Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Russian Su-35, US F-22 Raptor “Set For Clash” As Washington Deploys Its ‘Best Warplane’ Near Russian Border

05/11/2023

A dramatic game of cat and mouse has unfurled in the skies over the Black Sea, pitting Western surveillance aircraft against Russian fighter jets. The encounters roughly started when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, and Ukraine increasingly leaned on Western intelligence to counter the Russian threat. Even since the military operations, the ‘encounters’ have only intensified. Earlier this week, a Russian warplane came dangerously close to a Polish aircraft over the Black Sea.

Czech president: Ukraine could have our L-159 jets

05/11/2023

The Czech Republic could give Ukraine some of its L-159 fighter jets to support its planned counter-offensive, Czech President Petr Pavel was quoted as saying on Wednesday. Prague has been among Kyiv's staunchest allies from the outbreak of Russia's aggression last February, providing material from ammunition to tanks worth billions of dollars.

Air Force ‘Doesn’t Just Need Airplanes’ to Modernize, Kendall Says

05/10/2023

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall insists the service needs to modernize rapidly to face the threat of China. But modernization does not just mean fielding new aircraft, Kendall and other service leaders argue—the Air Force also needs to retire its aging airplanes. “The truth is the Air Force needs things like electric warfare, battle management, intelligence, cyber capabilities, all of these things,” Kendall said at the Ash Carter Exchange defense conference May 9. “It doesn’t just need airplan

NATO Air Police on high alert after Russian fighter jet approaches Polish aircraft

05/10/2023

NATO Air Policing troops have been put on high alert after a Russian fighter jet approached a Polish Border Guard aircraft over the Black Sea, the Polish press agency PAP reported on Tuesday. The Polish crew reportedly lost control of the aircraft for a moment but landed safely, said Polish Border Guard spokeswoman??????? Anna Michalska. The plane landed safely at Mihail Kogalniceanu Airport and none of the crew members on board were injured as a result of the incident, she said.

How the US Air Force's 2 newest fighter jets stack up

05/10/2023

The F-35 and F-15EX are so different in so many respects that comparing them might not make sense. Yet, the two aircraft have been analyzed in relation to one another for years, given the ongoing debates about whether it makes sense to add a fourth-generation "plus" plane in more significant numbers and reduce the size of the F-35 buy.

With 150 fighter jets and support planes, 14 nations ready for massive Nordic air force drills

05/10/2023

Finland is in charge this year as the planes now start to arrive at the four different military air bases in the three countries. Kick-off is May 29 and the exercise will see daily combat training in the skies until June 9. Playgrounds for the war games are from near the border with Russia in the east to the coast of the Norwegian Sea in the west.

DO I HEAR THE SOUND OF THUNDER IN ARGENTINA?

05/08/2023

When it comes to military hardware, nothing quite catches the ordinary person’s imagination like fighter jets. They are, in many ways, charismatic objects elevated often to being sources of national pride. This is doubly the case if the plane in question can be labelled to some degree as being indigenous.

PRANG partners with sister units to execute ACE exercise

05/08/2023

The 156th Wing, along with four other Air National Guard Wings, two Air Force Reserve Wings, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and other government agencies partnered to execute Operation Hoodoo Sea, an agile combat training exercise led by the Virginia Air National Guard, which occurred on the southeast U.S. coast, during the first week of May.

Türkiye does not ask to return F-35 program, but wants money back: Turkish FM

05/08/2023

Türkiye does not ask the United States to allow Ankara to return to the F-35 fighter jet program but just wants reimbursement of its money already paid for the project, the Turkish foreign minister has said on May 7. “We are not saying ‘Let’s go back to the F-35 [program] right now.’ We are saying ‘Give us our money back.’ Because we produce our own national combat aircraft,” Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavusoglu said in a televised interview.

NATO air force put on alert due to Polish aircraft interception by Russian Su-35

05/08/2023

On Friday, a Russian Su-35 fighter jet performed a dangerous interception of an L410 TURBOLET aircraft belonging to the Polish Border Guard Service, which was on a scheduled patrol mission under the auspices of Frontex over the Black Sea in international airspace in cooperation with Romanian services. The incident happened around 13:20, 60 km to the east from Romanian airspace.

F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter crashes in South Korea; pilot safe

05/07/2023

An F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, crashed in an agricultural area about 11½ miles from Osan Air Base at approximately 9:45 a.m. Saturday. The pilot ejected safely and was transported to the Osan Air Base Urgent Care Center for evaluation, according to a news release from the 51st Fighter Wing, the host unit at Osan. The pilot is in stable condition and no other injuries, including civilians, have been reported.

Ukraine updates: Kyiv 'shot down' Russian hypersonic missile

05/07/2023

Ukraine said it has shot down a Russian hypersonic missile over Kyiv using newly acquired US-made Patriot defense systems. Ukrainian Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk announced the operation on Telegram on Saturday. He said that a Kinzhal-type ballistic missile was intercepted in an overnight attack on May 4.

Ukraine’s Air War Heats Up

05/06/2023

For most of the past year, one of the central mysteries of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has been the question of why the Kremlin’s much-vaunted air force didn’t show up to the fight. Russia’s fifth-generation Sukhoi fighter jets were even absent from the Kremlin’s last Victory Day parade commemorating the end of World War II, and U.S. defense officials believed that the war had ground down the defense industrial base churning out fighters and bombers.

The F-22 Raptor now has a boarding ladder that can be collapsed and stowed inside the cockpit

05/06/2023

We can assume that the F-22’s new integral ladder means that Raptor’s CONOPs have changed and that the aircraft can be now operated out of unprepared locations. Five Air National Guard wings are conducting agile combat training as part of an exercise called Operation Hoodoo Sea in the coastal southeast of the US. Airmen from multiple job specialties will be tasked to operate as multi-capable Airmen, supporting the F-22, KC-135, C-17 and strategic bomber aircraft active in the exercise.

Taiwan and China plan to turn F-5E and J-7 fighter aircraft into unmanned jets

05/06/2023

Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology President, Zhang Zhongcheng, said he can “unmanned” the F-5 fighter jets being retired by the Taiwan Air Force to deal with frequent incursions of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft into Taiwan’s airspace.

Combat training F/A-259 - step towards mastering NATO aircraft by Armed Forces of Ukraine

05/06/2023

Ukrainian aviation industry to start producing aircraft for military purposes in cooperation with Czech colleagues. During his visit to Kyiv on April 28, 2023, President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel announced his intention to develop cooperation with Ukraine in the defense sector in six areas. The President noted that this cooperation could include partial or complete transfer of technologies and production to Ukraine, as well as an appropriate level of localization.

USAF commandos land MC-130, A-10s on Wyoming highway

05/05/2023

Commandos and pilots with the US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) successfully landed a range of aircraft on a rural highway in Wyoming during recent training exercises. The drills on 2 May near Rawlins, Wyoming, included a Lockheed Martin MC-130J Commando II multi-role special operations transport, Fairchild Republic A-10 ground attack jets, a General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and two Boeing MH-6M Little Bird helicopters from the US Army.

Russian Missile Damaged MQ-9 Over Syria, US Reveals

05/04/2023

A Russian surface-to-air missile came close to striking an American MQ-9 Reaper drone over Syria in November, passing and detonating within 40 feet and damaging the aircraft, according to new details disclosed by a U.S. official to Air & Space Forces Magazine. The U.S. had already revealed the launch of a Russian SA-22 Pantsir surface-to-air missile against the drone but previously did not disclose the damage or how close the missile came to downing the aircraft Nov. 27. The drone was able to re

Su-75 Checkmate: Did Russia Use ‘Untested’ Fighter Jets Against Ukraine? Ukrainian Air Force Official Explains

05/04/2023

Colonel Yuriy Ihnat, the spokesperson for the Air Force, disclosed this information at a press conference held at the Ukraine-Ukrinform media center, according to local media reports. The Air Force spokesperson claimed the Russian military possesses two advanced aircraft – the Su-57 Felon and Su-75 Checkmate. He added that these advanced planes, dubbed “super-planes,” are considered sixth-generation fighters and have been showcased at exhibitions.

RAF Fighter Jets Intercept Russian Military Aircraft Operating Near UK's Airspace

05/04/2023

On Sunday, RAF Lossiemouth based Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Russian Tu-142 Maritime Patrol aircraft that was operating near UK airspace. The aircraft, known by the NATO code name Bear-F, approached from the North-East and was monitored by NATO forces including Norwegian F-35A fighter aircraft. RAF Typhoons were launched as part of Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) procedures to ensure the safety of UK airspace, as per information published by the Royal Airforce.

The US Air Force has big plans for the next-generation drones that will fight alongside its fighters and bombers

05/04/2023

On April 11, General Atomics announced that AI and human pilots had successfully done combat maneuvers with the company's MQ-20 Avenger unmanned combat aerial vehicle. The test involved human operators sending commands to the aircraft through a satellite in low earth orbit. The aircraft were also tracked and maneuvered by AI pilots operating autonomously. Data was collected and used to retrain and redeploy AI pilots via satellite connection while the aircraft was still airborne.

PAF, USAF jets take over PH skies for ‘Cope Thunder’

05/03/2023

Fighter and advanced trainer jets from the Philippine Air Force (PAF) and United States Air Force (USAF) have dominated the country’s skies for the launch of the Cope Thunder Philippines Exercise (CT Ph) 23-1 on Monday, May 1.

South Korea Plans to Double FA-50 Fighting Eagle Aircraft Production

05/03/2023

South Korea’s Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) plans to increase its manufacturing capacity for the FA-50 Fighting Eagle by building two additional production lines in 2024. According to reports from local media, the move seeks to meet the apparent high demand for light combat aircraft. Multiple new customers are reportedly considering the Fighting Eagles due to their competitive price and fast delivery timelines.

Navy orders 126 new F-35 jet fighter bombers with advanced avionics and sensors in $7.8 billion deal

05/03/2023

Combat aircraft designers at Lockheed Martin Corp. will build 126 F-35 jet fighter-bombers for U.S. military services and allies under terms of a $7.8 billion order announced on Friday. Officials of the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md. - the organization handling F-35 aviation technology procurement for all military forces - are asking the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics segment in Fort Worth, Texas, to procure 126 Lot 15 F-35 joint strike fighter aircraft.

Turkish fighter jet KAAN to fly after high-speed taxi tests

05/03/2023

Türkiye's domestically developed KAAN fifth-generation fighter jet will make its maiden flight after completing high-speed taxi tests, a test pilot of the aircraft said. Gökhan Bayramoglu told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the KAAN is on its way to becoming an effective weapon of the Turkish military with indigenous software and hardware.