388th Fighter Wing’s 34th Fighter Squadron, which is stationed at Hill AFB, Utah. The GBU-49 is made by Raytheon. It is a converted “dumb” bomb that uses a laser and GPS to be guided to its target. The precision weapon can be used in a variety of weather conditions, against moving or stationary tar
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11/20/2018
The US Air Force selected two maintenance bases for the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider: Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma and Edwards AFB, California. The bases will coordinate maintenance and sustainment of the long-range stealth bomber, leading testing and evaluation of the aircraft, which is expected to be delivered in the mid-2020s, says the USAF.
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11/20/2018
Finland has held initial negotiations with five potential bidders for its H-X contest aimed at replacing the country's fleet of 62 Boeing F/A-18C/Ds. Project manager Lauri Puranen, writing in a blog post on the Finnish defence ministry website, says all five airframers involved were invited to participate in "pre-bid dialogue".
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11/20/2018
Tokyo continues to weigh options for procuring a successor to the Mitsubishi F-2 fighter, but technology and cost are concerns. The programme is certain to be in focus at Japan Aerospace in late November, as aerospace manufacturers pitch options and know-how. For its part, Tokyo's Acquisition, Technology, & Logistics Agency, the defence ministry, the Japan Air Self Defense Force and Japanese industry are still weighing options.
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11/19/2018
Russia’s Zvezda TV channel “accidentally” exposed model of a secret hypersonic 6th-generation fighter jet. In a live broadcast of the Zvezda TV Channel was revealed a model of modern Russian-made hypersonic 6th-generation fighter jet that is likely in unmanned version.
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11/18/2018
China’s effort to build more types of weapons, in all categories imaginable, than the entire world combined, begs more than just a cost-benefit analysis. It might be better to think in terms of an environmental impact study with only one question: just how many people does Beijing plan to kill? There are various theories about the rampant growth of redundant programs and seemingly wasteful spending by China’s military-industrial complex.
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11/17/2018
China's most advanced stealth fighter is ready for aerial refueling operations, giving it the ability to pursue targets at greater distances, according to Chinese state media. The "fifth-generation" Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter entered military service last year and was incorporated into Chinese combat units this past February.
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11/17/2018
The United States faces a dangerous imbalance with security threats on the rise and military preparedness ravaged by years’ worth of the 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA)-driven defense budget cuts. That is why Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis’ recent directive for the Navy and Air Force to increase the readiness of their fighter aircraft is so important.
(Read More...)
11/16/2018
Australia will buy at least a dozen armed Reaper drones in a major step towards a future in which air strikes are increasingly carried out remotely. The aircraft, made by US company General Atomics, will be used mainly to provide cover to Australian soldiers on operations, flying overhead while looking for threats and striking them with bombs or missiles.
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11/16/2018
Boeing delivered a QF-16 to Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. on Oct. 24. The QF-16 enables live fire weapons testing during Combat Archer. Combat Archer evaluations are conducted to prepare and evaluate operational fighter squadrons' readiness for combat operations. The program evaluates all phases of combat operations from weapons loading to aircraft performance, aircrew performance and weapons performance.
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11/16/2018
Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky received a $382 million contract for eight MH-60R Seahawk helicopters from the US Navy. Work on the helicopters is expected to be complete by September 2020, says the US Department of Defense in an online notice on 14 November. Some $147 million will be obligated initially from fiscal 2018 USN aircraft procurement funds, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
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11/16/2018
The UK Ministry of Defence has ordered its next 17 Lockheed Martin F-35Bs, as part of a 255-unit, multinational framework agreement announced by the US Department of Defense. Confirming the development on 15 November, the MoD said: "The 17 new F-35B aircraft will be delivered between 2020 and 2022." This corresponds with the programme's 12th through 14th lots of low-rate initial production.
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11/16/2018
Bahrain has confirmed its order for 12 Bell AH-1Z Vipers, six months after the US Department of State approved the deal, worth an estimated $912 million, under the Foreign Military Sales process. The attack helicopters will be delivered from the second half of 2022, the Royal Bahraini Air Force said at the Bahrain air show. Bell chief executive Mitch Snyder said the "most advanced helicopter in production" would "help protect the country for decades to come".
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11/16/2018
Lockheed Martin sees a market for 400 new F-16s – mainly in the Middle East – after securing Bahrain as launch customer for the Block 70 variant. The Royal Bahraini Air Force committed in June to 16 examples of the single-engine fighter, to be built at a new final assembly line in Greenville, South Carolina. The deal, agreed months after President Trump overturned his predecessor’s ban on a sale to Bahrain over human rights concerns.
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11/16/2018
Lockheed Martin has won a $22.7 billion contract to supply 255 F-35 Lightning II fighters for the three branches of the US armed services and international operators. The contract covers 106 F-35s for the USA, comprising 64 F-35As for the air force, 26 F-35Bs for the marines, and 16 F-35Cs for the navy, a US Department of Defense contract announcement states.
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11/15/2018
The USAF is devoting fresh energy to plugging cybersecurity holes in the F-35's external support systems, as they are deemed the easiest entry points for hackers into the fifth-generation combat jet, according to a key service official. “It’s a software-based aircraft, and any software-based platform is going to be susceptible to hacking,” Brig. Gen. Stephen Jost, director of the Air Force F-35 Integration Office.
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11/15/2018
One pilot was killed and another was hospitalized when their T-38C Talon crashed late Tuesday at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas, service officials said. It was the fifth crash of the training jet in the last 12 months. The aircraft, which is used for training student pilots to fly fighter or bomber jets, crashed about 7:40 p.m. local time on the south Texas base just outside Del Rio, according to a statement posted on Laughlin’s Facebook page.
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11/15/2018
Bahrain has taken delivery of its first of two ex-UK Royal Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130J tactical transports. Acquired via the UK Ministry of Defence following its retirement from service, the aircraft underwent depth maintenance at Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group's Cambridge airport site before being approved for a return to operational use. Flight Fleets Analyzer shows that the aircraft – which now carries the Royal Bahraini Air Force registration 702 – is 19 years old.
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11/13/2018
A two-seat U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet has crashed at sea while operating from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76). The crash occurred at an unspecified location northeast of the Philippines on Monday, November 12, 2018. Reports indicate both crew members ejected and were rescued from the sea by helicopter.
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11/13/2018
French manufacturer Dassault Aviation has withdrawn its Rafale fighter from Canada’s fighter replacement program. The withdrawal reportedly comes after Dassault raised concerns over its ability to meet Canada’s interoperability and intelligence sharing requirements. “On November 8, the French government officially notified Canada of its withdrawal from the competitive process to replace Canada’s fighter jet fleet,” a Public Services and Procurement Canada spokesperson told DefenseNews.
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11/13/2018
The US Air Force awarded Rockwell Collins a contract to upgrade US Air National Guard and US Air Force Reserve F-16 aircraft with anti-jam GPS receivers. The digital GPS anti-jam receivers are intended to provide reliable navigation for Lockheed Martin F-16 aircraft operating in contested electromagnetic environments. This will be the first combat fighter aircraft to be installed with the latest version of the receiver, Rockwell Collins says.
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11/13/2018
Dassault has achieved French military qualification for the F3-R-standard variant of the Rafale combat aircraft. Launched at the end of 2013, and based on operational feedback, the upgrade sees the fighter gain a number of enhancements, including the integration of MBDA's Meteor air-to-air missile, the laser-guided version of the Safran AASM air-to-ground munition and Thales's Talios laser designator pod.
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11/13/2018
The first of four Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transports (MRTT) has arrived in South Korea, where it will undergo acceptance tests. Piloted by an Airbus and Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) South Korean air force crew, the aircraft conducted its ferry flight to Gimhae air base from Getafe, Spain with a stop in Vancouver, Canada. Gimhae Airbase is located next to Busan’s Gimhae International Airport.
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11/11/2018
China bluntly told the United States to stop sending ships and military aircraft close to islands claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea, during talks Friday that set the stage for a meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping later this month. The U.S. pushed back, insisting it will continue to “fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows.” In late September, U.S. and Chinese vessels nearly collided near a disputed reef.
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11/11/2018
Fort Worth-based Bell has big hopes for the V-280 Valor. The company is developing the tiltrotor for a major U.S. Army deal scheduled to be awarded next decade. If the Army picks Bell for its future vertical lift program, that could lead to other branches or foreign militaries also selecting the V-280 for their fleets.
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11/11/2018
Russia’s prospects for arms sales to China remain undiminished by US sanctions after the countries signed new weapons contracts at China’s major air show. Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state arms seller, said it signed three more weapons contracts with China during the Zhuhai Airshow, which is being held in south China’s Guangdong province until Sunday.
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11/11/2018
The haze surrounding the Rafale deal finally appears to be clearing up a bit. The price for 36 aircraft purchased by the NDA government in 2016 was 40% higher per aircraft than what Dassault initially offered for 126 Rafales back in 2012, according to a report published in Business Standard. While Dassault offered each aircraft for Euro 155 million in 2012, during the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) tender.
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11/11/2018
India’s state-owned aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will set up a new production facility at Nashik in Maharashtra by 2020 to increase its annual output of Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), the head of HAL told The Economic Times on November 2.
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11/10/2018
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is asking companies to submit ideas for counter-hypersonic weapons as part of its Glide Breaker programme. The Glide Breaker programme aims to rapidly develop a low-cost enabling technology critical for an advanced interceptor capable of defeating manoeuvring hypersonic vehicles in the upper atmosphere, according to a 6 November online broad agency announcement by DARPA.
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11/10/2018
Chinese Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars are in evidence at this year’s Airshow China, both for fighters and a potential carrier capable airborne early warning & control (AEW&C) aircraft. At its stand, China Electronics Technology Group (CETC) displayed a model of its KLJ-7A AESA radar, which was developed by the Nanjing Research Institute of Electronics Technology (NRIET).
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11/08/2018
Both the J-5 and the J-6 are hopelessly obsolete, and if anything, during regular combat operations would simply be missile sponges for American and South Korean fighters and surface-to-air missile batteries. North Korea’s Korean People's Army Air Force (KPAAF)—referred to as the Air and Anti-Air Force Command in South Korean documents —is not in the top ranks of the world’s air forces.
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11/08/2018
For 40 years, the Dassault Mirage F1 fighter jet saw action in combat zones in Africa and the Middle East as a staple of the French military. Now, more than 60 of the jets will find a home near Fort Worth where they’ll be taking on a new kind of mission as part of a multibillion-dollar opportunity for Alliance Airport’s newest tenant.
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11/08/2018
The mockup of China’s CH-7 combat drone unveiled at Zhuhai Airshow this week looks a lot like one the U.S. Navy was developing — until it dropped the project, allowing China to position itself to beat the U.S. and other allies in fielding a long-range, high-altitude combat drone. That’s despite the fact that—in the words of one expert—the United States had a “ten-year head start.”
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11/08/2018
The future Franco-German combat aircraft program is set to begin in earnest early next year, but a key project phase is already in full swing: the bickering. On the surface, the two main companies involved — Dassault and Airbus — have “a clear common vision on the project,” as an Airbus spokesman put it. But there is also the politicking, the jockeying for position and the mistrust that tends to show itself when there is big money on the table.
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11/07/2018
The US Air Force is considering equipping some of its Fairchild Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II fleet with 3-D audio warning devices which are meant to improve a pilot’s situational awareness. It is not clear how many of the A-10 “Warthogs” will receive the audio devices, though the USAF is examining making a sole source acquisition of between 150 to 200 units from the hardware’s manufacturer, Terma North America, according to a 5 November request for proposal posted online.
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11/07/2018
A surprise participant in the flying display of this year’s Airshow China is a Chengdu J-10B testbed equipped with a thrust vectoring control (TVC) engine. The aircraft is likely powered by an advanced version of the indigenous Shenyang WS-10 engine equipped with a hinged nozzle.
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11/07/2018
The Chengdu J-20 appeared in this year’s flying display at Airshow China, performing a conservative flying routine. The show started with a three aircraft flyby, after which two aircraft performed a series of sweeping turns in tight formation. A solo aircraft also performed a series of rolls and a sharp climb before climbing out of the show and departing.
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11/06/2018
The Iraqi Air Force has now received sufficient Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) T-50IQ Golden Eagle advanced trainer/light combat aircraft to start operations with the type. A third batch of six aircraft arrived at the Martyr Mohammed Alaa Air Base at Baghdad International Airport on June 6, joining four aircraft delivered in two batches by March 2018. Iraq is due to acquire a total of 24 T-50IQs to equip two squadrons.
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11/06/2018
A RUSSIAN fighter jet veered dangerously close to a US aircraft in a dramatic midair manoeuvre as tensions between Moscow and Washington escalate. The Su-27 fighter passed ahead of the US Navy EP-3 Aries, which was taking part in a NATO military exercise above the Black Sea on Monday. US Navy officials said the stunt put the aircraft crew at risk. The navy released a video showing the Su-27 turn sharply in front of the surveillance plane with its engines firing.
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11/06/2018
The Peoples’ Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has a large presence in this year’s static park at Airshow China in Zhuhai, including the public debut of a new operational type. The most notable PLAAF aircraft on display is an AVIC Wing Loong II UAV, which for the first time is appearing in the show in PLAAF markings. Moreover, it is in the PLAAF paddock, and was seen being attended to by air force technicians.
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11/02/2018
At least four J-20 stealth fighters from the Chinese Air Force buzzed the southern coastal city of Zhuhai on Tuesday and Wednesday in a flyover to promote China’s largest biennial air show.
Warplanes and civil aircraft from home and abroad are set to descend on the city starting from November 6.
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11/02/2018
The Royal Air Force (RAF) has reportedly deployed Eurofighter Typhoon multirole combat jets to intercept suspected Russian jets, the UK Ministry of Defence said in a statement. The Eurofighters investigated the flight of the Russian fighter aircraft, which were spotted travelling in the vicinity of the UK’s airspace.
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11/02/2018
In a notice posted online 26 October, Ottawa listed five suppliers eligible to replace its fighter fleet with 88 advanced jets: Dassault Aviation, maker of the Rafale; Saab, maker of the JAS 39 Gripen; Airbus Defense, a major partner in the Eurofighter joint venture, which makes the Typhoon; Lockheed Martin, maker of the F-16 and F-35; and Boeing, maker of the F/A-18 Super Hornet and F-15E Strike Eagle. Only these five will be allowed to submit proposals.
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11/01/2018
An initial batch of four Nikolai Kuznetsov NK-32-02 turbofans is set for delivery to the Russian defense ministry by the year-end, according to Alexander Artyukhov, general director at the United Engine Corporation (local acronym ODK). Earlier this month he inspected the ODK’s Kuznetsov Plant in Samara where production lines have been re-opened to build turbofan and turboprop engines powering Tupolev strategic bombers. The plant has recently secured an order for 22 more NK-32-02s, he added.
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11/01/2018
A single nuclear carrier does not make a navy, but it does convey a certain cachet. “They still aspire to be a major player,” Shurkin says. “Having a nuclear carrier really supports that ambition.”
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11/01/2018
Airbus believes it is "inconceivable" that it will not finalise contract revisions with its A400M launch customers in 2019, and is optimistic that it could still hammer out an agreement by year-end.
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10/31/2018
Defense Secretary James Mattis made a forceful call for all parties involved in the brutal war in Yemen to come to the negotiation table within the next month, to bring to an end to a conflict pushed by a Saudi Arabian-led coalition that has devolved into a military stalemate that has produced one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
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10/31/2018
Boeing Defense, Space & Security’s third quarter revenue grew 13.5% to $5.7 billion year-over-year, despite its KC-46A Pegasus tanker programme struggling with another delay and highest costs.
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10/31/2018
Belgium has selected the Lockheed Martin F-35A to fill a 34-aircraft requirement to replace its fleet of F-16s. Belgian defence minister Steven Vandeput announced the decision on 25 October at a media briefing, making Belgium the 13th partner in the programme. Vandeput says the acquisition is around €500 million ($560 million) less than the €4 billion budgeted for. Deliveries are due to begin in 2023.
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10/26/2018
With a need to keep ahead of increased threats in the Middle East, the Israel Air Force is soon to place orders on several new aircraft to upgrade its aging squadrons. Most of Israel’s aircraft are decades old, and with its first F-35I Adir stealth squadron operational, the IAF and Defense Ministry are now considering one of the largest defense deals in Israel’s history with US aerospace giant Boeing
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10/26/2018
Pakistan’s government has provided a $183.4 million sovereign guarantee for the sale of three JF-17 fighters to Nigeria. Pakistan appears to have a second international customer for its domestically assembled Aeronautical Complex/Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (PAC/CAC) JF-17 “Thunder” multirole fighter jet after Myanmar.
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10/26/2018
The United States faces a dangerous imbalance with security threats on the rise and military preparedness ravaged by years’ worth of the 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA)-driven defense budget cuts. That is why Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis’ recent directive for the Navy and Air Force to increase the readiness of their fighter aircraft is so important. In it he states: “…we must focus on meeting our most critical priorities first.
(Read More...)
10/26/2018
Alongside its plans to acquire Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters, Belgium is also in negotiations to purchase a pair of medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned air vehicles. The country's defence ministry says the government has approved the start of negotiations with the USA over the requirement. Although it does not specify which UAV it hopes to acquire, images released by Brussels show a General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9B Sky Guardian – a NATO-standard variant of the B-model Predator.
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10/26/2018
Belgium has selected the Lockheed Martin F-35A to fill a 34-aircraft requirement to replace its fleet of F-16s. Belgian defence minister Steven Vandeput announced the decision on 25 October at a media briefing, making Belgium the 13th partner in the programme. Vandeput says the acquisition is around €500 million ($560 million) less than the €4 billion budgeted for. Deliveries are due to begin in 2023.
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10/25/2018
The Chinese People's Liberation Army is pushing ahead with its ambitious plan to build a modern, capable "blue-water navy" that will dominate China's neighbors, showcase Beijing's rising power and one day even threaten the US Navy. China has one aircraft carrier in operation, another undergoing sea trials, and a third one in development, putting the Chinese navy on track to begin fielding carrier task forces as it gains experience with carrier operations.
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10/25/2018
The Pentagon's F-35 is conducting attacks, surveillance operations and combat missions with an updated on-board “threat library” of Mission Data Files engineered to identify enemy threats in key regions around the globe. “The AORs (Areas of Responsibility) for current operations where our forces are -- currently have adequate Mission Data Files,” Vice Adm. Mat Winter, Program Executive Officer for the F-35 program, told a group of reporters
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10/25/2018
BAE Systems Australia has successfully inducted the final Hawk Mk 127 lead-in trainer aircraft into its Williamtown maintenance facility ahead of its upgrade, which will make the Royal Australian Air Force’s Hawks among the most advanced of its type in the world.
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10/25/2018
Rival producers of airborne early warning and control/battle management aircraft are stepping up their efforts to halt a non-competitive acquisition of the Boeing/Northrop Grumman E-7 Wedgetail system by the UK.
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10/24/2018
The well-known French company Dassault used this year’s Euronaval 2018 exhibition to display a model of the New Generation Fighter (NGF) that will eventually replace the current generation of Dassault’s Rafales and Germany’s Eurofighter Typhoons aircraft by around 2035-2040.
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10/24/2018
The Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) took delivery of its first Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon Viper (V) Block 70 multirole combat aircraft, according to an anonymous ROCAF source quoted by China News Agency. The first of four ROCAF F-16A/B fighter jets currently being upgraded by Taiwan’s state-owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) to the F-16V variant was handed over to the service at an airbase in Chiayi county in southwestern Taiwan on October 20.
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10/24/2018
Embraer's KC-390 transport has received a type certification from the Brazilian aviation authority, Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil. A ceremony was held at Brasília Air Force Base to deliver the civil certificate of airworthiness to Embraer on 23 October. It was attended by Brazilian President Michel Temer, as well as the country’s Defense Minister Joaquim Silva e Luna, and Lt Brig Gen Nivaldo Rossato, its air force commander.
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10/24/2018
Saab has been awarded a $117 million contract covering its portion of the engineering, manufacturing and development phase of the US Air Force's T-X trainer project. Announcing its receipt on 18 October, the Swedish company said the sum will cover activities running through 2022, with these to run in parallel with work performed by T-X prime contractor Boeing. "EMD includes testing, US military flight certification and delivery of five jets," says Saab.
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10/22/2018
At 5:00 PM on October 16, a twin-engine Su-27UB1M jet fighter of the Ukrainian Air Force’s 831 st Tactical Aviation Brigade smashed into the ground near the village of Ulaniv in western Ukraine. According to a purported eyewitness account , the fighter entered an uncontrolled spin above the village, but the pilots adjusted its trajectory to crash in an empty field.
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10/22/2018
In the first of a three-part series on the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, Channel NewsAsia’s Aqil Haziq Mahmud visited Lockheed Martin’s production facility for an in-depth look at the fighter jet and how it could be a battlefield game changer.
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10/19/2018
For the first time, Egypt has unveiled about its new unmanned aerial aircraft system, of which it had recently furnished its Airforce. In a move which was described as a “major shift, the Egyptian Ministry of Defense yesterday released a documentary on its official social media pages, introducing the “Wing Loong” armed drones. The video was published on the occasion of the 45th Air Force Day.
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10/19/2018
Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi Al Falacy, Minister of State for Defence Affairs, the United Arab Emirates, visited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bengaluru on Wednesday. He was briefed on all the ongoing projects in HAL and taken around the Helicopter Complex, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Division and Hawk Final Assembly hangar.
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10/19/2018
The Association of the United States Army held its annual conference and exposition in the nation’s capital last week. The event was huge and heavily attended, with hundreds of suppliers participating. But it wasn’t hard to figure out who had the biggest exhibit. It was Textron, owner of Bell Helicopter, which brought a full-scale model of a tiltrotor combat aircraft to the event.
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10/19/2018
Two pilots, one American and one Ukrainian, were killed in a crash during joint war games in the Ukraine. A Ukrainian Su-27UB fighter aircraft crashed in an area about 185 miles southwest of the Ukrainian capital of Kiev during the ongoing Clear Sky 2018 exercises, US Air Forces in Europe said in a statement Tuesday. "We have seen reports claiming a U.S. casualty and can confirm a U.S. service member was involved in this incident."
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10/19/2018
The Philippines has identified the Saab Gripen as the best candidate for the nation’s fighter requirement. The government-owned Philippine News Agency recently quoted defence secretary Delfin Lorenzana as saying that the Swedish fighter is the best option in terms of price and capability. He is reported as saying that the inclination to acquire Gripen follows thorough research into the matter.
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10/17/2018
The UK has for the first time tested an experimental shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL) technique at sea using a Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning. BAE Systems test pilot Peter Wilson performed the manoeuvre while recovering to the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in mid-October, the UK Ministry of Defence confirms.
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10/17/2018
The US Air Force concluded in an accident investigation report that a fatal Lockheed Martin F-16CM Thunderbird crash on 4 April was the result of the pilot suffering loss of consciousness, caused by an 8.56g manoeuvre.
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10/16/2018
The MQ-25A Stingray is evolving out of a now-cancelled carrier-launched ISR and attack drone program called Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike system, or UCLASS. The Navy will launch formal flight testing in 2021 for a new, first-of-its kind carrier-launched drone engineered to double the attack range of F-18 fighters, F-35Cs and other carrier aircraft.
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10/16/2018
The U.S. Air Force is assessing what damage more than a dozen F-22 Raptor fighters suffered when Tyndall Air Force Base sustained a direct hit from Hurricane Michael. Up to $2 billion in fighter jets were trapped on the ground because of maintenance issues and forced to ride out the Category 4 hurricane. Photographs show the hangars where F-22s were parked suffered severe damage.
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10/16/2018
After completing inspections, more than 80% of operational Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft flown by US services and international partners have been cleared for flight operations.
The worldwide fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft was grounded for inspections on 11 October after a problem with the aircraft’s engine fuel tube was discovered, which is believed to be related to the first crash of the stealth fighter a few weeks ago.
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10/16/2018
Aero Vodochody rolled out its first L-39NG jet trainer on 12 October, four years after the Prague-based company announced that it was to launch a new-generation version of its single-engined design at the Farnborough air show in July 2014. Manufacturing of parts and sub-assemblies started in 2017, with pre-serial production having commenced in January and the NG's first flight expected before year-end.
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10/16/2018
The export version of AVIC’s Z-19 reconnaissance/attack helicopter is ready to start batch production following various tests. The company says that the Z-19E export variant has undergone various performance and other tests, reports the official China Daily newspaper. It is produced by AVIC unit Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing. While the Z-19 is operated by the Chinese army, it is not clear if AVIC has secured a customer for the Z-19E.
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10/15/2018
Almost all of the U.S. military’s newly developed weapons systems suffer from “mission-critical cyber vulnerabilities,” a review of government security audits conducted from 2012 to 2017 found, suggesting military agencies have rushed to computerize new weapons systems without prioritizing cybersecurity.
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10/15/2018
The Defense Department is scrambling for ways to ensure the U.S. military’s fleet of warplanes is able to fly and fight when called upon, despite a string of accidents over the past several months. Defense Secretary James Mattis recently took the unprecedented step of demanding an 80 percent readiness rate for all military aircraft, just days before the Pentagon ordered a fleetwide grounding of the next-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.
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10/15/2018
China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy Air Force (PLANAF) has acquired Xian-H-6J anti-ship cruise missile-carrying bombers, according to satellite imagery taken on September 7. An analysis of the satellite images shows that the first four H-6J bombers — assumed to be the naval variant of the upgraded H-6K — were on the ground at the PLANAF air base at Guiping-Mengshu in Guangxi in early September.
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10/14/2018
We have been leading the coverage on the state of aircraft left behind after Hurricane Michael made a direct strike on the highly important Tyndall Air Force Base. We have posted pictures showing QF-16s, Mu-2s, and yes, F-22s, sitting among the rubble inside badly damaged hangars at the base. The USAF has stated that aircraft were left behind, with unofficial figures being reported that range from three to 18 of the precious super fighters riding out the storm on site.
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10/14/2018
While the Pentagon didn’t specify when the three-day surge occurred, the DoD stated that the squadron faced “both enemy fighters and surface-to-air missile systems” as part of the U.S. response to the Syrian regime’s illegal use of chemical weapons back earlier this year.
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10/14/2018
Czech aircraft manufacturer Aero Vodochody on Friday officially presented its new aircraft, L-39NG, a next generation model of the legendary L-39 Albatros, produced by the company since the 1960.
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10/14/2018
Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, home to a Lockheed Martin F-22 training wing and a number of Boeing QF-16 target drones, suffered major damage when Hurricane Michael slammed into the military installation as a Category 4 storm with winds in excess of 130kt (241km/h).
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10/12/2018
US F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets just completed their first "combat surge" in operations over Syria, and in doing so it backed down almost 600 enemy aircraft in the crowded skies there that see Syria, Iranian, and Russian combat aircraft on a regular basis, the Pentagon said.
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10/12/2018
A Lockheed Martin F-22 coming in for a landing at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska crash landed and skidded across the runway, the second incident with the aircraft type this year. The US Air Force pilot was able to climb out of the cockpit unharmed, according to Elmendorf AFB. The cause of the incident is under investigation and the extent of damage to the aircraft is unknown.
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10/12/2018
The worldwide fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft was grounded for inspections after a problem with the aircraft’s engine fuel tube was discovered, which is believed to be related to the first crash of the stealth fighter a few weeks ago.
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10/11/2018
The US Air Force faces challenges both increasing operational squadrons by 24% to 386 by 2025-2030, as it competes for funds with the US Army and Navy, which are also attempting to grow and modernize their equipment.
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10/11/2018
The first series production Embraer KC-390 tactical transport has conducted its maiden flight, and will join the first two examples in the programme’s flight test campaign. “As agreed with the Brazilian Air Force, the aircraft will now join the flight test campaign, in which more than 1,900 flight hours have already been logged,” says Embraer.
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10/10/2018
U.S. Air Force bases located in Florida's panhandle are readying for Hurricane Michael, with some installations ordering mandatory personnel evacuations ahead of the Category 2 storm.
Tyndall Air Force Base on Monday ordered the evacuation of all on-and-off-base personnel ahead of the hurricane, which is set to make landfall Wednesday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center.
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10/10/2018
China will sell 48 high-end armed drones to its "all-weather ally" Pakistan in what a military observer said will be the largest deal of its kind, official media here reported Tuesday. The cost of the major defence deal was not revealed. Wing Loong II is a high-end reconnaissance, strike and multi-role endurance unmanned aerial system, capable of being fitted with air-to-surface weapons.
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10/09/2018
It may seem premature, given that the champagne corks have only just finished popping in St Louis, Missouri – home to Boeing’s fighter business – on the back of its win in the US Air Force’s T-X trainer contest, but thoughts must surely be turning to what comes next.
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10/07/2018
The last aircraft of the Royal Saudi Air Forces (RSAF) has arrived in Tunisia with their air, technical and support crews to participate in military exercises with the country’s air force. RSAF aircraft were received by Brig. Gen. Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Sahyan, the military attache of the Saudi Embassy in Tunisia, Col. Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Shahrani, the commander of the exercise, and a number of Saudi and Tunisian officers.
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10/07/2018
Russia says its enhanced air defense system in Syria can spot aircraft on airfields in Europe and Israel. After a Russian surveillance aircraft was accidentally shot down by a Syrian missile during an Israeli air raid on September 18, Russia vowed to boost its electronic warfare defenses in Syria.
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10/06/2018
The U.S. Pacific Fleet is drafting plans for a global show of force to warn China and demonstrate resolve to deter Beijing’s military actions, CNN reported, citing several unidentified U.S. defence officials. The draft proposal from the navy recommends that the Pacific Fleet conduct a series of operations during a single week in November that would involve American warships, combat aircraft and troops.
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10/06/2018
The U.S. State Department has cleared a pair of proposed military sales — armed helicopters for Iraq and surveillance planes for Canada — with a joint price tag of more than $380 million.
The two notifications were posted on the website of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency on Thursday evening. Notifications are not guaranteed sales; members of the Senate could still choose to block the potential sale, and once it passes Congress, sale negotiations can change quantities and dollar figures.
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10/06/2018
It may be late in the day to think of an indigenously designed and manufactured fighter jet for the Indian Air Force, as much time has been lost over the decades, but things are still not — yet — beyond redemption. It’s still possible to make up for the time lost. Through diligent research, and by taking stock of the successes and failures on the way. If the right lessons are learnt and a course correction is done.
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10/06/2018
The chief of the Indian air force has defended the Narendra Modi government’s decision to obtain 36 Dassault Rafale fighters off the shelf, after terminating the long-running Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) deal.
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10/06/2018
The US Army is formally soliciting Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft proposals from the aviation industry. The service's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft Competitive Prototyping programme (FARA CP) will fund an effort to design, build, and test two aircraft, the service said in an online notice posted 3 October. The results of this prototyping and test effort will support a decision to enter into a formal programme of record in 2024.
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10/03/2018
Sweden has offered to supply 8 new Gripen C/D fighter jets equipped with the newest MS20 configuration to Bulgaria in response to the request for proposals received from the defence ministry in Sofia, the manufacturer the jets - Saab, said on Tuesday. The first jet can be delivered within 24 months of signing the contract, Saab said in a statement.
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10/03/2018
Canberra has issued a request for information related to “light helicopters” to support special operations. Issued on 25 September, the Department of Defence request solicits information about in-service helicopters “optimised for dense urban environments,” and that can be deployed by Boeing C-17 strategic transports.
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10/03/2018
Lockheed Martin was awarded a $632 million contract to manufacture several types of the Hellfire II air-to-ground missiles for the Netherlands and Japan Self-Defense Forces. The fixed-price-incentive foreign military sale contract is estimated to be complete by 30 September 2021, according to a Department of Defense notice posted online 1 October. An undisclosed number of missiles will be produced at Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Orlando, Florida.
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10/01/2018
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has commenced the in-house reactivation of 2 more platforms to enhance its operational efficiency in the discharge of its constitutional roles. The reactivation, which would enable the Service save huge foreign exchange that would have been expended if carried out abroad, would also improve NAF’s operational capability.
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10/01/2018
A few days after multiple US bomber flights over the disputed waters of the South China Sea, fighters and bombers from the Chinese military carried out live-fire exercises over the same area — the latest round of drills in a period of increasing tension between the two countries.
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09/29/2018
The US Marine Corps used the Lockheed Martin F-35B to launch an air strike in Afghanistan on 27 September, the first ground attack by the stealth fighter. The F-35B Lightning took off from the USS Essex, a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, in the Arabian Sea and launched an attack on a reportedly fixed Taliban target using an undisclosed weapon.
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09/29/2018
After drawn out negotiations with the Department of Defense, Lockheed Martin signed a contract to produce the eleventh lot of the F-35A for $89.2 million per unit. The price for the US Air Force’s conventional-takeoff-and-landing variant of the stealth fighter is the lowest yet, a 5.4% reduction from the prior production lot.
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09/29/2018
One day after the US Marine Corps conducted its first air strike with the Lockheed Martin F-35B over Afghanistan, another one of the stealth fighters crashed near USMC Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina. The incident is the first ever crash of any variant of the F-35 since the aircraft began flying 12 years ago. The pilot safely ejected from the aircraft and was being evaluated for injuries, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. The aircraft crashed around 11:45 Eastern Time.
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09/28/2018
The US Air Force awarded Boeing Defense a $9.2 billion contract for production of 351 T-X trainer jets, 46 simulators and associated ground equipment The T-X trainers will replace the USAF’s 57-year-old fleet of Northrop T-38C Talons, the service announced 27 September. The contract is an indefinite-delivery and indefinite-quantity award, allowing the USAF to purchase up to 475 aircraft and 120 simulators.
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09/27/2018
China on Tuesday demanded the U.S. cancel a $330 million sale of military equipment to Taiwan, warning of "severe damage" to bilateral relations and mutual cooperation if Washington fails to comply. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters at a regular briefing that the sale violated international law and the "basic norms governing international relations."
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09/27/2018
This week, when Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu announced measures in response to the downing of the Russian Il-20 aircraft with 15 people aboard on September 17, two actions stood out. They were providing Syria with an S-300 air defence system and jamming satellite navigation, on-board radars and communication systems of combat aircraft that attack targets in Syria and in the regions over the waters of the Mediterranean Sea bordering with Syria.
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09/27/2018
The US Marine Corps' stealth F-35B Lightning fighter jet could fly its first combat mission within days, according to several US defense officials, who told CNN that the fifth-generation aircraft are currently aboard the USS Essex amphibious assault ship and should soon be in a position to conduct airstrikes over Afghanistan.
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09/27/2018
The Royal Navy has withdrawn its final Westland Sea King helicopters from use, ending 49 years of UK operation for the twin-engined type. However, with the replacement for the airborne surveillance and control (ASaC)-configured helicopters not due to enter service until 2020, there are fears that the retirement leaves the navy with a capability gap.
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09/26/2018
A deterioration in U.S.-China relations, seen most dramatically in their escalating trade dispute, is spilling over into the military arena. The Pentagon on Tuesday confirmed that China had canceled a Washington visit by the head of its navy, and U.S. officials said China had denied a request for a U.S. Navy ship to make a port visit next month at Hong Kong. Also on Tuesday, China demanded the Trump administration cancel a planned $330 million sale of military equipment to Taiwan.
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09/26/2018
Serbia is to acquire a number of Chinese unmanned air vehicles to be used for both reconnaissance and offensive missions. Nenad Miloradovic, Belgrade's assistant defence minister, confirmed on 17 September in Beijing that the country would buy the systems. They will be capable of day and night surveillance missions and be capable of carrying laser-guided munitions, he indicates.
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09/26/2018
The USA has approved the sale of $330 million in spare parts for several aircraft types operated by Taiwan. If accepted by Taiwan, the package covers both the repair and replenishment of spare parts for types such as the Lockheed Martin F-16, C-130, Northrop F-5, and the AIDC IDF (Indigenous Defense Fighter), says the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
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09/25/2018
Russia is to supply Syria with an advanced air defence system in response to the shooting down of one of Moscow's planes that killed 15 servicemen and was initially blamed on Israel. In an indirect warning at Israel, President Vladimir Putin's military said it would also start to jam the radar and satellite signals of planes that attack Syrian territory from the Mediterranean.
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09/25/2018
For the last two weeks, U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs assigned to the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211 “Wake Island Avengers”, deployed with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, have undertaken the type’s first operational deployment in international waters off the coast of Djibouti.
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09/25/2018
Size matters, as the old adage goes. But how big is big enough, when it comes to the world’s most powerful air force maintaining its status? On stage at the US Air Force’s main gathering, the AFA conference, Heather Wilson – its highest-ranking civilian – said its current strength of 312 operational squadrons is “too small” once weighed against likely future operational demands.
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09/24/2018
In three months Australia will take delivery of the first of 72 Joint Strike Fighters, a fifth-generation fighter plane that will replace the country’s ageing fleet of Super Hornets. Depending on who you listen to, the JSF is either the most formidable fighter on the planet or an expensive boondoggle the likes of which this country has never seen.
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09/24/2018
The sanctions are related to China's purchase of 10 SU-35 combat aircraft in 2017 and S-400 surface-to-air missile system-related equipment in 2018, the State Department said. China summoned the U.S. ambassador in Beijing and postponed joint military talks in protest against a U.S. decision to sanction a Chinese military agency and its director for buying Russian fighter jets and a surface-to-air missile system.
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09/24/2018
The US Air Force is unlikely to purchase initial hypersonic weapons in large quantities, but instead will wait for improvements in follow-on versions. The service expects an initial operational capability of 2020 for its Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon (HCSW), though there may be some delays due to testing, said Will Roper, USAF assistant secretary for acquisition and technology.
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09/24/2018
South Korea will reissue its tender for a basic flight training helicopter to help train pilots for both the army and navy. Seoul’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) plans to issue a new request for proposals on 2 October, according to a statement.
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09/22/2018
New destroyers, fighter jets, tanks, submarines, Black Hawk helicopters, supersonic weapons and more will make the U.S. military even more powerful next year. In line with White House recommendations, it looks as though defense will receive an increase of 3 percent in funding - meaning the military will receive $674 billion in support in 2019.
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09/22/2018
The Swiss Air Force will be testing air-to-air missiles in Sweden due to lack of sufficient space in Switzerland. On Thursday, two Swiss F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets left the Emmen airfield in Switzerland and landed in Sweden at the Vidsel Test Range aerodrome. Various missile tests will be conducted there until October 12 under the supervision of Armasuisse, the Federal Office for Defence Procurement.
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09/22/2018
China, which was targeted by US military sanctions on Thursday for buying Russian fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles, is one of Russia's key arms customers. Russia sold around US$15 billion worth of weapons to the Chinese in 2017, maintaining a similar level of sales to the previous year, according to Rosoboronexport, the Russian agency responsible for military exports.
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09/21/2018
The US Air Force has revealed that an MQ-9 Reaper uncrewed aircraft successfully shot down a smaller drone with a heat-seeking air-to-air missile in a test last November. The details, provided by Col. Julian Cheater, commander of the 432nd Wing, came in an interview with Military.com at the Air Force Association's Air, Space, and Cyber Conference in Washington, DC, yesterday.
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09/21/2018
Syrian forces accidentally shot down a Russian military plane after an Israeli airstrike on Syrian territory, Kremlin officials said Tuesday, the worst case of friendly fire for Russia in the Syrian war. The accident on Monday night briefly caused a crisis in Russia-Israel relations as the Kremlin blamed the Israelis, underscoring the risks of escalation from unintended consequences among the different forces operating in Syria.
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09/21/2018
Bangkok has ordered four additional Airbus Helicopters H225M heavy-twin rotorcraft for use by the Royal Thai Air Force. The follow-on order will see the service operating 12 examples by 2021, says the airframer.
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09/20/2018
Qatar's programme to acquire 24 Eurofighter Typhoons and nine BAE Systems Hawk advanced jet trainers has come into effect, after Doha made its first financial commitment against the deal. "The contract, valued at approximately £5 billion [$6.6 billion], has become effective with receipt of the first payment," BAE announced on 18 September.
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09/20/2018
The Royal Australian Air Force’s No. 3 squadron has received its first Lockheed Martin F-35A, the first RAAF aircraft not earmarked for the Luke AFB International Pilot Training Centre. This is the RAAF’s ninth F-35A, with the others being used to training at Luke, says Australia’s Department of Defence.
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09/19/2018
The leaders of Russia and Israel have sought to defuse tension after a Russian plane was shot down by Syrian forces amid an Israeli air raid. In a call to Vladimir Putin, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu expressed regret at the loss of 15 Russian personnel, but stressed again that Syria was to blame. Mr Putin had earlier called the incident "a chain of tragic accidental circumstances".
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09/17/2018
Europe continues to be a growth point for the Air Force as concerns about Russian intentions mount. International exercises, base funding and missions on the continent are all on an upward swing.
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09/17/2018
FOR VLADIMIR Putin they represent the strength of the Russian people. More than 300,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen are today exercising in Siberia as part of Vostok 2018, the largest-scale Russian military war games since the depth of the Cold War in 1981.
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09/17/2018
Time is running out for BAE Systems to confirm a long-awaited deal to sell Typhoon fighters to Qatar. Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, and his Qatari counterpart unveiled the £5bn contract for 24 of the jets, together with a package of support and training, in December.
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09/17/2018
The skies and seas around Guam will be filled with 160 military aircraft, 15 ships and 15,000 people from the Navy, Army, Air Force and Marine Corps as Valiant Shield 2018 gets underway this week. Valiant Shield, conducted every two years, is a large training exercise that includes units from different branches of the U.S. military.
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09/17/2018
The US Department of State has cleared the potential sale of six Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to South Korea. The package is valued at $2.1 billion, says the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency. In addition to the 737-based aircraft and their engines, the package includes a range of mission systems, support and training.
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09/14/2018
Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers have approached US airspace near Alaska twice in the last month, and most recently on September 11. But the Russians have a long history of sending the Tu-95s towards the US, and even on significant dates, such as July 4, 2015, when US jets intercepted a pair of the bombers.
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09/14/2018
British, French and German fighter jets simulated flight interceptions over Western Europe on Wednesday as part of NATO drills to deter Russian planes from entering allied airspace and to showcase European efforts to integrate their air defences.
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09/14/2018
The J-15 fighter jet is capable of night takeoff and landing on an aircraft carrier, the Chinese navy newspaper said Wednesday, leading a Chinese military expert to marvel at how fast the pilots mastered a difficult and dangerous technique. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy has made a breakthrough in its aircraft carrier night takeoff and landing technique, a historic milestone for the J-15 and a significant breakthrough in overall attack and defense capability.
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09/13/2018
The Navy and Marine Corps are not taking any chances with scores of aircraft based at East Coast air stations before the arrival of Hurricane Florence. Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola in the Florida panhandle has already received more than 60 aircraft from NAS Oceana, NAS Patuxent River, and NAS Norfolk in Virginia and Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Beaufort in South Carolina- all facilities in or close to the expected Flo Zone.
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09/13/2018
US Air Force F-22 stealth fighters intercepted two Russian strategic bombers escorted by two fighter jets near Alaska on Tuesday, marking the second time Russia has done so in a month.
Two Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers, which are traditionally armed with a variety of air-launched cruise missiles, accompanied by Su-35 Flanker fighter jets were picked up by US aircraft "west of mainland Alaska," North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a statement Wednesday.
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09/13/2018
Spain's government has given approval for the acquisition of an additional 23 NH Industries NH90 troop transport helicopters. However, Madrid needs to give a further endorsement before a firm contract is signed. The helicopters are assembled and delivered from the Albacete facility of NHI consortium member Airbus Helicopters.
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09/12/2018
The US government has cleared Tokyo to obtain nine additional Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning & control (AEW&C) aircraft. The US State Department announced the potential deal in Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) statement. This means that Tokyo could eventually obtain up to 13 E-2Ds, as it already has firm orders four examples of the type.
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09/11/2018
The US Air Force awarded Boeing a $2.9 billion contract for 18 additional KC-46A Pegasus tanker aircraft, spares, support equipment, spare engines and wing air refueling pod kits. The contract represents the fourth production lot of KC-46A tanker aircraft the USAF has ordered from Boeing and brings the total number of tankers ordered to 52. Ultimately, Boeing expects to build 179 tankers for the service.
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09/11/2018
Pratt & Whitney was awarded a $437 million contract modification by the US Air Force to further develop its adaptive jet engine design, a propulsion system for a future sixth-generation fighter.
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09/11/2018
NATO air forces have made their latest rotations in the provision of air policing services for the Baltic states and eastern Europe. Late last month, deployments involving fighters from France, Portugal, Spain and the UK concluded in Estonia, Latvia and Romania, with their duties passed on to Alliance partners Belgium, Canada and Germany.
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09/11/2018
AVIC has rolled out the first FTC-2000G, a light combat variant of its FTC-2000 trainer. The Chinese aircraft manufacturer says that assembly of the aircraft started in February at the Anshun factory of its Guizhou Aviation Industries Co unit. It is now scheduled to make its first flight in late September, and will also be displayed at the Zhuhai air show in November.
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09/10/2018
Colonel Regina Sabric, callsign “Torch”, of Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania has become the first female Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. Col. Sabric is also commander of the 419th Fighter Wing at Hill AFB in Utah, a unit she assumed command of in April of 2018.
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09/10/2018
China’s Guizhou Aviation Industry Corporation has started production of its new export-oriented FTC-2000G lightweight multirole combat aircraft. The new light attack aircraft is expected to make its first flight by the end of September according to official Chinese government media.
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09/08/2018
US Air Force F-22 stealth fighter jets intercepted two Russian nuclear-capable strategic bombers near Alaska on Saturday, Russia's Ministry of Defense confirmed. The incident, first reported by The Washington Free Beacon on Thursday, unfolded outside US sovereign airspace ahead of Russia's biggest military exercise in modern history.
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09/08/2018
On Sept. 6, 2007 the Israeli Air Force (IAF) destroyed the nuclear reactor in Dier ez-Zor, Syria as part of an operation named “Silent Tone” (previously unofficially named “Operation Orchard” by international media). For more than 10 years, Israel never publicly admitted that some of its aircraft destroyed the facility in eastern Syria, even though some details about the clandestine mission leaked throughout the years.
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09/08/2018
India’s long-delayed Tejas programme has successfully demonstrated the ability of a specially modified Mk1 example of the fighter to undergo air-to-air refuelling behind an Ilyushin Il-78MKI tanker.
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09/08/2018
Think of contemporary military might, and in all likelihood a list would rank the USA as flying way clear of any rival power. And rightly so – our World Air Forces analysis for 2018 shows that Washington holds a 25% share of the global fleet: impressive, even before considering that this is just shy of double the combined arsenals of China and Russia.
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09/08/2018
The US Army intends to purchase 11 more Airbus UH-72A Lakota helicopters for pilot training at its Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, Alabama. The army has not yet awarded a contract to Airbus, but posted a sole-source requirement notice online on 30 August stating that it intended to do so. The service anticipates the aircraft will be delivered to support pilot training by fiscal year 2021.
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09/08/2018
Boeing has strengthened its industry team offering the AH-64E Apache in Poland's Kruk attack helicopter competition, after signing an agreement with local firm PGZ. "PGZ is our principal defence industrial co-operation partner," said Gene Cunningham, vice-president, global sales for Boeing Defense, Space & Security, at the MSPO exhibition in Kielce.
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09/06/2018
The U.S. Navy on Aug. 30, 2018 chose Chicago-based Boeing to build the sailing branch’s first carrier-launched unmanned aerial vehicle. In choosing Boeing to build the MQ-25 Stingray multi-mission tanker, the Navy has opened the next major chapter in a story that began in the mid-1990s, when the sailing branch worked alongside the U.S. Air Force to develop a fighter-like drone.
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09/06/2018
Even as the controversy over the Rafale deal reaches a boiling point, the Indian Air Force has come out in support of the agreement. Calling it a "beautiful aircarft" that will give India "unprecedented" combat capabilities, Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal SB Deo said those criticising it don't understand the laid down norms and procurement procedure.
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09/06/2018
The US Federal Aviation Administration has awarded the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus tanker a supplemental type certificate (STC), thus completing the type’s FAA certification process. “To receive its STC, Boeing’s team completed a series of lab, ground and flight tests, which commenced in 2015,” says the airframer. “As part of the required flight testing, the team validated the KC-46’s boom and drogue aerial refueling systems met FAA certification criteria.”
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09/06/2018
Lockheed Martin will shift production of wings for the F-16 fighter to India’s Tata Advanced Systems, as it ups the ante in its effort win a key fighter competition. The US firm and Tata have signed an agreement for the potential work, says Lockheed.
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09/05/2018
The Air Force F-22 has been refining its dog-fighting skills, assessing technical upgrades and testing air-to-air combat tactics during a Red Flag exercise in Nevada – designed to improve attack maneuvers and solidify emerging communications technologies and sensors, service officials said.
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09/05/2018
A new and improved engine designed to make China’s J-20 stealth fighter a world-class combat jet should be ready for mass production by the end of the year, military sources have said. The WS-15 engine features cutting-edge single-crystal turbine blades and has been in development for several years, but Chinese technicians have struggled to get it into mass production.
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09/05/2018
Austria's government has given the green light to begin replacing the aged fleet of Aérospatiale Alouette III helicopters operated by its air force. Vienna is committed to retiring the elderly single-engined type by 2023, according to the minutes of a 22 August cabinet meeting.
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09/04/2018
Already there are reports—again, just reports—that Israeli F-35s have flown combat missions. Given that the U.S. and Israeli air forces are among the most active in the world, sooner or later the F-35 will really, truly see combat. But the rumors are out there now. Did a Russian anti-aircraft missile hit one of Israel’s new F-35 stealth fighters?
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09/04/2018
Lockheed Martin is reportedly shopping around a F-35/F-22 hybrid concept, combining aspects of the two 5th-generation fighters as the Pentagon begins work on a 6th-generation fighter that could take decades to develop and field. To counter threats from near-peer adversaries like Russia and China, Lockheed has pitched to the Air Force and U.S. allies a fighter that has an upgraded F-22 stealth body and the F-35's avionics, according to a report by Defense One.
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09/04/2018
The Republic of Singapore Air Force's first Airbus A330 multi-role tanker/transport made its public debut on 1 September, taking part in the service's 50th anniversary parade. Sporting special anniversary markings and the service registration 761, the adapted widebody had been flown to Singapore's Changi West air base in mid-August from Airbus Defence & Space's modification site in Getafe, near Madrid.
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09/04/2018
The US Air Force’s aircraft capacity falls short of being able to meet a variety of long-term future scenarios, including a new cold war with Russia or China, according to an analysis by Rand Corp.
(Read More...)
08/29/2018
Russia plans to hold massive war games involving 300,000 personnel next month - its biggest military manoeuvres since a Cold War drill in 1981. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Vostok-2018 drills were justified given "aggressive and unfriendly" attitudes towards his country. Units from China and Mongolia will also take part in the exercises at military ranges in central and eastern Russia. The manoeuvres come at a time of rising tension between Nato and Russia.
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08/29/2018
The US Navy hit a major milestone in its quest to make aircraft carriers a more deadly, potent force by sailing the USS Abraham Lincoln with F-35C stealth fighters training alongside F/A-18s for the first time. The Navy's F-35C represents the most troubled branch of the F-35 family. With the Air Force and Marines Corps F-35s coming online over a year ago, the F-35C sorely lags behind as it struggled to master carrier takeoff and landings.
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08/29/2018
The US Air Force posted online an official request for proposals for its Combat Air Force Contracted Air Support programme on 24 August. The USAF intends to contract 30,000 adversary air sorties annually in the continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii, according to the notice. The service also wants aircraft for 10,000 close air support sorties annually in the continental United States to facilitate joint terminal attack controller training.
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08/28/2018
On a recent trip to East Asia, the subject of steadily increasing Chinese maritime and air activity in the waters and airspace of Japan and Taiwan came up often. China’s navy and air force are growing in number and sophistication of platforms, and China has been sending ships and aircraft in increasing numbers through international waters around both Taiwan and Japan, through their Exclusive Economic Zones, Air Defense Identification Zones, contiguous zones, and even territorial waters and airsp
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08/28/2018
Qatar will expand two air bases including Udeid, which hosts the largest U.S. military facility in the Middle East, a senior military official said on Monday amid a year-long dispute between the tiny Gulf Arab state and its neighbours.
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08/28/2018
The first Chinese-built aircraft carrier is entering the home straight to combat readiness with the start of a final sea trial that could last up to a year, according to observers. Just three months after its maiden voyage, the 65,000-tonne Type 001A vessel left a shipyard in Dalian in the northeastern province of Liaoning on Sunday towed by several tugboats, according to photographs and footage posted online by the Chinese military.
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08/28/2018
Bell Helicopter was awarded a $510 million contract to manufacture 29 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters for the US Marine Corps. The contract amount will also fund the purchase of long lead materials and components for an additional seven Lot 16 aircraft, according to a notice posted on the Department of Defense’s contracts page on 23 August.
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08/28/2018
India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has taken a step toward the possible acquisition of 24 Lockheed Martin Sikorsky MH-60R anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters. The news came in a defence ministry announcement that the DAC has earmarked INR460 billion ($6.4 billion) for new military equipment including helicopters for the navy and artillery for the army.
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08/24/2018
Iran drew widespread ridicule when it revealed that its supposedly "state of the art" and domestically designed and built new "Kowsar" jet fighter was really a 1970s US design with a fresh coat of paint — but according to an expert, the plane has an untold purpose that could save the Iranian air force.
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08/24/2018
NATO has started to build a stockpile of common air-to-ground precision guided munitions with the receipt of its first weapons shipment from the USA on 22 August. The stockpile is meant to allow European NATO members to draw upon each other’s precision guided munitions in case of need, such as during joint air operations or in reaction to a crisis.
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08/22/2018
The Russian Ministry of Defense (MOD) is expected to sign a contract for a pre-production batch of 12 Sukhoi Su-57 fighter aircraft, Russia’s first indigenously designed and built fifth-generation stealth fighter jet, with United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), a major Russian aerospace and defense company, this week, according to the head of UAC Yuri Slyusar.
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08/22/2018
Serbia's air force received two Russian MiG-29 fighter jets as part of an arms purchase that could heighten tensions in the Balkans and increase Moscow's influence in the region. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic attended the ceremony on Tuesday at a military airport close to the Serbian capital, Belgrade, thanking Russian President Vladimir Putin for helping make Serbia's armed forces stronger.
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08/22/2018
The Air Force has entered the next phase in its development of a new, combat-ready Light Attack aircraft designed to maneuver close to terrain, support ground combat operations and operate closely with U.S. allies in an irregular warfare scenario. The service is now entering a proposal phase for its new aircraft, designed to lead to a production contract by next year.
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08/22/2018
Germany wants to replace its fleet of 89 Tornado combat jets with a new aircraft that retains the plane's nuclear capability, but doing so may mean the US gets a say about which aircraft the Luftwaffe ultimately picks, according to Defense News.
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08/22/2018
NASA started a several months-long series of flights on 3 August to identify the physiological impacts of flying in high-performance military aircraft on the human body. The flights are being conducted at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California and will take place over 160 flight hours. The tests are managed by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center at Langley Research Center in Virginia.
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08/20/2018
A pair of stealthy fifth-generation U.S. Air Force Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor air superiority fighters squared off against a pair of Royal Norwegian Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighters during a one-day training exercise over Norway on August 15 .
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08/20/2018
The Pentagon has highlighted China’s growing military clout in a new report, saying the air force is developing its bombers to hit targets as far away as possible – and “likely training for strikes” against the United States and its allies. It said the People’s Liberation Army was pursuing nuclear capability for its long-range bombers, and the air force had “been reassigned a nuclear mission”, in its annual report to the US Congress on China’s military developments released on Thursday.
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08/18/2018
Details are still coming in, but a T-38 Talon training jet from the 71st Flying Training Wing at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma has crashed. This is the sixth aircraft the Air Force has lost in non-combat mishaps in 2018 and the third incident involving a T-38 since November 2017.
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08/18/2018
Russia is close to commencing ground and flight trials with its first modernised Tupolev Tu-22M3M bomber, with a lead example having emerged from the United Aircraft (UAC) plant in Kazan in mid-August.
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08/18/2018
A new Pentagon report highlights the strides Beijing is making with its bomber capabilities, as well as other airpower trends. In its annual report to congress about military developments in China, the US Department of Defense highlights the capabilities of the Xian H-6K bomber. It dedicates a whole chapter to Beijing’s ratcheting up of long-range bomber patrols.
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08/17/2018
President Donald Trump signed the fiscal year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act into law on 13 August, budgeting $39.5 billion for the purchase of 413 new aircraft. The largest appropriation for a single aircraft type is $7.6 billion to procure 77 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters; $4.2 billion to procure 48 F-35As for the US Air Force; $2.3 billion to procure 20 F-35Bs for the Marine Corps; and $1.1 billion to procure nine F-35Cs for the US Navy.
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08/16/2018
The Singapore air force’s first Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) has arrived in the country. Images posted on social media show the aircraft landing at Changi International Airport, adjacent to the Changi West air base where the nation's Boeing KC-135R tankers are stationed.
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08/15/2018
The Air Force will soon operate F-35s with fast-evolving collision-avoidance technology able to help fighter jets avoid ground collisions by using computer automation to redirect an aircraft in the event that a pilot is injured or incapacitated.
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08/15/2018
The Russians seem to recognize that the initial version of the Su-57 will not offer a particularly more useful capability than the Su-35. Moscow only plans to purchase a dozen of the initial AL-41F1-powered version of the Su-57.
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08/15/2018
Britain has recently showcased their latest creation which aims to dominate the skies in the future. The fighter jet is named The Tempest, and it is co-developed by British aerospace companies BAE Systems Plc, Rolls Royce Holdings, MBDA UK and Anglo-Italian firm Leonardo SpA.
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08/15/2018
Boeing was awarded $17 million to convert nine F/A-18E and two F/A-18F aircraft into Blue Angel demonstration aircraft. The Super Hornets are to replace the squadron’s McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornets, which have been in use since 1986. The retrofit work will be done in St. Louis, Missouri and is expected to be finished in December 2021, according to the notice posted online 13 August.
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08/14/2018
The US Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) granted a $49.1 million contract to UES Inc. to help research and develop technologies to counter laser attacks on aircraft. Laser attacks are rising this year as China’s military forces have allegedly used beams to blind and harass US military pilots flying near Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea and a military base in Djibouti, according to the Department of Defense.
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08/14/2018
Latvia could advance its armed forces modernisation programme via a four-aircraft purchase of Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters, after the US Department of State gave its approval to a potential deal.
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08/13/2018
The RAAF’s Airbus KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) deployment to the Middle East under Operation Okra has marked 100 million pounds (over 45,000 metric tonnes) of fuel offloaded during air-to-air refuelling operations. Since September 2014, the RAAF had maintained a single KC-30A from Amberley-based 33SQN in the Persian Gulf region to support an RAAF Air Task Group and coalition aircraft on combat operations up into Iraq and Syria.
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08/12/2018
In a bizarre incident originating from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington state an Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Bombardier Dash 8 twin-engine turboprop commuter airliner was commandeered by a lone male, reported to be an airport maintenance worker, and crashed into the ground on Ketron Island, which is southwest of Tacoma, in south Puget Sound. There were no passengers on board the aircraft. Ketron Island has only about 20 year-round residents according to news outlets.
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08/12/2018
China’s expanding line-up of multirole, all-weather J-16 fighter jets will help the air force to launch strikes deep into enemy territory and destroy key strategic assets like airfields and bridges, military analysts say.
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08/12/2018
India’s aircraft carrier ambitions just passed a major milestone. On August 2, India’s domestically built Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) conducted an arrested landing for the very first time. The naval variant of the LCA is India’s first indigenous carrier-based aircraft. The Teja didn’t land on a carrier deck. In fact, it didn’t land at all. The aircraft was simply practicing grabbing a tailhook of an arresting wire from the ground.
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08/11/2018
Australia is building its future air power capabilities around the F-35. What future threats might the fifth-gen fighter face? As tensions rise over China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, Australia deploys a squadron of F-35A Lightning Joint Strike Fighters (JSFs), to the Royal Malaysian Air Force Base Butterworth. This is a location very familiar to many Australian defence personnel from decades of deployments, going back to the dark days of World War 2.
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08/11/2018
THE Chinese military told a US Navy plane flying over the highly-disputed island in the South China Sea to “leave immediately”. The US Navy P-8A Poseidon jet was flying at 16,500 feet to get a view of low-lying coral reefs that have been turned into garrisons with five-storey buildings, large radar installations, power plants and runways sturdy enough to carry large military aircraft.
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08/11/2018
At least nine active duty US Marine Corps Aviation squadrons failed to accurately report the present state of their squadron’s aircraft readiness in late 2017 and early 2018 due to confusion about what data should be recorded.
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08/11/2018
Hard and bitter experience entitles the small but vocal community of advocates for buying cheap turboprop-powered attack aircraft to be sceptical, but their time may have finally come.
The US Air Force actually seems serious about buying several squadrons of either Sierra Nevada/Embraer A-29s or Beechcraft AT-6s from Textron Aviation.
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08/10/2018
It was another busy day as Northern Strike continued on Wednesday, August 8, with first-responder drills focused on vehicle extrication taking place in Rogers City. UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters also practiced sling-loading equipment at Alpena CRTC, along with many other activities in Grayling and on the Lake Huron Water Range.
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08/10/2018
In the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress agreed with the Air Force to cancel the manned JSTARS recap program in favor of a largely space-based system, the Advanced Battle Management System. ABMS is undefined, without an estimate of cost and with an unknown fielding date. In the meantime, against Air Force wishes, Congress has disallowed the retirement of any of the 17 legacy E-8C JSTARS aircraft.
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08/10/2018
The onslaught of Russian aircraft were shadowed by the NATO Air Policing Mission (APM) team tasked with guarding airspace over the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
NATO aircraft were scrambled to escort Russian planes on eight separate occasions between July 30 and August 5, according to the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence. On each occasion the Russian aircraft were flying either to or from Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave situated between Poland and Lithuania along the Baltic
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08/10/2018
The Aircraft and Weapons division chief with the US Air Force Cost Analysis Agency has made a series of suggestions in a research paper for keeping the price of a sixth generation fighter down after analysing a myriad of cost-overruns by the B-2, F-22 and F-35 programmes.
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08/09/2018
A Spanish Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft accidently fired an AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) while flying near Otepää in Estonia, less than 50 km west of the Russian border. The missile has not been recovered. The last assumed location of the missile is roughly 40 km to the north of the city of Tartu, and its direction was northbound. The incident took place on Tuesday, August 7, 2018 sometime around 3:45 PM local.
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08/09/2018
Military units from the U.S., U.K., Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia are at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center and across northern Michigan through August 18 for Exercise Northern Strike ‘18. Officials say residents in parts of the U.P. may see military aircraft including fighters, cargo planes and helicopters during the exercise.
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08/09/2018
Will the Pentagon, with its 30-year planning cycle for building ships, still be launching aircraft carriers in 2048 — even though they’re highly vulnerable to attack today? That’s an example of the military-modernization questions that kept nagging participants at last weekend’s gathering of the Aspen Strategy Group, which annually brings together top-level current and former national security officials, along with a few journalists, to discuss defense and foreign policy.
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08/09/2018
Head of the Press Center of Ukraine’s Air Force, Roman Yurchilo has confirmed the participation U.S. troops in the upcoming Clear Sky 2018 multinational military exercise in Ukraine. Ukraine this year will hold the largest multinational aviation exercise since its independence. The Clear Sky 2018 exercise scheduled to be held in mid-October for two weeks.
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08/08/2018
The flight deck of the flagship of the Russian Navy, the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, will undergo a major upgrade to carry MiG-29K/MiG-29KUB fighter jets as part of a general overhaul of the warship slated to begin in the coming weeks, according to Russian defense industry officials.
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08/08/2018
The US Air Force has selected Lockheed Martin to rapidly develop and field both new hypersonic missiles launched as a response to surprise developments in high-speed weapons by China and Russia, newly-released acquisition documents confirm.
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08/08/2018
After more than a year of flight demonstrations the US Air Force is formally moving the light attack aircraft experiment into the acquisitions phase, with the intention that it will award a production contract to Sierra Nevada Corporation or Textron Aviation in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019.
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08/08/2018
China has reportedly conducted the maiden flight of a new hypersonic test vehicle, achieving speeds of Mach 5.5 for over six minutes, and reaching Mach 6. The test of the unmanned system, designated Starry Sky 2, took place recently in Northwestern China, reports the official China Daily newspaper.
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08/06/2018
The Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E is the top Russian air-superiority fighter in service today, and represents the pinnacle of fourth-generation jet fighter design. It will remain so until Russia succeeds in bringing its fifth-generation PAK-FA stealth fighter into production.
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08/06/2018
Air Mobility Command began a programme to modernize the C-5s in 1998 after a study concluded the decades-old aircraft had 80 percent of their service life remaining. Since, Lockheed Martin upgraded 52 C-5s for the USAF with new engines, avionics and diagnostics systems – upgrades which will extend the service life of the fleet out until the 2040s.
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08/05/2018
On the eve of the celebration of the 23rd anniversary of Operation Storm which ended Croatia’s 1991-95 war of independence, three Israeli F-16 Barak multi-purpose combat aircraft landed at the 91st air base of the Croatian Air Force in Pleso on 2 August.
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08/05/2018
The announcement came as the air force said a squadron of J-16s – described as 4.5-generation fighter jets – had conducted a combat training exercise along with J-10, J-11B and Su-30 aircraft. “[The exercise] was a solid step towards comprehensive combat capability,” according to the PLA Air Force statement late on Thursday, which did not specify the date or location of the drill.
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08/05/2018
An unresolved software flaw won’t delay the first delivery of the Boeing KC-46A tanker after the US Federal Aviation Administration approved a temporary exemption from safety requirements. Boeing’s engineers discovered earlier this year that the KC-46A lacks an independent system to monitor fuel flow, as required by the FAA’s safety regulations.
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08/03/2018
President Donald Trump is expected to approve the colossal defense policy bill that authorizes a top-line budget of $717 billion. The 2019 National Defense Authorization Act includes $616.9 billion for the Pentagon's base budget, another $69 billion for the overseas contingency operations, or OCO, funding and $21.9 billion for nuclear weapons programs under the Energy Department.
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08/03/2018
The Hindustan Aeronautics LCA Navy fighter has passed a milestone with the engagement of an arresting hook in taxi tests. The work involved LCA Naval Prototype 2 contacting an arresting wire with the aircraft moving at “moderate taxi-in speeds,” says HAL. HAL says that this is the first of several tests at INS Goa that will develop the type’s arrestor hook capability.
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08/02/2018
The aircraft’s sensor technologies allow the platform to perform a much greater ISR function than previous aircraft can, giving it a “drone-like” ability to gather and disseminate surveillance information. As part of this, the F-35 can also use a specially engineered data-link to communicate in real-time with other F-35s and other aircraft and fighter jets.
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08/02/2018
Malaysia’s Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu has confirmed that country’s Air Force continues to facemaintenance problems and a lack ofspare parts of its Russian-made fighter jet fleet, according to a report in The Star Online newspaper on 31 July.
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08/02/2018
The Ukrainian Air Force received modernized MiG-29MU1 combat aircraft; two fighter planes were already transferred to one of the military units. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko informed this on his Facebook page.
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08/02/2018
A newly-posted solicitation document combines plans for replacing three separate US military aircraft fleets flown today by three different Boeing types into a single programme. The 747-200-derived E-4B, 707-based E-6B and 757-based C-32A could all be replaced under the US Air Force’s proposed NEAT programme.
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07/31/2018
The UK Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, based in Romania, have been successfully deployed to intercept Russian Su-24 Fencer aircraft operating near NATO airspace over the Black Sea. The RAF Typhoon aircraft operated from the Romanian Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base near Constanta on the Black Sea coast.
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07/31/2018
The F-117 Nighthawk, the first purpose-built stealth aircraft to enter combat, was retired in 2008 after a relatively short but eventful flying career. Aviation enthusiasts still catch glimpses of the “retired” jet flying from time to time. The latest sighting took place last week in the skies over Nevada, prompting the question: What are they doing?
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07/31/2018
India's dual programme to introduce Boeing's AH-64E Apache and CH-47F Chinook rotorcraft has cleared a significant milestone, with first examples of each type having been flown for the first time.
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07/30/2018
China’s new J-20, officially named Weilong or powerful dragon, is one of the world’s most advanced fighter jets and the country’s answer to the American F-22 Raptor. In mid July the PLA Airforce released a video of a nighttime training exercise involving the stealth fighter as a demonstration of its combat readiness. The Chinese warplane was developed by the Chengdu Aerospace corporation, which began testing them in 2011 before the first planes entered service in March 2017.
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07/30/2018
Japan’s defence ministry said it scrambled fighter jets to intercept a Chinese electronic surveillance aircraft over the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, on Friday, after South Korea did the same when a PLA warplane entered its air defence identification zone the same day.
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07/30/2018
A two-way competition has started to fill a sudden requirement to replace mechanically-scanned Raytheon APG-73 radars on seven squadrons of US Marine Corps Boeing F/A-18C/Ds.
Raytheon and Northrop Grumman plan to respond to a request for proposals issued by the Marines within the last two weeks with active electronically scanned arrays (AESAs).
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07/30/2018
After voicing previous disquiet over Turkey's acquisition of Lockheed Martin's latest stealth fighter, the US House and Senate armed services committees have made good on their threat of enacting legislation that could block future deliveries of the F-35 to Ankara.
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07/27/2018
The single-seat jet is being built to shoot down enemy aircraft, pound targets on the ground, and even hit ships at sea. The new F-15 combat aircraft that Boeing is pitching to the U.S. Air Force would have a single-seat cockpit and a host of new weapons, including anti-ship missiles, Defense One has learned.
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07/27/2018
As Canada formulates requirements for a future fighter to replace Boeing CF-18 Hornets, the government is now asking six potential bidders for information about their capabilities to maintain the new fleet. A letter of interest sent to bidders on 23 July broadens the Canadian government’s year-long series of engagements with industry suppliers.
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07/27/2018
Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems sector, including its F-35 fuselage production line and restricted programmes, such as the B-21 stealth bomber, helped push the company’s second quarter sales higher, despite mixed results in its other business units. Overall, the company’s sales rose 10% to $7.1 billion, from $6.5 billion, for the three months ended 30 June 2018, according to the firm's quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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07/27/2018
The House and Senate’s compromise 2019 defence bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), endorsed the US Air Force’s plan to replace the Northrop Grumman E-8 JSTARS with a new network of sensors spread across unmanned aerial vehicles and aircraft, called the Advanced Battle Management System.
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07/25/2018
Israel says it has shot down a Syrian warplane which entered its airspace - a rare incident between the two foes. Two surface-to-air missiles were fired at the Sukhoi fighter jet, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tweeted. According to Israeli reports, it happened over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The pilot's fate is not clear.
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07/25/2018
After conducting detailed capability studies and simulation analysis, US aerospace manufacturer Boeing has said that it is confident that the F/A 18 Super Hornet Block III can safely operate from Indian aircraft carriers, with a `significant’ weapons payload.
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07/25/2018
Two weeks after Defense Secretary James Mattis discouraged US lawmakers from blocking the transfer of Lockheed Martin F-35A fighters to Turkey, the House Armed Services Committee and Senate Armed Services Committee jointly released details of a compromise National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill that would do just that.
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07/24/2018
The U.S. Air Force is expecting to facilitate the delivery of four OV-10 Bronco light attack aircraft to an unspecified American partner overseas. This could very well be the Philippines, which is the last military user of the type anywhere in the world, and might reflect a shrinking number of government operators of any type worldwide rather than any serious revival of interest in its capabilities.
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07/24/2018
There may be a new-old fighter jet on the horizon for the U.S. Air Force. DefenseOne reports that Boeing Co. is pitching a new version of the F-15 Eagle as the service defines its inventory mix of fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft. Known as F-15X, the fighter would be equipped with better avionics and radars and would carry more than two dozen air-to-air missiles, DefenseOne said, citing unnamed officials with knowledge of the plans.
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07/24/2018
On July 16, 2018, the opening day of the Farnborough Air Show, UK Secretary of State for Defence unveiled the UK Combat Air Strategy (CAS).1 Alongside, in a significant move, a plan to develop a new combat aircraft, ‘Tempest’, was announced. The United Kingdom, a pioneer in airpower, was the first to establish an independent air arm.
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07/24/2018
The US Air Force’s $3.9 billion contract with Boeing to modify two 747-8 commercial airliners into VC-25B presidential aircraft, commonly known as Air Force One, offered a rare glimpse into the aircraft configurations.
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07/23/2018
The American development and deployment of Fifth-Generation stealth aircraft like the F-35 Lightning is one of the central stories of today’s security zeitgeist. But behind the scenes, several countries are already looking ahead to the design of a Sixth-Generation jet.
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07/23/2018
Within the scope of the Hürjet project initiated by the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), a protocol has been signed between the company, the Defense Industry Directorate and the Air Forces Command. The Hürjet project, developed considering the needs of Turkish and global markets, will be provided strong support by the Defense Industry Directorate and the Air Forces Command.
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07/23/2018
India in September 2016 inked a direct deal with the French government to purchase 36 new Rafale fighter jets in a 7.87 billion euro deal that is likely to bring major work to the Indian private sector in terms of offsets under the make in India policy.
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07/22/2018
In a letter sent to US Representative Mac Thornberry, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis acknowledged concerns about the Turkish government, while opposing US lawmakers’ efforts to remove the country from the F-35 Lightning II programme, saying the loss of the nation from the supply chain would delay delivery of some aircraft for up to two years.
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07/22/2018
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Czech aerospace manufacturer Aero Vodochody have defended pitching their F/A-259 Striker jet to the US Air Force more than a year after the service’s light attack experiment started.
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07/22/2018
The V-22 Joint Programme Office is encouraging foreign militaries at Farnborough air show to place orders for the Osprey before the end of FY2020 so as to take advantage of multi-year contract discounts that the US and Japanese military services have secured.
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07/22/2018
Airbus Defence & Space will launch flight tests in the first quarter of next year to prove the ability of its A400M tactical transport to refuel helicopters in flight. Previous tests involving an Airbus Helicopters H225M exposed stability issues for the rotorcraft while it was operating near the Atlas, with the 90ft length of its refuelling hose also bringing it too close to the airlifter's tail.
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07/22/2018
Although the UK's first Boeing P-8A Poseidon is only in the early stages of production, the Royal Air Force is already making major strides with gaining experience on the maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare type.
(Read More...)
07/18/2018
Italy's ambitions of playing a continued leading role in the provision of international pilot training have been underscored by a new pact involving the nation's air force and an industry team headed by Leonardo.
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07/18/2018
Aero Vodochody has won commitments for 34 L-39 aircraft from companies that plan to provide training services to the world’s air forces. The deals involve US firm RSW and Portugal-based SkyTech. RSW placed firm orders for 12 new-build L-39NG, as well as six L-39CWs. Skytech, which is backed by commercial lessor HiFly, ordered 12 L-39NGs and took options for six.
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07/18/2018
BAE Systems will supply new flight control computers potentially to upgrade Lockheed Martin F-16s operated by the UAE, the company announces today. Lockheed selected BAE to supply the Digital Flight Control Computer for the fly-by-wire, single-engined fighter.
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07/18/2018
Japan’s F-35 final assembly and check-out facility, run by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Nagoya, is on track to hit peak production next year when the country’s stealth fighter production tops out at six aircraft per year.
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07/17/2018
In an attempt to talk Turkey out of purchasing the Russian S-400, a surface-to-air missile system with anti-stealth aircraft capabilities, US acting assistant secretary for political-military affairs Tina Kaidanow said that the US Department of State is in talks with Ankara to sell the nation the Raytheon MIM-104 Patriot.
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07/17/2018
Saab is confident that the second and third test examples of its Gripen E will fly soon, as it continues development work with the first aircraft. The second and third test jets, designated 39-9 and 39-10, will “fly soon,” says Jonas Hjelm, senior vice president and head of aeronautics at the Swedish manufacturer. While they won’t join the test programme at exactly the same time, at this time in 2019 they will both be part of it, he says.
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07/17/2018
Airbus Defence & Space is advancing plans to adapt the top-selling A320 for a broad range of military applications, with the need to replace ageing maritime patrol aircraft fleets in Europe driving early activities. The company is using the Farnborough air show to outline the potential of its planned modular multi-mission product – dubbed the A320M3 – in roles that could also cover airborne early warning, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and signals intelligence-gathering.
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07/17/2018
Boeing comes to Farnborough eyeing its first F/A-18 Super Hornet sale to a European military after the type's production line gains a new lease of life from orders last year from the US Navy – and a $1.5 billion commitment from Kuwaiti air force last month.
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07/17/2018
Lockheed Martin says it has made a “handshake agreement” with the F-35 Joint Program Office for the 11th lot of low-rate initial production. The company declined to state the unit cost for LRIP 11 until the deal was finalised, though it says the agreement puts the F-35A Lightning II on track to cost $80 million per unit by Lot 14 in 2020.
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07/14/2018
Russia announced earlier this month that the Su-57, its proposed entry into the world of fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft, would not see mass production. “The plane has proven to be very good, including in Syria, where it confirmed its performance and combat capabilities,” Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said on Russian TV on July 2, as reported by The Diplomat.
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07/14/2018
The Panavia Tornado multirole combat aircraft of the Royal Saudi Air Force crashed at 04:41 AM local time in Asir Province on 12 July. According to Arab Coalition spokesman Col. Turki Al-Maliki, a Saudi Arabian Royal Air Force Tornado jet came down in Asir region.
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07/14/2018
Pakistan has concluded a long-awaited deal with Turkish Aerospace Industries for the latter's T129 ATAK attack helicopter. Islamabad will take 30 examples of the twin-engined rotorcraft, along with a package including ammunition, spare parts and training. No details of the contract value or delivery timelines have been released, however.
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07/14/2018
Italy's Guardia di Finanza customs body has ordered an ATR 72-600 for maritime patrol missions, to be outfitted by prime contractor Leonardo. Valued at €44 million ($51.2 million), including training and logistics support, the deal could eventually reach a total value of €250 million if an unspecified number of options are exercised.
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07/14/2018
The US State Department approved the sale of up to 200 radar-guided Raytheon AIM-120D medium-range air-to-air missiles for an estimated cost of $650 million to the United Kingdom.
The possible sale would arm the Royal Air Force with the longest range version of the AIM-120. The D-variant’s range is thought to be more than 90 nautical miles (167km), which is roughly the detection range of an active electronically scanned array radar.
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07/12/2018
Dassault Aviation has revealed what could be the contours of the next generation fighter jet to be made by a European team led by France. The video, ‘Wings for Europe’ released by the company on its website in May this year showed the outline of the new jet that France and Germany are eyeing to produce jointly. The video describes the aircraft as “2018 European New Generation Aircraft”. France and Germany in July last year, planned to jointly develop a new fighter jet.
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07/12/2018
Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic plans to procure fourteen F-16 Block 70/72 fighter jets from the United States, said an announcement on 11 July. The Slovak Ministry of Defence announced on 11 July plans to procure 14 F-16 Block 70/72fighter jets for replacing of Soviet-made MiG-29s that Slovakia’s Air Forces uses now.
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07/12/2018
Following a series of successes in Asia, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI, Chalet C27) has its eyes set on the competitive European market. The aircraft manufacturer will be offering the KT-1 Woongbi turboprop trainer and T-50 Golden Eagle advanced jet trainer to a number of potential Western clients.
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07/12/2018
Step back two years to the start of the 2016 Farnborough International Airshow, when few people in Europe were talking about a new manned fighter. But today it seems to be a topic on everyone’s mind. The reason, according to the head of Britain’s Royal Air Force, is that the technology required to operate an unmanned fighter fleet has not yet advanced sufficiently to make that happen.
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07/11/2018
Will the UK continue to produce combat aircraft in the next decade? The government has promised to answer that question soon, by launching a new “Combat Air Strategy.” This is particularly awaited by the Military Air and Information (MAI) business of BAE Systems (Outside Exhibit 11). It may no longer be rolling out new Eurofighter Typhoons at Warton by the middle 2020s and, although the company has developed significant expertise in unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs).
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07/11/2018
An experimental aircraft designed to demonstrate a radical new concept in modern air warfare will enter flight testing this autumn, says Maj Gen William Cooley, commander of the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).
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07/11/2018
A vital programme to transfer ground-attack capabilities from the UK Royal Air Force's retiring Panavia Tornado GR4s to the Eurofighter Typhoon remains on target to deliver by year-end, according to BAE Systems.
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07/11/2018
US Air Force officials have taken the first concrete step towards defining a new class of adaptive jet engines to power the next generation of combat aircraft that come after the Lockheed Martin F-35.
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07/09/2018
America's private air forces for hire continue to rapidly expand to meet looming demand for contracted adversary support services. Draken International has emerged as the behemoth in the marketplace and has acquired 22 Dassault Mirage F1s from Spain to be the backbone of its advanced, radar-equipped, supersonic aggressor fleet. The first of these has arrived at the company's Lakeland, Florida facility and is now undergoing assembly.
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07/09/2018
When defence officials from China and the African nations on Tuesday wrap up a high-level security forum, both sides are expected to vow to enhance defence relations, boosting a bond between the two parties that already includes surging Chinese arms sales to Africa.
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07/09/2018
Six global aircraft manufacturers have responded to a Request for Information (RFI) from the Indian Air Force to supply 110 fighter aircraft. The deadline for the RFI was July 6. All six manufacturers have earlier bid for the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), which was cancelled in 2015.
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07/08/2018
A Russian lawmaker said this week that Su-57 stealth jets will be way cheaper than F-22s and F-35s, according to Sputnik, a Russian state-owned media outlet. "The fifth-generation fighter jets are undoubtedly competing with US F-22s and F-35s, but it is considerably cheaper even though it has similar characteristics, while in some aspects, for example, maneuverability, it does better than the US jets," Vladimir Gutenev, a member of State Duma's expert panel on the aviation industry, told Sputnik
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07/08/2018
In February, the German parliament’s military commissioner published a devastating report on the German military’s lack of readiness. At the end of 2017, no submarines and none of the Luftwaffe’s 14 large transport planes were available for deployment due to repairs. Much of the rest of the German military’s equipment, including fighter jets, tanks and ships, are outdated and in some cases not fully operational because of a lack of spare parts.
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07/07/2018
A human being who can make decisions will always be needed somewhere in the system, Mr Christie reckons. And in some cases it would be best if that person was in the aerial thick of things. Just as fighter pilots now fly with wingmen alongside them, a single pilot could fly with a number of combat drones, similar to Taranis, as his “wingbots”. The drones would operate autonomously but respond to a pilot’s command.
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07/07/2018
Switzerland has started off the competition to replace its ageing fleet of fighter jets, by inviting five European and United States companies to submit their bids. The defence ministry has sent the first offer for tender out, a statement said on Fridayexternal link. The new jets under consideration are: the Swedish Gripen E (Saab), the French Rafale (Dassault), German l'Eurofighter (Airbus), and from the American side, the successor to the FA-18, the Boeing Super Hornet and the F-35A.
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07/07/2018
Combat aircraft designers at the Boeing Co. are building 28 new F/A-18E/F Super Hornet jet fighter-bombers for the government of Kuwait under terms of a $1.5 billion U.S. Navy order announced Wednesday. Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., are asking the Boeing Defense, Space & Security segment in St. Louis to build 22 single-seat F/A-18E jets and six two-seat F/A-18F jets for Kuwait.
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07/07/2018
Airbus Defence & Space has urged Europe to come together to work on a future combat air system, warning that the bloc cannot support the development of several competing platforms.
Speaking at a pre-Farnborough air show media briefing, Dirk Hoke, chief executive of the division, said any programme for a sixth-generation fighter "had to be a full European solution".
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07/06/2018
Boeing and Embraer will create a joint venture to promote the KC-390 and other defence products and services for new markets and applications, the companies announced on 5 July.
The new agreement expands a six-year-old relationship between Embraer and Boeing on the KC-390 programme. A joint press release issued on 5 July includes only two sentences about the formation of the new joint venture.
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07/06/2018
Beijing wants to develop a new carrier-borne fighter to replace its Shenyang J-15s, which have been plagued by safety and mechanical problems. According to a report in the South China Morning Post, quoting Chinese air force lieutenant general Zhang Honghe, a “new carrier-based fighter to replace the J-15” is in development.
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07/06/2018
The chairman of the UK's cross-party parliamentary Defence Committee has taken the unusual step of making public its concerns over a possible plan to replace the Royal Air Force's fleet of Boeing E-3D Sentry airborne warning and control system aircraft.
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07/06/2018
Canada has requested an additional seven surplus F/A-18 A/B Hornets from Australia. In February, Ottawa requested seven examples for use in non-flying activities such as software testing, static training, and spares, says Australia’s Department of Defence.
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06/30/2018
Northrop Grumman entered full-rate production on the F-35 Lightning II’s centre fuselage at its Palmdale, California facility in May in order to meet increasing order quantities from the Pentagon and international customers. The company said the 400th centre fuselage was completed and delivered to F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin last month. Production of the 500th centre fuselage began the week of 18 June.
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06/30/2018
The US Air Force suspended its light attack experiment at Hollomon AFB in New Mexico after the fatal crash of a Sierra Nevada/Embraer A-29 Super Tucano on June 22. The USAF is examining the data collected thus far in the about a month-long second phase of the experiment to determine if it has enough information to end the contest early.
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06/30/2018
Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlüt Çavusoglu says in a TV interview that US president Donald Trump personally promised to ensure the delivery of the Lockheed Martin F-35A to his country.
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06/28/2018
With its aerial intervention having played a major role in pushing back Daesh terrorists in Syria, Russia is now seeking to maintain a presence in the country with permanent bases. Russia is no stranger to Syria. Throughout the Cold War, the port of Tartus acted as a major replenishment facility for units of the Soviet fleet deploying through the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Soviet air units also periodically visited Syrian air force airbases.
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06/28/2018
A brand new Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighter manufactured by Indian Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd has crashed during a pre-delivery test flight. Both pilots Wing Commander Prashant Nair and Squadron Leader L Biswal (Flight test Engineer) were able to eject safely. The twin engined multi-role combat aircraft crashed after taking off from Nashik Airport, adjacent to HAL Nashik assembly line, at 11 hours in the morning.
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06/28/2018
Avionics experts at Lockheed Martin Corp. will upgrade electronic warfare (EW) systems aboard the U.S. Navy E-2D Advanced Hawkeye carrier-based airborne early warning aircraft under terms of a $64.7 million five-year contract announced Monday.
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06/28/2018
Embraer is on the verge of completing a deal with Portugal confirming the country as the first export customer for the KC-390 tanker transport. “We are discussing with the government the final contract,” the Brazilian airframer’s chief executive Paulo Cesar Silva said at a pre-Farnborough air show media briefing in Lisbon on 26 June.
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06/27/2018
Aircraft Was Part of Air Force Light Attack Experiment Program. It’s the seventh U.S. Air Force crash this year. A U.S. Navy pilot participating in the ongoing Light Attack Experiment died Friday, June 22, 2018 when the Embraer A-29 Super Tucano aircraft he was flying crashed inside the Red Rio Bombing Range inside the White Sands Missile Range.
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06/27/2018
Boeing has won a deal to supply four P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to South Korea, and is poised to win a deal in New Zealand to supply the 737-based platform. On 25 June, South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration said that Seoul would obtain the type under a $1.7 billion deal under the Foreign Military Sales process. No numbers were given.
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06/27/2018
Australia has confirmed its long-planned acquisition of six Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton remotely piloted aircraft. The initial A$1.4 billion ($1 billion) deal includes one MQ-4C, as well as a A$200 million programme with the US Navy for development, production, and sustainment of the aircraft, says prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.
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06/27/2018
Lockheed Martin has signed an initial contract worth $1.2 billion to launch production of the F-16 Block 70 on a new final assembly line in Greenville, South Carolina for the Royal Bahraini Air Force. The undefinitised contract for 16 examples of the latest version of the 45-year-old F-16 keeps the programme in production as Lockheed continues to market the single-engined fighter for new orders in India and elsewhere.
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06/23/2018
A new supersonic air-surface missile has been developed in a partnership between Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Israel Military Industries (IMI). The state-owned companies unveiled the Rampage weapon just days before Elbit Systems announced that it had finalized the acquisition of IMI.
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06/23/2018
Despite Congressional efforts to block the delivery of F-35 combat aircraft to Ankara, the first two of the advanced US fighters have been handed over to Turkish military representatives. US lawmakers and the Pentagon fear that if plugged into Turkey's integrated air defense network, the S-400 air defense missile systems, which Ankara wants to buy from Russia, could be able to pick up technical data on the F-35's capabilities and pass it to Moscow, CNN wrote.
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06/23/2018
It could be another two years before India picks the winner of the world’s biggest combat aircraft order, according to a senior Boeing Co. executive. Boeing is well placed in the race to supply the Indian Air Force with 110 fighter jets, Gene Cunningham, Boeing vice president of global defense sales, told Bloomberg News on Sunday on the sidelines of a security forum in Singapore. The company is a finalist in a separate competition to supply the Indian navy with 57 fighter jets.
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06/23/2018
Lasers have been used to target US aerial operations in the Pacific, with 20 incidents recorded since September of last year, according to a US military official. The military spokeswoman, who requested not to be named, told CNN that lasers had been flashed at US aircraft, and that the sources of these flashes are suspected to be Chinese. The latest incident occurred within the last two weeks, the official said.
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06/23/2018
A Sierra Nevada/Embraer A-29 Super Tucano crashed in New Mexico on 22 June while participating in a month-old light attack experiment, a US Air Force spokesman confirms. Both USAF crew members ejected during the 11:45am incident and one crew member sustained minor injuries. No information on the status of the second crew member was available as of 6:25 pm in New Mexico on 22 June.
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06/23/2018
In addition to making the Boeing B-52H more fuel efficient and sophisticated, the US Air Force’s ongoing makeover project also aims to make the pride of Gen Curtis LeMay’s Cold War-era bomber fleet more destructive.
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06/23/2018
Mentioning the name John Farley evokes memories of a time when the UK’s aerospace industry was able to produce a succession of jet fighters – albeit sometimes of variable quality. As our obituary piece details, Farley was inspired to join the Royal Air Force and subsequently become a test pilot when, as a child, he saw a Graf Zeppelin pass gracefully – and probably menacingly – over Hastings.
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06/23/2018
Kongsberg's Joint Strike Missile is in the last stages of its qualification process, with development activities due to be completed this autumn. Integration onto the Lockheed Martin F-35A for the Royal Norwegian Air Force will take place with the Block 4 software update, says the nation's defence ministry, achieving full operational capability by 2025.
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06/20/2018
The US Air Force has kicked off the procurement for another round of wing replacements for A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft, known affectionately by many as the Warthog. With new wings, the A-10s will help fill a gap left by the delayed volume delivery of F-35A fighters, which were intended to take over the A-10's close air support (CAS) role in "contested environments"—places where enemy aircraft or modern air defenses would pose a threat to supporting aircraft.
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06/20/2018
After months of delicate diplomacy, the UK’s alleged partnership with Turkey to build a fifth generation fighter jet, has run into trouble, says the Financial Times. The article published on Monday recalls initial concerns about the management of intellectual property raised this year by Rolls-Royce, the British aero-engine group that has been working with Turkish industrial giant Kale to bid for the engine development contract on what is set to become Turkey’s first indigenous combat aircraft.
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06/20/2018
The US Air Force has set plans to begin the competitive phase of a plan to develop a dual mode ramjet for a new class of missiles and aircraft with top speeds over Mach 3. Two contract awards worth a total of $10 million for design and testing of a dual mode ramjet are now anticipated, the USAF’s Air Force Research Laboratory says in a notice dated 8 June.
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06/20/2018
Moves by the US Senate and members of the House of Representatives to block the delivery of the Lockheed Martin F-35 to Turkey have intensified, increasing tensions with Ankara. The US Senate passed the 2019 National Defense Authorisation Act on 18 June with a clause that would stop the delivery of the F-35 to Turkey.
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06/19/2018
Eight times during a two-week war game in Alaska, individual German Typhoons flew against single F-22s in basic fighter maneuvers meant to simulate close-range dogfights. “We were evenly matched,” German Maj. Marc Gruene told Combat Aircraft. Past evidence seems to confirms that a French fighter pilot once “killed” an American F-22 Raptor stealth fighter in mock combat.
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06/19/2018
Since the United States and coalition partners began its anti-ISIS mission in 2014, the Middle East’s skies have become crowded with the very best in modern air power. The air is full of flashy fourth-generation fighters (like the Air Force’s F-15s and F-16s and the Navy’s F/A-18E/Fs), and newer fifth-generation fighters (like the F-22).
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06/19/2018
The Royal Thai Air Force is to arm its Northrop F-5 fighters with IRIS-T short-range air-to-air missiles, following the signature of a repeat order with German manufacturer Diehl Defence.
Noting that Bangkok has previously acquired the infrared-guided weapon for its Saab Gripen fighters and also subsequently its Lockheed Martin F-16 fleet, Diehl Defence notes: "The new procurement plans to integrate the missile onto the F-5, making IRIS-T a standard armament of the Royal Thai Air Force."
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06/14/2018
At a time when the Russians have offered to sell 40 more Sukhoi-30 combat aircraft to India, it seems that the Air Force is not keen to add more of these heavy weight and expensive to maintain fighter jets in its inventory. The Indian Air Force (IAF) already has more than 220 of these Russian planes in its fleet and has plans of inducting all the 272 planes ordered by it over the years by the end of 2020.
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06/14/2018
An underlying driver in the reform of the Russian Armed Forces, first initiated in the fall of 2009, has proved to be the adoption and adaption of “command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance” capabilities to offer conventional options against a high-technology adversary. A key factor in the introduction of a Russian variant of the concept of network-centric warfare is the complete overhaul and modernization of its Electronic Warfare inventory.
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06/14/2018
Lockheed Martin awarded Raytheon a contract to develop the F-35 Lightning II’s next generation Distribute Aperture System (DAS). The (DAS) was previously manufactured by Northrop Grumman, which decided not to bid on the next generation system, saying it wasn’t an attractive business deal. Lockheed did not disclose the terms or the amount of the contract in its announcement on 13 June.
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06/13/2018
A new batch of the T-50 jet fighters arrived Wednesday in Iraq coming from South Korea to help in the fight against Islamic State (IS). In a brief statement, the Iraqi Air Force said, “a new six-jet batch of T-50 has arrived in Iraq.” Last year, Iraq said it will receive 24 T-50 (Golden Eagle) fighter jets from South Korea as part of an agreement signed in 2013.
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06/13/2018
A routine training flight off the coast of the Japanese island of Okinawa ended in yet another U.S. military aviation disaster on Sunday night, as a U.S. Air Force F-15 went down for unspecified reasons. The pilot was able to eject and was recovered in a search and rescue operation; he is currently listed in critical condition. “We have been notified that the pilot is in serious condition. Our hearts and prayers go to the pilot and his family as they go through this difficult time,” read a state
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06/13/2018
Over the years, adjectives such as controversial and expensive have been used to describe Lockheed Martin's F-35 program. But while those concerns may have merit, the air defense company's Fort Worth plant nonetheless continues to crank out the stealth fighter aircraft at what has become a steady pace.
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06/13/2018
The State Department approved a possible direct commercial sale of six Boeing AH-64E Apache helicopters to India for an estimated cost of $930 million on 12 June. Included in the sale are 14 GE Aviation T700-GE-701D engines; four Northrop Grumman APG-78 fire control radars; 180 Lockheed AGM-114 Hellfire missiles; and 200 Raytheon Stinger missiles, among other weapons and subsystems.
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06/13/2018
Aero Vodochody and its new partner Israel Aerospace Industries are making a late bid to be selected for the US Air Force’s OA-X close air support programme with an advanced version of the L-159 they say could be ready for delivery from 2020.
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06/13/2018
Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft from seven NATO and Partnership for Peace countries took part in a major multinational personnel recovery exercise that concluded in Europe earlier this month. Running from 22 May until 6 June, the air-centric personnel recovery operators course (APROC) event was hosted by the Netherlands Defence Helicopter Command, and involved almost 600 participants from a total of 12 nations.
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06/12/2018
Qatar's future fleet of Dassault Rafale fighters will be equipped with Lockheed Martin Sniper targeting pods, the US company has announced. "Pod deliveries to the Qatar Emiri Air Force will begin in 2019," says Lockheed. "Integration efforts are ongoing, with flight tests currently in progress."
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06/11/2018
The backbone of the ROKAF is its fighter force. The most numerous type in service is the Northrop F-5E Tiger II. The F-5 was a mainstay of the ROKAF for many years, beginning in the 1970s when F-5As and F-5Bs were exported to South Korea. The current stock of F-5Es and F-5Fs (dual seat variant) came later, and featured a new fuselage, a radar, and better engines compared to the F-5A/B. F-5As and Bs were retired from Korean service as the F-16 was adopted.
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06/10/2018
As tensions between the United States and Turkey simmer, though unlikely to boil over before June 24 Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections, debate over the delivery of U.S. F-35 advanced combat aircraft to Turkey is becoming a measure of the relationship between the NATO allies.
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06/10/2018
The man who was in charge of the exercise was Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, he said the exercise demonstrated the IAF’s capability to achieve and sustain a very high serviceability of aircraft and systems. Dhanoa, however, expressed concern about the depleting combat strength of the IAF, and said the force would reach its desired strength only by 2032.
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06/10/2018
Developed in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Yakovlev Yak 130 is one of the best advanced trainer and light combat aircraft available on the international defense market.
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06/09/2018
The US Air Force ordered the grounding of its entire fleet of Rockwell B-1B Lancer bombers on 7 June due to safety concerns. The USAF suspended flights of the aircraft following an emergency landing of a B-1B at Midland International Air and Space Port in Texas on 1 May, which had blown at least one of its escape hatches without launching its ejection seat. All four members of the crew landed safely.
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06/09/2018
The UK's first four new-generation strike aircraft touched down at the Royal Air Force's Marham base in Norfolk on the evening of 6 June, with the Lockheed Martin F-35Bs having completed a nonstop flight from South Carolina.
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06/06/2018
A Taiwanese fighter jet went missing in northern Taiwan on Monday at the start of the island’s biggest annual military drills, casting a shadow over exercises meant to showcase the island’s ability to fend off an attack. The suspected crash comes after Beijing has conducted repeated rounds of military exercises around the island and as authorities on the island try to reassure voters ahead of elections later this year, according to analysts.
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06/06/2018
According to a Norwegian Ministry of Defence press release dated May 23, 2018: Six aircraft are now on Norwegian soil. – Our new F-35s are a major investment and the most important acquisition to strengthen the defence capabilities of our Armed Forces, said Defence Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen. Delivered on time, the three new aircraft represent a new milestone in our acquisition program.
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06/06/2018
The Department of Defense agreed with a Government Accountability Office report that it should resolve the Lockheed Martin F-35’s critical deficiencies before requesting funds to pay for full-rate production of the aircraft. Waiting for the resolution of critical deficiencies in the F-35 Lightning II could delay the aircraft’s full-rate production, which the DoD had planned to begin in 2021.
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06/06/2018
Leonardo has launched a more powerful version of its BriteCloud decoy jammer optimised for use during the self-protection of medium and large transport aircraft. "Currently in the final stages of development, BriteCloud 55-T is available to order now for deliveries in early 2019," the company says. It identifies potential candidate platforms as including its own C-27J Spartan, along with the larger Airbus Defence & Space A400M, Embraer KC-390 and Lockheed Martin C-130.
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06/05/2018
The US Air Force skipped a more extensive competition for its nearly $1 billion hypersonic cruise missile development contract due to lack of available funds to pay multiple sources to develop alternative prototypes, according to a newly-released government document.
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06/03/2018
India may have rebuffed Australia’s proposal to join the annual trilateral Malabar naval wargames it holds with the US and Japan but will be dispatching four Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets and a C-17 Globemaster-III strategic airlift aircraft to the country to participate in the multi-lateral “Pitch Black” air combat exercise.
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06/03/2018
With global attention fixated on fraught U.S.-China trade negotiations and on-again, off-again nuclear talks between the U.S. and North Korea, China continues to strengthen its position in the South China Sea. The world's second largest economy is boosting its military capabilities there, and analysts say there's really not a whole lot the U.S. can do about it.
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06/03/2018
The Senate Armed Services Committee has set aside millions for light attack aircraft, but this time not solely for the U.S. Air Force. In its version of the fiscal 2019 budget markup, the committee announced last week it wants to give $100 million to the Marine Corps to procure light attack aircraft such as the AT-6 Wolverine to boost lower-cost aviation support. The version passed the committee with a vote of 25-2. It heads for a full Senate vote in coming weeks.
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06/03/2018
U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said on Sunday North Korea will receive relief only after it takes clear and irreversible steps to end its nuclear program, adding it would be a bumpy road to a summit between U.S. and North Korean leaders.
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06/03/2018
The Department of Defense awarded Pratt & Whitney a $2 billion contract to supply F135 turbofan engines for the Lot 11 order of F-35 Lightning II aircraft. The 11th low rate initial production contract will cover 135 engines, as well as programme management, engineering support, production support, spare modules and spare parts, P&W said on 31 May 2018.
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05/30/2018
The Russians seem to recognize that the initial version of the Su-57 will not offer a particularly more useful capability than the Su-35. Moscow only plans to purchase a dozen of the initial AL-41F1-powered version of the Su-57. The Kremlin will likely buy as many as 60 of the second stage Su-57 with the new engine, but given the sheer expense and the limited jump in performance of the new aircraft over the Su-35.
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05/30/2018
“Reports circulated by an Israeli news website about alleged ‘interception’ of two Israeli F-16 planes by Russian Su-34’s in the airspace over Lebanon are dilettantish nonsense,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, according to state-run outlet TASS. “The Su-34 multirole bombers of the Russian taskforce in Syria are not used to intercept aerial targets and perform no missions in Lebanon’s airspace.”
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05/30/2018
F-35s are considered to be the world’s most advanced warplane with “unprecedented” stealth capabilities. Four of the jets, based at US Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, are due to hurtle over their UK. Defence bosses expect the F-35s will arrive in Britain at any time from June 5. Another five of the planes will follow by the beginning of August. And the warplanes designers have warned the planes will face combat against weapons designed by China and Russia.
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05/30/2018
The US Air Force released on 25 May its official request for proposals to replace 112 wing sets on its Fairchild Republic A-10 fleet. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract will have a basic five-year ordering period beginning at contract award, two one-year optional ordering periods thereafter, and a four-year delivery period following the end of the ordering periods, according to the RFP notice.
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05/30/2018
Kazakhstan is to boost its fleet of Sukhoi Su-30SM fighters, with the nation's air force to field a further batch of the Irkut-built type. Announced during the KADEX exhibition in Astana on 24 May, the new deal is for an undisclosed number of aircraft. "The contract will be completed in 2020," says Irkut.
(Read More...)
05/29/2018
Boeing Co. proposed to build fighter jets in India along with two local firms, as the U.S. giant prepares to bid for the world’s biggest combat aircraft order, joining the likes of Lockheed Martin Corp. and Saab AB. Boeing will partner state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. and Mahindra Defense Systems to manufacture the F/A-18 Super Hornet in India at a new facility, which can also be used for other requirements, it said in an emailed statement.
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05/28/2018
Lockheed Martin successfully hit a moving vessel with two Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles launched from a US Air Force B-1B bomber. The test over the Sea Range off NAS Point Mugu, California on an unspecified date in May 2018 was the second time the company demonstrated hitting a ship with two of its long range missiles at once, Lockheed Martin said. The missiles flew through a series of pre-designated waypoints before using their sensors to identify and impact the intended target.
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05/28/2018
BEIJING has reacted angrily to the presence of two US warships in disputed waters of the South China Sea, calling it a ‘provocation’ and a serious assault on its ‘sovereignty’. Chinese state media source CGTN says the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) “acted immediately” and ordered its own warships and aircraft to intercept the USS Higgins and USS Antietam.
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05/27/2018
US Marine Corps officials are seeking clarity from their army counterparts over the latter's priorities for the Future Vertical Lift helicopter programme, as the service eyes the long-term replacement of its Bell UH-1Y fleet.
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05/27/2018
The UK Royal Navy has taken delivery of the first of an eventual 25 Leonardo Helicopters AW101 Merlin HC4 heavy-lift transports, but future upgrade priorities are already being outlined. To be operated by the RN's Commando Helicopter Force, the former Royal Air Force Merlins are being upgraded and marinised under a £388 million ($517 million) contract.
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05/27/2018
Bell Helicopter is confident that its new V-280 Valor tiltrotor will achieve the programme's targeted speed of 280kt (518km/h) later this summer, with the test aircraft having so far hit 190kt during initial transitions to forward flight.
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05/24/2018
Details are still emerging, but a U.S. Air Force T-38C Talon training jet has crashed near Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi. It is the second crash of one of the service's aircraft in May 2018 and the latest in a spike of serious accidents across the U.S. military's aviation communities.
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05/24/2018
An US Marine Corps investigation of the crash of a MV-22B Osprey into an amphibious transport ship in August 2017, which killed three, found that the rotorcraft suffered no mechanical or electrical problems and the flight crew was not at fault. A paragraph containing the service’s "most probable" explanation of the mishap was redacted in the report, though engineers with Naval Air Systems Command noted problems with the aircraft’s rotor downwash in a non-redacted section.
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05/24/2018
Two Boeing F/A-18E/Fs have demonstrated a sensor fusion capability that combines the data from multiple sensors on both aircraft in near real-time as the programme launches production of the Block III version of the 20-year-old, carrier-based fighter, says Bob Kornegay, business development manager for the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G Programs at Boeing.
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05/23/2018
Israeli Air Force F-35I Adirs have participated in two air strikes in the Middle East, making the country’s recently-deployed, Lockheed Martin-made fighters the first in the global fleet to see combat, says IAF commander Maj Gen Amikam Norkin.
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05/23/2018
Usage of AeroVironment’s explosive-tipped drone, the Switchblade, is growing as the US Marine Corps ordered its first of the missile-like weapon in April 2018. The USMC order was part of a larger follow-on contract with the US Army which brings the total value of Switchblade awards to $111 million since August 2017, according to the company.
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05/23/2018
BAE Systems received a more than $100 million contract from Lockheed Martin to support the maintenance and replacement of electronic warfare systems on the F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft. The company will manage the supply chain for the electronic warfare system and maintain regional warehouses with on-hand inventories of critical components.
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05/22/2018
China has for the first time landed bombers on disputed territory in the South China Sea, its air force said, prompting fresh US warnings that it is destabilising the region. The long-range H-6K bomber was among those which took part in drills on islands and reefs to improve China's ability to "reach all territory".
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05/20/2018
As the Air Force contemplates whether to buy a new fleet of light attack aircraft, a duo of former Air Force officers are pressing for an even wider revival of the attack aircraft inventory that could include a light reconnaissance plane or even a purpose-built replacement to the A-10 Warthog.
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05/20/2018
Naval Air Warfare Center intends to award a sole source contract to Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems to upgrade infrared and radar systems aboard the US Navy’s Boeing F/A-18 and E/A-18G aircraft.
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05/16/2018
US aerospace major Boeing has said its F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet can help India grow its aerospace ecosystem which can be utilised for its Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme. Boeing's current F/A-18 production involves 60,000 jobs and 800 suppliers in 44 states in the US and this can be replicated in India, Thom Breckenridge, vice president, global sales, Boeing India, told PTI in an interview, as the company seeks to enterb India's fighter jet bidding process.
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05/16/2018
If you thought the US Department of Defense's procurement adventures with the F-35 and other big-budget weapons systems are bad, you might want to check out what's going on in Europe, where defense procurement battles have left most of the German Luftwaffe grounded for lack of parts.
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05/16/2018
The US Air Force has started preparing to rapidly stage a demonstration of a highly mature laser weapon system (LWS) for an unspecified “airborne vehicle”, with the potential for a follow-on production programme.
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05/16/2018
The Netherlands' defence ministry has outlined its plans to remanufacture the nation's current fleet of 28 Boeing AH-64D Apache attack helicopters, with the goal of operating the updated type until 2050.
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05/15/2018
The United States has given Cameroon two military aircraft to assist in the fight against Boko Haram militants. It adds to armored vehicles, U.S.-led training on landmine detection and the presence of U.S. Marines in the country.
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05/15/2018
China is expanding an airbase on the East China Sea coast, adding facilities that potentially allow it to permanently base combat aircraft closer to Taiwan and islands of which both China and Japan claim ownership.
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05/12/2018
The American defence company Cubic Defense Systems has published advanced plans to establish a central training and command centre in Denmark for all northern European F-35 combat aircraft, according to Jyllands-Posten.
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05/12/2018
The US Marine Corps is scheduled to take delivery of its first production version of the CH-53K King Stallion from Sikorsky early next week. The heavy-lift helicopter is to be received at MCAS New River, North Carolina. At the base, the USMC said it plans to put the aircraft through its Supportability Test Plan by conducting a logistics assessment on the maintenance, sustainment and overall support of the King Stallion.
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05/11/2018
Bangladesh has selected the UK's Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group to modify a pair of ex-Royal Air Force-operated Lockheed Martin C-130Js and provide long-term support for the tactical transports.
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05/11/2018
Embraer still expects its first KC-390 transport aircraft to be delivered to the Brazilian Air Force in the fourth quarter of 2018, despite a second mishap with one of its prototypes on 5 May, which caused extensive damage to the aircraft’s three landing gear and fuselage structure.
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05/11/2018
The US Coast Guard issued a request for demonstrations of long-range, ultra-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions in US coastal transit zones that are highly trafficked by illegal drug and migrant smugglers.
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05/10/2018
China's indigenously developed J-20 stealth fighter jets have begun their first-ever over the ocean combat training, a senior official of the People's Liberation Army Air Force said on Wednesday. The J-20 jets are China's fourth-generation medium and long-range fighter aircraft, which were commissioned into combat service earlier this year.
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05/10/2018
An Air Force Thunderbird jet was the first Lockheed Martin F-16 to have a service life extension – modifications that will add more than 4,000 flight hours to the aircraft’s lifetime. The aircraft is one of about 300 refurbished C and D models of the F-16s that will roll off the shop floor of the 573rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Hill AFB, Utah after receiving structure-strengthening modifications, the USAF announced on May 3.
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05/10/2018
A Saab aerostructures plant now under construction in Brazil to support Gripen fighter production also will expand the capacity of Saab’s global supply chain, the Swedish manufacturer says on 9 May.
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05/10/2018
Jakarta wants to review its involvement in the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) K-FX fighter programme. Following recent media reports stating that it would review the initiative, Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu confirmed Jakarta's position in a television interview. Nonetheless, Ryacudu believes Jakarta should stay in the programme given the money it has already invested.
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05/09/2018
The Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E has entered service with the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) according to the Chinese Ministry of Defense. The advanced Russian-built fourth generation fighter is a significant boost to the PLAAF and could be used to good effect by Beijing in over the South China Sea.
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05/09/2018
Leonardo remains confident it can finalise a contract with Qatar for 28 NHIndustries NH90 helicopters before year-end. Although the Middle Eastern country moved in March this year to formalise a long-held tentative agreement for the military rotorcraft, the deal has yet to be signed off.
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05/09/2018
A US Navy document reveals a new concept to protect large cargo and surveillance aircraft from incoming missiles using small interceptors launched by the targeted aircraft themselves or by unmanned escort aircraft flying next to them.
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05/08/2018
The second phase of an experiment that began on 7 May with two light attack fighters can allow the US Air Force to bypass several steps in the acquisition process, a top USAF general says. The Sierra Nevada/Embraer A-29 Super Tucano and Textron Aviation AT-6 Wolverine began an open-ended series of experiments at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, which are focused on answering questions about how to sustain such aircraft and connect them with battlefield networks.
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05/07/2018
Embraer’s first KC-390 flight test aircraft ran off the runway during a ground test in Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil, on 5 May, the company says. he crew of the aircraft exited the aircraft without injury, the company adds.
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05/07/2018
The US State Department approved the sale of six Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules transport and tanker aircraft to Germany for an estimated $1.4 billion, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
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05/04/2018
The C-130 Hercules is like the ancient elephant of the modern Air Force — huge, strong and put to almost endless uses. Since the 1950s, the planes have hauled massive cargo loads to war zones, been converted into gunships and bombers, and been packed with electronics to hunt for hurricanes. And like the old war elephants, when a C-130 falls, it goes down hard.
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05/04/2018
Beijing has upped the ante with its latest deployment of anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems to fortified outposts in the hotly contested waters of the South China Sea. And it means China will likely soon send warplanes to the area, too, according to an expert on the region.
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05/04/2018
The US Air Force plans to station its future Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider fleet at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas; Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota; and Whiteman AFB, Missouri starting in the mid-2020s.
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05/04/2018
Although the delivery of the first KC-46A Pegasus is still months away, Boeing is about to launch a follow-on development programme, with potential upgrades including autonomous refueling, improved survivability and new communications systems, says the company’s programme manager.
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05/04/2018
The US Air Force Academy is attempting to teach autonomous unmanned air vehicles when to perform combat manoeuvres used by fighter pilots to counter potential swarms of adversarial UAVs.
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05/02/2018
Days after an intense volley of strikes targeting Iran’s military activities in Syria, new information about the Israeli operation continues to trickle out, though many details remain uncertain. Now, a new rumor has emerged on social media claiming that Israel’s F-15I Ra'am multi-role combat aircraft were able to get close to their targets without raising the alarm by using the same transponder codes as U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles and taking a circuitous route through Jordan and Iraq.
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05/02/2018
The US military plans to order 1,400 to 1,600 Raytheon GBU-49 Enhanced Paveway bombs in the fourth quarter to distribute to certain foreign customers of the Lockheed Martin F-35, according to an acquisition notice released on 30 April.
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05/02/2018
The US Department of State has approved the possible sale of 12 Bell AH-1Z attack helicopters to Bahrain. Worth an estimated $911 million, including training and support services, the deal is being concluded under the Foreign Military Sales process.
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05/01/2018
The aviation world went bonkers early this week when news emerged that Lockheed Martin has proposed offering a hybrid of the F-22 and F-35 to Japan. The fighter, which would come in addition to the purchase of at least 60 F-35s, would combine elements of the two fighters to presumably produce one of the world’s most formidable combat aircraft.
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05/01/2018
As the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continues to undertake significant organizational and modernization reforms to build a military that is “built to fight,” in line with President Xi Jinping’s recent rhetoric at the 19th Party Congress, asymmetric inequalities between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) are set to widen.
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05/01/2018
Israeli manufacturers could benefit from a decision by Washington to ease restrictions on the US defence industry's sale of armed unmanned air vehicles, although they are likely to face increased competition.
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04/30/2018
Chinese bombers and warships conducted exercises near Taiwan this month, a show of force that officials in Beijing called a warning not to pursue formal independence. Last year the number of Chinese air patrols off Taiwan’s east coast quadrupled, and Beijing under President Xi Jinping has stepped up pressure on the island democracy to “reunify” with the motherland.
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04/28/2018
The leaders of North and South Korea have agreed to work to rid the peninsula of nuclear weapons, after holding a historic summit. The announcement was made by the North's Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in of South Korea after talks at the border. The two also agreed to push towards turning the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953 into a peace treaty this year.
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04/27/2018
Boeing’s KC-46 tanker programme completed all required supplemental type certificate (STC) flight tests for the US Federal Aviation Administration following a successful refueling and communications flight with a C-17. Boeing said on 26 April that it plans to now submit the resulting data and reports to the FAA for review.
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04/27/2018
Northrop Grumman will develop machine learning algorithms to help the Boeing EA-18G Growler’s electronic warfare system pin down and jam fast-changing enemy radar signals.
Such machine learning algorithms would be needed “against agile, adaptive, and unknown hostile radars or radar modes,” according to the announcement of a $7.3 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract by the US Navy on 25 April.
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04/27/2018
A bi-partisan group of US senators introduced a bill on 26 April to prevent the transfer of the Lockheed Martin F-35A to Turkey. The bill would also block Turkey’s role as a maintenance depot for the aircraft, according to a press release issued by the senators. The bill was introduced on 26 April by Sen James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, Sen Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, and Sen Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina.
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04/26/2018
Rivals Airbus and Dassault Aviation have struck a deal to develop and produce Europe's next generation of fighter aircraft. Franco-German Airbus is part of the consortium behind Eurofighter, while France's Dassault makes the Rafale jet. The two companies said their European Future Combat Air System (FCAS) would replace the existing planes by 2040.
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04/26/2018
Since the US Marine Corps’ deployment of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan in January 2017 the aircraft has been hit with an assortment of sustainment problems.
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04/26/2018
Boeing has partnered with 10 aerospace suppliers that have operations in Germany to support its bid to supply CH-47 Chinooks for the nation’s heavy-lift helicopter competition. In addition to several German equipment and training specialist suppliers, the group includes CAE, Diehl Defence, Honeywell, Liebherr, Rockwell Collins and Rolls-Royce.
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04/26/2018
Eurofighter will upgrade the engines and systems on its Typhoon combat aircraft as part of a bid to replace Germany’s fleet of Panavia Tornados and support efforts to sell additional aircraft to other European countries. On 24 April, Airbus and Eurofighter submitted to Germany’s defence ministry an offer to replace the nation's 90 Tornados, which are to be phased out from 2025.
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04/25/2018
Czech Republic-based Aero Vodochody and Israel Aerospace Industries are to develop and market an advanced version of the former's L-159 trainer and light attack aircraft. The partners will integrate a new avionics suite and "other solutions" onto the platform, as well as jointly marketing the Honeywell F124-GA-100-powered type.
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04/24/2018
The Chinese aircraft carrier formation, featuring the carrier Liaoning, held "live combat drill" in the East China Sea, state media reported early Tuesday. Te formation took part in anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare training with an "opposing force." said State-run Xinhua news agency.
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04/24/2018
Late Friday, April 20, Reuters journalists Tim Kelly and Nobuhiro Kubo reported that Lockheed Martin will propose a new 5th generation low-observable (stealth) combat aircraft to Japan. According to Kelly and Kubo’s article, the two sources who provided the information to Reuters have direct knowledge of the upcoming proposal.
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04/24/2018
Following a recent strike its F-16IQ Viper multi-role jets flew against ISIS terrorists in neighboring Syria, the Iraqi Air Force has released a detailed infographic showing how many combat and combat support missions each of its aircraft types have flown over the past nearly four years. Of particular note is that the country’s An-32 cargo planes have conducted more airstrikes than either Iraq’s F-16s or its Aero L-159 Advanced Light Combat Aircraft, or ALCA, light attack jets.
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04/24/2018
The US State Department cleared the possible sale of eight Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopters to Mexico for $1.2 billion on 19 April. The order also includes spare engines, radios and navigation equipment. Weapons and targeting equipment also included in the possible purchase are 1,000 SSQ-36/53/62 sonobuoys; 10 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles; 38 Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System II rockets; 30 Mk-54 lightweight hybrid torpedoes; 12 M-240D machine guns; and 12 GAU-21 machine guns.
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04/24/2018
Japan’s Acquisition, Technology, & Logistics Agency (ATLA) continues to weigh ideas for a futuristic fighter to replace the nation’s Mitsubishi F-2 aircraft. “We have been doing the RFI process continuously, and our questions have been changing,” says an official familiar with the programme to develop a new aircraft, likely to be designated F-3.
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04/24/2018
Northrop Grumman has finished preliminary design review of the B-21 Raider stealth bomber.
The heavy bomber is now moving towards a critical design review, says Lt Gen Arnold Bunch, the air force's military deputy for acquisition during an 18 April Senate Armed Services hearing. Critical design review is the next step before assembly of the first aircraft can begin.
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04/24/2018
Assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell’s remarks during 18 April hearing in Congress escalated a simmering confrontation with a NATO ally and combat partner against ISIS, which agreed to acquire the Almaz-Antey S-400 Triumf system even as it plans to take delivery of its first F-35A later this year.
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04/19/2018
The asymmetric advantage that the U.S. military possesses ? and that has prevented enemy aircraft attacks on American ground forces since April 15, 1953 ? is eroding.
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04/19/2018
The Royal Australian Air Force has received its tenth and final Alenia C-27J Spartan tactical transport. “The Spartan provides flexibility to defence operations, allowing us to land at airfields that are smaller or unsuitable for our much larger transport aircraft like the [Lockheed Martin] C-130J Hercules and [Boeing] C-17A Globemaster,” says defence minister Marise Payne.
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04/19/2018
A newly-discovered software flaw could trigger another schedule delay for the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus unless the US Federal Aviation Administration approves a temporary waiver from certification requirements. In a document submitted to the FAA on 26 March, Boeing requests a time-limited exemption from the FAA’s supplemental type certification criteria for the 767-2C, the commercial aircraft model on which the KC-46A is derived.
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04/19/2018
Huntsville, Alabama-based Lockheed Martin Space will develop the US Air Force’s first hypersonic cruise missile under a new contract awarded on 18 April. The indefinite-delivery and indefinite quantity award worth up to $928 million suggests the USAF is ready to move past several decades of development and demonstrations of weapons that can cruise for long distances at speeds exceeding Mach 5.
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04/19/2018
The Royal Air Force's 617 Sqn – the UK's first frontline unit to field the Lockheed Martin F-35B – has been officially re-formed during a ceremony in Washington DC. Staffed by a mix of RAF and Royal Navy pilots and support personnel, lead elements of 617 Sqn are currently involved in training at MCAS Beaufort in South Carolina, using the UK's current 15 short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) Lightning IIs.
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04/18/2018
Russian military planes were intercepted by the NATO Air Policing team tasked with guarding airspace over the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. NATO fighters were scrambled to escort the Russian aircraft on four separate occasions between April 9 and April 14, according to the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence. On each occasion the Russian aircraft were flying to or from Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave situated between Poland and Lithuania along the Baltic coast.
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04/18/2018
Air Force officials have been warning about the force's dire pilot shortage, and a recent Government Accountability Office report illustrates just how bad the shortfall has gotten. The report assesses the gaps between the actual number of fighter pilots that the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy have and the number of positions they are authorized to have.
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04/18/2018
This past Friday, an AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed during a training mission at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the latest in a slew of deadly mishaps from across the services in the past week. The accident comes on the heels of a damning report from the Military Times, documenting an alarming rise in accidents stretching back over four years.
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04/17/2018
Pakistan and Malaysia are purportedly engaged in preliminary talks over the possible procurement of an unknown number of Pakistan Aeronautical Complex/Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (PAC/CAC) JF-17 “Thunder” multirole fighter jets, a PAC official told IHS Jane’s at the Defense Services Asia (DSA) 2018 exhibition in Kuala Lumpur on April 16.
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04/17/2018
US, French and British aircraft fired several cruise missiles at chemical weapons research and production facilities in Syria on 13 April, resulting in the combat debut of the Lockheed Martin AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Extended-Range.
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04/17/2018
NH Industries (NHI) is gearing up to begin qualification activities later this year for the naval-variant NH90 helicopters being procured by Germany under its Sea Lion programme. Berlin is to acquire 18 NFH rotorcraft as replacements for its navy's 21-strong fleet of elderly Westland Sea Kings, used for search and rescue and transport missions, with deliveries of the first three examples to take place in late 2019.
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04/15/2018
he Assad Regime fired 40 defensive missiles at thin air in a failed attempt to save the three Syrian chemical weapons sites destroyed by allied air strikes, the Pentagon said. A total of 105 missiles rained down on a research centre in Damascus as well as a storage site and a bunker 15 miles west of Homs at 4am Syrian time.
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04/15/2018
An F-22A Raptor belonging to Elmendorf Air Force Base's 3rd Wing was involved in a major mishap this weekend. Details remain sketchy and are likely to change, but a source told The War Zone that the jet may have retracted its gear too early during takeoff, with the aircraft slamming back down on the runway at relatively high speed and skidding its way to a stop. Thankfully the pilot was able to egress from the aircraft without major injuries.
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04/14/2018
The US, UK and France have bombed multiple government targets in Syria in an early morning operation targeting alleged chemical weapons sites. The strikes are in response to a suspected chemical attack on the Syrian town of Douma last week. "A combined operation with the armed forces of France and the United Kingdom is now underway," President Trump said in an address to the nation. Explosions were reported near the Syrian capital Damascus.
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04/14/2018
Aiming to prepare itself for a short and swift two-front war against China and Pakistan, the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out around 10,000 sorties of its entire combat aircraft fleet in three days across the country to demonstrate its capability to undertake high intensity operations with the limited number of aircraft available.
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04/14/2018
Boeing has teamed with Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) and Mahindra Defence Systems for its bid to sell more than 100 F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets to India’s air force. The partnership is aimed at bringing together the global supply chains, advanced manufacturing experience and design capabilities of all three companies to produce and support Super Hornets in India if it is selected to meet the requirement.
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04/13/2018
Indications suggest that the type of strike being planned by Washington, with the possible assistance of the UK and France, will involve weapons launched from warships or submarines at long range. Any aircraft used would be either firing weapons from beyond the reach of Syria's surface-to-air defence systems or be drones that can be remote-controlled.
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04/13/2018
The Air Force expects it will have to ground a portion of the A-10 fleet in the years running up to fiscal year 2025, as the life of their wings runs out, but the service believes it will not effect operations, a three-star general said Thursday. “We are not confident that we’re flying all of the A-10s that we currently possess through 2025 with our plan,” said Lt. Gen. Jerry Harris, deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and requirements, during a House Armed Services Committee panel.
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04/13/2018
Eying the mega IAF contract for 11o fighter jets, Boeing today announced a partnership with PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Mahindra Defence Systems (MDS) for manufacturing the F/A-18 Super Hornet in India. The US aerospace major said the partnership will also work for joint development of future technologies in India, saying it will transform India's aerospace and defence ecosystem.
(Read More...)
04/13/2018
The US Marine Corps is experimenting with several ways to provide soldiers on the ground a link to sensor data gathered by the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II and other unmanned aircraft on a tablet computer.
(Read More...)
04/13/2018
A Lockheed Martin F-35C on 11 April completed the final test flight of the programme’s system development and demonstration (SDD) phase, capping off an 11-year-long saga spanning 9,200 sorties and 17,000 flight hours for three major variants.
(Read More...)
04/12/2018
The US Department of Defense is refusing delivery of F-35 Lightning IIs over a dispute with manufacturer Lockheed Martin about who should pay for repair costs to fix a production error found on the aircraft last year.
(Read More...)
04/12/2018
The US Air Force granted Boeing Defense, Space and Security a contract worth up to $250 million to integrate the forthcoming Long Range Stand-Off cruise missile on the B-52H Stratofortress.
(Read More...)
04/12/2018
Israel has revived discussions with the US government over a potential acquisition of Bell Boeing V-22 Ospreys as the programme looks abroad to fill vacant production capacity. The Israeli government last year froze a plan to buy six V-22s, three years after the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of a potential sale of the tiltrotor aircraft to Tel Aviv.
(Read More...)
04/11/2018
If the offer is accepted, the first fighter planes should arrive in Slovakia by the end of 2022. Representatives of the US aerospace, defence, security, and advanced technology company, Lockheed Martin, presented an offer to sell F-16 aircraft to Slovakia on April 10. If Slovakia accepts the offer, the first F-16 fighter jets could arrive in the country by the end of 2022, they said, as quoted by the TASR newswire.
(Read More...)
04/11/2018
The Indian air force has launched a very ambitious $19.5 billion program to buy 110 military fighters. The problem is, the country’s Ministry of Defense says it is only a fact-finding exercise and there is no commitment from the government on the program as of now. The IAF on April 6 issued a Request for Information or RFI to all major global aviation companies to bid on the 110 fighter buy.
(Read More...)
04/11/2018
The 100th Boeing P-8A Poseidon entered final assembly in Renton, Washington in March.The maritime patrol aircraft is destined for the US Navy in fall 2018 and is part of a string of backorders that Boeing said will keep its P-8 production line running until 2022. The aerospace manufacturer said it has delivered 82 aircraft since the launch of the programme in 2011, and in total has 127 aircraft contracted to the US Navy, Australia, United Kingdom and India.
(Read More...)
04/11/2018
The US Navy's P-8A Poseidon could pick up a new mission if the US Air Force is allowed to follow through on plans to cancel a replacement for the Northrop Grumman E-8C JSTARS. The navy is buying 117 P-8As to perform anti-submarine warfare and maritime patrol missions, but a subset of the fleet is being equipped with Raytheon's Advanced Airborne Sensor (AAS) radar.
(Read More...)
04/11/2018
Serbia has begun talks with Russia over the acquisition of four Mil Mi-17 transport helicopters and the same number of Mi-35 attack rotorcraft. The likely purchase was revealed by Belgrade's defence minister Aleksandar Vulin, after a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoygu in Moscow. Previous indications from Serbia's defence ministry were that the order would probably only be for six Mi-17s.
(Read More...)
04/10/2018
Yet another deadly crash on Friday evening brought the total number of American service members to die during routine aircraft operations last week to seven, as a rash of recent incidents have reignite concerns about the dismal state of readiness the U.S. military has found itself in.
(Read More...)
04/10/2018
New details of Lockheed Martin’s bid for the MQ-25 Stingray contract reveal a flying wing unmanned tanker with several key components re-used from aircraft already on board the US Navy’s aircraft carriers.
(Read More...)
04/10/2018
France and Germany are to jointly develop a future maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), with a letter of intent covering the programme to be signed by the nations' defence ministers on 27 April.
Destined to replace the countries' respective fleets of Dassault Atlantique 2 and Lockheed Martin P-3C Orions, the new aircraft will be available to coincide with the out-of-service dates for both models, says the German navy. This is likely to be in the 2030s.
(Read More...)
04/10/2018
The Royal Thai Air Force has commissioned the first four Korea Aerospace Industries T-50TH advanced jet trainers. The commissioning ceremony took place on 4 April at Thai air force base, says KAI in a statement. The four aircraft were originally ordered in 2015, with a follow on order for eight additional examples placed in 2017. These will be delivered in 2020.
(Read More...)
04/09/2018
In the last three weeks, six military aviation crashes have killed 16 pilots or crew — a tragic development that has cast a spotlight on a growing crisis: Accident rates have soared over the last five years for most of the military’s manned warplanes. Through a six-month investigation, the Military Times found that accidents involving all of the military’s manned fighter, bomber, helicopter and cargo warplanes rose nearly 40 percent from fiscal years 2013 to 2017.
(Read More...)
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04/08/2018
The Air Force Thunderbirds released the identification of the pilot lost in Wednesday’s crash of an F-16 Fighting Falcon during a training exercise in a brief statement issued today. The Thunderbirds jets were in the air over the squadron’s Nevada Test and Training Range north of their base at Las Vegas when someting went wrong causing Thunderbird 4 to crash in the isolated region.
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04/08/2018
At the request of the Djiboutian government, the U.S. military has halted its air operations in the East African country, a critical location in the fight against terrorism, following two accidents involving military aircraft, three defense officials told CNN. On Tuesday, a U.S. Marine Corps Harrier jet crashed at the country’s international airport. The pilot was able to eject and was treated at a medical facility but has since been released according to several officials.
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04/08/2018
With one large carrier in service and another on the way, India has become one of the world’s pre-eminent naval aviation powers. How did the program come about? Where is it going? And what is the strategic rationale for India’s massive investment in aircraft carriers?
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04/08/2018
Two soldiers were killed in a training flight of an Apache attack helicopter at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The two deaths in the crash Friday night brings to seven the number of service members who have died just this week in three military aviation crashes in the United States. Two other aviation mishaps in the east African nation of Djibouti resulted in no casualties.
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04/08/2018
The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee called the deaths of two soldiers in an Apache helicopter crash in Kentucky on Friday "heartbreaking" in a statement Saturday, adding that military readiness is in crisis. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, said he grieves "over the loss of our men and women in uniform," and added that "the tragic deaths of troops killed in aviation accidents over the past month is especially heartbreaking."
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04/08/2018
Plans for a Franco-German combat aircraft are set to kick off in earnest at the Berlin Air Show later this month, officials told French media on the sidelines of a meeting of the two countries’ defense ministers in Paris on Thursday. The idea of a joint “systèmedecombat aérien dufutur,” or SCAF, came out of a bilateral Cabinet decision last summer, part of a larger effort to promote the Berlin-Paris relationship in a militarily stronger Europe.
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04/07/2018
A global competition to sell more than 100 fighters to the Indian air force re-opened for the third time in a decade on 6 April. The IAF released a 73-page request for information to six companies to supply 110 single- and twin-seat fighters over a maximum of 12 years.
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04/07/2018
Aero Vodochody has secured its first buyer for the new-generation L-39NG, with Senegal to acquire four armed examples from the Czech Republic manufacturer. Confirming its selection on 4 April, Aero Vodochody said: "The order contains four aircraft in a light-attack version, maintaining also the full training capability." Its deal with Dakar also covers the provision of training services for pilots and maintainers, plus ground-support equipment, spare parts and logistics support.
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04/07/2018
Boeing announced that its KC-46 Pegasus aerial tanker programme completed its fuel on-load testing, part of its overall supplemental type certificate, by successfully transferring 66,200kg (146,000lb) of jet fuel to another KC-46 during flight using the centreline boom. The fuel transfer took place during a 3h, 40min-long flight on an undisclosed date, Boeing says.
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04/07/2018
Brazilian-made wide area and head-up displays for the Saab Gripen E/F will be offered to all customers of the single-engined fighter as a potential cockpit upgrade, says Mikael Franzén, head of Business Unit, Gripen Brazil.
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04/07/2018
The Colombian air force’s appetite for the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk has not waned five months after the government in Bogota signed an agreement ending a 50-year-old conflict with FARC guerrilla fighters. “I hope we will have enough budget to continue acquiring this aircraft,” says Gen Carlos Eduardo Bueno Vargas, speaking on 4 April during a Sikorsky press conference.
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04/04/2018
While the requirement for a carrier-based long-range strike capability is a frequent subject of discussion around Washington, the U.S. Navy’s need for improved air superiority capabilities is often neglected. The service has not had a dedicated air-to-air combat aircraft since it retired the Grumman F-14 Tomcat in 2006. But even the Tomcat was adapted into a strike aircraft during its last years in service after the Soviet threat evaporated.
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04/04/2018
The U.S. Air Force has said today that it will deploy the CV-22 tiltrotor aircraft to Japan this week, more than a year ahead of schedule. In a statement issued earlier today, U.S. Forces, Japan, or USFJ, announced that five U.S. Air Force Bell-Boeing CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft are scheduled to arrive at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo later this week, ahead of the previously announced fiscal 2020 timeline.
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04/04/2018
The Homestead Air Reserve Base, which currently utilizes F-16C planes to carry out Air Force Reserve Command related missions, might permanently gain up to 24 new F-35A aircraft, which combine stealth, sensor fusion and unprecedented situational awareness in combat, according to a notice of intent issued by the U.S. Air Force.
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04/04/2018
The Netherlands has unveiled a new long-term defence plan, which includes additional funding to boost operational readiness. Presented by recently appointed defence minister Ank Bijleveld-Schouten, the white paper proposes annual spending of €1.5 billion ($1.84 billion) – or about 1.3% of gross domestic product.
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04/03/2018
The U.S. Air Force’s F-35A Joint Strike Fighters are practicing air-to-air combat in the skies over Okinawa, Japan. The new multi-role fighter jets are facing off against American and Japanese F-15 Eagle fighters and also against each other, allowing both jets to practice fighting stealthy adversaries while F-35 pilots gain valuable experience.
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04/03/2018
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has asked the Indian Air Force (IAF) to send out the request for information (RfI) for a $15-billion order for 100 fighter aircraft before the DefExpo starting April 11 in Chennai.
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04/03/2018
China’s first home-built aircraft carrier, the Type 001A, will embark on her maiden sea voyage in the northeastern Bohai Sea later this month, sources close to the military said. “Beijing will arrange a celebration for the first sea trial because the Type 001A was the first aircraft carrier fully designed and produced by Chinese shipbuilders,” one of the sources told the South China Morning Post.
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04/03/2018
With the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II, the U.S. has fielded two of the world’s most sophisticated, maneuverable and stealthy fighter jets. They both function as airborne shepherds of America’s flock of older combat aircraft, using their state-of-the-art systems to communicate threats and targets on the ground and in the air. Unfortunately, they have a difficult time communicating with each other.
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04/03/2018
Boeing was awarded a contract worth up to $1.17 billion to produce and deliver 22 F/A-18E and 6 F/A-18F Super Hornets for the government of Kuwait by 2022, the US Defence Department announced on 30 March. State Department approval of the sale of F/A-18 Super Hornets to Kuwait was first announced in November 2016, with the country requesting a total of 40 Super Hornets, including 28 fighters for initial delivery, plus the option to order 12 more.
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03/31/2018
“I hear at times in my uniform out and about in daily life, ‘do they let women fly?’”said Lt. Col. Cheryl Buehn, the only female instructor pilot in the 71st Fighter Training Squadron. “I don’t think they realize they’re asking a female fighter pilot. So I take a breath and I say, ‘Absolutely. They let women fly fighters, tankers, RPAs, everything. Both men and women fly a lot of different platforms, and everyone is important to the fight right now.’”
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03/31/2018
It’s been 25 years since female pilots were allowed in combat roles in the Air Force, but it’s taking a little longer for their equipment to catch up. “What we’re finding is that women have been flying for years wearing gear that’s been designed for men,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein told Air Force Times during a March 8 editorial board meeting at the Pentagon.
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03/31/2018
Naval officers aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln demonstrated for the first time the ability to remotely take control of an aircraft and land it on an aircraft carrier’s deck. Using the ATARI system, or aircraft terminal approach remote inceptor, landing signal officers demonstrated remote piloting of the F/A-18E Super Hornet while conducting carrier qualifications and flight testing aboard the Abraham Lincoln in March. The officers also demonstrated touch-and-go manoeuvres with the system.
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03/31/2018
A used Royal Air Force C-130J could soon be supporting the US Navy’s Blue Angels fighter demonstration team as a long-term replacement for the team’s famous “Fat Albert”. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) plans to quickly buy one of the RAF’s C-130Js to “avoid a gap in logistical support of the Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron”, according to a government acquisition notice posted on 23 March.
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03/30/2018
The Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, addressed senior military commanders in Moscow where he said the exercise involved anti-submarine aircraft. He did not confirm when it took place. "For the first time since Soviet times anti-submarine aircraft flights have been carried out via the North Pole towards the North American continent," he said.
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03/30/2018
Croatia's government said on Thursday it has agreed to acquire 12 F-16 multi-purpose combat aircraft from Israel for some $500 million (405.7 million euro). Croatia will pay the price in 10 equal annual installments of $50 million each, prime minister Andrej Plenkovic said during a cabinet session streamed on the website of the government.
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03/30/2018
The first F-35A stealth fighter aircraft for South Korea has made its public debut amid a series of diplomatic encounters ahead of an inter-Korean summit next month. South Korea and the United States held a joint rollout ceremony for the jet at Lockheed Martin's assembly line in Fort Worth, Texas, on Wednesday, reported Yonhap news agency. The aircraft is the first of 40 F-35As South Korea has agreed to purchase in a 2014 contract. Each aircraft is reportedly priced at around 120 billion won.
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03/30/2018
Boeing plans to launch two new divisions within its Defense, Space & Security business starting next week – a Commercial Derivative Aircraft division, and a Missile and Weapon Systems division – as part of an ongoing reorganization effort by the business unit’s chief executive, Leanne Caret.
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03/30/2018
MBDA has received a long-term contract from the UK Ministry of Defence that will extend the production and sustainment of its improved Brimstone air-to-surface missile into the 2030s. Announced on 27 March and valued at £400 million ($563 million), the capability sustainment programme deal will provide weapons for the Royal Air Force's Eurofighter Typhoons, and potentially also equip rotorcraft and unmanned air vehicles.
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03/29/2018
Switzerland has unveiled a list of specifications for the country’s future combat aircraft and ground-based air defense system. The Swiss defense department said Friday its NKF combat aircraft should be able to protect the Swiss airspace and perform routine air policing missions continuously. The country is looking for an aircraft that can respond within minutes to violations committed by manned or unmanned air vehicles in the Swiss airspace.
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03/29/2018
A South Korean official on 28 March pressed the US Department of Defense to grant maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade contracts for the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lighting II to Korean companies during a speech at a roll-out ceremony in Fort Worth, Texas.
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03/29/2018
Royal Air Force Panavia Tornado GR4 crews flying missions over Iraq and Syria are poised to benefit from a defensive update developed by Leonardo and recently approved for operational use by the UK Ministry of Defence.
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03/29/2018
The Chengdu/Pakistan Aernautical Complex JF-17 fighter is to get an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, which is expected to boost its export prospects. The KLJ-7A AESA radar developed by the Nanjing Research Institutie of Electronics Technology (NRIET) will be installed on the single-engined type, which is operated by the Pakistan air force, says NRIET's head Hu Mingchun in a China Daily report.
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03/29/2018
A new government audit explains for the first time how the Lockheed Martin F-22 quietly launched a movement within the US Department of Defense four years ago to fix a broken process for developing software for complex weapon systems.
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03/28/2018
Dozens of Chinese naval vessels are exercising this week with an aircraft carrier in a large show of force off Hainan island in the South China Sea, satellite images obtained by Reuters show. The images, provided by Planet Labs Inc, confirm a Chinese carrier group has entered the vital trade waterway as part of what the Chinese navy earlier described as combat drills that were part of routine annual exercises.
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03/28/2018
The Afghan Air Force (AAF) used laser-guided bombs for the first time during a close air support mission in the province of Farah in southwestern Afghanistan on March 22, according to a March 27 statement by the NATO-led Resolute Support mission.
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03/28/2018
The F-35 has caught flack for what critics decry as lack of dogfighting prowess, a reputation that has followed the Joint Strike Fighter for years. But in the skies above Kadena Air Base in Japan, F-35 operators are getting the chance to prove those detractors wrong.
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03/28/2018
Exercise “INIOCHOS” is a yearly medium-scale exercise hosted by the Hellenic Air Force at the facilities of the Air Tactics Center at Andravida Air Base, located in the Northwest Peloponnese, Greece. The “layout” of the exercise is quite standard: two weeks in length (including deployment and re-deployment of the assets), the exercise scenario adopts a Single Base Concept with air operation launched from an MOB (Main Operating Base).
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03/28/2018
The US Navy plans modify 45 more Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets in the next two years to increase the aircraft’s service life and capabilities, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) announced on 27 March.
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03/28/2018
Poland has exercised an option worth more than €115 million ($143 million) with Leonardo to boost the size of its M-346 advanced jet trainer fleet to 12 aircraft, and could further increase this in the future.
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03/27/2018
Qatari fighter jets flew dangerously close to two UAE-registered civilian aircraft passing through Bahrain, forcing the captain of one of the flights to alter course to avoid collision. The incident was reported Monday by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of the United Arab Emirates which warned of the dangers posed by the two Qatari fighter jets. It called the development an infringement of Bahrain’s airspace.
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03/27/2018
Taipei, March 26 (CNA) Several Chinese military aircraft were seen flying Monday over the Bashi Channel, which lies between Taiwan and the Philippines, as part of a long-range flight training mission in the Western Pacific, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said that day.
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03/27/2018
Congress seems to have come to an agreement on spending for fiscal year 2018, and military aircraft procurement is slated to receive a major bump, funding an additional 143 aircraft above the services’ requests. That’s great news for major defense primes like Lockheed Martin and Boeing, both of which stand to make billions more from the additional sales.
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03/27/2018
The US Air Force plans to acquire 22 more Cessna AC-208s to provide to allied governments to use for lightly armed surveillance missions. An acquisition notice published on 23 March suggests the USAF is open to receive bids from companies interested in modifying aircraft to carry weapons and sensors.
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03/27/2018
With some sources suggesting that Poland could launch its “Harpia” fighter tender within the next few weeks, Italian airframer Leonardo is stepping up its promotion of the Eurofighter Typhoon.
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03/27/2018
The U.S. military has been flying UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter missions in Afghanistan for years, but the storied aircraft will soon take to the country’s battlefields manned by pilots and crews from the Afghan military.
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03/27/2018
The People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) sent four Xian H-6K long-range bombers, one Shaanxi Y-8 electronic countermeasures aircraft, one Tupolev Tu-154MD electronic intelligence plane, and at least two Sukhoi Su-35 multirole fighter jets through international airspace between the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyako in the East China Sea on March 23 as part of a military exercise, Japan’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) said in a statement.
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03/27/2018
Roaring off the deck of a 40,000-ton amphibious assault ship, F-35B fighter jets piloted by US Marines soar over the Pacific Ocean near the Japanese island of Okinawa. It's a show of force by the US military, which is demonstrating its newest - and most expensive - weaponry a week before it begins annual war games with South Korea.
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03/27/2018
When the Times of India revealed that the Indian air force was revising its single-engine fighter competition to encompass twin-engine jet designs, a collective groan likely rang from New Delhi to Washington—and even Stockholm. The competition was meant to acquire a new generation of short-range jets suitable for defending India’s borders. The Indian air force is gradually retiring its 1950s-era MiG-21 single-engine fighter jets over the next few decades.
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03/26/2018
Despite various govts going slow on hi-tech defence acquisitions, it now emerges that India is the largest weapons importer. This is ‘inglorious’ in the face of stridency over ‘desi’ production. And as we struggle, our neighbours find ways to forge ahead with new defence partners, a fact we can ignore to our peril.
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03/26/2018
Captain John E. Donovan, an electronic warfare officer, monitored the equipment in his F-100F Super Sabre fighter. It was December 22, 1965, and his plane was part of a strike mission searching out enemy antiaircraft sites.
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03/26/2018
H-6K bombers, Su-30 and Su-35 fighter jets carry out combat patrols after passing over Miyako Strait between Japanese islands. China’s air force used a number of its latest bombers and fighters in combat patrols over the South China Sea and drills in the Western Pacific after passing over Japan’s southern islands – its first military exercise in the area in more than three months.
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03/25/2018
President Donald Trump signed into law on 23 March a spending bill that adds 143 aircraft, worth $9.5 billion, to what was already requested by the Department of Defence, including 20 additional F-35 Lightning II fighters, 10 F/A-18 Super Hornets, and three KC-46A tanker aircraft.
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03/24/2018
Ukrainian aircraft have been moved back from a state of high combat preparedness, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Dmytro Strutynsky has said. “The state of combat preparedness that was declared today has already been lifted,” Hromadske.TV quoted him as saying.
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03/24/2018
Israeli personnel have taken a fresh opportunity to assess the Bell Boeing MV-22 Osprey's capabilities, during a joint exercise conducted with the US Marine Corps. Staged in Israel from mid-March, the "Kia Green" manoeuvres included support from Osprey tiltrotors operating from the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima. Other US military and Israeli air force aircraft were also involved in the joint activity.
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03/24/2018
Fighter manufacturers are eyeing an opportunity to replace the Swiss air force's entire fighter fleet, although the requirement will be the subject of a public vote planned for early 2020.
Four years ago, Switzerland's planned acquisition of 22 Saab Gripen Es was scrapped after a public referendum narrowly rejected the allocation of funds required to purchase the Swedish-built type. The deal had been intended to replace the Swiss air force's aged Northrop F-5 interceptors.
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03/24/2018
A US Air Force Base in California was rocked by an explosion on Wednesday after a car breached the main gate of the base and detonated. Travis AFB officials report that a vehicle gained “unauthorized access” to the facility Wednesday evening, exploding and killing the driver. Explosive Ordnance Disposal crews and emergency units rushed to the scene after the explosion, discovering that the driver had perished in the blast.
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03/23/2018
Bulgaria’s Defence Ministry has said that it has signed a framework agreement worth 81 million leva (about 41.4 million euro) with Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG (RSK MiG) for the supply of spare parts and services for the Bulgarian Air Force’s MiG-29 fighter jets. The installation of the spare parts will be carried out by Bulgarian engineers at the Graf Ignatievo Bulgarian Air Force base.
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03/23/2018
Britain will spend £345m ($486m) upgrading its F-35B fighter jets to the most recent, combat-ready, version of the aircraft’s operating system. The figure was indirectly revealed by defence procurement minister Guto Bebb, in response to a Parliamentary question. “The UK’s contribution will be around 4.5 per cent of F-35 Program common upgrade costs, from which the UK gains 100 per cent of the benefit,” said Bebb in his answer to Plaid Cymru MP Jonathan Edwards.
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03/23/2018
Russian bombers and fighters took off from airfields in Crimea and flew close to Ukrainian state border; Ukraine's Air Force is on combat alert. The HQ of Ukraine's Air Force reported another provocative act by the Russian combat aviation - the second time this month. Fighters and bombers were spotted to the east and south of Ukraine's state border, namely near the occupied Crimea.
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03/23/2018
SMARTER. Better informed. Highly automated. China is striving to prepare for combat. And its new stealth fighters are on the front line. This will allow it to “seize air superiority” in the Asia-Pacific, state media claims. And it’s thinking further ahead.
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03/23/2018
Fighter manufacturers are eyeing an opportunity to replace the Swiss air force's entire fighter fleet, although the requirement will be the subject of a public vote planned for early 2020.
Four years ago, Switzerland's planned acquisition of 22 Saab Gripen Es was scrapped after a public referendum narrowly rejected the allocation of funds required to purchase the Swedish-built type. The deal had been intended to replace the Swiss air force's aged Northrop F-5 interceptors.
(Read More...)
03/22/2018
The Israeli military confirmed Wednesday it carried out the 2007 airstrike in Syria that destroyed what was believed to be a nuclear reactor, lifting the veil of secrecy over one of its most daring and mysterious operations in recent memory. Although Israel was widely believed to have been behind the Sept. 6, 2007, airstrike, it has never before commented publicly on it.
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03/22/2018
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it sent ships and planes to monitor a Chinese aircraft carrier that entered the Taiwan Strait this week. The rise in cross-strait tensions followed the U.S. passing a law greenlighting visits of senior officials between Washington and Taipei. The law’s passage drew protests in Beijing, which sees Taiwan as a renegade province.
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03/22/2018
Germany is proceeding with a project to replace its navy's fleet of 22 Westland Sea Lynx anti-submarine warfare helicopters, but does not yet have a date for launching the procurement. The fleet is set to retire in 2025, and in December last year the "functional requirements" for a replacement were approved by the German chief of defence, says the Bundeswehr.
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03/22/2018
Leonardo will from 2019 deliver its C-27J Spartan battlefield airlifter in a new baseline configuration featuring updated avionics and winglets as standard. Flight tests of the modernised variant are due to begin later this year, with the modifications in 2017 having passed the critical design review milestone. Although the Italian airframer began flight trials of the winglets in 2015, it has only just revealed its progress on the project.
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03/21/2018
Japan’s ruling party called for the nation to develop its own aircraft carrier and buy American F-35B fighter jets in response to what it described as aggressive Chinese actions. Tuesday’s proposal from the Liberal Democratic Party’s defense panel, if adopted, would be the latest step by the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to beef up defense of outlying islands, including those also claimed by Beijing.
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03/21/2018
On March 17, 2017 in the Atlantic, a fighter jet landed onto the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. The only difference this time was that the pilot was Finnish, not American.
Capt. Juha “Stallion” Jarvinen’s landing was the first landing on an aircraft carrier by a Finnish air force pilot in history, according to the U.S. Navy.
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03/21/2018
On Mar. 19, 2018, the first F-35A destined to the ROKAF performed its maiden flight at Lockheed Martin Ft. Worth facility, Texas. Piloted by LM F-35 Chief Test Pilot and Test Flight Director Alan Norman, the aircraft flew as “Lightning 41”, taking off at 14.48LT and landing at 16.40LT. The photo in this post was taken by Highbrass Photography’s Clinton White during South Korea’s F-35’s first sortie (designated C01).
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03/21/2018
Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson heavily criticised Boeing for what she believes will be further delivery delays of KC-46A Pegasus aerial refueling tankers during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on 20 March.
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03/21/2018
The Royal Australian Air Force's Boeing P-8A Poseidon fleet has achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC). The IOC for the 737-based maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft came five months ahead of schedule, says defence minister Marise Payne. The RAAF has taken delivery of six P-8As from an overall order book of 12. The type is operated by the No. 11 sqn. from RAAF Edinburgh.
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03/20/2018
US Navy leaders have announced that the first-of-its kind carrier-launched F-35C stealth fighter will deploy for its first operational deployment on the USS Carl Vinson - in 2021. The anticipated historical deployment could be accelerated by the 2019 budget proposal which supports a transition of the F-35C program from a developmental phase to more formal test and evaluation before being declared operational later this year.
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03/20/2018
Lockheed Martin announced on 19 March that a production-version of its Long Range Anti-Ship Missile, or LRASM, had another successful test firing after it hit a stack of shipping containers aboard a boat on the Pacific Ocean.
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03/20/2018
On its first overflight mission of the Soviet Union 62 years ago, the Lockheed U-2 was tracked for the entire mission. It would take the Soviets another four years to acquire the technology to shoot down the U-2, as Central Intelligence Agency pilot Francis Gary Powers learned to his cost over Sverdlovsk on May Day.
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03/19/2018
India is planning to revise the specifications for one of the world’s biggest fighter jet orders, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would allow manufacturers such as Boeing Co. and United Aircraft Corp. to pitch their twin-engine combat aircraft.
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03/18/2018
Qatar informed the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary-General of a violation of Qatari sovereignty on the part of UAE. Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations Sheikha Alia Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani said in a message to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and to President of the UN Security Council for this month Ambassador Karel van Oosterom that a military transport aircraft CN-35 that belongs to the UAE violated the airspace of Qatar on Sunday March 4.
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03/18/2018
The country’s oldest airbase, Ambala, witnessed another landmark in the history of military aviation when the Air Force’s first woman combat pilot, Flying Officer Bhawana Kanth, flew her maiden solo sortie in a fighter aircraft from the base on Friday. Bhawana took off in a MiG-12 Bison belonging to the IAF’s No.3 Squadron, the Cobras, from Ambala, where she has been posted, at 2 pm and the sortie lasted about half an hour.
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03/17/2018
Lawmakers have been pressing the U.S. Air Force the last few weeks about its light attack program. The service says that light attack, dubbed OA-X, will be an example of how it intends to buy and field planes faster in the near future.
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03/17/2018
Israel’s Lockheed Martin F-35I "Adir" is reported to have made its combat debut during strikes conducted against Syrian air defence systems last month. The action was mounted following a border clash that culminated in an Israeli air force Lockheed F-16 being shot down by a surface-to-air missile.
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03/16/2018
A US military HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter, a Black Hawk variant, has crashed in western Iraq near the border with Syria, according to multiple US defense officials. One US defense official said that there were "likely fatalities" involved and that rescue teams were on the scene in under an hour. The officials cautioned that these are early reports and that the Pave Hawk was carrying seven personnel, but was not on a combat mission.
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03/16/2018
Boeing Co, considered the frontrunner in the race to supply the Indian navy with new fighter jets, is now in contention for a much bigger $15 billion order after the government abruptly asked the air force to consider the twin-engine planes.
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03/16/2018
Saab's GlobalEye swing-role surveillance aircraft completed a 1h 46min debut flight from Linköping in Sweden on 14 March, less than three weeks after its formal unveiling. Carrying the temporary registration SE-RMY, the heavily modified Bombardier Global 6000 demonstrated "smooth handling, just as predicted," according to Saab experimental test pilot Magnus Fredriksson. The debut included "collecting extensive flight-test data using the on-board instrumentation suite," the company adds.
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03/15/2018
A US Navy F-18 Hornet crashed in the water on the Naval Air Station Key West property late Wednesday afternoon. The two pilots ejected and were later found, according to the US Navy.
Rescue crews recovered both pilots after search and rescue efforts and they were taken by ambulance to Lower Keys Medical Center, the US Navy reported Wednesday evening. Their condition has not been revealed.
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03/15/2018
Qatar has finally firmed a long-held tentative deal for NH Industries (NHI) NH90 helicopters, to be split between the naval and troop transport variants. The revised order sees the Gulf state increase its commitment to 28 helicopters, up from the 22 it initially signed for in 2014.
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03/15/2018
Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson may ask Congress to reallocate funds to the light-attack aircraft programme this year, a move which would accelerate the department’s purchase of the aircraft by one year to 2019.
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03/15/2018
Beijing will evolve the Chengdu J-20 fighter into roles well beyond aerial supremacy. The aircraft’s primary mission for the time being is “making way for other aircraft in an air battle,” says Zhang Hao, who heads an air force flight test centre. Zhang made the remarks in a story carried by Beijing’s official China Daily news organ.
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03/14/2018
South Korea has concluded a contract for 90 German-built Taurus KEPD 350 long-range precision-guided cruise missiles, the country’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) revealed on March 12. “The contract was signed in late February,” Kang Hwan-seok, a DAPA spokesperson, told reporters this Monday, according to Yonhap news agency.
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03/14/2018
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has signed a memorandum of intent with the UK Government to purchase 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multi-role fighter jets. The memorandum of intent has been signed during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the UK. In a statement, BAE Systems said: “This is a positive step towards agreeing a contract for our valued partner.
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03/14/2018
The US Air Force is likely to issue a request for proposal for its Boeing B-52H Stratofortress bomber engine replacement programme close to the first quarter of 2019, according to an Air Force document released on 13 March.
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03/13/2018
China will continue to improve and upgrade its cutting-edge J-20 stealth fighter jet, giving it more capabilities than merely penetrating an enemy's air defense networks, according to its chief designer.
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03/13/2018
During an official state visit to India from March 10 to 12, French President Emanuel Macron in talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promoted the sale of additional Dassault Rafale multirole fighter jets to the Indian Air Force (IAF). “It is a long-term contract which is mutually beneficial. I personally consider it as the heart of the strategic partnership,” the French president said in a statement following talks with the Indian prime minister on March 10.
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03/13/2018
The Indian Air Force reportedly is set to formally reboot its plans to purchase nearly 115 fighter jets within weeks, but it may tie any final contract to a demand that it also receive technical assistance for its domestic fifth generation fighter project. This decision would seem to confirm ongoing reports that India is not happy with the progress of its existing stealth fighter deal with Russia, might again give Lockheed Martin an upper hand since it is already building the F-35.
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03/13/2018
The US Marine Corps issued a request for information for its proposed ship-based vertical takeoff and landing drone, the MUX aircraft, on 8 March. MUX, which is short for Marine Air Ground Task Force – Unmanned Expeditionary Capabilities programme, would operate autonomously from the deck of an amphibious assault ship and is designed to fill what the USMC sees as its current inability to provide persistent multi-role aerial coverage 350nm (648km) beyond its ships.
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03/13/2018
State-owned Indonesia Trading Company (ITC) has proposed operating two Airbus Defence & Space A400M tactical transports to help balance domestic trade in Indonesia. On its website, the Indonesian air force states that it would be willing to provide crews to support such a venture. The remarks came after a meeting between air force chief of staff Yuyu Sutisna and president director of ITC, Agus Andiyani.
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03/12/2018
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has fielded a squadron of new Pakistan Aeronautical Complex JF-17 “Thunder” combat aircraft, according to a recent report by the Associated Press of Pakistan. The multi-role fighter jets are stationed at Pakistan’s Samungli Base near Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan.
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03/12/2018
The Sukhoi Su-27 “Flanker” was never planned to exported when it was originally developed, unlike its lighter cousin, the MiG-29. However, ever since being approved for export it has been one of the most popular fighter exports in the Asian region. The first customer for the Su-27 was China, which secured a procurement deal while the Soviet Union still existed. But how did Beijing accomplish this?
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03/12/2018
The Pakistan Air Force inaugurated a new JF-17 fighter squadron in Quetta last month. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) stood up a new fighter squadron composed of Aeronautical Complex/Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (PAC/CAC) JF-17 “Thunder” multirole fighter jets in Quetta, Balochistan last month, according to local media reports.
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03/12/2018
Airbus Helicopters announced that it received a $273 million contract from the US Army to deliver 35 more UH-72A Lakotas. The helicopters will be used as training aircraft, and will be split between the initial entry rotary wing mission at Fort Rucker, Alabama, which will receive 17 aircraft, and the observer and controller mission at the Army’s combat training centres, which will receive 18 aircraft.
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03/11/2018
Saudi Arabia could be set to acquire a follow-on batch of 48 Eurofighter Typhoons, pending the conclusion of government-to-government discussions with the UK disclosed on 9 March.
"The UK government has signed a memorandum of intent with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to aim to finalise discussions for the purchase of 48 Typhoon aircraft," BAE says. The Royal Saudi Air Force already has acquired 72 of the European type.
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03/08/2018
The head of the Norway’s main military intelligence arm says his agency has watched as Russian military aircraft flew a number of simulated attacks on key military installations in his country and NATO warships in the region. The incidents offer yet more evidence that the Kremlin is taking an increasingly aggressive stance toward the Western alliance and that it is looking for ways harass it and its other European partners that don’t run the risk setting off an actual conflict.
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03/08/2018
The Joint Program Office (JPO) estimates that continued development of the F-35 to deal with evolving threats and changing warfighting environments will cost the U.S. government more than $1 billion a year between 2018 and 2024. The figure came to light during testimony from Vice Admiral Mathias Winter to the U.S. House Armed Services Committee on 7 March.
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03/08/2018
Airbus is to dramatically slow its final assembly rate for the A400M tactical transport from a high of 19 achieved in 2017 to only eight per year from 2020, the company confirms. "Production will be adjusted to eight units per year as of 2020, following production of 15 A400Ms in 2018 and 11 units in 2019," Airbus says.
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03/07/2018
A Russian military transport plane crashed in Syria on Tuesday killing all 39 people on board, Russian officials said, an incident that sharply raised the death toll from the Kremlin’s intervention in the Syrian war. President Vladimir Putin, who is running for re-election later this month, declared in December that the Russian mission in Syria was largely completed, but casualties continue to mount.
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03/07/2018
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has officially denied reports that it has requested a classified briefing by U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin on the capabilities of its fifth-generation stealth multi-role F-35A Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II, the aircraft’s conventional takeoff and landing version.
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03/07/2018
Germany is struggling to maintain the operational readiness of its military aircraft inventory, as obsolescence issues and challenges around the introduction of new platforms combine to diminish front-line availability.
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03/07/2018
Boeing is to advance a planned service-life extension programme for the US Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, with the company having been contracted to perform work on an initial four aircraft.
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03/07/2018
Jordan and Qatar have been confirmed as new customers for United Technologies Aerospace Systems' (UTAS) DB-110 tactical reconnaissance pod, under deals worth a combined $51.2 million. Detailed by the US Department of Defense on 5 March, the awards have been made via an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract signed earlier this year by the US Air Force.
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03/06/2018
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter may have been the subject of more postulation than any other military aircraft in history. After years of cost overruns, delays, and issues, the fighter platform that America has long touted as the most advanced on the planet is finally nearing a stage when its comparisons to tried and true combat aircraft can leave the drawing board and start being based on legitimate side by side comparisons.
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03/06/2018
Since 1984, Lockheed Martin, a Maryland-based aerospace and defense company, has provided modification, maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for both military and civil aircraft from its 16-hangar facility at the S.C. Technology and Aviation Center in southern Greenville County. Now the company’s local operation is gearing up for another busy year.
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03/06/2018
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a legendary aircraft?—?an icon of the Vietnam War and the archetype of the third-generation jet fighter designs that entered service in the 1960s. More than 5,000 of these heavy supersonic fighters were built, and hundreds continue to serve and even see combat in several air forces today.
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03/06/2018
China on Monday announced the largest increase in three years to its defense budget, saying it would spend 8.1 percent more than the previous year as the country continues a push to modernize its military and expand its air and naval capabilities.
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03/06/2018
Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) and Boeing have inaugurated an assembly line in Hyderabad that will be the exclusive source of future AH-64 Apache fuselages. Under the Tata Boeing Aerospace (TBAL) joint venture, the fuselage sections will be produced at TASL’s production facility on the outskirts of Hyderabad, says Boeing in a statement. The joint venture was set up in 2015, and the line will start producing fuselage sections in 2018.
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03/05/2018
The JAS-39 Gripen is the Swedish defense industry’s largest export, financially. The Gripen has seen considerable success replacing aging fighters in former Warsaw Pact countries, and has also seen sales in Africa, the Americas and Asia. But why is the Gripen successful on the export market? How does it stack up against other NATO products and Soviet jets?
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03/05/2018
Workers on the Typhoon line at Warton in Lancashire were given the news they had long dreaded last October. Faced with dwindling orders, BAE Systems was slowing down production of the fighter jet to a trickle. About 750 jobs would be cut at Warton and its sister plant Samlesbury, the defence giant said, part of 1,400 job losses across its military air business. The production rate is expected to drop to 11 Typhoons a year — down from the previous rate of 20.
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03/05/2018
Reserve airmen of the 920th Rescue Wing are doing their part to keep aircraft here up to snuff, as they await the arrival of a new combat rescue helicopter and HC-130 recovery planes. And while leaders at the base are craving more modern planes, they're still years away from formal delivery. For the most active Reserve unit -- and the only Reserve rescue wing in the Air Force - officials said they need and want the best to be ready for the missions they are already tasked to do.
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03/05/2018
Some time in the next several weeks or months, the Lockheed Martin F-35 programme will pass a historic milestone. The system development and demonstration phase that began 17 years ago appears poised – barring any unforeseen showstoppers – to conclude by the end of summer. The aircraft, engine, simulators and logistics system will shift from development to operational status, albeit six years behind schedule.
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03/02/2018
Russia's surprise deployment of Sukhoi Su-57s to a base inside Syria has positioned its new stealth fighter within the same region of operations as the Israeli air force's Lockheed Martin F-35I. Video footage appearing to show Su-57s arriving in Syria was confirmed by pictures captured by an Israeli imaging satellite. The new type's deployment marks the peak of Moscow's direct intervention so far in Syria's long-running civil war.
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03/02/2018
With Lockheed Martin having marked the latest milestone in its C-130J “Super Hercules” programme on 9 February – the delivery of its 400th example – we use Flight Fleets Analyzer data to detail the type’s sales performance so far.
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03/02/2018
US military officials have launched a new affordability initiative for the Lockheed Martin F-35 programme that targets labour costs and manufacturing efficiency, says Vice Adm Mat Winter, the F-35 programme executive officer.
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03/01/2018
On Feb. 21, 2018, the Iraqi government announced that the Iraqi air force had reopened its academy at Balad air base. U.S. Central Command announced that the Coalition Aviation Advisory and Training Team will help establish standardized training programs. Forty cadets will start their coursework in March 2018.
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03/01/2018
Saab is poised to start ground-test activities with its first GlobalEye surveillance aircraft, having unveiled the heavily-adapted Bombardier Global 6000 for launch customer the United Arab Emirates. Rolled out at the Swedish company's Linköping site on 23 February, the modified business jet is the first of three such "swing-role" platforms ordered by the Gulf nation since November 2015.
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02/28/2018
The basic training plane for Air Force pilots, the propeller-driven T-6 Texan, is returning to flight almost one month after being grounded after a series of unexplained physiological events (what we used to call suspected hypoxia incidents). As is the case with most such groundings, the service was very careful to call these “multiple unexplained physiological events.” A statement notes the incidents “differed from classic hypoxia, which is caused by oxygen deprivation.”
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02/28/2018
By cancelling the single engine fighter jet procurement and expanding it to include twin engine fighters, the government is trying to find a different result by trying the same thing as it was done in the previous MMRCA tender which it scrapped in 2015. The reason apparently is due to the furore created over the Rafale deal and the government does not want allegations later as there were only two contenders for the single engine jet, Lockheed Martin F-16 and SAAB Gripen.
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02/27/2018
IT’s a next generation combat jet of many names. It was the PAK FA. It was the T-50. Now it’s the Su-57. It’s Russia’s answer to the United States’ cutting-edge F-22 “Raptor” stealth fighter. Now, more than 15 years after the F-22 entered service, Russia is on the brink of pitting the best its military aviation industry can offer against its rival in Syria. F-22 versus Su-57: It’s the ultimate face-off between East and West.
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02/27/2018
Russia’s deputy defense minister claimed Thursday that Moscow has tested over 600 new weapons and other military equipment in Syria since intervening in the conflict in 2015. “The chance to test in real combat can’t be overestimated,” Yuri Borisov asserted, adding that “customers have started queuing up for the arms that have proven themselves in [battle].”
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02/27/2018
Since the Syrian civil war erupted nearly seven years ago, perhaps the most dramatic regional diplomatic development has been the steady reemergence of Russia as a major player in the convoluted world of Middle East politics. As a reward for its intervention in Syria, Russia has received 49-year leases on an airbase and port facility there.
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02/27/2018
For more than 60 years, the U.S. Navy has relied on steam power to catapult planes off the decks of aircraft carriers, leaving behind a telltale trail of steam rising from the track. A new generation of carriers will rely on something far more technologically complex: an electromagnetic system that could potentially launch more aircraft off the deck and at a faster rate than traditional steam methods.
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02/27/2018
The US Air Force has no firm plans to replace a wide area surveillance capability if Congress later this year approves a proposal to retire the Northrop Grumman E-8C JSTARS in 2025, the head of the US Air Force’s Air Combat Command says.
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02/26/2018
An internal military investigation into the downing of an Israeli F-16 jet by a Syrian anti-aircraft missile on February 10 has shown that the aircraft’s crew did not respond properly to the threat and made a “professional error.” However, the probe also found that the pilot and navigator were right to abandon the warplane after it was hit.
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02/25/2018
Our initial analysis has been outright confirmed and at least two Russian Su-57s have been forward-deployed to Khmeimim Air Base in western Syria. Satellite imagery dated February 23rd, 2018 shows two of the aircraft parked on the base's tightly packed fixed-wing tactical aircraft ramp.
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02/24/2018
With the Indian Navy’s first two carriers INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant deploying Russian built MiG-29K multirole fighters from their decks India has sought a new source of fighters for its third and largest carrier – INS Vishal. While the Vikramaditya, a heavily modified former Soviet Kiev class carrier, is currently in service and the Vikrant, the country’s first domestically built carrier, is in its late development stages, the INS Vishal remains in the mid-design stage and has yet to see
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02/24/2018
Russia has sent its most advanced fighter jet to Syria, a US military official tells CNN. It's a deployment that could potentially increase the level of danger to US forces operating inside the country. The Su-57 is Moscow's most sophisticated military jet and comes equipped with stealth capability. Russia's move comes despite a promise from President Vladimir Putin to scale back Russia's military commitment in the country.
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02/24/2018
A Qatari order for the F-15 Advanced Eagle will introduce a new structural upgrade for the wing that could be offered as a service life extension option for the US Air Force’s F-15Cs and for the fleets of other international customers, a top Boeing manager says.
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02/24/2018
Twenty years ago, Lockheed Martin made its first delivery of a C-130J to launch operator the UK Royal Air Force, following a troubled development and testing programme which was very much at odds with its chosen moniker: “Super Hercules”.
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02/24/2018
Saab has unveiled its first GlobalEye surveillance aircraft, revealing the extensively modified Bombardier Global 6000 business jet in the livery of launch customer the United Arab Emirates air force.
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02/23/2018
The Canadian government has announced that five bidders — Boeing, Dassault, Eurofighter, Lockheed Martin and Saab — are eligible to compete for a long sought-after contract to replace the country’s 88 CF-18 fighters.
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02/23/2018
The UK Ministry of Defence will publish a new combat air strategy document later this year, which defence secretary Gavin Williamson says will “bring together the best of British engineering, skill and design, and deliver a compelling vision for the future of air power".
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02/22/2018
Russia appears to have sent two of its most modern stealth fighter jets to Syria. Footage circulating out of Syria today appears to show two of the distinctive aircraft arriving at Russia’s Khmeimim air force base on the shores of the Mediterranean. As they came in to land, a Su-35 fighter is seen to swoop past protectively. The unverified footage has interesting implications, if true.
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02/22/2018
Growing up in a small town named Deolond near Rewa in Madhya Pradesh, Avani Chaturvedi never in her wildest dreams imagined she would one day become the first-ever Indian woman to break the sound barrier with resounding sonic booms in a supersonic fighter all alone.
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02/22/2018
Newly-formed Bronco Combat Systems on 21 February launched the Bronco II light attack aircraft for the US military market, leveraging the South African-designed AHRLAC platform with a US-based mission systems integrator named Fulcrum Concepts.
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02/21/2018
Sikorsky has introduced the first HH-60W combat rescue helicopter (CRH) into final assembly ahead of a scheduled first flight by the end of this year. The derivative of the UH-60M is the first of a planned 112-aircraft production programme worth $8.12 billion to replace the aging fleet charged with rescuing downed US Air Force pilots.
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02/21/2018
The Royal Netherlands Air Force is cleared by the US State Department to buy 28 remanufactured Boeing AH-64E helicopters worth a total of $1.19 billion, the US government announced on 20 February.
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02/21/2018
Saab remains on track to deliver the first series production examples of its Gripen E in the third quarter of next year, and is also hopeful of concluding delayed sales of new-build C/D-model examples during 2018.
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02/21/2018
Norway has completed the first in-country test of a braking parachute on a Lockheed Martin F-35A, with the trial taking place on 16 February at Ørland air base. "Our combat aircraft must be able to land during extreme Norwegian winter conditions, and Norway, with experience in this, will help develop and test the F-35 braking parachute," says Norway's F-35 programme director, Gen Morten Klever.
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02/20/2018
The risks of a "miscalculation" and armed conflict have risen in the disputed South China Sea with a militarily stronger China now able to challenge the United States, which used to be the dominant power in the strategic waterway, the Philippine envoy to Beijing said Monday.
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02/20/2018
Generally the acreage and borders in question are based on the land as nature intended it to be. But what if your strategic interests required creating land out of thin air, or in this case, deep blue ocean? Enter the People’s Republic of China and their man-made islands in the Spratly island chain, in the hotly disputed South China Sea.
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02/20/2018
In May of last year, the German air force asked to be briefed on the American-made F-35, the stealthy, multi-mission, 5th-generation aircraft. Then, in November, Lt. General Karl Müllner, the Luftwaffe chief of staff, indicated his service’s preference for replacing the Tornado jets with the F-35 because of its low-observable signature and its ability to identify and strike distant targets.
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02/20/2018
In a bizarre turn of events, the Philippines has cancelled a contract for 16 Bell Helicopter 412EPIs for its air force just days after revealing the deal at the Singapore air show. The cancellation was ordered by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte after the Canadian government – which had backed the deal for the Montreal-built aircraft – ordered a review into the acquisition.
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02/18/2018
Neither country will benefit from a new Middle East conflict, but unless they cease military clashes, such as those inside Syria last weekend, hopes of peace remain fragile. Tensions between Israel and Iran have hit a new high following last weekend’s unprecedented military clashes inside Syria. The fighting has intensified fears that the Middle East is heading for all-out war. But such alarming predictions assume both protagonists standing toe-to-toe, actuallywant to fight. Is this reallytrue?
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02/18/2018
The Finnish government is set to acquire 64 new fighter jets for its air force. “It’s important that our armed forces have the equipment that they need to fulfill all of their fundamental roles,” said Niinistö. Niinistö has described Russia’s more unpredictable behavior in the greater Baltic Sea region, particularly in the areas of political influencing methods and security policies, as the “new normal”.
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02/18/2018
Airbus foresees a charge worth €1.3 billion ($1.6 billion) associated with the A400M programme for 2018, after the manufacturer reached a tentative agreement with its launch customers to revise their contracts for the tactical transport.
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02/18/2018
Rolls-Royce believes that advanced engines will be the single most important design factor for future fighter aircraft. Conrad Banks is R-R’s chief engineer for defence future programmes. In his 30-year career he has worked on projects such the Pegasus for the BAE Systems Harrier and the EJ200 for the Eurofighter Typhoon. Now his role is to look towards the future.
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02/18/2018
A sequence of events that began with the shooting down of an Iranian copy of the Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel stealth unmanned air vehicle led to an Israeli air force Lockheed F-16I being shot down, and a massive aerial attack being launched against at least a dozen targets inside Syria.
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02/14/2018
BAE Systems will provide Malaysia a United Kingdom-backed financing deal if it decides to replace its fleet of combat jets with the Eurofighter Typhoon, senior company officials said.
Malaysia has for several years been weighing France’s Rafale jet and the Eurofighter Typhoon, built by a European consortium including Britain’s BAE, as it looks to buy up to 18 jets to replace its Russian MiG-29s - most of which are grounded.
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02/14/2018
Boeing has joined a team of suppliers supporting General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ bid to win the US Navy’s MQ-25 Stingray programme even as it continues to promote a clean-sheet alternative design.
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02/13/2018
Chinese state media announced on Friday that the Chengdu J-20 stealth jet had officially entered into service as a combat-ready platform — but inside sources say it's a long way from fighting fit and has an embarrassing flaw. Citing military sources with knowledge of the J-20's development, the South China Morning Post reported that the jets that entered service didn't feature the engines China custom-built for the platform but used older ones instead.
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02/13/2018
The US Air Force has confirmed plans to re-engine the Boeing B-52H fleet and retire the Northrop Grumman B-2 and the Rockwell B-1 as Northrop’s next-generation B-21 stealth bomber ramps up deliveries.
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02/13/2018
The US Air Force’s has decided to retire its primary aerial ground surveillance platform in the mid-2020s and replace it with a network of existing and new sensors linked to a ground-based command and control system.
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02/12/2018
Months after it announced a joint venture with the Adani Group, Swedish defence giant Saab has said it plans to partner with a few other Indian entities for manufacturing a broad portfolio of products in view of the improving business climate in India. Mats Palmberg, Vice President of Saab's International Partnerships, said the company was also bringing its global partners to India to expand on its product range.
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02/12/2018
The drone that Israel said it shot down this weekend appeared to have been developed by Iran from technology obtained when it captured a U.S. stealth aircraft in 2011, according to aviation experts and Israeli officials. Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a spokesman for Israel’s military, and Yuval Steinitz, a minister in Israel’s security cabinet, said the craft was a copy of a U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel spy drone, which Iran claims to have reverse-engineered.
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02/10/2018
Israel’s army said it had launched a “large-scale attack” inside Syria on Saturday after one of its jets was downed under Syrian antiaircraft fire, in a series of cross-border incidents that threatened to destabilize the volatile region between the two countries. Israel says the situation started with an Iranian drone crossing into its territory from Syria at around 4:30 a.m. It was shot down by an Israeli attack helicopter.
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02/10/2018
An Israeli F-16 fighter jet has crashed amid Syrian anti-aircraft fire after an offensive against Iranian targets in Syria, the Israeli military says. The two pilots parachuted to safety before the crash in northern Israel. It is believed to be the first time Israel has lost a jet in the Syrian conflict. Israel was carrying out strikes after the launch of an Iranian drone into Israel. The drone was shot down.
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02/10/2018
Donning a helmet mounted display (HMD) or night vision goggles (NVGs) has been a far from seamless issue for American fighter pilots since the widespread introduction of the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) well over a decade ago. Now that is changing via a fairly novel piece of technology that leverages existing cockpit HMD infrastructure and NVGs called the "Digital Eye Piece."
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02/10/2018
The US Air Force has commissioned Boeing to produce a new batch of GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs), the 13,600kg (30,000lb) mega-conventional bombs used for burrowing deep inside fortified bunkers and detonating.
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02/10/2018
The US Air Force has released draft acquisition documents showing plans to buy up to 116 new wing sets for the Fairchild Republic A-10 fleet that call for reviving production after March 2019 with a new contractor.
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02/10/2018
France has unveiled an ambitious and wide-ranging military modernisation programme that includes the acquisition of additional Dassault Rafale fighters, an all-new fleet of light helicopters and additional aerial refuelling tankers. Still to be ratified by lawmakers, the military spending plan, or LPM, covers the period 2019-2025.
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02/10/2018
Lockheed Martin has tapped BAE Systems to upgrade heads-up displays (HUD) for the United Arab Emirates F-16 Block 60 fighters. The work will see the aircraft's existing cathode ray tube projector with a digital projector, says BAE in a statement.
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02/08/2018
Russian media have lauded a pilot killed in Syria as a hero, saying he detonated his grenade to avoid being captured by jihadists who had shot his plane out of the sky. Roman Filipov's reported last words were: "Here's for the guys." His Sukhoi-25 ground-attack aircraft was shot down over rebel-held Idlib province. He survived the attack and ejected, but died in a ground fight.
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02/08/2018
A Syrian military statement said its air defence systems blocked most of the missiles, but gave no further details. A monitor said ammunition depots in Jamraya were hit. It is the location of a scientific facility where the West suspects chemical weapons are produced. Israel, which has acknowledged carrying out at least 100 clandestine strikes in Syria since 2011, declined to comment.
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02/08/2018
Lockheed Martin is promoting infrared search and track (IRST) to help upgrade the sensor capabilities of the region’s fighter fleets. Unlike radar, IRST is a passive sensor. It detects targets by sensing their IR signatures. This eliminates the need for an aircraft to give away its position through the transmission of radar waves.
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02/08/2018
The head of Lockheed Martin’s aeronautics division has dismissed recent media reports that it has developed the SR-72, a successor to the iconic SR-71 Black Bird. “I can tell you unequivocally that it has not been built,” says Orlando Carvalho, executive vice-president of aeronautics at Lockheed Martin.
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02/07/2018
Lockheed Martin’s aeronautics head believes a new software update regime for the F-35 fighter will greatly improve efficiency, and also says that sustainment for the type is improving. The plan will see smaller updates applied more frequently, as opposed to sweeping, all-inclusive updates applied every few years. Lockheed says “our plan is to move ahead with it for the F-35 as part of follow-on modernisation.”
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02/07/2018
The US Air Force may set a temporary altitude restriction to lift a grounding order on the Beechcraft T-6A Texan II after the fleet of primary trainers became the latest military aircraft type to cause pilots to experience a rash of hypoxia-like symptoms, a top US Air Force official informed Congress on 6 February.
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02/07/2018
Boeing has made several updates about its P-8 Poseidon programme, as it pursues further refinements for the platform. Speaking to media during a programme update briefing at the Singapore air show, Matt Carreon, head of global sales and marketing for Boeing Defence, Space and Security, listed over four updates that the manufacturer will implement on the P-8.
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02/07/2018
A Korea Aerospace Industries T-50B aircraft from the Black Eagles display team crashed while taking off from Changi airport’s runway 1. The crash occurred at 13:24 local time when the jet “skidded and crashed into the grass verge at the side of runway 1 and caught fire,” says the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore in a statement.
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02/06/2018
The Saab JAS-39 C/D Gripen fighter is appearing for the first time at the Singapore air show. The two aircraft are operated by the Royal Thai Air Force, and will appear both on the static line and aerial display.
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02/06/2018
Sikorsky sees regional opportunities for its Armed Black Hawk initiative, which turns its iconic UH-60/S-70 platform into a hard-hitting helicopter gunship. At a briefing at the American Chamber of Commerce, chief engineer for the S-70 programme Joe Palumbo said the system can come with newly delivered rotorcraft, or be retrofitted. This is particularly useful for operators who lack the resources to operate dedicated gunships such as the Boeing AH-64 Apache or Bell Helicopter AH-1Z Viper.
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02/06/2018
Aviation services firm SkyTech has signed a letter of intent for up to six Embraer KC-390 tactical transport aircraft. “The aircraft are earmarked for multiple defense projects and both companies have also agreed on a potential strategic collaboration to jointly explore new business opportunities in training and services,” says Embraer.
(Read More...)
02/06/2018
Boeing continues to press forward with sales opportunities in the Asia-Pacific, both for combat and support aircraft. Speaking at a media roundtable at the company's office, Gene Cunningham, vice president of Boeing Defense, Space & Security listed a number of opportunities in which the company is engaged.
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02/05/2018
South Korea's military has completed the deployment of an advanced nighttime targeting system for its fighter aircraft, the country's arms agency said Monday. It would greatly improve the precision strike capability of KF-16s, a key combat element of the Air Force, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
(Read More...)
02/05/2018
Even as the skies are becoming more crowded with airplanes and drones, the creaky U.S. air traffic control system is struggling to keep up. Hence the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has come up with a plan that requires aircraft to broadcast their positions to avoid mid-air collisions.
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02/05/2018
Harris Corporation is promoting its electronic warfare (EW) systems to the region’s air forces, with a particularly focus on the Lockheed Martin F-16 fleet. The company sees three main areas of EW focus among the region’s countries: mission success in contested domains, marine awareness in congested seas, and battlefield communications.
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02/05/2018
Singapore possesses Southeast Asia’s most powerful air force, but maintaining its edge in an increasingly volatile region requires constant assessment of new technologies and ideas. In an interview with FlightGlobal, Chief of the Republic of Singapore Air Force Major-General Mervyn Tan discussed future plans and emerging capabilities, on the year of the RSAF’s fiftieth anniversary.
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02/04/2018
Syria’s former al-Qaeda affiliate claimed responsibility Saturday for the downing of a Russian warplane in northern Syria, apparently using a surface-to-air missile to target the aircraft.
The pilot was killed after he ejected and exchanged gunfire with militants on the ground, the Russian Defense Ministry and a monitoring group said.
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02/04/2018
The US Air Force has excluded the Textron AirLand Scorpion light-attack aircraft from the next phase of its OA-X experiment, leaving Textron Aviation's Beechcraft AT-6 Wolverine and the Sierra Nevada/Embraer A-29 Super Tucano as the finalists for a potential follow-on acquisition deal.
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02/04/2018
Norway has concluded that its on-order fleet of NH Industries NH90 naval helicopters will not deliver sufficient flight hours to perform the roles originally intended for the 11t-class rotorcraft and recommends that all are converted to the anti-submarine warfare mission.
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02/04/2018
The French army has begun early definition work with Airbus Helicopters on the H160Ms it will obtain as part of a tri-service procurement.Paris in March 2017 selected the developmental H160M to form the basis of its hélicoptère interarmées léger (HIL) programme, splitting 160-190 rotorcraft between the air force, army and navy to replace a sizeable fleet of aged types.
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02/02/2018
The U.S. military is worryingly dependent on GPS. Our global positioning satellites tell planes where they are, provide targeting info for smart weapons, and support communication and navigation systems. But in a war with a tech-advanced adversary—think China, Russia, or Iran—GPS could become a big liability because it could be jammed, spoofed, or outright destroyed.
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02/02/2018
A military aircraft crash in Guizhou this week killed at least a dozen crew members and exposed the “fatal gap” between the air force’s ambitions and its technology, the South China Morning Post has learned. Military sources say the crash has severely affected air force morale. The People’s Liberation Army Air Force has confirmed that an aircraft crashed in the southwestern province during a training exercise on Monday.
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02/02/2018
The Russian Ministry of Defense has mocked the crews of American spy planes as overly cautious and suggested the United States either stop such missions near its borders or agree to a set of rules governing those flight. The official statement comes after the U.S. Navy released half a dozen videos showing one of Russia’s Su-27 Flanker series fighter jets flying dangerously close to an EP-3E Aries II intelligence aircraft in international air space over the Black Sea.
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02/02/2018
India’s ministry of defence has issued a fresh request for information for six mid-air refueling tankers, following two abortive earlier attempts. This time the requirement specifies that the tanker aircraft be powered by two turbofan engines, ruling out the Ilyushin IL-78.
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02/01/2018
India celebrated Republic Day by parading troops and locally made weapons in front of New Delhi's colonial-era sandstone buildings and past 10 Southeast Asian heads of state -- all potential buyers.
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02/01/2018
NH Industries (NHI) is hopeful that it can finally secure a firm order from Qatar this year for both variants of its NH90 helicopter. Doha four years ago signed a tentative agreement with the three-way consortium for 22 examples of the 11t-class rotorcraft: 12 TTH troop transports and 10 NFH maritime helicopters.
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02/01/2018
Germany has confirmed that its future fleet of heavy-lift helicopters will require in-flight refuelling capability. Berlin in late 2017 gave the go-ahead for its BAAINBw procurement agency to begin the acquisition of around 60 helicopters to replace an existing fleet of 70 elderly Sikorsky CH-53G/GA/GS transports operated by the German air force.
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02/01/2018
Initial work is under way to replace the British Army's active fleet of 22 elderly Aérospatiale Gazelle AH1 helicopters, as the venerable type nears retirement. "We do have plans to replace the Gazelle," says Air Cdre Al Smith, capability air manoeuvre at the UK's Joint Helicopter Command. "It hinges on operational outputs so the customer gets the same or better product," he adds, noting: "I think we can probably do better than we do today."
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01/31/2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the performance of the Russian military and its hardware during the Kremlin’s campaign in Syria, but stressed that Moscow has to fix problems that were brought to light during those operations. “The rout of the well-equipped terrorist groups in Syria demonstrated the power of our Army and Navy, and the course of the operation demonstrated the tradition of reliability and effectiveness of Russian weapons,” Putin said in a speech.
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01/31/2018
Anyone who's tried to compare one piece of kit—ships, aircraft, weaponry of various types—to another will testify to how hard this chore is. Ranking aircraft carriers is no exception. Consulting the pages of Jane's Fighting Ships or Combat Fleets of the World sheds some light on the problem. For instance, a flattop whose innards house a nuclear propulsion plant boasts virtually unlimited cruising range, whereas a carrier powered by fossil fuels is tethered to its fuel source.
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01/31/2018
According to a report in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the aircraft went down in Zhengchang Town, Suiyang county, and was later confirmed by PLA on Chinese social media website, Weiko. "In the afternoon of January 29, an aircraft from the Air Force crashed during flight training in Guizhou province. Currently, search and rescue efforts are underway."
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01/30/2018
Blue skies and snowy mountains welcomed the first operational Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-35A Lightning II during an arrival ceremony at Misawa Air Base, Jan. 26. In the upcoming Japanese fiscal year, nine more aircraft will join this one to incept the first fifth-generation fighter squadron as part of the JASDF’s 3rd Air Wing.
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01/30/2018
A Russian Su-27 jet performed an unsafe intercept of a US Navy surveillance plane while it was flying in international airspace over the Black Sea Monday, three defense officials told CNN. The American pilots reported that the Russian jet came within 5 feet of the US plane, according to two of the officials.
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01/30/2018
Russia's United Aircraft has flown the first remanufactured Tupolev Tu-160, with the supersonic aircraft performing a short flight from Kazan on 25 January. Watched by a crowd of VIPs including Russian president Vladimir Putin, the 7min sortie was performed at an altitude of 300m, to check the aircraft's handling characteristics.
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01/30/2018
Both crew members of a Royal Australian Air Force Boeing EA-18G Growler escaped serious injury when their aircraft caught fire at Nellis AFB, Nevada on 27 January. Confirming the incident via a Twitter post, Australian defence minister Marise Payne said it had occurred "on the runway during take-off," and added: "All personnel are safe, and an inquiry has commenced."
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01/28/2018
The Air Force is preparing to launch a massive combat training exercise, and indications have emerged that GPS jamming could affect large swathes of the western US during the maneuvers. Red Flag 18-1, as the exercise is officially designated, began on Friday and runs through February 16 at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, where up to 160 planes will take off daily.
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01/28/2018
New Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bomber will strengthen Russia’s nuclear triad, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after watching the aircraft perform a flight demonstration in the city of Kazan. "It is a serious step to advance the development of the high-tech industry and strengthen the country’s defense capabilities, because it is one of the elements of our nuclear triad," Putin said while talking to workers at Kazan’s Gorbunov Aircraft Plant.
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01/28/2018
An Australian air force plane has caught fire during exercises at an American military base in Nevada. A Defence spokesman said the incident involved an RAAF EA-18G Growler fighter jet at Nellis Air Force Base, near Las Vegas.
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01/26/2018
An appellate judge has cleared the US Army to buy a new batch of UH-72As from Airbus, ending a three-year-long battle launched by Leonardo over a decision to award the contract without a competition.
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01/26/2018
A Leonardo-operated facility in Italy has delivered the first F-35B assembled outside of Lockheed Martin’s main fighter plant in Fort Worth, Texas, the US manufacturer announced on 25 January.
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01/26/2018
The US Air Force plans to re-open a contract to produce new wings for the Fairchild Republic A-10 and preserve at least some of the three squadrons of fighters now facing early retirement in the absence of the structural upgrade, a top commander says.
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01/26/2018
The upcoming Singapore air show and its attendant events will focus on innovation and the future of the industry. At a media briefing prior to the show, the head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), Kevin Shum, shared a conceptual video of the industry's future.
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01/24/2018
Myanmar is to obtain six Sukhoi Su-30 fighters under a deal signed during a visit by Russia's defence minister to the Southeast Asian nation. A report by Russia's TASS news agency quotes deputy defence minister Lt. Gen. Alexander Fomin as saying that the aircraft will be the main fighter aircraft of the Myanmar air force.
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01/24/2018
While flying the F-16 is hard to beat, I truly enjoy interacting with young kids and hope to show them that if they work hard they can find success in their pursuits. I was fortunate growing up with several good role models and people that helped guide me to the path that I am on today. I view my opportunity to be a part of the Viper demo team as a means of giving back and a chance at hopefully inspiring the next generation.
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01/24/2018
Bell Helicopter is continuing through the preliminary design review stage of its V-247 Vigilant unmanned tiltrotor, as it waits for its intended US Marine Corps customer to deliver precise requirements for the programme.
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01/24/2018
Boeing has yet to decide whether to compete for a contract worth $12-14.5 billion to replace Canada’s tactical fighter fleet. The airframer once had the deal in its pocket before Ottawa terminated plans to buy the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet after Boeing filed a trade complaint against Bombardier last May.
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01/23/2018
Greece should later this year complete the administrative work related to its planned acquisition of 70 Bell Helicopter OH-58D Kiowa Warrior armed scouts formerly operated by the US Army. To be sourced via the US military's excess defense articles (EDA) programme, the reconnaissance helicopters, plus related weapons and other equipment, should be delivered from later this year. Initial operational capability with the type is expected during 2019.
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01/23/2018
Brazil has exercised a contract option that will lead to it operating a three-strong fleet of Airbus Defence & Space C295 search and rescue (SAR) aircraft by 2020.
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01/22/2018
The US State Department has approved a possible foreign military sale of 34 Lockheed Martin F-35As to Belgium worth an estimated $6.53 billion, the agency announced this week. Lockheed still needs Congressional approval, but the State Department blessing moves Lockheed once step closer in its bid to replace Belgium’s aging fleet of 59 F-16A/Bs.
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01/22/2018
The US Defense Department’s 2018 National Defense Strategy, the Pentagon policy that will drive its budget priorities for the next five years, pivoted away from counter-insurgency operations and toward more sophisticated security threats, such as China and Russia.
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01/19/2018
Combat aircraft are among the most important single weapons systems in any country’s arsenal. They are not only the most lethal, but also the most flexible – and most visible – form of military power.
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01/19/2018
The Defense Department and Federal Aviation Administration have yet to resolve security risks to military aircraft posed by a new tracking system required to be implemented in less than two years, according to a government audit released Thursday.
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01/19/2018
Development and delivery of the US Air Force’s B-21 stealth bomber could stall if Congress passes yet another short term funding bill that would freeze the Pentagon’s spending limit at previous fiscal year levels, a senior USAF official warns.
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01/19/2018
Jakarta could finalise its order for 11 Sukhoi Su-35 fighters in the coming months. In an interview with Indoneisan television, the nation's new air force chief of staff Yuyu Sutisna says that concluding the long-awaited acquisition is "something on our plate" and could be formalised in the coming months. In August 2017, Jakarta confirmed that it will buy 11 Sukhoi Su-35 fighter aircraft for $1.14 billion, with a major component of the deal involving agricultural commodities.
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01/18/2018
British businesses have said playing a vital role in the production of the F-35 stealth fighter jet has had a positive impact on their companies. With more than 3,000 of the cutting-edge warplanes set to be produced over the coming decades, 15% of each aircraft will be UK made.
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01/18/2018
When the US abruptly cuts off military supplies to its allies for political or other reasons, the reaction has been predictable: it drive these countries into the arms of the Chinese, the Russians and Western European weapons suppliers.
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01/18/2018
Putin’s diplomats claimed British military forces used the incident in the skies 35 miles from UK airspace as a “PR exercise”. RAF Typhoons were scrambled to intercept two TU-160 aircraft, which were then pursued by the fighters until they headed back to Russia. The Ministry of Defence released footage of the two British jets flying alongside the Russian bombers – known as Blackjacks by NATO.
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01/18/2018
Northrop Grumman will prepare to modify the MQ-4C Triton unmanned air system with an emerging technology that can be used to help the maritime surveillance aircraft sense and avoid other objects in flight.
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01/18/2018
The US Air Force is letting its close air support workhorse die a slow death by shelving plans to replace the remaining wings on the rest of its Fairchild-Republic A-10C fleet, according to a government watchdog group.
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01/18/2018
Airbus Defence & Space delivered its first A400M of the new year on 12 January, taking its total output of Atlas tactical transports to 56 units so far. Its most recent delivery was the German air force's 15th A400M – service registration 54+16 (MSN64) – from a total commitment for 53 of the four-engined type.
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01/17/2018
Large-deck, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are the signature expression of American military power. No other combat system available to U.S. warfighters comes close to delivering so much offensive punch for months at a time without requiring land bases near the action. As a result, the ten carriers in the current fleet are in continuous demand from regional commanders - so much so that extended overseas combat tours are becoming the norm.
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01/17/2018
Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) aircraft took off from Royal Air Force (RAF) base Lossiemouth in north east Scotland, without confirming the exact number of Typhoons involved.
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01/17/2018
American Corporation Boeing revealed the concept of strike and reconnaissance unmanned aircraft during the conference of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SciTech 2018, Naked Science reported.
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01/15/2018
Less than two years after flying its first combat mission, the Afghan Air Force’s A-29 Super Tucano aircraft are playing a key role in supporting Afghan soldiers on the ground. “When they show up overhead, the Afghan National Army have the confidence to continue attacking on ground,” the deputy commander for Train, Advise and Assist Command-South said in a new Defense Department Inspector General report.
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01/15/2018
One of the Chinese military’s most recent cutting-edge acquisitions that is expected to be the backbone of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) for the next 20 years, the Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter aircraft, has started its operational role about two weeks ago in the People’s Liberation Army Air Force by training for battles that are India-centric amid the realisation that control of the skies will be pivotal in case of a possible India-China conflict.
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01/15/2018
Dassault ended last year with a firm order backlog for 101 Rafales, after delivering nine of the type during 2017. In a financial overview released on 8 January, the airframer says it shipped eight Rafales to Egypt and a single example to the French air force last year, in line with its planning expectations. Additionally, it returned one Rafale M for service with the French navy, after upgrading it to the latest F3 operating standard.
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01/10/2018
BAE Systems completed initial flight trials late last year with an innovative unmanned air vehicle which is intended to prove its ability to operate future platforms using their propulsion systems, rather than moving control surfaces.
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01/10/2018
Nigeria's proposed 2018 budget document confirms that the African nation will obtain the Chengdu Pakistan Aeronautical Complex JF-17 fighter. The nation's 2018 budget allocation document indicates that N13.1 billion ($36 million) will be earmarked as partial payment for three JF-17s. The payment will also cover support equipment and spares.
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01/09/2018
Yemen's Houthi rebels on Sunday claimed they shot down a fighter jet of the Saudi-led military coalition, though Saudi media reported it only crashed due to technical problem. The jet was shot down in the northern province of Saada on Sunday, the Houthi-controlled Saba news agency reported. "The air defense of the army and popular forces (Houthi fighters) shot down a Saudi-led coalition combat aircraft today," the report said, citing a Houthi military official.
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01/09/2018
With reports that China is planning to build its second offshore naval base near a strategically important Pakistani port it appears that the relationship between Beijing and Islamabad is as strong as ever.
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01/07/2018
On Jan. 3, 2018, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that “radical Islamists” had destroyed seven Russian combat jets at Khmeimim, or Hmeimim, air base near Latakia, Syria on New Year’s Eve, 2017. Russian president Vladimir Putin had visited the base earlier that month to praise the troops for their “victory over the most combat capable Islamic militants” and announced a partial withdrawal of Russian forces stationed there.
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01/07/2018
Russia and China are studying American air power over Syria and Iraq, and US Air Force generals are worried they have already learned too much. In the past, the US competed against the Soviet Union’s brute force and China’s overwhelming numbers, but the two adversaries could soon outpace the US with more sophisticated and wider reaching surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles.
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01/02/2018
An F-35 Joint Strike Fighter would be able to use its sensors, weapons and computer technology to destroy Russian and Chinese 5th-Generation Stealth fighters in a high-end combat fight, some service officials said.
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01/02/2018
Bangladesh will build two new air bases to further strengthen its Air Force. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made the announcement after inspecting a parade on Sunday by young Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) officers in Jessore, 164 km from Dhaka, Xinhua news agency reported. She said steps were on to establish the new air bases in southern region of Barisal and in Sylhet in the northeast.
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01/02/2018
Russia this month announced another draw-down from its combat operations in Syria, which began on Sept. 30, 2015. The Russian military will retain troops in the country, likely indefinitely, where it has demonstrated the capabilities of new weapons and tactics — which together show it has learned from its shortcomings in past operations.
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01/02/2018
After a very long and problematic development process, the F-35 Lightning II is about to serve on the front lines. The US Marine Corps is deploying the F-35B (the short takeoff and vertical landing variant) to ships in the Central and Pacific Command theaters in the spring and summer of 2018. The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit is traveling aboard the USS Essex, which is headed to the Middle East, while the 31st will be attached to the USS Wasp and might head to the coast of North Korea.
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01/02/2018
They were the mischievous creatures blamed for causing mechanical failures and faults on aircraft during World War Two - before starring in a hit film as destructive monsters. Now, the gremlins are back - as a new type of killer flying drone. The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) research arm is pitting Dynetics and General Atomics (maker of the Predator drone) against each other in a contest to make the craft.
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01/01/2018
Two F-16 fighter jets intercepted a private plane on Sunday afternoon that was flying in air space prohibited during the president’s visits to Mar-a-Lago. According to a spokesman for NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the fighter jets from Homestead Air Reserve Base were already patrolling nearby airspace when they were alerted that a small private plane had violated airspace restrictions.
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