Military Aviation News Archive
10/31/2024
On 29 September 2024, Austria held national elections. The challenge for the new government will be to start and set aside billions of dollars to replace the mixture of fifteen early T1-B2R-B5 Eurofighter Typhoon single-seaters flown by the Luftstreitkräfte. Their primary goal, which has been internally blocked for the last year, is to acquire 12 to 15 Leonardo M346FA advanced jet trainer/light combat aircraft to replace the outdated SAAB-105OE, which was phased out in 2020 after 50 years.
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10/30/2024
The U.S. Air Force’s B-21 Raider, originally intended as a stealth bomber, may evolve beyond traditional roles. With advancements in anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) and artificial intelligence, the Raider could replace the NGAD fighter in air dominance missions.
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10/30/2024
There is a new theory of airpower on the horizon. Over the next five years, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) plans to invest billions in research and development for a force of over 1,000 collaborative combat aircraft (CCA). The vision includes working with allies and partners to pair fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft with versatile unmanned systems, creating aerial networks that can rapidly adapt to changes in the battlespace.
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10/30/2024
The Indian government plans to penalise General Electric Co. for significant delays in delivering jet engines for its domestically built light-combat aircraft, Bloomberg reported citing an Indian official familiar with the matter. The deliveries GE has been penalised for are a part of a $716 million deal with state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL). That deal, signed in 2021, covers the supply of 99 engines for the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft Mk1.
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10/29/2024
The Supreme Commander of the Iranian Air Force recently arrived in Islamabad for discussions on a potential military partnership, as reported by various Arab sources. Brigadier General Hamed Wahidi touched down at Noor Khan Air Base on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, following an official invitation from his Pakistani counterpart. Leading a high-level military delegation, General Wahidi’s visit highlights a growing interest in defense collaboration between the two nations.
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10/29/2024
The future of the Air Force’s next-generation combat jet will be decided by the end of the year, the service’s top officer said Oct. 25. “We intend to have that by December,” Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin said at the Military Reporters and Editors Conference in Washington, D.C. “We also want to be able to influence the Department’s Presidential Budget Submission in February.”
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10/29/2024
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez inaugurated India’s first private military aircraft plant on Monday, boosting New Delhi’s ambitions of growing local manufacturing in its defense and aerospace industries. Sanchez was welcomed to the country with a roadshow in Gujarat state’s Vadodara city where hundreds of people cheered and waved banners.
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10/29/2024
Armenia has initiated talks with the Indian company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited [HAL] to acquire Su-30MKI fighter jets, according to reports from Indian sources. This move is part of Armenia’s broader strategy to strengthen its air force capabilities. The potential acquisition of these advanced aircraft represents a second option for upgrading its military assets, with the first being the modernization of its existing fleet of Su-30SM fighters to the “Super Flanker” variant through HAL.
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10/29/2024
The KAI KF-21 Boromae, a joint project by Korean Aerospace Industries and Indonesian Aerospace, is South Korea’s latest 4.5-generation or “Fourth Gen+” fighter jet, with partial stealth capabilities. First flown in 2022, the Boromae is designed to replace aging F-4 and F-5 fighters in the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF). Equipped with twin GE F414 engines, the KF-21 can reach Mach 1.81 with a range of 1,000 km.
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10/28/2024
Israel deployed US-made F-35 stealth fighters among its 100 jets, spy planes and refueling aircraft to conduct its largest-ever strike on Iran, which left Tehran vulnerable should war break out, a report says. The Jewish state greenlit the use of F-35s, its most-advanced aerial weapon, to help lead operation “Day of Repentance” that bombarded military sites across Iran on Friday night, sources told the Wall Street Journal.
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10/28/2024
For some time, there has been growing suspicion that Russia has been offering cash (or gold), technology, know-how and modern weaponry in return for the drones, ammunition, missiles and now, in the case of North Korea, people to support its war in Ukraine – as Kyiv Post previously reported.
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10/28/2024
Lockheed Martin is ramping up its autonomous drone integration capabilities. It aims to have its F-35 fighter jet operate as a central control hub for up to eight Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs). The defense company, after being sidelined in the first stage of the US Air Force’s CCA program, is positioning itself as a strong contender for the next increment of development, company officials revealed during an Oct. 22 earnings call.
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10/27/2024
Jordan has not permitted any military aircraft from warring parties in the region to cross its airspace, the Jordanian army said Saturday in the wake of Israeli strikes targeting Iran. "No military aircraft have been allowed to traverse Jordanian airspace from any of the conflicting parties in the region,” the official Jordanian news agency cited a military source as saying.
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10/27/2024
A Russian pilot's defection to Ukraine in a Mi-8 helicopter echoes the famous 1976 defection of Soviet Lieutenant Viktor Belenko, who flew his MiG-25 Foxbat to Japan. Disillusioned with the Soviet system and facing personal issues, Belenko seized an opportunity during a routine flight to escape.
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10/27/2024
France is hoping that the new dispensation in Bangladesh will finalise a long-awaited deal to purchase Rafale fighter jets as part of a broader effort to modernise the Bangladesh Air Force (BAF), according to sources familiar with the matter. The discussions have gained momentum as the caretaker Prime Minister Mohammad Yunus has been described as more receptive to France’s offer compared to his predecessor Sheikh Hasina.
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10/26/2024
Due to escalating global threats, the U.S. Air Force is pushing for faster production of the F-15EX Eagle II fighter jet. The F-15EX, a highly capable 4.5th-generation fighter, is being prioritized for homeland defense but could also serve in offensive roles, particularly in the Indo-Pacific.
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10/26/2024
US Central Command announced on Friday that F-16 fighter jets have arrived in the Middle East from Germany ahead of an impending Israeli strike on Iran. “US Air Force F-16s from the 480th Fighter Squadron based at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany arrive in the US Central Command area of responsibility,” CENTCOM wrote on X Friday.
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10/25/2024
With the purchase of six new Rafale jets, Greece will have 30 state-of-the-art French fighter aircraft. In this context, decision-makers in the Greek “Pentagon” have long expressed their desire for the government to acquire six additional new Rafale fighters so that the Air Force can maintain two squadrons of the French aircraft.
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10/24/2024
At least four people have been killed and 14 were injured Wednesday in what Turkish officials are calling a “terrorist attack” on a state-owned military aircraft factory outside Ankara. Three of the injured are in a serious condition, Turkish interior minister Ali Yerlikaya told reporters.
“Two terrorists, one male and one female, were neutralized,” he said. Yerlikaya added that investigations into their identities were ongoing.
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10/24/2024
The Ukrainian Air Force is working to solve one of the major issues on its way to obtaining a larger number of Western fighter jets. When Ukraine was pushing its partners to provide F-16 multirole fighters, the key problem was where and how to train pilots to operate these jets.
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10/24/2024
France has decided to supply Ukraine with the first batch of three Mirage 2000-5 aircraft. They will be armed with SCALP cruise missiles and AASM bombs, La Tribune says. “France will supply three Mirage 2000-5s to Ukraine in the first quarter of 2025. This figure has not yet been announced by either the Elysee Palace or the Ministry of the Armed Forces,” the agency writes.
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10/24/2024
According to sources from Turkey, cited by Iranian journalist Hayal Muazin, Iran plans to start producing Russian Su-30 and Su-35 fighter jets domestically. According to the information, Tehran has already received a license to manufacture these aircraft and is preparing to set up an assembly plant in the near future. “This will be a significant step in the development of Iranian aviation,” Muazin stated in his report.
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10/24/2024
The US Marines successfully tested their experimental unmanned "loyal wingman" aircraft alongside F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets earlier this month. The flight test, the fourth for the Marine Corp's XQ-58A Valkyrie, was a milestone for the program that helped advance the manned-unmanned teaming concept that the military is pursuing, an official said.
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10/23/2024
French media said that Iraq is still interested in purchasing France’s top-tier Dassault Rafale multirole fighter aircraft to use them in air patrol operations. The lack of Meteor air-to-air missiles beyond visual range will limit the aircraft’s overall effectiveness as air superiority fighters for Baghdad, according to Forbes. On October 18, the French weekly business journal La Tribune published an article about Iraq’s ongoing interest in the Rafale.
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10/23/2024
Australia needs to bring the civil, military and industrial components of aviation policy into a coherent whole. It should view the sector as a national enterprise to promote mutual support among its various parts. The civilian aviation workforce could be seen as a defence asset, for example, and various efforts to support aerospace manufacturing could be better coordinated to create a stronger industry.
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