December, 2022 Military Aviation News
12/31/2022
Defence chiefs have signed a £9million deal paving the way for a Red Arrows replacement plane. In July last year we revealed the RAF’s display team could, for the first time, be forced to fly foreign jets when their current Hawks are retired in 2030.
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12/31/2022
Pilots from the 194th Fighter Squadron, 144th Fighter Wing, California Air National Guard, based at Fresno Air National Guard Base, Calif., challenged US Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) students during their graduation capstone event Nov. 18-20, 2022, at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada.
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12/31/2022
Taiwan is currently upgrading 141 F-16A/B jets into F-16Vs and has ordered 66 new F-16Vs with enhanced avionics, missiles, and radar systems to counter China’s Air Force, including the J-20 stealth fighters. On December 30, the Liberty Times reported that the 100th fully upgraded fighter, serial number 6673, landed at Hualien Air Force Base. After completing its third and final test flight at the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) in Taichung, the aircraft was flown to the airb
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12/30/2022
Guam is a strategic position for the US to monitor Chinese activities in the region. The island is home to two US military bases. One military base houses conventional and nuclear submarines, as well as U.S. warships. Pacific Fleet The other base, Anderson, houses B-1, B-2, or B-52 heavy bombers.
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12/30/2022
The Air Force will end 2022 without releasing any public data on the scope of air operations conducted in the Middle East this year. The decision limits the transparency of American troops’ continued involvement in Iraq and Syria, amid dwindling public interest and shrinking military resources in the region. “At this time, [Air Forces Central Command] is not releasing data specifying sortie type or weapons release,” spokesperson Capt. Kayshel Trudell said Tuesday.
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12/30/2022
‘The missile achieved the desired mission objectives in the Bay of Bengal region. With this, IAF has achieved a significant capability boost to carry out precision strikes from SU-30MKI aircraft against land/sea targets over very long ranges,’ the IAF said in a statement. The Brahmos’ extended range capability coupled with the high performance of the SU-30MKI aircraft gives the IAF a strategic reach and allows it to dominate future battle fields, the IAF added.
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12/30/2022
Seoul has approved major projects to upgrade its existing F-15K Slam Eagle fighter jets, and to buy additional refueling tankers. The move comes as South Korea seeks to bolster its armed forces to counter the growing North Korean threat. As part of this effort, South Korea’s air force is set to be a major beneficiary, and approval for the plans comes just two days after the first North Korean cross-border drone intrusion in five years — which you can read more about here.
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12/30/2022
The Pentagon on Thursday released video it said showed a Chinese fighter jet coming dangerously close to a U.S. Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint reconnaissance plane over the South China Sea last week. The People’s Liberation Army Navy pilot flew the J-11 fighter in front of, and within 20 feet of, the Rivet Joint’s nose during the Dec. 21 intercept, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement.
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12/29/2022
Ukrainian military pilots are performing tasks that are not even technically provided for by their aircraft, and operating using modern tactics; Western F-16 fighters will fully reveal the potential of pilots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
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12/29/2022
The Japanese and Indian Air Forces will conduct their first bilateral fighter jet training in January, bolstering ties amid continued tensions with China. Their first-ever joint air combat training will commence on January 16 to 26 at Hyakuri Air Base in Ibaraki Prefecture, 95 kilometers (59 miles) northeast of Tokyo. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) said the 10-day air drills would “promote mutual understanding and strengthen defense cooperation between the air forces.”
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12/29/2022
The year 2022 was one of incremental change for the Air Force, as its top civilian fought to get buy-in for his seven priorities both from Congress and inside the Pentagon itself. But in a recent interview with Breaking Defense, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall hinted that 2023 could be more of a roller coaster.
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12/29/2022
Rishi Sunak announces an agreement Between the UK, Italy, and Japan to create a a combat fighter jet aircraft (The Tempest Jet) that will utilise artificial intelligence. The nations will develop a next generation fighter – due to enter service in the mid-2030s – that will eventually replace the Typhoon jet. The Tempest Jet carry an assortment of the latest weapons and defensive warfare capabilities.
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12/28/2022
The thundering of hammers and wrenches echoed throughout an ordinarily calm aircraft hangar on Dec. 21, 2022, as a $1.5 million National Guard Bureau investment was pieced together at Stewart Air National Guard Base, Newburgh, NY, home of the 105th Airlift Wing and its nine C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft.
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12/28/2022
Strategic bombers are designed for deep penetration missions into enemy airspace to destroy high-value targets in order to significantly degrade the opponent’s warfighting capability and will. While the term “strategic bomber” is often used synonymously with nuclear armed bomber, conventionally armed aircraft are equally capable of striking strategically significant targets deep within enemy territory.
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12/28/2022
The Pentagon and United States F-35 Joint Program Office — the government's implementing agency for the production of F-35 aircraft — have reportedly grounded a "small number" of "higher-risk" F-35 aircraft until at least January. Tuesday's news comes nearly two weeks after a Dec. 15 hover crash of F-35B aircraft, reportedly brought on by propulsion system issues.
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12/28/2022
The South Korean military scrambled fighter jets, attack helicopters, and other assets on December 26 in response to the first North Korean drone infiltration across the border in five years. One of these assets was a light attack aircraft, which crashed immediately after takeoff.
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12/27/2022
Israel has grounded 11 of its advanced F-35 stealth jets after a similar model of aircraft crashed during a test flight in Texas, United States earlier this month. In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that the grounding decision was made after an initial review of the F-35 aircraft was done which revealed potentially similar malfunctions as what had occurred in the US fighter’s crash.
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12/27/2022
The Interim Red Air Aggressor Training Service (IRAATS) delivered its first ‘Operational Readiness Training’ sortie to the Royal Air Force on 20 December, 2022. The Royal Air Force say here that an L-159E ‘Honey Badger’ aircraft provided threat replication to a Typhoon from 41 Test and Evaluation Squadron in the training airspace over the North Sea.
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12/27/2022
A South Korean warplane crashed on Monday while responding to an incursion of North Korean drones into South Korea's airspace, according to local media, though both crew members survived. The KA-1 light attack aircraft went down shortly after leaving its base in the district of Wonju, east of Seoul, according to a South Korean defense ministry official.
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12/27/2022
The Chinese military has sent 71 planes and seven ships towards Taiwan, according to the Taiwanese defence ministry, marking the biggest daily incursion yet as Beijing protested against “collusion and provocation” by the self-ruled island and the United States. In a statement on Monday, the Taiwanese defence ministry said 47 of the Chinese planes crossed the median line of the Taiwan strait, an unofficial boundary once tacitly accepted by both sides, during the 24-hour display of force.
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12/25/2022
Moments of history, as written by the Turkish media. Turkey’s first self-produced light combat aircraft and trainer aircraft left the hangar and showed itself to the world. The developer of Hurjet is the Turkish company TAI and will be associated in the future – TAI Hurjet.
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12/25/2022
“During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s working visit to Minsk on December 19, a decision was made to provide training for the crews of combat aircraft converted for the possible use of ammunition with a special warhead,” Galuzin said. The official added that the US, with its NATO allies, have been undertaking similar activities for decades. “This particular case is also about a symmetrical response of Russia and Belarus to unfriendly steps of the alliance member states,” Galuzin emphasized.
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12/25/2022
Western intelligence sources who monitor security deals between Iran and Russia say Moscow will soon provide a full squadron of fighter jets to the Islamic Republic. It will apparently be 24 Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets, originally produced for Egypt under a deal that was torpedoed by the United States. The Russians were looking for buyers for the unsold surplus, and it looks like Tehran will be getting those planes very soon. According to an intelligence report, Iranian pilots are already trainin
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12/24/2022
China, North Korea, and Russia are acting as if to wake a long-time sleeping lion in Asia – that is, Japan. On December 23, the cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Kishia Fumio approved 6.82 trillion yen ($51.4 billion) in defense spending in fiscal year 2023, starting in April, amid what it calls “the most severe and complex security environment since World War II.”
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12/24/2022
The UK Ministry of Defence reported that on 21 December, President Putin was presented with plans to expand the Russian military by around 30% to 1.5 million personnel. It isn't clear when this level would be achieved. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shigou explained that the expansion would involve at least two brigades in north-western Russia growing to divisional strength. He cited the supposed threat from Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO.
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12/24/2022
The Russian Navy and the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) are exercising in the East China Sea while the PLAN Liaoning Carrier Strike Group continues operating in the Philippine Sea. On Wednesday, the Joint Staff Office of Japan’s Ministry of Defense said on a Russian Navy cruiser, destroyer and two corvettes were sighted Tuesday, sailing southwest in an area 50 miles northeast of Tsushima.
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12/24/2022
A federal watchdog wants to make sure the U.S. military is getting the best bang for its buck when buying new aircraft. The Pentagon plans to spend about $100 billion in the next five years to modernize its tactical aviation fleets — that is, fighter jets, attack planes and electronic warfare platforms. But the military should look at those plans holistically to avoid wasting money and duplicating effort, the Government Accountability Office argued in a report published Tuesday.
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12/23/2022
Officials said the drills, which will take place from January 16 to 26, will be the first of their kind in Japan, reported NHK japan. Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force will deploy F-2 and F-15 fighters.
According to the ASDF, the Indian Air Force’s four Su-30MKI fighters and two C-17 transport planes are scheduled to arrive in Japan on January 10 to participate in the drill.
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12/23/2022
?The first two F-35B Lightning II STOVL aircraft of the Marina Militare (Italian Navy), MM7451/4-01 and MM7452/4-02, landed aboard Cavour aircraft carrier on Dec. 16, 2022, completing the long return trip from the U.S. that had (virtually) started on Nov. 29, with the ceremony held last November 29, at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, to celebrate the end of the PIA (Pooling Implementing Arrangement) signed in 2018 by the Italian MOD Defense and the US Marine Corps.
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12/23/2022
Taiwan scrambled fighter jets to confront dozens of Chinese aircraft that flew into the self-governed Island's southeastern Air Defense Zone on Thursday. China's sortie included 21 fighter aircraft, four bombers and an assortment of support craft as well. The group totaled 39 planes in all, and Taiwan's military also detected three Chinese naval vessels operating in the region, Reuters reported.
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12/22/2022
The United States will give Ukraine top-of-the-line Patriot anti-aircraft missiles as part of $1.8 billion military assistance package, according to Dec. 21 news reports. The top-end American air defense technology will add a new layer to Kyiv’s air defense capacities, but not so much to prevent Russian drone attacks against Ukrainians cities.
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12/22/2022
Italian aerospace firm Leonardo has completed the delivery of M-346 advanced trainer aircraft to the Polish Air Force, boosting Poland’s fleet to 16. The third and final delivery of four advanced jet trainers last week made the Polish Air Force’s the second largest fleet of M-346 aircraft in Europe. “We are very proud to have equipped the Polish Air Force with an advanced training system based on our M-346,” Senior Vice President Dario Marfè said.
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12/22/2022
As part of a military strategic analysis study up to 2045, the Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet) designed its roadmap for the next two decades, which will guide its expansion and modernization. The study, conducted for the entire Swedish Armed Forces, seeks to guide decisions on defense policy towards 2045. It echoes the war in Ukraine and Sweden’s future membership in the NATO structure, which marks a turning point for the country after decades of strategic neutrality.
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12/22/2022
Colombia has shortlisted a French bid to sell 16 Rafale fighter planes to the South American nation for up to $3.15 billion, the Colombian government said on Wednesday. Colombia wants to replace the Israeli-made Kfir aircraft it acquired in the late 1980s, and would use the new planes to defend its territory, fight organized crime and conduct aerial surveillance.
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12/22/2022
Earlier this month, an agreement was signed by the UK, Japan, and Italy to develop the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), which will see them work together on next-generation fighter aircraft. The deal fused the UK-Italy Tempest and Japan’s F(X) programs. As negotiations to establish the responsibilities of each nation in the ambitious project move forward, Italy has raised a precondition for the functioning of the GCAP.
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12/21/2022
The U.S. will send $1.8 billion in military aid to Ukraine in a massive package that will for the first time include a Patriot missile battery and precision guided bombs for their fighter jets, U.S. officials said Tuesday, as the Biden administration prepares to welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington.
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12/21/2022
Fresh from conducting Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) patrols over Afghanistan, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) steamed into the NAG from the Northern Arabian Sea in late October 2002 where the aircrew of the embarked Carrier Air Wing Fourteen (CVW-14) started to perform the Operation Southern Watch (OSW) mission.
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12/21/2022
Russia will continue training Belarusian Air Force pilots to fly combat jets that have been refurbished to carry a "special warhead," Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday during a joint news conference with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk. "I think it would be possible to continue implementing the proposal made by the Belarusian President to train crews for Belarusian combat planes.
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12/21/2022
DOD is upgrading its fleet of fighter and attack planes, known as tactical aircraft. Most of these planes—purchased in the 1970s and 80s—have outlived their planned service lives. Over the next 5 years, DOD is proposing to spend nearly $100 billion on major investments and changes to its current mix of tactical aircraft.
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12/21/2022
The 40th Flight Test Squadron ar Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, took possession of the first of two government-owned Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie low-cost, high-performance unmanned aerial vehicles. The Autonomous Aircraft Experimentation team established within the unit will use the XQ-58 and Eglin range for further developmental ground and flight testing.
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12/20/2022
During his first visit to Belarus in more than three years, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed with his counterpart, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, on a wide range of military and economic issues, including training Belarusian pilots to fly combat jets equipped with “special warheads,” according to the official Belarusian BelTa new agency. Lukashenko also thanked Putin for providing nuclear-capable Iskander short-range ballistic missiles and an S-400 air defense complex to Bela
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12/20/2022
Swedish aerospace firm Saab announced Friday that it has been awarded a contract for 3.5 billion Swedish Krona ($338 million) to perform major upgrades on the Gripen multi-role fighter aircraft. According to the company, the plane will be equipped with a new engine to improve its flight performance. A more effective electronic warfare system will also be integrated to deny adversaries the ability to jam or disrupt the Gripen.
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12/20/2022
Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar Tech on Dec. 14 conducted the first flight test of its next-generation unmanned fighter jet, known as the Bayraktar Kizilelma. The drone is expected to be the air force backbone of the Turkish Navy’s future flagship, LHD Anadolu.
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12/20/2022
The U.S. Air Force’s entire fleet of B-2 Spirits is grounded, and the sole runway at their home base remains closed after one of the stealth bombers had a malfunction while flying and was forced to make an emergency landing Dec. 10. The head of Global Strike Command, Gen. Timothy Ray, directed the “safety pause” to inspect the fleet after the incident, Master Sgt. Beth Del Vecchio of Bomb Wing Public Affairs told Defense One in an email.
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12/19/2022
Japan and the United States have launched a new organization to analyze information collected by their defense equipment, including U.S. unmanned aircraft recently deployed near the East China Sea, where China is intensifying its military activities.
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12/18/2022
On December 16, a video showing a Ukrainian MiG-29 jet launching two AGM-88 HARMs surfaced online, indicating that these missiles still play an important role in striking Russian defenses. AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) is a tactical air-to-surface anti-radiation missile targeted at high-frequency radars to locate and strike the target.
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12/18/2022
The Sukhoi Su-24M supersonic bomber that was shot down and crashed practically on top of Ukrainian positions outside Bakhmut on Dec. 2 was flown by a pair of veteran aviators on contract with The Wagner Group, Russia’s notorious and mysterious mercenary firm. The Su-24 is at least the third Wagner-flown warplane the Ukrainians have shot down since Russia widened its war on Ukraine starting in February. Wagner also has lost a pair of Sukhoi Su-25 attack jets.
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12/18/2022
Turkey has produced the mission computer of its fifth-generation fighter jet. This is clear from a post on Twitter by the account International Defense Analysis. In the post announcing the development and delivery of the mission computer for the aircraft, photos of the finished integrated circuits of the computer were shared.
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12/17/2022
The governments of France, Germany, and Spain have awarded a contract to industry to develop flying demonstrators for a Future Combat Air System (FCAS), which will eventually include a manned New Generation Fighter (NGF) aircraft. The contract — worth 3.2 billion Euros, or around $3.4 billion at the current exchange rate — comes a week to the day after the United Kingdom, Japan, and Italy announced they would team up to jointly develop a new fighter jet, under the Global Combat Air Program.
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12/17/2022
Brazil is set to officially add the Saab Gripen NG, locally designated as F-39, to the combat fleet of its air force on Dec. 19. The first of five F-39s, delivered from Sweden between December 2021 and April 2022, are now at Anapolis Air Base near the federal capital Brasilia. They were initially used for testing and training flying from Sao Paulo and other places.
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12/16/2022
U.S. Air Force aerial warfare experts are ordering additional modern active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for F-16 jet fighter aircraft under terms of an $99.4 million order last month. Officials of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Fighter Bomber Directorate, F-16 Division, at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, are asking the Northrop Grumman Corp. Mission Systems segment in Linthicum Heights, Md., for 42 production radars and spare parts.
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12/16/2022
The German parliament has given the green light for the acquisition of 35 F-35A fighters for a total of €10 billion. The first six aircraft are expected in 2026. The order was confirmed by both the Bundeswehr (the German military) and the US manufacturer Lockheed Martin. “At its meeting on December 14[, 2022], the budget committee of the German Bundestag approved the funds for the procurement of the stealth multipurpose combat aircraft,” the Bundeswehr announced in a statement.
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12/16/2022
The UK and Italy’s groundbreaking partnership with Japan to build a new combat jet could open up export markets in Asia that have historically proved difficult to penetrate, according to the chief executives of two of the industrial groups involved.
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12/16/2022
A pilot ejected from a military fighter jet, making a crash landing on a runway Thursday morning in Fort Worth. Video shows a pilot in the sky with a parachute after ejecting from an aircraft that had been hovering above the ground moments earlier.
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12/15/2022
An Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon (F-2000 in accordance to Italy’s MOD Mission Design Series), assigned to the 37° Stormo (Wing), crashed around 18:30LT on Dec. 13, 2022, approximately five miles to the southeast of Trapani Air Base, Italy. According to the official information, the aircraft, flying along with another F-2000, was on approach to the airfield, when the incident occurred.
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12/15/2022
Germany is set to receive the first batch of its F-35 fighter jets in 2026, though the initial eight units will remain stationed in the U.S. for training purposes, creating a tight schedule to build up more advanced air-defense capabilities before the aging Tornado models are retired in 2030.
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12/15/2022
Shockwaves swept the Washington security establishment this fall upon hearing the U.S. Air Force is going to retire F-15C/Ds based at Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan, without a direct replacement, instead reverting to a rotational presence. Members of Congress even threatened legislation to block the move. Bottom line: This development should not surprise anyone.
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12/14/2022
On Dec. 2, a C-17 Globemaster III refueled a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber on the ground for the first time — the latest test of the cargo jet’s versatility. The experiment was a milestone for the bomber as well, expanding its ability to hopscotch around the globe.
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12/14/2022
Ukraine has pleaded with NATO countries on several occasions to arm it with advanced fighter jets to establish air superiority against the Russian Aerospace forces. While a transfer of western fighter jets is considered a red line that could provoke Russia, NATO could soon be supplying the MiG-29s to Ukraine. According to recent media reports, NATO member Slovakia is considering sending MiG-29 jets to Ukraine.
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12/14/2022
Swedish SAAB JAS-39 Gripen has been projected as the most suitable option for Ukraine to take on the advanced Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS). However, in what could come as a disappointment to Kyiv, the Nordic country has reportedly fallen short of conceding to the demand for its newly announced military aid.
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12/14/2022
Argentina’s president has ruled out the possibility of procuring supersonic fighter jets for the country’s Air Force in the short term. In an interview with the Financial Times’s “Global Boardroom” program last week, Alberto Fernandez was asked about the aircraft program, saying “there are other priorities before buying weapons, definitely.” “There are no war problems, peace is the common denominator between us,” he added, referring to South American nations.
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12/14/2022
In engineering slang, Project Tempest is a ‘pipe-cleaner’. The UK hasn’t built a supersonic combat jet since the EAP of the 1980s, and the early joint Typhoon development was years ago. Everyone who was worked on those projects has either retired or is about to. So Project Tempest was a dusting-off, assessment and cleaning up of Britain’s ability to create new advanced combat aircraft.
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12/12/2022
On 8 December 2022, the Schweizer Luftwaffe (Swiss Air Force) ended the operations with the Pilatus PC-9, when C-412 was taking off from Emmen air base for its last flight to RUAG at Lodrino. The Pilatus PC-9 two-seater turboprop trainer and successor to the Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer, was primarily used by the Swiss Air Force as a target towing aircraft for Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) training.
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12/12/2022
Mr. Roman Skomorokhov, an author on the Russian-language online portal TopWar published an article on the state of the Russian Air Force. He does not spare his criticism of the leadership of the Russian Aerospace Forces [VKS], as well as the Kremlin, making nostalgic comparisons with the era of the Soviet Union and today’s Russia.
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12/12/2022
The announcement appears to have put a full stop to a fighter aircraft tender that pitted the Chinese-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder against the India-built HAL Tejas. The Argentine President announced during an interview with Financial Times. Later, Fernandez’s Twitter account retweeted the excerpt that contained the quote.
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12/11/2022
Sukhoi claims Su-57 having an RCS goal between 0.1 to 1 m^2 (-10 to 1 dBsm). For comparison the F-117 had an RCS around -25 dBsm while the F-22 and F-35 has an RCS better than -40 dBsm – which is at least 1,000 to 10,000 times smaller than Su-57. The configuration of the Sukhoi Su-57 Felon is an evolution of the Su-27’s shape adapted for the requirements of low visibility and supersonic speed and agility.
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12/11/2022
According to the officials, Iranian pilots received Sukhoi Su-35 training in Russia in the spring, indicating Iran may start acquiring the aircraft within the following year. The information was disclosed on December 9 by senior officials of President Joe Biden’s administration. This training is part of what the US has described as an “unprecedented” level of military and other technology support pouring from Moscow to Tehran.
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12/11/2022
The combat air arm of Russia’s Central Military District (TsVO), stationed in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, recently received two upgraded MiG-31BM fighter interceptors, according to the press release issued by the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) on December 9.
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12/10/2022
Known by his callsign Karaya, Maj. Vadym Voroshylov already was the most famous MiG-29 Fulcrum of the Ukrainian Air Force. On his Instagram account, followed by 130K users, he regularly posts photographs as well as footage shot with GoPro-cameras, that provide a pretty unique view of the air war fought by the Ukrainian fighter pilots against the Russian Aerospace Forces assets over Ukraine.
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12/10/2022
Congress has finally agreed to bid adieu to nearly two dozen A-10 Warthogs, after lawmakers fervently defended the aging aircraft and stopped the Air Force from retiring the aircraft. It marks the first time in decades that lawmakers have agreed to put A-10s out to pasture.
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12/10/2022
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 24 Chinese military aircraft and four naval ships around Taiwan from 6 a.m. on Thursday (Dec. 8) to 6 a.m. Friday (Dec. 9). Of the 24 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 16 were tracked in Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND. Two Shenyang J-11 fighter jets and one BZK-005 reconnaissance drone crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the northeast sector of the ADIZ.
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12/10/2022
The Russian Air Force has redeployed and dispersed strategic long-range aircraft following the explosions at Russian airfields on 5 December. Source: Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, during the 24/7 national joint newscast on 8 and 9 December
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12/09/2022
Known by his callsign Karaya, Maj. Vadym Voroshylov already was the most famous MiG-29 Fulcrum of the Ukrainian Air Force. On his Instagram account, followed by 130K users, he regularly posts photographs as well as footage shot with GoPro-cameras, that provide a pretty unique view of the air war fought by the Ukrainian fighter pilots against the Russian Aerospace Forces assets over Ukraine.
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12/09/2022
After years of fighting back, Congress is allowing the Air Force to part ways with a portion of its A-10 Warthog fleet, approving the service’s plans to retire 21 A-10s in fiscal 2023. While it’s unclear whether this means the Air Force will be successful in future attempts to send the A-10 to the boneyard, the retirement of even a portion of the Warthog fleet — in this case, the squadrons from Fort Wayne Air National Guard Base in Indiana, which will get F-16s — is a massive step forward for th
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12/09/2022
Leonardo introduced its Smart Chair simulation-based pilot training technology at I/ITSEC 2022 in Orlando. Aeronautics industry communications spokesperson for Leonardo Ignazio Castrogiovanni told Shephard the company’s M-346 jet training system continues to move ahead and that the new Smart Chair is capable of ‘reproducing a possible cockpit for a sixth-generation fighter, in which the only physical elements are the stick and the throttle'.
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12/09/2022
Egypt’s Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) has entered a cooperation agreement with Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) to localize the manufacturing technology of T-50/FA-50 Golden Eagle advanced trainer jet and light combat aircraft. KAI pushes to sell its FA-50/T-50 Golden Eagle jet to the North African nation, while Egypt plans on exporting the aircraft to third parties.
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12/09/2022
Rishi Sunak is set to announce a collaboration between the UK, Italy and Japan to develop a new fighter jet that uses artificial intelligence. The prime minister says the joint venture aims to create thousands of UK jobs and strengthen security ties. The nations will develop a next generation fighter - due to enter service in the mid-2030s - that will eventually replace the Typhoon jet. It is hoped the new Tempest jet will carry the latest weapons.
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12/07/2022
The US Air Force’s 2nd Bomb Wing is based at Barksdale Air Force Base in northwestern Louisiana. The service said the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon, or ARRW, is anticipated to be prepared for deployment as early as the fall of 2023. The Lockheed Martin AGM-183A ARRW is a long-range hypersonic missile developed for the United States Air Force.
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12/07/2022
At around 13:00 local time (12:00 UTC) on Dec. 5, 2022, a flight of five MiG-21s of the Croatian Air Force took off for routine military activity (training flights) from Pleso (Zagreb Airport), where all the Fishbed assigned to the 91st Air Force Base are based. The aircraft had planned a sortie inside LDTR1 and LDTR2, two training areas usually used for the MiG-21 training activities.
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12/07/2022
The Royal Australian Air Force’s F-35A Lightning II made its debut in Singapore, visiting Paya Lebar Air Base late last month. Personnel from 75 Squadron trained alongside their Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) counterparts in the air and on the ground, further enhancing the bilateral relationship while integrating 4th- and 5th-generation fighter aircraft.
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12/07/2022
Turkish technology company SDT Space and Defense Technologies Inc. will continue to contribute to South Korea's domestically developed fighter jet during the mass production process after already providing a simulation link system to the project during the prototype stage.
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12/07/2022
After two false alarms in as many weeks, Dassault Aviation and Airbus have finally reached an industrial agreement for the study phase of the Future Combat Aircraft System (SCAF), removing the blockage that brought the program to a standstill in summer 2021.
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12/06/2022
Egypt’s Arab Organisation for Industrialisation (AOI) and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) have signed a cooperation and partnership agreement as KAI pushes to sell its FA-50/T-50 Golden Eagle jet to the North African nation. The agreement, signed last week, covers the localisation of technology should Egypt acquire the Golden Eagle. Egypt is understood to be looking to replace its ageing Alpha Jet and K-8 jet trainers with 100 new jets, of which 70 will be manufactured locally.
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12/06/2022
The UK Ministry of Defence reported that in recent months, the number of sorties conducted by Russian tactical combat aircraft over Ukraine has reduced significantly. Russian aircraft now probably conducts tens of missions per day, compared to a high of up to 300 per day in March 2022. Russia has now lost over 60 fixed-wing aircraft in the conflict, likely including an additional Su-24M FENCER fighter-bomber and a Su-25 FROGFOOT ground attack aircraft last week.
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12/06/2022
Reports of significant attacks against two Russian air bases are a new and dangerous twist in the Ukraine war. One of the explosions was at the Engels-1 air base in the Saratov region, the other at Dyagilevo in the Ryazan area — both hundreds of miles inside the Russia-Ukraine border. Several Russians were reportedly killed or wounded, and at least two aircraft damaged. Moscow immediately blamed Ukraine for the strikes, which appear to have been conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles.
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12/06/2022
Myanmar’s military regime has taken delivery of six FTC-2000G fighter jets purchased from China, according to Myanmar-based observers monitoring the regime’s air force. The six fighter jets arrived in November and are currently being checked over at Meiktila airbase in Mandalay Region before their deployment to Namhsan airbase in southern Shan State, according to regime air force sources.
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12/05/2022
Twenty-five Chinese military aircraft and four naval ships were detected around Taiwan from 6am Saturday to 6am yesterday, including eight airplanes that had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and another two that entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft that entered Taiwan’s southwestern ADIZ were a Y-8 anti-submarine plane and a BZK-005 uncrewed aerial vehicle, the Ministry of National Defense said.
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12/05/2022
On 25 November 2022, the Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace (AAE, French Air and Space Force) 30e escadre de chasse (EC-30, 30th fighter wing) from Base Aérienne 118 Mont-de-Marsan air base started its deployment of four Dassault Rafale F3R fighter aircraft and around one hundred personnel to Šiauliai air base (Lithuania) for a period of four months as part of the NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission.
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12/05/2022
Recently, from 10 October to 25 November 2022, a large TLP-like exercise (Tactical Leadership Programme) took place at Al Dhafra Air Base, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The so called Advanced Tactical Leadership Course (ATLC) No.32 UAE was hosted by the Air Warfare and Missile Air Defence Centre on the air base. The ATLC exercises are organised in the UAE since 2004, under the framework of a Military Cooperation Programme with international collaborations of the Armed Forces.
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12/05/2022
Germany's defence ministry has raised serious concerns about the planned purchase of U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets, part of the country's military modernisation drive, according to documents seen by AFP. Berlin announced in March it would buy 35 of the warplanes made by Lockheed Martin to replace its aging Tornado fleet, in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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12/05/2022
Close on the heels of US Air For (USAF) F-15C/D fighters being withdrawn from Kadena Air Force Base (AFB) in Japan’s Okinawa, the experimental Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie has been suggested as the next credible alternative as a part of an effort to introduce drone swarms to overwhelm China.
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12/04/2022
So the widely advertised Russian MiG-35 fighter is not exactly generation 4++. The Michigan-based writer Mr. Peter Suciu explains why the MiG-35 is primarily a 4th generation fighter and a Kremlin publicity stunt. The MiG-35 Fulcrum-F is a project of the Mikoyan Design Bureau, a subsidiary of the state-owned United Aircraft Corporation [UAC]. The Russians tout it as a capable light highly maneuverable fighter capable of engaging moving and stationary targets, day and night, in all weather condi
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12/04/2022
B-2 Spirit technology consists of more than its unique shape. There are underlying software and hardware advancements that enable long-range low-observable penetrating nuclear capability delivery around the world. The B-2 system continues to improve and modernize as international threats advance.
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12/04/2022
The Turkish pioneering drone maker has announced Saturday its unmanned fighter jet would soon perform its maiden flight as it edged closer to the landmark with a successful takeoff test where it lifted off the ground for a short duration of time. Named Kizilelma, the National Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle System (MIUS) had completed its first runway run and autonomous taxiing test last month at an air base in northwestern Tekirdag province.
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12/03/2022
On December 2 Northrop Grumman unveiled the first prototype of the B-21 Raider intercontinental range strategic bomber, an aircraft which is expected to replace the U.S. Air Force’s fleets of B-1B and B-2 aircraft and potentially form entirely new bomber units. The bomber is the first to be unveiled in the United States or any Western country since 1988 when the B-2, also developed by Northrop Grumman, was first shown publicly at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.
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12/03/2022
The Hungarian Air Force has officially handed over the responsibility of NATO ’s Baltic Air Policing (BAP ) mission to the Polish and French air forces. This was announced by the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence (MND ). After the takeover, Poland and France will now carry out the policing mission to safeguard the Lithuanian airspace.
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12/03/2022
What Are Russian Aircraft Losses During The Invasion Of Ukraine in 2022? Before the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, most military analysts predicted Russia’s massive fleet of fighter jets and attack helicopters would blast its opponents out of the skies and quickly take control of Ukraine’s air space. Nine months on, and still more of the Kremlin’s war chickens have come home to roost.
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12/02/2022
The Su-57 is a multirole fighter developed for taking on land, maritime, and airborne targets. It features stealth technology and is currently one of the few fifth-generation fighter jets operational in the world. According to reports, the 23rd Fighter Aviation Regiment (Istrebitelnyi Aviatsionnyi Polk, IAP) based at Dzyomgi near Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Russia’s Far East will be the first operational unit within the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) to receive the new fighters.
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12/02/2022
The J-15 is China's first locally made carrier-borne aircraft. Manufactured by the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, a subsidiary of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the J-15 is nicknamed the "Flying Shark." The fighter jet first entered service in 2014, and per the latest reports, there are about 50 units currently in operation, Business Insider stated.
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12/01/2022
For months now, the Air Force has been openly discussing plans to retire its most potent air superiority fighter, the F-22 Raptor, in favor of its next fighter in development. And while the exact timeline remains somewhat murky, the fact of the matter remains: The reign of the Raptor is coming to an end.
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12/01/2022
Along with the technological prowess of the Rafale fighter jets, France would like India to take into consideration the factor of it being the most dependable Western ally while choosing the fighter aircraft for the Indian Navy’s aircraft carriers.
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12/01/2022
Master Sgt. Leah Curtin had four years of experience fixing F-15 fighter jets when she showed up to Luke Air Force Base, Arizona in 2014 to learn how to fix the much newer F-35 Lightning II. Despite her experience on the older jet, Curtin and her fellow maintainers soon realized that the F-35 is a different sort of beast.
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12/01/2022
South Korea scrambled its jet fighters on Wednesday after Chinese and Russian strategic bombers flew a joint patrol in its air defense zone in the western Pacific without warning early Wednesday. Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the jets were deployed after two Chinese and six Russian planes breached South Korea’s air defense identification zone (KADIZ), the Yonhap News Agency reported.
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