Military Aviation News Archive
09/01/2022
Members of the Air Combat Command Federal Laboratory, test pilots at Edwards Air Force Base, and software developers from the 309th Software Engineering Group achieved several milestones on an in-flight F-22 Raptor, Aug. 24. The achievement is the first instance of third-party software running on a fifth-generation fighter and the first in-flight use of open-source container orchestration software on any fighter aircraft.
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08/29/2022
Two US warships yesterday sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the US Navy said, the first such transit since China staged unprecedented military drills around Taiwan, which the Ministry of National Defense said are still ongoing. In a statement, the US Navy said the transit “demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
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08/29/2022
The first cargo of 24 Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft has arrived in Qatar from the United Kingdom, according to the Qatar News Agency (QNA). At the Dukhan/Tamim Airbase on Saturday, Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani greeted the arrival of the fighter planes. The Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft would be deployed as part of a squadron with F15-QA and Rafale planes to provide security during the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year, according to QNA.
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08/29/2022
The Ukrainian military renewed its requests to allies for the donation of advanced jet fighters, with a special focus on the American-made General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, in a series of social media posts on Ukraine's Aviation Day on Saturday.
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08/28/2022
A total of 21 Chinese military aircraft and five naval ships were detected in areas around Taiwan on Saturday, including 13 warplanes that flew into the southwestern part of Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ). According to the Ministry of National Defense (MND), the 13 Chinese planes that entered Taiwan's southwestern ADIZ consisted of seven Shenyang J-16 and two Chengdu J-10 fighter jets as well as four H-6 bombers.
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08/28/2022
Russia’s importance as an arms supplier to Asian states is likely to decline in the short term due to export constraints resulting from the Russia–Ukraine conflict. Russia’s need to use more of its own armaments in the Russia–Ukraine conflict, the sanctions imposed by the United States and European Union, and the perceived poor performance of Russian arms in the conflict itself may provide an opening for exports from competing arms suppliers including the United States and China.
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08/28/2022
To face the global geopolitical challenges, India and Argentina on Friday reaffirmed their commitment to further deepening and diversifying their bilateral cooperation, in various sectors including nuclear energy, defence, and space. The Argentine side expressed its interest in the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft `Tejas’ being manufactured by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL). If the deal goes through, HAL will have to rework the LCA Tejas as per requirements of the South American nation.
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08/27/2022
According to what the head of the Polish MoD posted via his Twitter channel, it is now clear where the newly acquired aircraft of the Polish Air Force will be stationed. The information has been released on the Polish National Aviation Day. The Minister stated that the newly procured FA-50 advanced fighter trainers will be stationed at Minsk Mazowiecki (ICAO code: EPMM) – currently serving as a base for the upgraded Polish MiG-29 Fulcrums.
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08/27/2022
Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus and a close ally of Russia in its war in Ukraine, announced today that some of his country’s combat aircraft had been modified to carry nuclear weapons. There are currently reports, including from the Reuters agency, that long-withdrawn Belarusian Su-24 Fencer strike aircraft are involved, although this doesn’t stack up for several reasons.
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08/26/2022
According to information published by Tass on August 18, 2022, Russia’s fifth-generation Su-57 multirole fighter may serve as the basis for developing prospective aircraft for new Russian aircraft carriers. The Su-57 is a fifth-generation Russian-made multifunctional fighter designed to destroy all types of air, ground and surface targets. It has supersonic cruising speed, internal armament, radar-absorbing coating, as well as the latest onboard equipment.
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08/26/2022
Fighter jets from Japan and South Korea are making their debut at a large-scale air combat exercise in northern Australia, along with F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighters from the host nation and the United States. The aircraft and personnel from the U.S. allies will take part in the biennial Exercise Pitch Black alongside that from 15 other nations, making up a force of over 100 aircraft and 2,500 personnel at what the Royal Australian Air Force or RAAF calls its “premier multinational air co
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08/25/2022
Australia’s new Air Force Chief has said surveillance missions would continue in the South China Sea despite a “recent spate of unsafe incidences” in the contested region. In May, a Royal Australian Air Force surveillance plane was intercepted by a Chinese fighter jet in international air space claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea region.
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08/25/2022
The Canadian government in March 2022 began the finalization phase of the Future Fighter Capability Program to purchase 88 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets through prime contractor Lockheed Martin and the United States government. The parties will now need months of negotiation on key contractual elements like when and where aircraft are to be delivered, pilot and maintainer training, logistics, and a final price tag – estimated to be worth $19 billion.
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08/25/2022
The 2023 draft budget for the Ministry of Defence’s branch of government is EUR 6.1 billion, representing an increase of EUR 1 billion, or 20%, on the current budget. The figure is explained by general increases in the Defence Forces’ operating expenditure, in defence materiel procurement and in support for the activities of national defence organisations. The increases seek respond to the changes in the Defence Forces’ operating environment.
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08/25/2022
F-16 fighter jets from the 132nd Fleet Weapons and Tactics Command, located at the 3rd Main Jet Base Command in the Turkish Air Force Command, escorted US B-52s as part of the NATO mission. During the operation conducted in Slovakian airspace to protect NATO’s eastern flank, Turkish F-16s were tasked with protecting American B-52s loaded with AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile munitions.
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08/24/2022
"Slovakia will send its 30 IFVs to Ukraine & get 15 Leopard2A4 MBT from Germany," Minister of Defence of the Slovak Republic Jaroslav Nad posted on Twitter. Earlier, Nad stated that the Government of Slovakia would not stop military support to Ukraine despite all the efforts of Russia to influence public opinion in his country on this matter.
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08/24/2022
Aircraft simulators must evolve to meet the adversary threat, leaders from the 53rd Wing told Air Force Magazine. Once mainly used for initial qualification training, the Air Force is moving toward a paradigm of simulator training known as the “common synthetic environment” that will create non-proprietary, interchangeable training devices and environments for aircrews to train, conduct mission rehearsals, and even test new weapons and other capabilities in a virtual environment.
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08/23/2022
An announcement by Russia last week revealing that Turkey is on track to receive another “regiment” of the S-400 missile defense system has left officials in Washington scratching their heads. But the Biden administration suggested that Ankara would not face additional sanctions as it appeared the new batch of Russian weapons is part of the original deal, which forced the Trump administration to penalize Turkey under US law.
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08/23/2022
Nomads with the 33rd Fighter Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, participated in exercise Northern Lightning from Aug. 8-19. Northern Lightning is a joint training exercise that replicates today’s air battle-space and where the Nomad’s worked to enhance Agile Combat Employment and build combat-credible Airmen. The Nomads stayed in Volk for roughly four weeks as they conducted off-site training and participated in the exercise.
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08/23/2022
The Air Force plans to invest billions of dollars to develop new combat fighters—and the military engines to power them—over the next decade. The plan shows Air Force leaders’ desire to keep its three large airplane makers—Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman—as well as engine makers General Electric and Pratt & Whitney, viable to build aircraft for years to come.
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08/22/2022
When I worked for Secretary Wynne when he was head of defense acquisition and then Secretary of the USAF, I had a chance to focus on the coming of the F-35 global enterprise. What I argued at the time was that a global force of F-35s would provide a foundation for working defense integration, not just interoperability. For me, the aircraft was not really a fighter understood in classic terms; it was a multi-domain flying combat system.
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08/22/2022
The U.S. Air Force released new photos of the new EC-37B Compass Call as it briefly visited Davis-Monthan Air Force Base on August 17, 2022. The visit gave to the personnel of the 55th Electronic Combat Group the opportunity to see up-close the aircraft that will replace in a few years their ageing EC-130Hs giving in turn better performance and new capabilities over the retiring aircraft. The aircraft, which received all external modification, is still flying with its primer paint and the civili
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08/21/2022
The headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine's occupied Crimea region was hit by a drone attack early on August 20, a Russia-installed administrator reported. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed administrator of the port city of Sevastopol, posted on Telegram that the drone crashed into the roof of the building and that there were no casualties.
A video showing a plume of smoke rising over the building was posted on social media.
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08/21/2022
According to intelligence data, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense and the Russian government have signed urgent contracts for the repair and restoration of aviation equipment. “In particular, employees of the 558th aircraft repair plant (Baranovichi) periodically go on business trips as part of ‘field groups’ to carry out work on the restoration and commissioning of aircraft equipment at the 121st aircraft repair plant (the territory of the Kubinka air base),” reads the report.
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08/20/2022
Iraq’s military is reportedly facing significant difficulties sustaining its fleet of Russian-made military helicopters as an indirect result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The latest quarterly report by the U.S. Defense Department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on Operation Inherent Resolve against ISIS notes that Russian supply chain issues caused by the Ukraine war, and sanctions against Moscow for perpetrating it, has affected Iraq’s ability to sustain its Russian-built aircraft.
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