December, 2020 Military Aviation News
12/31/2020
Two American B-52 bombers flew another show-of-force mission in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday, a week after President Trump warned Iran that he would hold it accountable “if one American is killed” in rocket attacks in Iraq that the administration and military officials blamed on Tehran.
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12/31/2020
The Swiss Air Force will be on standby 24/7 from Thursday, when two F/A-18 fighter jets will be ready to take off, fully armed, within 15 minutes. The pilots spent nearly a month practising night-time aerial manoeuvres in Britain.
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12/31/2020
The Russian Aerospace Forces received on Dec. 25, 2020, their first serially built Su-57 “Felon” 5th generation fighter aircraft. According to a source in the military-industrial complex quoted by the TASS Russian News Agency, the aircraft entered service with one of the aviation regiments of the Southern Military District and four more Su-57s will be delivered in 2021.
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12/31/2020
In many ways, 2020 was a watershed year for Indian armed forces as they displayed boldness in standing up to unprovoked Chinese military aggressions in eastern Ladakh and remodelled the national security doctrine in view of China intensifying the geo-political rivalry with India with an apparent goal to effect a radical realignment of balance of power in South Asia.
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12/31/2020
The Chinese PLA Air Force may have deployed 100 combat aircraft in Ladakh but India has the capability of fielding as many as 250 aircraft in the area, asserts India’s top defense expert, Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retired).
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12/30/2020
NATO says that Russian military activity in the alliance's airspace increased slightly this year as its jets across Europe scrambled more than 400 times to escort or shadow unknown aircraft. In a statement released Monday, NATO said almost 90%, or about 350 of these missions, were connected to flights by Russian military aircraft.
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12/30/2020
The Chinese Navy, formally known as the PLAN (People’s Liberation Army Navy), conducted a live-fire exercise several days ago over the South China Sea utilizing a newly expanded naval base. Harbin Z-9 helicopters took off from a base at Sanya on the southern tip of Hainan and fired anti-ship missiles at simulated targets. The Z-9, a license-built variant of the Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin, is a standard shipboard helicopter the PLAN flies.
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12/30/2020
Ten F-35A Lightning II fighter jets from the 63rd Fighter Squadron “Panthers” participated in a joint capstone training mission with two B-2 Spirit stealth bombers assigned to the 509th Bomb Wing, Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, Nov. 18, 2020. The Panther Capstone, an offensive counter air attack mission, enabled F-35 and B-2 pilots to operate their aircraft in a joint combat environment against multiple advanced adversary air and surface-to-air missile threats.
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12/30/2020
Lockheed Martin has recently delivered its 123rd F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft of this year to the Italian Air Force, despite Covid-19 challenges. The Italian Air Force received the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) or F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft. The single-seat, single-engine fifth-generation F-35A was manufactured at Lockheed Martin’s Final Assembly and Checkout (FACO) facility in Cameri, Italy.
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12/29/2020
A Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Monday afternoon (Dec. 28), marking the 18th such intrusion this month. A single People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Shaanxi Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft was tracked flying into the southwest corner of the ADIZ, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND). In response, Taiwan scrambled fighter jets, issued radio warnings, and deployed air defense missile systems to monitor the plane.
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12/29/2020
Fighter aircraft from the carrier Nimitz have been providing "operational and close air support" as U.S. troops withdraw from Somalia under threat of possible attack from al-Shabaab insurgents. Support from F/A-18 Super Hornets of Carrier Air Wing 17 aboard the Nimitz "allows us to maintain pressure against regional threats" while carrying out Operation Octave Quartz to relocate troops in Somalia to neighboring countries, Air Force Maj. Gen. Dagvin Anderson said in a statement Monday.
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12/29/2020
Ten years after its maiden flight, the Chengdu J-20 remains the world’s most enigmatic fighter.
On 11 January 2011, then-US defence secretary Robert Gates sat down with former Chinese premier Hu Jintao in Beijing to discuss ways to improve defence ties. Just hours before, images of the maiden flight of the J-20 had flooded China’s internet.
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12/29/2020
Between November 2019 and November 2020 inclusive, the Indian Navy lost three of its MiG-29K fighter jets to accidents. Might these chronic accidents compel New Delhi to seek a new fighter for its aircraft carriers in the foreseeable future?
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12/29/2020
North and South Korea had signed the Pyongyang Joint Declaration more than two years ago in order to defuse military tensions, but the diplomatic deadlock is far from over. While Seoul continues to enhance its military with modern fighters like the US-made Lockheed F-35, Pyongyang has focussed on the modernization of its older combat aircraft.
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12/28/2020
Months after a crushing challenge to its rule in Hong Kong, China’s “Wolf Warriors” are turning to an even higher-stakes target: the democratic, self-governing island of Taiwan. The island has been bracing for conflict with China for decades, and in some respects, that battle has now begun, The National Post reported.
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12/28/2020
British long-range, heavy-lift strategic transport aircraft performed take-off and landing testing on the semi-prepared runway as part of a test to expand the C-17 capabilities to land on dry and wet-dirt runways. “Even on Semi-Prepared Runway Operations (SPRO), the C-17 can land and take off at 220 tonnes! That’s the equivalent of 37,000 medium turkeys or 9,700 6ft Christmas trees, to be precise!,” the 99 Squadron said in a Twitter post Saturday.
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12/28/2020
Australia's new squadron of F-35A stealth fighters is ready for deployment on operations after two years of testing. The US-built Lockheed Martin Lightning II fleet was officially cleared on Monday, according to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds. "For the last two years, Defence has rigorously tested the F-35A fleet to assess aircraft and system performance, and declare this important milestone," she said.
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12/27/2020
India has signed a secretive $200 million deal for assorted Israeli materiel, similar to innumerable defence-related procurements it has previously sourced from Tel Aviv following the establishment of formal bilateral diplomatic relations between the two countries in early 1992.
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12/26/2020
Maj. Naiem Asadi, an Afghan pilot trained by the U.S. military, became known for his bravery during six years of fighting in the country’s war, from battling Taliban and Islamic State fighters to helping rescue a crashed American pilot. Today, facing death threats from the Taliban, he is in hiding with his wife and 4-year-old daughter, after the U.S. reversed its decision to help him leave Afghanistan and live in America.
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12/25/2020
Preliminary inquiry documents in the Leonardo hack suggest hackers were targeting nEUROn drone, C-27J and ATR-72 documents. For almost two years, between May 2015 and January 2017, the IT infrastructure of Leonardo, the Italian multinational aerospace and defense company, and the 8th largest defence contractor in the world, was targeted by a persistent cyber attack (known as Advanced Persistent Threat or APT), carried out with installation in systems, networks and in the target machines
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12/25/2020
BAE Systems in Brough has built aircraft since 1916 but after the final delivery of Hawk jets to Qatar, it will focus on engineering. Almost 400 manufacturing job losses were announced at the site in October 2017. Despite the ending of more than a century of history, BAE Systems said the factory had a "bright future". The site confirmed 238 staff were taking voluntary redundancy, with 135 manufacturing workers moving into other areas of the business.
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12/25/2020
The Chief of Air Staff Air, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar, says the Nigeria Air Force will receive a new A-29 Super Tucano fighter aircraft in 2021 to strengthen defence. Abubakar said this during the inauguration of officers accommodation and a 1.3-kilometre road at NAF Base Kainji, Niger.
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12/25/2020
US$12 billion (A$15 billion) is not a lot of money for developing a fighter jet. But it turns out to be a steep bill if you build only 90 units. Yet Japan has decided it has little choice but to spend that money to create a combat aircraft for the 2030s. The government is going ahead with its F-X program, though work has not passed what is usually regarded as the critical point of commitment, the launch of full-scale development. It is close, however.
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12/24/2020
Last Saturday’s transit of the Taiwan Strait by the U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer USS Mustin was followed 24 hours later by passage of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy aircraft carrier Shandong through the same waters, signaling a heightened level of symbolic navigation of the contentious sea-way. In both cases, fighter aircraft from China and Taiwan monitored the transits.
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12/24/2020
Two Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Tuesday (Dec. 22), marking the 14th such intrusion this month. A People’s Liberation Army Air Force Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane and a Shaanxi Y-8 electronic warfare aircraft flew into the southwest corner of the AZID, according to the Ministry of National Defense. In response, Taiwan scrambled fighter jets, broadcast radio warnings, and deployed air defense missile systems to track the two plane.
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12/24/2020
The Belgian Air Force has received the first Airbus A400M, a military transport aircraft designed to carry loads to tactical locations. Airbus is set to deliver six additional units to the Belgian Air Force. The customer received the first aircraft at the A400M Final Assembly Line in Seville (Spain). Subsequently, it performed a ferry flight to its base at Melsbroek in Belgium to join the 15th Wing Air Transport.
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12/24/2020
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, after flying a hi-tech Chinese aircraft on Monday, said that Military Aviation Technology of the friendly country was at par with contemporary requirements and having full capacity to meet the challenges of modern warfare.
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12/24/2020
The 43rd Fighter Squadron tested its combat capabilities this week during a live-fire exercise where five F-22 Raptor aircraft launched five AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles out of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, December 15, 2020. Team Tyndall worked from beginning to end to ensure the successful flight of the 43rd FS instructor pilots who flew the aircraft and fired the missiles.
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12/24/2020
U.S. allies in Europe want to show the incoming Biden administration that they have the means and the guts for serious military action. The latest example: French President Emmanuel Macron’s unveiling of plans for a new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
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12/24/2020
A year and a half after Russia and China's first joint aerial patrol over the Sea of Japan and East China Sea, Russian and Chinese bombers carried out another joint patrol in the area. South Korea said Tuesday that it had scrambled fighter jets in response to an intrusion by 19 Russian and Chinese military aircraft.
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12/22/2020
China's homegrown aircraft carrier Shandong has passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct training in the South China Sea, the People's Liberation Army Navy said Monday. The Sunday transit came the day after the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin made a similar passage and reflects the American and Chinese navies' resolve to demonstrate their presence in the body of water running between the mainland's Fujian Province and the island of Taiwan.
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12/22/2020
Tyndall will be undergoing more realistic air-to-air combat for the next year or two with the arrival of the F-1 Mirage aircraft unit. The F-1 made its arrival on Dec. 14 and now Tyndall will house the unit of six aircraft, five pilots and 30 maintenance personnel. Tyndall has partnered with Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) to bring in the F-1's to replace the T-38 Talons.
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12/22/2020
Boeing’s Australia division, based in Brisbane, has announced on Mandy that pre-production unmanned teaming aircraft, called the Loyal Wingman, completed the first high-speed taxi test in preparation for first flight.
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12/21/2020
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said process was on to purchase ultra-modern and high-performance fighter planes for Bangladesh Air Force as part of the government's move to implement the "Forces Goal-2030".
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12/21/2020
KBR has won a US$49 million recompete to provide system acquisition support and reliability improvements on the CH-47 Chinook Helicopter and other select aircraft for the Cargo Helicopter Project Management Office within the US Army’s Program Executive Office (PEO) Aviation.
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12/21/2020
Taiwan’s navy and air force were deployed on Sunday as a Chinese aircraft carrier group led by the country’s newest carrier, the Shandong, sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, the day after a U.S. warship transited the same waterway.
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12/21/2020
Citing the fast-growing Russian and Chinese threat, the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard document outlines could clearly be referred to as a “war attack” plan. Volleys of networked munitions, drone attacks, undersea maneuvers, long-range missile fires, hypersonic weapons and 5th-Generation fighter aircraft, supported by aircraft carrier strike groups will bring new dimensions to offensive maritime warfare, according to a recently released tri-service sea combat strategy.
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12/20/2020
The USS Mustin, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, sailed through the Taiwan Strait yesterday, the 12th time this year that a US warship transited the waterway. The US 7th Fleet said in a statement that the Mustin conducted a routine transit in accordance with international law. “The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
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12/20/2020
Although Tom Cruise pilots multiple aircraft in Top Gun: Maverick, the US Navy forbade him from piloting the F-18 Super Hornet. Set for release in July 2021, Joseph Kosinski's sequel to Tony Scott's 1986 hit Top Gun promises unmatched and unforgettable aerial combat scenes that emphasize practical effects over CGI. Although Cruise is known for performing the vast majority of his own cinematic stunts, some of his proposed tricks for Top Gun: Maverick proved overly ambitious even by his standards.
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12/20/2020
Sweden's Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist told the newspaper Dagens Nyheter that Sweden could not dismiss potential military threats to the country’s territory. He said: “We are acting based on the presumption that the state of affairs in terms of security policies continues to worsen.”
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12/19/2020
News reports have emerged that Myanmar’s air force is buying two Airbus CASA C295 aircraft worth US$38.6 million (52.29 billion kyats) from the Royal Jordanian Air Force. While Airbus, based in the EU, would be prevented from entering such a deal directly by the bloc’s arms embargo against Myanmar, the Middle Eastern kingdom has no such sanctions preventing the sale.
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12/18/2020
Tyndall AFB made history December 14 as a unit of F-1 Mirage aircraft arrived at the base in support of an Air Combat Command mass training effort in partnership with the Airborne Tactical Advantage Company. For the next year or two, Tyndall AFB will house and support the contracted unit of about six aircraft, five pilots and 30 maintenance personnel.
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12/18/2020
Russia’s new sixth-generation stealth interceptor, the Mikoyan MiG-41 or PAK DP, will take to the skies by 2025, according to reports. The Moscow-headquartered aerospace giant, Mikoyan (MiG), has been working on the design of the new stealth aircraft since 2013. Some reports claim the PAK DP will possess the ability to reach earth-shattering speeds of Mach 4.
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12/18/2020
Fighter jet F-22 Raptor leaves nothing to be desired. This fourth generation stealth fighter jet is built to dominate the skies. And it does. So what makes the F-22 the best and baddest out there? Well, for starters it has sensor fusion and super manueverability. That means that it’s easy to control and easy to operate.
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12/18/2020
EPAWSS also will be part of the avionics suite of the next-generation F-15EX, which is based on the F-15 Advanced Eagle that Boeing is building for the air forces of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which has a fly-by-wire flight control system, digital electronic warfare (EW) suite, an infrared search and track (IRST) system, and the Raytheon APG-63(v)3 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.
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12/17/2020
The fact that the United Arab Emirates looks likely to receive F-35 fighter jets does not mean its Arab allies will be able to share the advanced data the fifth generation fighter can gather. For example, It would take Bahrain up to 10 years before it can integrate its fourth generation aircraft with the F-35 fleet, Brig. Gen. Munther Majed Nasser Al-Khalifa, acting fighter wing Commander of the Royal Bahrain Air Force said.
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12/17/2020
The U.S. State Department recently gave the green light to Finland and Switzerland to purchase the F-35 aircraft. It’s not a fait accompli — the F-35 still needs to win each country’s competitions — but it’s telling that two friendly, but non-NATO, European countries are seriously considering the adoption of America’s fifth-generation, front-line fighter as their own.
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12/17/2020
According to a picture published to the Livefist Twitter account on December 16, 2020, ski jump trial tests were conducted on August 2020 with U.S. Navy F/A-18, to prove the capability of the naval fighter aircraft to be used onboard INS Vikramaditya and new local-made IAC-1 Vikrant Indian Navy aircraft carrier.
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12/17/2020
After the dispute between Turkey and the United States about the procurement of the Russian S-400 missile system, Ankara’s participation in the F-35 program was canceled on July 18, 2019. But faced with the determination of its NATO ally to acquire the Russian weapon, Washington did not stop there.
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12/17/2020
Artificial intelligence helped co-pilot a U-2 "Dragon Lady" spy plane during a test flight Tuesday, the first time artificial intelligence has been used in such a way aboard a US military aircraft. Mastering artificial intelligence or "AI" is increasingly seen as critical to the future of warfare and Air Force officials said Tuesday's training flight represented a major milestone.
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12/17/2020
Japan’s forthcoming next-generation ‘F-X’ fighter jet which is being built along with US aerospace giants Lockheed Martin will feature advanced technology like microwave weapons. The Maryland-based Lockheed Martin, which currently stands as the leading fighter jet maker in the world, having produced the stealthy duo of F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters and F-22 Raptors, will aid the country in producing the newest fighters.
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12/16/2020
Saab will build its Gripen E in Canada if the aircraft is selected as the Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF’s) next-generation fighter jet. The Gripen E is one of three options currently being considered by the Canadian government to replace the RCAF’s fleet of legacy CF-188 Hornets. Saab, supported by the Swedish government, submitted its offer of 88 aircraft, sustainment and training services in late July.
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12/16/2020
The Spanish industry has signed the initial framework contract for the Future Combat Air System’s (FCAS) Phase 1A Technology Demonstrators activities, completing the onboarding process, started in February, as an equal nation in the originally Franco-German programme. Airbus announced during its annual Trade Media Briefing that they will have the lead in the Spanish industrial effort for the New Generation Fighter (NGF) demonstrator.
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12/16/2020
Last week, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper revealed new details of Tokyo’s ambitious plans to domestically develop a sixth-generation F-X stealth fighter that can keep China’s increasingly capable air force at bay—at an estimated program cost of over 5 trillion yen ($48 billion).
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12/15/2020
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics has won a $900m contract to provide depot sustainment support for the US Air Force (USAF) F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft. The F-16 Continental United States (CONUS) Depot contract was awarded by USAF’s F-16 System Program Office within the Fighters and Advanced Aircraft Directorate.
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12/15/2020
Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works advanced projects division recently demonstrated the ability of a U-2S Dragon Lady spy plane to remotely use computers on the ground to help process data from onboard sensors and other systems in flight. The U-2S did this by leveraging a system that Skunk Works and the U.S. Air Force recently used to show how these aircraft, as well as others, will be able to receive updates for their mission computers.
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12/14/2020
The V.P. Chkalov State Flight Test Center in Akhtubinsk (Russia), the largest test center of the Russian Aerospace Force, celebrated in October its 100th anniversary. For the occasion, the Russian TV Channel One was allowed to visit the airport and showcase its activities. Towards the end of the video, the focus moved to the new Sukhoi Su-57 “Felon”, showing some details of the fifth-generation fighter aircraft’s air intake.
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12/13/2020
It has now been just over five years since the introduction of the F-35 Lightning II. Despite its rocky start, Lockheed Martin’s fifth-generation stealth fighter jet has weathered no shortage of setbacks and pointed criticisms to carve out a niche for itself in the U.S. military.
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12/12/2020
The final F-15SA advanced fighter aircraft were delivered Dec. 10 to the Royal Saudi Air Force – a key milestone supporting the National Defense Strategy imperative to strengthen alliances and attract new partners.
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12/12/2020
After Germany and France, Spain has signed an initial framework contract with European aerospace giant Airbus for the development of a new generation fighter (NGF) under the sixth-generation Future Combat Air System (FCAS) jet program.
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12/12/2020
The Japanese government has outlined the country's next-generation fighter jet project, selecting Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as the main contractor to lead Japanese and U.S. companies, with American defense contractor Lockheed Martin providing technological support, Nikkei has learned.
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12/12/2020
In a first for Air Education and Training Command and the 56th Air Refueling Squadron, two KC-46 Pegasus aircraft from the 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, along with 10 F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 49th Wing at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, teamed up in the skies over New Mexico to train and practice air refueling operations.
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12/12/2020
Russia is working on the development of a new light-to-medium-weight fighter jet, reports suggest. In a significant change from recent-generation fighters from that country, the new design is apparently a single-engine configuration, rather than a twin-engine one. However, the Russians have explored a number of somewhat similar concepts in the past that did not ultimately enter large-scale production and it's not clear how many prospective customers there might be for such a jet now.
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12/11/2020
Satellites – and drones – were intended to replace it. But the 65-year-old Lockheed U-2 is still at the top of its game, flying missions in an environment no other aircraft can operate in. Nearly twice as wide as it is long, the Lockheed U-2 spy plane is one of the most distinctive aircraft in the United States Air Force – and the hardest aircraft to fly, earning itself the nickname “The Dragon Lady”.
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12/11/2020
The Royal Australian Air Force has grounded its whole F/A-18 Super Hornet and Growler fleet after the accident at Amberley airbase, as an act of precaution while the investigations are underway to find the cause.
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12/11/2020
Air Marshal Richard Knighton, the deputy chief of the defense staff for capability, told the parliamentary defense committee that the number and profile of future order will in part be decided by the outcome of assessment work the British are doing on their future combat air strategy.
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12/10/2020
The Senate on Wednesday defeated a pair of Democrat-led measures to block the Trump administration’s proposed sale of advanced military weapons to the United Arab Emirates, a crucial victory for President Donald Trump as he seeks to solidify his foreign policy legacy.
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12/10/2020
British Ministry of Defence officials have confirmed the military will buy more than the 48 F-35B combat jets already on order, but they were reluctant to be drawn on exactly when and how many aircraft may eventually be involved when they gave evidence to the parliamentary Defence committee Dec 8.
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12/10/2020
The search for the pilot of a downed F-16 Fighting Falcon continues this morning, according to the 115th Fighter Wing’s Facebook page. The plane, assigned to the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing at Truax Field Air National Guard Base in Madison, Wisconsin, crashed in Delta County at about 8 p.m. Tuesday.
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12/10/2020
Twenty Soviet-made MiG-21 Fishbed jet fighters are being advertised for sale online. The jets, which apparently comprise the Nigerian Air Force’s entire remaining Fishbed fleet, are described as being in a “used” condition and are offered together with 15 “new” engines, as well as spares.
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12/10/2020
The German parliament, known as the Bundestag awarded a whopping contract worth 5.4 billion euros to European aviation juggernauts Airbus, to deliver thirty-eight additional Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to the Luftwaffe (German Air Force). The latest contract cements Germany’s position as the largest ordering nation in Europe for the biggest defense program in the continent, with the deal expected to secure more than 100,000 jobs.
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12/10/2020
The Air Force may be desperate to retire a significant chunk of its A-10 Thunderbolt II fleet, but lawmakers have other ideas. The service sought to retire 44 A-10 “Warthogs,” or three squadrons worth, of the service’s total fleet of 281 ground attack aircraft as part of its fiscal year 2021 budget request.
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12/10/2020
In a first major weapons sales pitch by India, a fighter jet trainer has been offered to the United States. The US Navy has launched a global search for Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS). In response, India has offered Lead in Fighter Trainer (LIFT) version of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), reported The Economic Times.
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12/09/2020
A F-16 jet out of the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing at Truax Field in Madison crashed Tuesday night in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs reported. When the crash happened about 8 p.m., the jet was on a routine training mission with one pilot on board, the department said in a statement.
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12/09/2020
French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Dec. 8 that his country’s next aircraft-carrier will be nuclear-powered and should be operational by 2038 in time to replace the Charles de Gaulle, which entered active service in 2001.
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12/08/2020
US test pilot Chuck Yeager, the first person to break the sound barrier, has died aged 97, his wife says. In a tweet, Victoria Yeager wrote: "It is w/ profound sorrow, I must tell you that my life love General Chuck Yeager passed just before 9pm ET." Yeager went into the history books after his flight in the Bell X-1 experimental rocket plane in 1947.
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12/08/2020
China and the US have continually tussled over the waters, with Beijing stepping up its military presence in the South China Sea. Both sides have directed threats at each other, with accusations of conflict warned as the tussle for supremacy over the seas has simmered for years. But Wang Wenbin, China's foreign military spokesman, accused US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Washington of purposefully building up its armies across the South China Sea, a claim that has also been directed at Beij
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12/08/2020
Russia has managed to lower the radar signature of its first stealth jet, the Su-57, by adding a new grille to the air intakes. Photographs of the modified jet with coaxial radial grating were shared by the Russian media today. The grating is made of radar absorbing material and is placed in the air intakes of the Su-57. In comparison, Lockheed Martin has used an S-channel design for the intakes of the F-22 aircraft to reduce the direct frontal transmission of radar by the engine compressor blad
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12/08/2020
Czech manufacturer Aero Vodochody is helping the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) return a number of L-39ZA jets to service, with two refurbished aircraft handed over on 4 November, while three L-39ZAs undergo maintenance in the Czech Republic. Local refurbishment work began on three L-39ZAs on 6 November and on 27 November the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, paid a visit to 403 Flying Training School (403 FTS) at Nigerian Air Force Base Kano to assess progress.
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12/08/2020
Airmen from the 6th Air Refueling Wing conducted an off-site integrated training with the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina Nov. 29 to Dec. 5, 2020. Over the course of five days, Aircrews with the 91st Air Refueling Squadron, maintainers with the 6th Maintenance Group and Airmen with the 6th Operations Support Squadron teamed with Airmen assigned to Shaw AFB in order to bolster each unit’s full-spectrum readiness capabilities.
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12/07/2020
China has hit out at Australia's plans to develop advanced hypersonic missiles with the US - labelling the strategy a 'potential threat' to the Asian superpower. The Morrison government announced on Tuesday plans to build and test the high-tech cruise missiles that can travel at five times the speed of sound and sink aircraft carriers.
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12/07/2020
Scholars at the University of Economics of Azerbaijan have recently calculated the cost of Armenia's military material loss in the wake of the latest war in Azerbaijan's internationally recognized Karabakh region. The total cost of the Armenian army's military equipment destroyed and captured by the Azerbaijani forces during the war is estimated to be $4.008 billion, according to data compiled by the researchers at the Economic Research Institute of the university.
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12/07/2020
In an interview with Pucará Defense, the Chief of the General Staff of the Argentine Air Force, Brigadier Xavier Isaac, revealed that the country will reconsider the JF-17 Thunder.[1] The disclosure follows Buenos Aires’ inability to secure the F/A-50 from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). The F/A-50 uses six key British components which required the United Kingdom’s approval for third-party transfers. KAI could not get those approvals for Argentina due to the country’s marred relationship with
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12/07/2020
Boeing’s F-15EX has been offered to India that will be based on the most advanced variant of the F-15 Eagle — the F-15QA — featuring an advanced cockpit and other new improvements for the first time.
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12/06/2020
The British navy will dispatch an aircraft carrier strike group to waters near Japan as soon as early next year, Japanese government sources said Saturday, in a rare development that comes amid the growing maritime assertiveness of China in the region.
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12/06/2020
In October last year, Turkey took sides in the conflict in Syria, backing Islamist jihad forces against the Kurdish minority. Flemish minister-president Jan Jambon reacted by freezing all Flemish government licences for export of military equipment to Turkey. At the time, that concerned four shipments of dual-use equipment – products which normally have civil applications, but which can be used for military ends.
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12/06/2020
With this, Indonesia’s hunt for a new fighter aircraft, for which its Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto has been traveling around the world, would come to an end. Among the various options, Indonesia has explored so far are Austria’s retiring Eurofighter Typhoons, the American F-16 Vipers, and Russian Su-35s. These jets are intended to be a replacement for the retiring F-5 Tigers of the Indonesian Air Force.
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12/05/2020
General Atomics has revealed that it conducted a semi-autonomous flight test in October involving one of its stealthy Avenger drones equipped with an "autonomy engine" originally developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and now managed by the U.S. Navy. The unmanned aircraft worked together with five other simulated Avengers to conduct a mock search for aerial threats in a designated area.
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12/05/2020
Congress is seeking to block the Air Force from retiring any of its A-10 Warthog attack planes, KC-135 refueling tankers and RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drones this fiscal year. On Dec. 3, the House and Senate Armed Services committees put forward the conference report of the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act — a final version of the defense bill that includes input from both chambers.
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12/05/2020
Indonesia’s protracted search for a new fighter aircraft has taken another, surprising, twist, with confirmation that the Southeast Asian country is in negotiations with France to purchase Dassault Rafale multirole jets. The latest development comes after Indonesia showed interest in Austria’s Eurofighter Typhoon fleet, and with plans to acquire Russian-made Sukhoi Su-35 Flankers apparently still stalled.
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12/04/2020
India is reportedly planning to develop an air-launched swarm drone system to overwhelm Chinese air defenses, giving their fighter jets an edge in any potential conflict. Indian defense planners reportedly feel the necessity for such a system as thousands of Indian soldiers are currently locked in a border standoff with China in the northern Ladakh region of the Himalayas.
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12/04/2020
Eighteen 16A/B jet fighters belonging to Taiwan's Air Force had been upgraded in the first 11 months of the year, under a joint Taiwan-United States program to help Taiwan boost its air defense capabilities and meet the needs of advanced warfare, the military said on Thursday.
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12/04/2020
In 2017, several media outlets published reports saying one of the Israeli Air Force’s F-35s was hit by the Soviet-made S-200 missile in Syria. On the contrary, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that an anti-aircraft missile was launched from Syria towards its aircraft but no hit was confirmed. It didn’t mention which aircraft was used for “routine flight” in Lebanon.
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12/04/2020
A Chinese military aircraft intruded into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Wednesday morning (Dec. 2), according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND). A single People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft entered the southwest corner of the ADIZ. In response, Taiwan dispatched fighter jets, broadcast radio warnings, and deployed air defense missile systems to track the Chinese plane.
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12/04/2020
Military pilots and troops who maintain aircraft are overworked and undertrained, contributing to more than 6,000 aviation accidents since 2013 that have killed 224 service members, according to a new congressionally mandated report.
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12/03/2020
The Sukhoi Company (part of the United Aircraft Corporation, UAC) has manufactured the last batch of Su-34 fighter-bombers under a long-term contract with Russia’s Defense Ministry, the UAC press office announced on Wednesday.
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12/03/2020
The Marine Corps’ first carrier-capable squadron of F-35C Lightning II jets reached initial operational capability on Tuesday, a key certification ahead of its first deployment on an aircraft carrier, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing officials announced.
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12/03/2020
In what seems to be a rare admission, Chinese experts have said that the French-built Rafale fighter jets, procured by India, are far superior to Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) frontline fighters, the JF-17 Thunder.
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12/02/2020
Boeing Co. has begun production on simulators that will help train the U.S. Air Force's next generation of pilots. In a step forward for the Air Force's transition to the T-7A Red Hawk advanced jet trainer, the aerospace company announced Dec. 1 it had begun assembling the first two weapons systems trainers and an operational flight trainer at its St. Louis, Missouri facility.
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12/02/2020
The British Army received its first two Boeing Apache AH-64E helicopters from the U.S. government on Nov. 26. The delivery is the result of a $2.3 billion deal that was first announced by the United Kingdom’s (UK) Ministry of Defense in July 2016, and includes a total of 50 Apache attack helicopters which will be replacing their Apache AH Mark 1 fleet retiring in 2024.
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12/02/2020
A Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Tuesday morning (Dec. 1), according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND). A People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft intruded into the southwest corner of the ADIZ. In response, Taiwan scrambled fighter jets, broadcast radio warnings, and deployed air defense missile systems to track the Chinese plane.
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12/02/2020
The SMART MRTT programme is developing, certifying and implementing Automatic Air-to-Air refuelling (A3R) capability as well as enhanced maintenance solutions for the A330 MRTT. The A3R system requires no additional equipment on the receiver and is intended to reduce air refuelling operator (ARO) workload, improve safety and optimise the rate of air-to-air refuelling (AAR) transfer in operational conditions to maximise aerial superiority.
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12/02/2020
The Trump administration has formally notified Congress that it plans to move forward with the sale of up to 50 F-35A Joint Strike fighters to the United Arab Emirates. The sale is significant both in terms of its size and its potential implications for U.S. national security interests in the Middle East. Including related sales of armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and munitions, the sale could be worth up to about $23 billion — by contrast, the U.S. notified a total of $19 billion in sales
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12/01/2020
Algeria has signed a contract to purchase 14 Su-57 next-generation heavyweight fighters from Russia? for about $2 billion?, according to various media reports. This will make Algeria the first foreign customer of the high-end Russian fighter ?jet ?after it entered mass production in July 2019.
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12/01/2020
The AT-6 Wolverine aircraft is developed by Beechcraft, a Textron Aviation brand. It is tailored to meet the light attack requirements of the armed forces worldwide. With its flexible weapons and external fuel tank configurations, the AT-6 Wolverine light attack/armed reconnaissance aircraft offers warfighters an ideal solution to engage targets in low-intensity combat missions.
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12/01/2020
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has denied media reports saying the contractual agreement for the supply of 12 A-29 Super Tucano aircraft by the U.S., for which payment had been made, was in jeopardy due to bad runway at the 407 Air Combat Training Group (407 ACTG), Kainji, Niger. The Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF headquarters, Ibikunle Daramola, made the denial in a statement on Monday in Abuja
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