Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Boeing Debuts 1st Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornet

07/09/2009

Boeing today unveiled the first of 24 F/A-18F Block II Super Hornets for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during a ceremony at Boeing Integrated Defense Systems' production facilities in St. Louis. The aircraft will be delivered later this month, three months ahead of schedule.

Successful first operational NATO assessment of a Eurofighter Wing

07/08/2009

Excellent results were achieved after the first operational evaluation made by NATO of a Eurofighter Typhoon Wing. A NATO evaluation team certified the Italian Air Force’s 4th Fighter Wing at the Grosseto Base as a NATO Quick Response Force.

18th Air Force Commander C-130J Delivery Continues U.S. Air Force Build-Up Of Super Hercules Fleet

07/08/2009

Lockheed Martin yesterday delivered the 14th of 16 C 130J Super Hercules to Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. The aircraft will be assigned to the 41st Airlift Squadron, the first active-duty combat C-130J squadron in the U.S. Air Force. This latest C-130J Super Hercules was accepted by Major General Winfield W. Scott III, Commander 18th Air Force, Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

Modified Boeing Chinook Mk3 Successfully Completes 1st Test Flight

07/07/2009

Boeing Defence UK Ltd., a subsidiary of The Boeing Company, today announced that a UK Chinook Mk3 helicopter successfully completed its first test flight on June 6 at the Ministry of Defence's Boscombe Down facility during the flight testing and evaluation phase of the Mk3 reversion program.

Aerial gunners provide cover for lifesaving mission

07/06/2009

U.S. Air Force combat search and rescue crews on HH-60G Pave Hawks fly throughout Afghanistan to provide airlift and medical care to servicemembers wounded on the battlefield.

Program Aims to Deliver Unprecedented Surveillance Capability

07/06/2009

A giant, unmanned airship capable of hovering at about 70,000 feet promises to give future warfighters an unprecedented eye on the battlefield.

India Dumps Its MiG-21s

07/06/2009

India has decided to retire 60 percent of its 250 MiG-21 fighters over the next two years. The only ones remaining will be the upgraded MiG-21bis models. The reason is simple, the aircraft are too expensive to maintain and too dangerous to fly. Last month, India lost another MiG-21 to an accident. In the last few years, India believed it had cleared up many of the reliability problems with the MiG-21. Actually, they have, but the MiG-21 remains a dangerous aircraft to operate. India has been usi

Plan to Acquire MiG-29 Dropped

07/06/2009

Sri Lanka has dropped a plan to acquire the Mikoyan MiG-29, a fourth generation multi-role jet fighter currently in service in over 30 countries.

F-22's future still up in air Congress, Obama duel over funding for fighter

07/06/2009

Congress and the Obama administration are locked in a dogfight over the future of the F-22 fighter jet.

Pakistini army helecopter crash kills 26

07/04/2009

A military helicopter crashed in Orakzai Agency near the Afghan border on Friday, killing 26 security personnel.

Indian air force opts for US plane

07/03/2009

The Indian Air Force has chosen Boeing’s C-17Globemaster III for its strategic airlift capability, preferring the American aircraft over traditional supplier Russia.

Switzerland has been planning to buy Eurofighter aircraft

07/01/2009

Switzerland has been planning to buy 22 Eurofighter aircraft, a deal worth over $2 billion. But now, after a year of negotiations and flight tests, Swiss politicians have told Germany (the principal member of the consortium that produces the aircraft) that the deal won't go through unless there are some concessions on other matters (bank secrecy, taxation and air traffic). Linking defense sales to politics is nothing new, and shouldn’t surprise anyone.

MiG-29 jets to be sold off, replaced with interceptors

07/01/2009

The air force's MiG-29N jetfighters will be sold off and replaced with new aircraft, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

Guided Air-Ground Rockets: Program Halts & New Entries

07/01/2009

In “Hydra-70 Rockets: From Cutbacks to the Future of Warfare,” Sen. Leahy’s [D-VT] work to keep the Hydra 70mm rocket family alive through special appropriations was discussed, just in time for the Hydras’ potential on the battlefield to rise again. The key was the addition of low-cost precision guidance, which would expand the number of precision weapons carried by helicopters, aircraft, and even UAVs. “APKWS II… Hydra Rockets Enter SDD Phase,” discussed a laser-guided version from BAE, General

Boeing Wins $750M to Support the B-52H Fleet

06/30/2009

The Air Force is replacing Boeing’s current fleet support contract for the USA’s B-52 heavy bomber fleet, with a 10-year, $750 million firm-fixed-price Engineering Sustainment Program contract. All of the USAF’s 94 remaining B-52Hs were built at and delivered from Boeing’s Wichita, KS facility, and the ESP contract will support about 150 Boeing jobs.

Northrop Grumman and U.S. Air Force Unveil Next-Generation of High-Flying Global Hawk Unmanned Aircraft

06/29/2009

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and the U.S. Air Force unveiled the next-generation of high-flying unmanned aircraft - the RQ-4 Block 40 Global Hawk - in a ceremony today at Northrop Grumman's Palmdale, Calif., manufacturing facility.

Russia resumes Su-24 flights after 10-day suspension

06/29/2009

Russia's Air Force has resumed Su-24 Fencer attack aircraft flights after a 10-day suspension following two crashes in mid-June, a Defense Ministry official said on Monday.

Boeing Connects 1st F-15E Simulators to US Air Force's Worldwide Training Network

06/29/2009

Boeing has connected the F-15E Mission Training Center (MTC) at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, to the U.S. Air Force's Distributed Mission Operations Network (DMON), enabling F-15E pilots at the base to train virtually with pilots located around the world for the first time. Mountain Home is the first of three F-15E training centers Boeing will link to the network this year.

Pakistan-made JF-17 to start flying by year-end

06/28/2009

Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman said on Saturday that the first Pakistan-made JF-17 Thunder aircraft would start flying by the end of this year.

United States Air Force Fiscal Year 2010 Force Structure Announcement

06/27/2009

Air Force officials here announced June 26 its proposed force structure realignment for fiscal 2010.

The USAF’s KC-X Aerial Tanker RFP

06/26/2009

In January 2007, the big question was whether there would be a competition for the USA’s KC-X proposal, which will cover 175 production aircraft and 4 test platforms. The cost for this first phase alone is likely to reach $35+ billion spread over about 20 years, but the USAF believes that adding new plane types to America’s 40-50 year old aerial tanker fleet is its #1 priority. Otherwise, unpredictable age or fatigue issues, like the ones its F-15A-D fleet experienced in 2008, could ground its a

SWARMS Project: Swarming Drones to Sting the Enemy?

06/26/2009

Like a swarm of angry bees, unmanned aerial, ground, and sea vehicles automonously converge on enemy troops, aircraft and ships, decide what to do, then engage the enemy with surveillance or weapons to help U.S. forces defeat them. All this without direct human intervention. Sounds like science fiction? The American military is one of several working on the technology, called “swarming,” in order to make this scenario a reality.

First Production HMDS Orders for F-35 Pilots

06/26/2009

The Elbit Systems/Rockwell Collins joint venture Vision Systems International, LLC recently announced $54.1 million in contracts. These awards will begin production of their Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS), which will equip all American and exported F-35 fighters. The contracts will cover low rate initial production (LRIP) Lots 1, 2 and 3, and run through 2012. They include Lockheed Martin’s purchase of 52 F-35 Gen II Helmet Mounted Displays, and 30 aircraft shipsets. VSI also received cont

IAI Delivers First Batch of Kfir Fighter Jets to the Colombian Air Force

06/26/2009

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is delivering the first batch of upgraded Kfir fighter jets to the Colombian Air Force in a ceremony held at IAI's facilities in Israel. In attendance at the ceremony was Juan Hurtado Cano, the Colombian Ambassador to Israel, high ranking officers from the Colombian Air Force, and executives from the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD-SIBAT), and IAI.

Boeing AH-64D Apache Block III Demonstrates Level IV UAS Control

06/24/2009

Boeing today announced that the AH-64D Apache Block III prototype helicopter successfully demonstrated Level IV unmanned aircraft system (UAS) connectivity on June 8 during a flight test over the Arizona desert.