Military Aviation News Archive

Air Force: F-16 to become Ukraine’s main combat aircraft, Gripen may become additional option

12/11/2023

Ukraine and its partners are considering the possibility of providing Swedish Gripen fighter jets in addition to the F-16. Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said it during the national telethon, according to RBC Ukraine.

Lockheed Martin rolls out first of F-35 fighter jets ordered by NATO member Belgium

12/11/2023

The Belgian military got its first look at the F-35A Lightning II combat jets it ordered from Lockheed Martin on Sunday at the company’s facility in Fort Worth. Belgium, a member of NATO and the European Union, ordered 34 of the fifth-generation fighter aircraft it says will enable it to fulfill its military obligations.

U.S. F-16 fighter jet crashes in Yellow Sea: sources

12/11/2023

A U.S. F-16 fighter jet crashed in the Yellow Sea on Monday and the pilot made an emergency escape, sources said. The jet crashed into the waters after taking off from an air base in Gunsan, 178 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the sources. They did not elaborate on whether the pilot has been rescued.

Belgian F-16s intercept Russian Sukhoi-30s over the Baltic Sea

12/10/2023

NATO radars spotted unknown planes that had taken off from Kaliningrad. Two Belgian Air Force F-16s took off from Šiauliai in Lithuania to investigate and found that they were two Russian Su-30 combat aircraft which were not in contact with civil air traffic control.

Russia's MiG-35 Is No 5th Generation Fighter Like the F-35 or F-22

12/09/2023

Russia remains the sole operator of the MiG-35, and even though production has been slow, a variant has been considered for export. The MiG-35 is Not a Fifth Generation Fighter - In January 2017, President of Russia's Aircraft-Building Corporation Yuri Slyusar touted the capabilities of the Mikoyan MiG-35 (NATO reporting name "Fulcrum-F"), and suggested it would be armed with a "promising" number of armaments.

Ukrainian sting thwarts sale of stolen fighter jet parts to Russia

12/09/2023

The stolen parts, including starter generators and aircraft pumps for MiG-29 multi-purpose fighters, were valued at over Hrv10m ($268,000). The SSU’s efforts led to the prevention of a potentially damaging transaction involving stolen military equipment. The investigation revealed that a criminal from Dnipro, who pilfered the components from a manufacturer’s warehouse in 2019, played a key role in attempting to sell these items.

Here Is How Congress Plans to Keep Tight Oversight of New Fighters and CCAs

12/09/2023

House and Senate lawmakers, in their recently unveiled compromise 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, are seeking tight oversight of both the Air Force and the Navy on their respective versions of the new and highly secret Next Generation Air Dominance fighter and the Collaborative Combat Aircraft programs Specifically, lawmakers are demanding briefs every six months on virtually all metrics of the projects.

141 F-16 Vipers Geared-Up To Thwart Potential Chinese Invasion As Taiwan Completes Final Flight Testing

12/08/2023

As China aggressively pushes boundaries in the Indo-Pacific, there is a proliferation of advanced Western-origin fighters like F-16s, Rafales, and F-35s underway in the region. In a significant development that took place recently, the last F-16 fighter, upgraded to the F-16V standard as part of the Feng Zhan or Phoenix Rising program, completed flight testing in Taiwan, paving the way for the induction of these jets in the Taiwanese Air Force.

Ukraine Destroyed a Russian Su-24M Strike Aircraft over the Black Sea

12/08/2023

Ukrainian anti-aircraft gunners successfully downed a Russian Su-24M (NATO reporting name "Fencer-D") over the Black Sea on Tuesday. The Soviet-era supersonic, all-weather tactical bomber was reported to be near Snake Island (also known as Zmiinyi Island), which is about 30 miles from the Ukrainian coastline and near Romania.

South Korea to upgrade its F-15 fighter jets

12/08/2023

According to Dong-A Ilbo, this transformation involves outfitting the cockpit, radar, and other components with state-of-the-art equipment to introduce an advanced variant. Boeing representatives disclosed ongoing discussions between the U.S. and South Korea during a meeting held on October 29th at the Boeing Mesa facility in Arizona. They highlighted the imminent shift towards a new model by integrating cutting-edge technology into the entire front section of the aircraft.

Defense bill would let Air Force retire A-10s, F-15s — but not F-22s

12/08/2023

A compromise defense policy bill released Wednesday night would grant the Air Force’s request to retire older F-15 Eagle fighters, A-10 Warthogs, and other aircraft, but again block its attempt to mothball 32 older F-22A Raptors. And lawmakers want to see more of the Air Force’s plans for folding drone wingmen known as collaborative combat aircraft into its fleet at an affordable rate, and how it plans to create the Next Generation Air Dominance future fighter platform.

Taiwan tracks 10 Chinese military aircraft, 6 naval ships around nation

12/07/2023

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 10 Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Wednesday (Dec. 6) and 6 a.m. on Thursday (Dec. 7) Of the 10 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, one BZK-005 reconnaissance drone crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the southwest sector of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND. Meanwhile, one Shenyang J-11 fighter jet entered the southwest corner of the ADIZ.

US military grounds entire fleet of Osprey aircraft in wake of deadly crash in Japan

12/07/2023

The military announced late Wednesday it was grounding all of its Osprey V-22 helicopters, one week after eight Air Force Special Operations Command service members died in a crash off the coast of Japan. The Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps took the extraordinary step of grounding hundreds of aircraft after a preliminary investigation of last week's crash indicated that a materiel failure — that something went wrong with the aircraft — and not a mistake by the crew led to the deaths.

Netherlands human rights groups challenge F-35 fighter jet parts export to Israel

12/07/2023

Human rights groups Oxfam Novib, PAX, and The Rights Forum are seeking to halt the Dutch government‘s export of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel in a hearing that began Monday. During summary proceedings in front of the Hague District Court , they argued that such exports make the Netherlands complicit in potential war crimes, pointing to Israel‘s alleged use of these planes in attacks on Gaza. The Israel-Hamas war has resulted in more than 15,000 civilian casualties.

China Reveals ‘World’s Longest Air-To-Air Missile’; PL-17 Missile Spotted On PLAAF’s J-16 Fighter Jet

12/05/2023

China has reportedly revealed its longest-range air-to-air missile (AAM), the PL-17, on a J-16 fighter, putting to rest speculations about what the missile looks like after its existence began to be noted a few years ago.

The U.S. Air Force Is in Serious Decline

12/05/2023

In September, the United States Air Force celebrated another birthday. At age 76, it is in bad shape. Despite lowering qualification standards, it cannot attract enough recruits to fill its ranks. The size and serviceability of its combat aircraft are at all-time lows. And truncated training has weakened pilot readiness.

Navy ‘safely’ recovers military spy plane stuck in Kaneohe Bay for almost 2 weeks

12/04/2023

The Navy announced they ‘safely’ recovered the Military plane that overshot the runway and has been stuck in Kaneohe Bay for almost two weeks. Navy officials say it took meticulous planning and assembling specialized equipment from off island, a multidisciplinary team of military and civilian experts to carefully raise the P-8A Poseidon from the bay.

China Freaked: USAF Launched Together 24 F-22 Stealth Fighters in Massive 'Elephant Walk'

12/03/2023

In March 2019, the United States Air Force didn't just conduct just another "elephant walk" – the term for taxiing a large number of aircraft before takeoff. Instead, the close formation and minimum interval takeoff of fifth-generation Lockheed Martin F-22 air superiority fighters could have rightfully been described as a march of the Raptors. Maybe we should call this a Raptor walk.

NGAD: The Air Force's New $300 Million Fighter Could Be a Game Changer

12/03/2023

Will NGAD Be Worth It? While few nations even can develop and field a fifth-generation fighter, the United States is already working on a sixth-generation fighter. Known as the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, the sixth-generation fighter is expected to be technologically advanced – and fiscally prohibitive, leading some to question whether the advanced airframe is worth the sticker price.

6th-Gen Fighter Program: UK Employs Artificial Intelligence To Support Development Of Tempest

12/03/2023

The UK is reportedly utilizing state-of-the-art technology, including Artificial Intelligence, to bolster the advancement of its next-generation fighter aircraft, Tempest. Slated to be a vital component of the UK’s future combat air system, FCAS is envisioned as a supersonic stealth fighter incorporating state-of-the-art technologies, including advanced integrated sensing and protection capabilities.

CCA loyal wingman could lose ‘a year’ of progress due to Congressional budget logjam: Kendall

12/03/2023

The Pentagon’s high-tech unmanned wingman project could face a serious delay of up to a year if Congress does not pass a full budget soon, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall warned today.

Su-34: Russia Upgrades UMPC Software For Bomb Release; Trains Fullback Fighter Pilots For UMPC Ops

12/02/2023

Russian Telegram channel Fighterbomber, which reportedly has an affiliation with the Russian Air Force, recently stated that the software for managing the weapons system aboard the Su-34 is being updated to enable the release of UMPC bombs. With the upgrade, these smart bombs will reportedly become smarter.

Canada orders 14 Poseidon P-8A maritime patrol aircraft

12/02/2023

Canada has finalised a government-to-government agreement for 14 P-8A Poseidon multi-mission aircraft with an option for a further two aircraft after the county's government ruled out other options to fulfil maritime patrol and other roles.

PAF inducts JF-17 Block III aircraft

12/02/2023

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has started to induct into service the latest version of the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC)/Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) JF-17 ‘Thunder' fighter aircraft. The PAF said in mid-November that the new Block III aircraft provides the PAF with several improved capabilities over the earlier Block II version. These include, it said, “superior manoeuvrability, extended range, and enhanced combat capabilities”.

Russian Su-30 ‘Downs’ French Rafale Fighters For Kazakhstan Deal; Top Official Denies Interest in ‘Costly’ Jets

12/01/2023

Media reports recently suggested that Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan might go for a Rafale acquisition following the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to the two nations earlier this month. While both countries are in the process of modernizing their militaries, reports now say they might find the “expensive” and “complex” plane beyond their financial means.