Military Aviation News Archive
02/18/2024
By 2011, China's fighter design bureau and defense industrial firms earned a reputation for turning out two types of aircraft: either adaptations of foreign designs subsequently modified by a Chinese design team or models that nearly mirrored the Russian-made Sukhoi Su-27 and Su-30MK series. Though based on 1980s innovations, the aircraft and technology transfer that came with them nonetheless helped move the Chinese air power into the 21st century.
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02/18/2024
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked seven Chinese military aircraft, five naval vessels, and one balloon around the country between 6 a.m. Friday (Feb. 16) and 6 a.m. Saturday (Feb. 17). The defense ministry said that seven People’s Liberation Army (PLA) fighter jets had been detected in the Taiwan Strait. However, it did not indicate that any had entered the air defense identification zone (ADIZ) or crossed the median line.
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02/18/2024
The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Saturday displayed its firepower capability at a mega exercise featuring over 120 aircraft, including frontline fighter jets and attack helicopters in Rajasthan's Pokhran desert. In the Vayu Shakti exercise, the IAF also demonstrated the capabilities of its long-range drones and air-to-air missiles as well as its increasing strength in the rapid deployment of combat assets by airlifting weapons like M-777 ultra-light howitzers and other military platforms.
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02/18/2024
Ukraine's military shot down two Russian Su-34 fighter jets and another Russian Su-35 combat aircraft on Feb. 17, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk reported. The destruction of the jets is the latest in a recent uptick of downed Russian planes, including a Beriev A-50 military observation plane in January, which reportedly cost $330 million to produce.
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02/17/2024
Russia's most significant opposition leader for the past decade, Alexei Navalny, has died in an Arctic Circle jail, the prison service has said. President Vladimir Putin's most vociferous critic, he was serving 19 years on extremism charges that were widely seen as politically motivated.
Navalny was moved to one of Russia's toughest penal colonies late last year.
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02/17/2024
Reports have circulated online this week that a mockup of China's J-35 carrier-capable fighter aircraft was being employed in tests aboard the People's Liberation Army Navy aircraft carrier Liaoning. As TheWarzone reported, it could be an indication of further progress in the J-35's path to a career as a frontline naval fighter. Still, it further raises the possibility of a version of the jet operating from Beijing's two in-service carriers.
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02/17/2024
NATO allied air forces practiced refueling, close formation flights, and aerial combat drills in Europe this week. The training comes as more warnings emerged that NATO’s eastern flank faces potential conflict with Russia within the next decade. Speaking this week in Poland, Estonia Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that allied forces have about three or four years to strengthen its defenses before Russia prepares a “test for NATO,” the Associated Press reported.
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02/17/2024
The young government of President Javier Milei is still working through its options for what fighter jet Argentina’s air force will be equipped with, but one contender is making an open push for the new government: India and its Tejas multirole fighter.
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02/17/2024
The Boeing F-15EX Eagle II got its seal of approval from Lt Gen Michael A Loh, Director of the US Air National Guard, for its operability as it can carry more weapons and fly longer distances and its easy integration into the service than the stealth F-35A. The all-weather multirole strike fighter is, incidentally, the first US Air Force aircraft to be tested and fielded from beginning to end through combined developmental and operational tests.
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02/16/2024
Russia's brazen plan to put a nuclear weapon in space could threaten satellites that enable military and civilian communications for the US and other western allies. It is unclear what exactly Moscow plans to put into space, but according to early reports from unnamed US government sources, a space-based nuke would be used to attack satellites in orbit rather than strike targets on the ground.
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02/16/2024
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked eight Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Thursday (Feb. 15) and 6 a.m. on Friday (Feb. 16). Of the eight People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, one entered the southwest corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND. No PLA aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line during that time.
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02/16/2024
A total of 14 warplanes and drones sent by the Chinese People's Liberation Army were detected in waters near Taiwan on Wednesday afternoon, with nine of them crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, according to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND). The 14 aircraft dispatched by the Chinese military starting at 1 p.m. included Shenyang J-16 fighter jets, Shaanxi Y-8 transport aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles, the MND said.
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02/14/2024
In recent years the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region has gained renewed strategic global importance, a trend primarily fueled by the rise of China’s military and its expansionist aims. Chinese influence is now felt in many parts of the globe, chiefly through its economic reach, but also militarily on a more regional basis. That includes growing threats against Taiwan and military expansion into the South China Sea.
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02/14/2024
The United States Air Force hasn't disclosed which aerospace defense contractor is taking the lead on the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program – the effort to develop a "system of systems" that will include a sixth-generation jet fighter to eventually replace the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.
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02/14/2024
When General Dynamics began developing what would become the F-16 Fighting Falcon in the 1970s, it was expected that the aircraft might have to take on the best the Soviet Union had to offer. Now, more than 50 years after the aircraft took its first flight, it could soon be engaging with the Russia's aircraft in the skies over Ukraine.
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02/13/2024
The F-35 Lighting II stealth fighter jet is slotted to be compatible with two new powerful munitions by the end of the decade. Lockheed Martin is working with partner militaries to incorporate the Meteor air-to-air missile and SPEAR 3 air-launched cruise missile into the F-35.
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02/13/2024
The US Air Force is overhauling its aircraft fleets, preparing them for a potential great-power fight, "a war that we've not ever seen the likes of before," a general said recently. With the possibility of conflict between the US and China in mind, aircraft fleets are being downsized, upgraded, and reconfigured. Pilots are being retrained, and airmen are being pivoted towards what's needed for a possible conflict.
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02/13/2024
A Dutch court has ordered the government to halt the delivery of parts for F-35 fighter jets used by Israel in its bombardment of the Gaza Strip. The verdict, delivered by an appeals court on Monday, said there is a “clear risk” that the parts the Netherlands is exporting are being used in “serious violations of international humanitarian law”.
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02/12/2024
Two Jordanian military pilots were killed when their aircraft crashed during a routine training exercise, a military statement said on Sunday. Major Pilot Omar Atta Abadi and Captain Pilot Muhammad Abdullah Khudair were pronounced dead after they were transferred to Hussein Medical Center following the crash, reported state news agency (PETRA).
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02/12/2024
The sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye is considered final as the review and objection process in the U.S. Congress ended on Saturday. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration on Jan. 26 formally notified Congress of its intention to proceed with the sale of 40 Lockheed Martin F-16s and nearly 80 modernization kits to Türkiye.
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02/11/2024
The Ministry of National Defense tracked five Chinese military aircraft and four naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Friday (Feb. 9) and 6 a.m. on Saturday (Feb. 10).
Of the five People’s Liberation Army aircraft, two crossed the Taiwan Strait median line and entered the southwest corner of the country’s air defense identification zone, according to the MND. In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed land-based air defense missile systems to monitor the PLA activit
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02/11/2024
Ukrainian pilots are "very impressed" with US F-16 fighter jets, the Ukrainian service of the Voice of America reported. A pilot who went by the call sign "Phantom" said in an interview with the outlet that Ukrainian pilots training on the multirole fighters in the US and Europe had praised the aircraft.
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02/10/2024
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked seven Chinese military aircraft and five naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Thursday (Feb. 8) and 6 a.m. on Friday (Feb. 9). Of the seven People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, three entered the southwest corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND. No PLA aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line during that time.
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02/10/2024
Two Russian jets entered an air defense zone just outside of Alaskan airspace on Thursday—the second time this week that such an incident has occurred. The military jets were tracked operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) but remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a statement the same day.
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02/10/2024
The government of Australia has announced an additional allocation of $399 million towards the ongoing development of the MQ-28A Ghost Bat, a Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA).
Developed in tandem with Boeing Defence Australia, the MQ-28A aims to act as a so-called ‘loyal wingman’, safeguarding and assisting military assets and pilots by engaging in various missions, including combat duties.
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