February, 2018 Military Aviation News
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.
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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).
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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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