Military Aviation News Archive
11/22/2022
A recent think tank report suggests that the US Air Force needs to substantially upgrade its force structure in Guam and Okinawa, while another warns about the danger posed by hardened Chinese air bases near Taiwan. A new report from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments calls for increased intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities in both Guam and Okinawa, as well as sufficient combat assets to conduct retaliatory strikes .
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11/22/2022
The Zhuhai Air Show in Guangdong China is the largest aviation and military trade expo in all of China. The event ran from November 7-13 and provided an unusually large glimpse into the developmental gains in military technology in a wide array of categories. Everything from small arms to commercial shipping technology had a presence at the show, but the real gains were shown in missile, radar, unmanned systems, and fighter technology.
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11/22/2022
Turkey’s Baykar company has begun ground tests of its Bayraktar Kizilelma drone, described as the country’s first unmanned fighter aircraft. Accompanying imagery of the tests, at the Akinci Flight Training and Test Center in the northwestern province of Tekirdag, which included taxi runs ahead of its first flight, provide us with our best look so far at this unique uncrewed air vehicle.
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11/21/2022
Taiwan tracked 15 Chinese military aircraft and three naval vessels around Taiwan between Thursday and Friday, its Defence Ministry has said. “10 PLA aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond to these activities,” Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND) said in a Twitter post.
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11/21/2022
As we already reported, F-35s from Italy, United States and the Netherlands are training together at Amendola Air Base, in southern Italy, during the exercise “Falcon Strike 2022”, which runs from November 15 to 28, 2022. The exercise is focused on the integration between fifth and fourth-generation aircraft and between different F-35 operators.
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11/21/2022
About 28 Turkish defense manufacturers participated in Pakistan’s biennial event IDEAS 2022. Turkey, alongside China, is believed to have the most prominent presence at the expo. Turkish media has also reported that their pavilion attracted hundreds of visitors, including Pakistani officials.
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11/20/2022
Turkish military planes have hit targets in northern Syria and Iraq, bombing bases Turkey’s defence ministry claimed were used by those behind an explosion in central Istanbul last weekend that killed six people and wounded more than 80. The Turkish defence ministry announced the launch of the raids in a statement on Twitter on Sunday.
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11/20/2022
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently announced that the NASAMS sent to Ukraine were fully operational, and their performance was very impressive. Shortly after, the internet was abuzz with reports about the NASAMS shooting down Russia’s ‘most powerful’ Su-35 fighters.
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11/20/2022
From November 15 to 28, 2022, F-35s from Italy, United States and the Netherlands are training together at Amendola Air Base, in southeastern Italy. The exercise, currently in full swing, is focused on the integration between fifth and fourth-generation aircraft and integration between different allied F-35 operators which, as you may already know, are two increasingly recurring topics since the entry into service of the Lightning II.
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11/20/2022
NATO navies are holding manoeuvres in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea throughout November, bringing together five aircraft carriers, numerous warships and thousands of sailors. Carrier activities will include anti-submarine and air warfare drills, deck-to-deck aircraft transfers and at-sea resupplying.
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11/19/2022
Japan has entered the final stages of talks with the U.K. and Italy to jointly develop and build a next-generation fighter jet, marking a turning point as Japan looks beyond the U.S. for defense cooperation. Tokyo will also consider revising its export rules to allow for defense equipment sales abroad, hoping to reduce development costs for the new plane and boost the domestic defense industry.
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11/19/2022
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 15 Chinese military aircraft and three naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. Thursday (Nov. 17) and 6 a.m. Friday (Nov. 18). Of the 15 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, seven were monitored in the southwest corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), including four Chengdu J-10 fighter jets, one Shaanxi Y-8 electronic warfare plane, one Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane, and one Guizhou BZK-007 reconnaissance drone.
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11/19/2022
The proposal was made by Michael Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defense and Space, during a meeting with South Korean Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang in Seoul. Both sides are also exploring ways to strengthen collaboration in aviation, space, and other mobility industries. The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy of South Korea stated on November 16 that Airbus proposed a “win-win strategy” that would involve exporting South Korean aircraft to Western European nations.
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11/19/2022
An Air Force test and evaluation squadron hopes a football-sized device mounted in an F-35 fighter's weapons bay might revolutionize how it collects in-flight data on operational fighter jets. Air Combat Command’s 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada earlier this year started adding these devices, dubbed the Quick Reaction Instrumentation Package, or QRIP, to operational F-35s.
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11/18/2022
Leonardo is bolstering the credentials of its M-346 thanks to an international school established with the Italian air force – and the airframer is hoping that further sales of the type will follow soon.
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11/18/2022
U.S. Navy air combat experts are asking electro-optics engineers at the Boeing Co. to procure 19 airborne infrared search and track (IRST) systems to help Navy combat jets detect enemy aircraft without using radar.
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11/18/2022
A photo of a pilot wearing an advanced Helmet Mounted Display (HMD), claimed to be from inside a JF-17C (or Block III), went around on social media. Also, another report about the jet being further upgraded also interested observers. Reported to share some of the technology from China’s J-20 ‘Mighty Dragon’ stealth fighter, the JF-17 is expected to replace the Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) aging fleet of Chengdu F-7 and Dassault Mirage-III/V.
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11/17/2022
The 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade’s staff sergeant shared pictures of Ukrainian soldiers on his Facebook page as Russian forces were routed in the Kherson region. The photo that caught the most attention was of the Su-24M Flanker.
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11/17/2022
A new federal watchdog report has flagged a troubling trend among U.S. military aircraft: More than two dozen fleets haven’t met their annual combat-readiness goals in at least a decade. The Government Accountability Office studied 49 types of airframes across the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps for its Nov. 10 report. Those platforms make up the bulk of American military airpower.
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11/16/2022
Airmen are gearing up for what could be the most consequential move in military pilot training since the Air Force was created in 1947: teaching students to fly without stepping foot in a real airplane. The new program, known as “Air Mobility Fundamentals-Simulator,” is the Air Force’s next step in a yearslong attempt to modernize pilot training without sacrificing quality. It’s also an opportunity for the service to embrace more cost-effective technology and retire its 30-year-old fleet of T-1A
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11/16/2022
After almost nine months of aggression against Ukraine, Russia has burned through, and seen destroyed, enormous stocks of arms and munitions. It cannot fully replace them. Faced with an acute loss of advanced components and industrial equipment as a result of Western sanctions, the Russian defense industry will simply be unable to compensate for its losses in the foreseeable future.
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11/16/2022
For the first time, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has provided valuable air-to-air refuelling support in South Korea during Exercise Vigilant Storm 23. A RAAF KC-30A multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) and aviators from 33 Squadron deployed to the exercise from October 28 to November 5. Exercise Vigilant Storm is one of several exercises routinely held by the United States and South Korea, and is intended to enhance combined defence posture and strengthen combined air operations.
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11/16/2022
In a period of global competition and conflict, the liberal democracies need to accelerate their capabilities to defend themselves and to find ways to enhance their deterrent capabilities not just for the long haul but in the short to mid-term.
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11/15/2022
14th November, 2022) Poland will carry out maintenance and repair works on US-made F-16 fighter jets, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Monday.
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11/15/2022
Citing the “Belarusian Hajun Project” Telegram channel, the report stated that a MiG-31 with the number RF-92339 was flying over Belarus and carrying a hypersonic missile. A photograph was subsequently released as evidence of the aircraft over Minsk. While the MiG-31s armed with Kinzhal missiles remain reportedly deployed in Belarus, Russia’s Defense Ministry has meanwhile ordered an additional batch of Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic missiles, as reported by the state news agency TASS.
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