Military Aviation News Archive
03/15/2024
Swedish JAS-39 Gripen multi-role fighter aircraft were scrambled alongside Belgian and German aircraft to investigate an unidentified track over the Baltic Sea emanating from Kaliningrad.
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03/15/2024
The timeline for the delivery of the next batch of Danish Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighter jets remains unclear, prompting Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen to urge the Armed Forces to explore contingency plans in case of potential delays. “Today, I informed the conciliation circle that there is still uncertainty about the delivery of the next F-35 fighter jets,” Poulsen said in a statement.
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03/15/2024
The Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense reported on March 14, 2024, that it had detected 26 aircraft belonging to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) operating around Taiwan. Out of these sorties, 18 crossed the central line of the Taiwan Strait and extended into the island country’s northern, southwestern, and eastern Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ).
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03/14/2024
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 26 Chinese military aircraft and 10 naval ships around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Wednesday (March 13) and 6 a.m. on Thursday (March 14).
Of the 26 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, seven crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, according to the MND. Meanwhile, 10 were tracked in the southwest corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), three in the northeast ADIZ, and one along the southern ADIZ.
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03/14/2024
Highlighting a significant concern for US national security, Air Force General Gregory M. Guillot, the newly-appointed head of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and US Northern Command, has issued a stark warning to lawmakers: Chinese military aircraft could operate dangerously close to US airspace as early as this year.
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03/14/2024
Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) sources have confirmed to Kyiv Post that Ukrainian drones that attacked a Russian aviation plant in Taganrog, Russia, on the night of March 9 succeeded in damaging at least one Beriev A-50U AEW&C (airborne early warning and control) aircraft. At the time, Russia claimed it had prevented a massive drone attack on the city of Taganrog, in the Rostov region.
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03/14/2024
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 10 Chinese military aircraft and nine naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Tuesday (March 12) and 6 a.m. on Wednesday (March 13). Of the 10 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, three entered the southwest corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND. Meanwhile, one Chinese drone flew along the southern ADIZ.
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03/14/2024
Two Chinese strategic bombers and a maritime surveillance plane were intercepted by Japanese fighter aircraft above contested waters on Tuesday during a long-range patrol, Japan's Defense Ministry said. The pair of nuclear-capable H-6 bombers were without fighter escorts as they flew a return sortie from the East China Sea into the Western Pacific via the Miyako Strait, according a map released by the Joint Staff of Japan's Self-Defense Forces.
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03/14/2024
India’s Cabinet Committee on Security has given a green light to continue development of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, India’s indigenous fifth-generation fighter jet. The state-run Aeronautical Development Agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. are leading this development effort. The committee early this month granted the project 150 trillion rupees (U.S. $1.8 billion) to fund the twin-engine AMCA’s full-scale design and development, flight testing and certification.
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03/13/2024
Ukraine is set to receive U.S.-made F-16 fighter aircraft within months, an upgrade that Kyiv and its Western allies hope will help level the playing field with Russia’s formidable air force. But the F-16s will only have a meaningful impact on the war in Ukraine if Kyiv and its partners can build and maintain the extensive support and logistics infrastructure necessary to keep these world-class warplanes in the air.
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03/13/2024
The F-35 fighter jet program achieved full-rate production after the successful completion of a crucial series of tests last year, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) said on Tuesday. Full-rate production, known as Milestone C, in the advanced fighter jet program signifies the completion of operational testing, allowing the Pentagon's acquisition chief to approve "full rate" production.
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03/13/2024
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) plans to capture over 50% of the global single-seat light fighter market by developing a single-seat version of its FA-50 light combat aircraft. The recent sales of FA-50s to Poland and Malaysia have prompted the revival of earlier plans for a single-seat version. These plans were initially abandoned in favor of the KF-21 development.
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03/12/2024
Police are expanding their investigation into the potential leak of Korean fighter jet technology by an Indonesian engineer as the list of suspects grows. During the police’s investigation into the Indonesian engineer first referred to the police in February, authorities found evidence that another suspect was involved in the alleged theft of technology regarding the KF-21 fighter jet, according to an exclusive report by the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily.
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03/12/2024
While some Gulf states – effectively Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – have made significant moves in recent years to indigenise defence production, in the aerospace sector these efforts have largely focused on the development of home-grown unmanned aerial vehicles and air-launched weapons.
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03/12/2024
On October 29, 2023, United States Air Force Major Kristin "Beo" Wolfe completed her final flight as the first female commander of the U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team at Orlando Sanford International Airport, Florida, concluding a notable four years demonstrating the capabilities of the F-35A at over 20 airshows annually around the world. In honor of Women's History Month, we recognize her contributions in aviation, and explore her role with the F-35 Demo Team.
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03/12/2024
"Twelve pilots so far — fewer than a full squadron — are expected to be ready to fly F-16s in combat by this summer after 10 months of training in Denmark, the United Kingdom and the United States. But by the time the pilots return to Ukraine, as few as six F-16s will have been delivered out of about 45 of the fighter jets that European allies have promised."
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03/12/2024
“We're very, very fixated on being competitive with the pacing challenge [of China],” said Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall. “I think the budget that we've submitted moves us forward — not quite as fast as we would like to, but it moves us forward in the right direction while maintaining current capabilities that are essential to the nation.”
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03/11/2024
Military planes parachuted aid over Gaza on Sunday, an AFP photographer said, the latest airdrop over the besieged territory's north where famine looms more than five months into the Israel-Hamas war. The photographer, on board a Jordanian military plane, saw hundreds of Palestinians rushing to receive the falling pallets of basic supplies.
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03/11/2024
The Pentagon will look to develop new artificial intelligence-guided planes, offering two contracts that several private companies have been competing to obtain. The Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) project is part of a $6 billion program that will add at least 1,000 new drones to the U.S. Air Force. These drones would deploy alongside human-piloted jets and provide cover for them, acting as escorts with full weapons capabilities that could also act as scouts or communications hubs.
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03/10/2024
US-produced F-35A fighter jets have reportedly received authorization to deploy B61-12 free-fall bombs, marking a historic milestone for the first fifth-generation aircraft to be approved for nuclear weapon carriage. The certification announcement clearing the way for nuclear weapon carriage came on March 8 from Russ Goemaere, a spokesperson for the F-35 Joint Program Office, disclosed to Breaking Defense magazine.
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03/10/2024
French aviation company Dassault is ramping up production of its modern Rafale fighter jets due to a significant increase in orders. According to reports from La Tribune, the company aims to reach a production rate of 3 Rafale aircraft per month in 2024. This step is driven by a substantial portfolio of export orders and domestic contracts placed by the French Armed Forces.
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03/10/2024
A 22-foot-long experimental drone warplane, taking off for the first time in California on Monday, might represent the future of the US Air Force. Unless, as has happened before, service leaders lose their nerve – and abandon a good idea because it threatens the status quo.
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03/09/2024
Canada’s decision to sustain its CF-18 fighter fleet reflected its commitment to modernising air defence capabilities amid challenges highlighted by a critical report commissioned by the Department of National Defence and released last year, casting doubt on its ability to fulfil NATO obligations.
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03/09/2024
The South Korean Air Force recently conducted an impressive “elephant walk” involving 33 aircraft, including F-35A stealth fighters, KF-16s, F-15Ks, and F-4Es. This demonstration at the Suwon air base coincided with the annual Freedom Shield exercise, reinforcing deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
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03/09/2024
Russian aircraft were attacked from a distance of more than 150 km on March 7, the Ukrainian Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk reported on Telegram on March 8.
“We are checking the results of the combatwork,” he wrote. According to him, air defense units hunt down Russian fighters almost every day.
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