Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Vanishing American Air Superiority

03/06/2010

The debate over the F-22 Raptor has been carried out at the customary level of simplemindedness we've become used to when Congress handles military questions. Since the early '60s, the favored method of killing a military program has been to come up with an argument easily expressed in a sound bite and stick with it. This time, the sound bite was, "Why do we need two fighter planes, anyway?"

India to order primary trainers to replace HPT-32s

03/06/2010

India has issued a request for proposals for primary trainer aircraft, an urgent requirement now that the country's fleet of Hindustan Aeronautics HPT-32 Deepaks has been grounded.

Putin wants new long-range bomber

03/06/2010

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged his country's military industry to start working on a new strategic bomber after finishing the new fifth-generation fighter jet.

Lockheed Martin Awarded $171 Million For Advanced Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning Radars

03/06/2010

Lockheed Martin received a low-rate initial production contract valued at $171.8 million from Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems in Bethpage, NY, for four AN/APY-9 Airborne Early Warning (AEW) radar systems and spare parts. The radar systems will be integrated into the U.S. Navy’s new E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft.

Boeing Awards Harpoon Launch Structure Contract to Danish Aerotech

03/06/2010

The Boeing Company today announced that it has awarded a contract valued at nearly $1.5 million to civil defense and aerospace company Danish Aerotech A/S to provide the Aluminum Launch Support Structure (ALSS) for ship-based deployment of the Harpoon weapon system.

Aeronautics to supply tactical unmanned aerial vehicles to Polish forces in Afghanistan

03/04/2010

Aeronautics Ltd., based in Yavne, announced on 1 March 2010 that it will supply Aerostar UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) systems to Polish military forces operating in Afghanistan. The supply contract, which exceeds $30 million, was signed this weekend in Poland.

Resupply by Robot? UAV Competition Heats Up

03/04/2010

Resupplying combat troops in Afghanistan is a dangerous, slow and increasingly expensive undertaking. Moving a truck filled with supplies 50 miles could require as many as 100 Marines, most of them to provide security, and take about 24 hours, according to DefenseNews.

All F-5 jets grounded until probe is complete

03/04/2010

Following the crash of two South Korean Air Force F-5 fighter jets that took the lives of three pilots Tuesday, the Air Force ordered all air bases across the country to halt operations of F-5 aircraft until the final results of investigations into the incident are released.

Lockheed Martin Receives $213 Million Contract For 20 New F-16s For Egypt

03/04/2010

The U.S. government has awarded an initial $213 million to Lockheed Martin for long-lead tasks for the production of 20 new Advanced Block 52 F-16 aircraft for Egypt.

Crucial role of British helicopters in Afghanistan

03/03/2010

Members of the Joint Helicopter Force describe their crucial role in Afghanistan, airlifting casualties and transporting troops and supplies.

Russian gunships give Lebanese firepower

03/03/2010

Russia's offer to give Lebanon at least 10 Mi-24 Hind helicopter gunships free of charge, instead of the supersonic MiG-29 interceptors that Moscow had in mind, is more in keeping with the Lebanese military's operational priorities and capabilities.

Air force's new $770m helicopter cops harsh criticism

03/03/2010

A military helicopter at the centre of a $770 million New Zealand Air Force upgrade has copped harsh criticism in a German Army report into its performance.

U.S. to Offer Smart-Bomb Kits, Drones to Pakistan

03/03/2010

The Pentagon will transfer sophisticated laser-guided-bomb kits to Pakistan, escalating the Obama administration's recent push to better arm Islamabad for its military campaign against the country's Islamic militants.

Boeing Bullish On Phantom Ray

03/03/2010

Boeing officials plan to begin taxi tests on the company’s Phantom Ray demonstrator in July, a slight delay from earlier plans, but first flight is still targeted for December 2010, according Darryl Davis, Boeing Phantom Works president.

When is a fighter pilot not a pilot?

03/03/2010

When he is flying a robot aircraft. Or at least that’s what the U.S. Air Force seems to think. Predators, Global Hawks and other unmanned aircraft are doing the lion’s share of the donkey work in Iraq and Afghanistan. The dull but vital task of protecting soldiers on the ground with eyes in the sky has been delegated to quiet little airplanes with unwinking cameras. But the men and women who fly those airplanes from air-conditioned consoles in Nevada? They are the Rodney Dangerfields of the comb

India set to buy 42 more Russian Su-30 fighter jets

03/03/2010

India and Russia are negotiating a new contract on the delivery of 42 Su-30MKI to the Indian Air Force, an Indian newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing military sources.

Tunisia Orders Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules Airlifters

03/03/2010

The government of Tunisia has signed a contract with Lockheed Martin for the purchase of two C-130J Super Hercules airlifters with an initial three years of logistics support.Tunisia's new Câ€‘130Js, scheduled to be delivered in 2013 and 2014, will be the longer fuselage or "stretched" variant of the C-130J.

Boeing Receives Contract for US Navy Direct Attack Moving Target Capability

03/03/2010

The Boeing Company today announced that it has been awarded an $11.4 million contract to supply Laser Joint Direct Attack Munitions (Laser JDAM) to meet the U.S. Navy’s Direct Attack Moving Target Capability (DAMTC) requirement.

Boeing, Lockheed Put Bomber Partnership on Ice

03/02/2010

Boeing today announced that the company's partnership with rival Lockheed Martin to develop a next-generation bomber has been suspended, with limited likelihood for revival.

MH-60R, NH90 competition approved

03/02/2010

The Government has given first pass approval for a major project to provide the Australian Defence Force with a new naval combat helicopter, Minister for Defence Senator John Faulkner has announced.

India Prepares for a Two-Front War

03/02/2010

There is one country responding to China's military build-up and aggressiveness with some muscle of its own. No, it is not the United States, the superpower ostensibly responsible for maintaining peace and security in Asia. Rather, it is India, whose military is currently refining a "two-front war" doctrine to fend off Pakistan and China simultaneously.

Global Hawk Unmanned Reconnaissance Aircraft Makes History With First Roundtrip Flight From Northrop Grumman's Palmdale Facility

03/02/2010

Northrop Grumman Corporation's RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system (UAS) made aviation history Feb. 2 when it successfully completed its first roundtrip flight from the company's Palmdale, Calif., manufacturing facility. AF-20, a Block 30 Global Hawk built for the U.S. Air Force, performed the historic mission, soaring at altitudes of 58,300 feet for approximately four hours and 18 minutes.

New Russian fighter to make 2,000 flights before production starts

03/02/2010

Russia's fifth-generation jet fighter, the T-50, is to undergo more than 2,000 flight tests before full-scale production starts, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Monday.

One Sensor To Do The Work of Many

03/01/2010

More than a year before U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates began pushing the Air Force to buy more UAVs for surveillance missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, Pentagon scientists were working on a different solution: build sensors so sophisticated that one aircraft can do the work of many.

China, Iran Creating 'No-Go' Zones to Thwart U.S. Military Power

03/01/2010

During the Cold War, the Pentagon built the greatest naval and air forces the world had ever seen, endowing the United States with the superpower ability to land huge military forces anywhere in the world, at any time, whether invited in or not.