Military Aviation News Archive

U.S. Joint Forces Command Awards Lockheed Martin Team $29 Million Contract for Advanced Video Intelligence System

09/21/2009

The same video management technology that helps sports broadcasters assemble the day’s top highlights will soon help military commanders track the action on the battlefield. The U.S. Joint Forces Command awarded a Lockheed Martin team a $29 million contract for Valiant Angel, a new system that will apply highly advanced broadcasting technologies to help commanders collect, manage, process, exploit and disseminate full-motion video.

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Russia opens criminal case over MiG fighters returned by Algeria

09/19/2009

Criminal charges have been laid against the top management of a company accused of providing low-quality equipment for MiG-29 fighters later rejected by Algeria, Russia's business daily Kommersant said on Friday.

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Russia to complete overhaul of 63 Indian fighter jets in 2013

09/19/2009

Russia will finish upgrading MiG-29 fighters in service with the Indian air force in 2013, a Russian defense industry source has said.

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Russian fighter jets for Indian tender to have new radar

09/19/2009

Russia's Phazotron NIIR corporation said on Thursday it has developed a new-generation airborne radar for MiG-35 fighter jets which participate in the Indian fighter tender.

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Super Galaxy And Super Hercules Strengthen Global Airlift Capability

09/18/2009

Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] senior leadership briefed members of the media about three growing air mobility business areas at this year’s Air Force Association Air and Space Conference and Technology Exposition. Speakers provided details on how well the C-5M Super Galaxy and C-130J Super Hercules are performing and the company offered insight into future airlift technology concepts.

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Sniper ATP Demonstrates Enhanced ISR Capability at Empire Challenge

09/18/2009

Lockheed Martin’s Sniper® Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) demonstrated its advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability during the recent joint forces Empire Challenge exercise. The enhancements respond to U.S. defense officials' call for improved ISR for convoy route reconnaissance and battlefield situational awareness.

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Boeing Delivers 12-Nation Strategic Airlift Capability's 2nd C-17 Globemaster III

09/18/2009

The Boeing Company today delivered to the NATO Airlift Management Organization (NAMO) a second C-17 Globemaster III that will support NAMO's 12-nation Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) initiative. The delivery took place at Boeing's final assembly facility in Long Beach.

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Boeing Flies Harpoon Missile With Updated Guidance Control

09/18/2009

A Boeing Harpoon Block II missile equipped with a redesigned Guidance Control Unit (GCU) flew for the first time in a test conducted on Sept. 10. It was launched from the USS Princeton off the coast of California and scored a direct hit on a land-based target on San Nicolas Island, Calif.

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Boeing Meets With Brazilian Industry, Reaffirms Super Hornet as Best-Value Solution

09/18/2009

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today kicked off a two-day conference with 140 potential partner and supplier companies in São Paulo, reaffirming its commitment to fulfill all of Brazil's requirements with its Super Hornet solution to the F-X2 fighter competition.

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Boeing's 1st C-130 AMP Trainer for US Air Force Declared 'Ready For Use'

09/18/2009

Boeing has completed delivery of the U.S. Air Force's first simulator for the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) to Little Rock Air Force Base. The Weapon System Trainer (WST) passed government acceptance testing and was declared "ready for use" on July 20.

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Lockheed Martin C-5M Super Galaxy Sets World Aviation Records

09/15/2009

A joint U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin flight crew flying a C-5M Super Galaxy strategic transport claimed 41 world aeronautical records in one flight on September 13.

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Raytheon's GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II Completes Risk Reduction

09/15/2009

Raytheon Company completed GBU-53/B datalink flight testing. This concludes all testing requirements for the company's Small Diameter Bomb II risk reduction program.

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U.S. fighter jets to take part in drills in Estonia, Lithuania

09/14/2009

.S. F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets will take part in two-stage military exercises in Estonia and Lithuania aimed at improving interoperability and combat readiness of NATO forces in the Baltic region.

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Boeing Details Tanker Capabilities at US Air Force Association Conference

09/14/2009

Boeing today unveiled additional details of the company's potential offering in the U.S. Air Force KC-X tanker competition, saying the KC-7A7 will offer maximum capability at the lowest cost.

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IAI-made Heron UAV to be Operated by Royal Australian Air Force in Afghanistan

09/13/2009

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will supply its Heron Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) to MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA), who have been awarded a contract by the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) for an unmanned aerial surveillance solution.

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New Global Hawk Undercuts Insurgent Advantages

09/13/2009

If you are a paid Taliban operative or an Iraqi insurgent you may think you know how to slip through the mountains or skulk in the desert without U.S. forces noticing. Guess again. There’s a little thing invented in America in the 1980s called Ground Moving Target Indicator. It’s a radar-based sensor that paints you, your truck and the other two-legged and four-legged movers near you as dots on a map. A bunch of smart Americans at computer terminals can learn an awful lot about you every time yo

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Four MiG-29 fighter jets to join Indian navy in October

09/13/2009

The first four Russian-made MiG-29K/KUB fighter jets, purchased by India for the modernized Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, will be delivered to the Indian navy in October, an Indian defense source said.

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Brazil Signs $1B+ Production MoU for Cougar Helicopters

09/09/2009

In November 2007, “Brazil Embarking Upon F-X2 Fighter Program?” discussed both the revived fighter competition, and Brazil’s surprising 50% boost to its defense budget. Other programs mentioned in that article included Brazil’s selection of a medium transport helicopter and of an attack helicopter, with other programs to follow. After decades of neglect, Brazil is reconstituting both its armed forces, and a defense industry that once offered an array of competitive products on the global stage.

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USAF Europe And Africa Airlift Missions Strengthened By Another C-130J Super Hercules Delivery

09/08/2009

Maj. Gen. Ronald "Ron" Ladnier, commander, 17th Air Force and U.S. Air Forces Africa, recently accepted the fifth of 14 Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] C-130Js to be based at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

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Brazil to buy 36 fighter jets from France

09/08/2009

The deal was announced in a statement issued by Presidents Luis Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Nicolas Sarkozy of France, who together took part in Brazil's Independence Day ceremonies in Brasilia. The precise value of the aircraft sale was not released pending final agreement on the terms but observers estimate its value at more than $2 billon.

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India Opens 2nd Round Jet Trainer Buy to Competition

09/08/2009

The induction of advanced jet trainers into India’s Air Force has been a long and difficult process. After a nuumber of false starts, and indigenous efforts like HAL’s Ajeet that didn’t quite live up to expectations, a 20-year procurement process came to an end when India selected BAE’s Hawk 115Y as its future advanced jet trainer in 2004. The 66-plane order was worth about $1.2 billion, and included options for another 40 aircraft. The first 24 Hawk Mk.132 AJTs have already been delivered by BA

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Russia confirms talks on delivery of MiG-31 aircraft to Syria

09/04/2009

Russia and Syria are in talks on the delivery of at least eight MiG-31 Foxhound interceptors under a contract signed two years ago, a Russian business daily said on Thursday, citing an industry official.

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Boeing Demonstrates Commitment to Dynamic Market at Asian Aerospace 2009

09/03/2009

Boeing the world's largest aerospace company, will present several key elements at Asian Aerospace 2009. Boeing will spotlight its commercial airplane family, with several of its Commercial Airplanes business unit experts speaking at the conference sessions and will conduct a pair of media briefings focusing on the current market as well as Boeing products and services. Asian Aerospace takes place Sept. 8-10, at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong.

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F-16 Provides Innovative Way to Increase Tactical ISR Persistence

09/03/2009

Existing on-board sensor capability of tactical fighter aircraft can be leveraged to provide near real-time intelligence and enhanced situational awareness, as demonstrated by Lockheed Martin during the recent U.S. Air Force Empire Challenge exercise.

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U.S. Defense Secretary Underscores F-35 Importance During Lockheed Martin Visit

08/31/2009

United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates visited Lockheed Martin’s [NYSE: LMT] final assembly operation for the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter today, conveying optimism for the program’s future and emphasizing the F-35’s importance to global security.

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