Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Looking at procuring 350 aircraft over the next two decades: IAF chief

09/09/2021

The Indian Air Force (IAF) would procure 350 more aircraft over the next two decades, including a fleet of Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA), said IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, on Wednesday. All efforts, he added, would be made to procure combat aircraft from indigenous sources.

Turkey open to foreign participation in national combat aircraft project

09/09/2021

Turkey is open to foreign cooperation in jointly manufacturing its defence industry projects such as its planned 3rd generation national combat aircraft, Ismail Demir, the head of Turkish Defence Industries Directorate (SSB) said. Turkey can negotiate with those who want to participate under its own terms, Demir told state-run broadcaster TRT on Monday.

Air Force special operations’ next big battlefield

09/08/2021

There’s a war going on and, like it or not, you’ve already been drafted into it. But there’s no battlefield, no explosions, and no uniforms in this fight. Instead, it’s unfolding in Reddit threads, Facebook comments, and other social media forums where people swap information and, unwittingly or not, disinformation.

New US Air Force study asks: What’s the right number of F-35s?

09/08/2021

A new tactical aircraft study underway could make certain what has until now been a suspicion: The U.S. Air Force is unlikely to purchase all of the 1,763 F-35A jets in its program of record. The service is undertaking the study as it readies its fiscal 2023 budget and grapples with reducing the types of fighters it flies from seven to four main platforms by 2030, as prescribed by the service’s chief of staff.

Taiwan warplanes to take part in highway landing drill: source

09/07/2021

A scheduled military aircraft emergency takeoff and landing drill on a regular roadway will take place early in the morning on Sept. 15 and feature all three models of fighter jets in Taiwan's fleet, a military source told CNA on Monday. The drill will begin at 6:30 a.m. on a 3-kilometer section of Provincial Highway No. 1 near Jiadong and Fangliao in Pingtung County, and feature an Indigenous Defensive Fighter (IDF), an F-16V, a Mirage 2000-5, and a E-2K airborne early warning aircraft, the sou

Taiwan says 19 Chinese warplanes entered air defence zone

09/07/2021

The defence ministry said 19 aircraft including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers entered its so-called air defence identification zone (ADIZ). Taipei has been complaining for more than a year about repeated missions by China's air force near the island. China sees democratic Taiwan as a breakaway province, but Taiwan sees itself as a sovereign state.

Four questions with the head of Air Combat Command

09/07/2021

U.S. Air Force Gen. Mark Kelly, who leads Air Combat Command, wishes he could tell the public more about the service’s secretive sixth-generation fighter program, Next Generation Air Dominance. Last September, the Air Force disclosed that a full-scale NGAD demonstrator had already flown, signaling that the program is further along than most outside aerospace analysts predicted.

South China Sea showdown continues as world pushes back against Beijing

09/06/2021

Satellite photos expose a showdown brewing in the South China Sea. Against all assurances, Beijing has armed its artificial island fortresses with aircraft and warships. Now the world is pushing back. Beijing said it guaranteed free and open access to the South China Sea’s shipping lanes. Beijing said it would never militarise the region. But that’s all changed.

China sends nuclear bombers into Taiwan's airspace as fears of war intensify

09/06/2021

The Chinese-claimed island dispatched combat aircrafts to warn away the Chinese advances, as well as monitoring them with missile systems, according to the defence ministry. The ministry reported ten J-16 and four Su-30 fighters, along with an anti-submarine aircraft. Reportedly four H-6 bombers, which can carry nuclear weapons, were also among the Chinese aircraft. Taiwan reported the latest incursion into its airspace on Sunday.

Russian Heavyweight MiG-35 To Compete With India’s HAL Tejas, Pak’s JF-17 For Malaysian Fighter Jet Contract

09/06/2021

India is pitching its HAL Tejas light combat aircraft to the Southeast Asian country. “The Russian side is considering the possibility of Rosoboronexport’s [Russia’s state arms exporter] participation with MiG-35 in the Malaysian Air Force tender for the supply of training and light combat aircraft.

Taiwan scrambles jets in response to renewed Chinese military activity

09/06/2021

Taiwan's air force scrambled on Sunday against renewed Chinese military activity, with its defence ministry reporting that 19 aircraft including nuclear-capable bombers had flown into Taiwan's air defence identification zone. Chinese-claimed Taiwan has complained for a year or more of repeated missions by China's air force near the self-ruled island, often in the southwestern part of its air defence zone near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.

PAF jets intercept unknown aircraft entering Philippine airspace

09/05/2021

Two Philippine Air Force (PAF) jets scrambled to intercept an unidentified foreign aircraft spotted flying toward the country’s airspace last Thursday. In a statement, the PAF said it deployed two FA-50 aircraft to intercept the unknown aircraft, which was detected flying about 120 nautical miles northwest of Bolinao, Pangasinan.

Navy Ends Search for 5 Missing After Helicopter Crash; Sailors Presumed Lost at Sea

09/05/2021

Five sailors missing after a helicopter went into the sea after crashing on the deck of an aircraft carrier on Monday are now presumed dead, U.S. 3rd Fleet said today. The MH-60S was on the deck of USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) when an unspecified mishap caused the helicopter to fall into the Pacific about 60 miles off the coast of San Diego, Calif., on Aug. 31 at 4:30 p.m. local time.

Why the F-35B Stealth Fighter Is Revolutionary

09/05/2021

One of the lesser-known Lightning II variants, the F-35B is nonetheless slated to become a core pillar of the Marine Corps’ ability to project power. Although commonly referred to in the singular, Lockheed Martin’s fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighter is technically three different planes: the F-35A conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) variant that is being procured by the US Air Force (USAF) to phase out the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) varian

Iranian Drone Power: How Tehran Uses Armed Drones Across the Middle East

09/05/2021

The Liberian-flagged tanker Mercer Street was transiting through the Gulf of Oman on July 29, bound for the United Arab Emirates, when it was attacked by two delta-winged drones packed full of explosives. The startled crew issued several distress calls. But before help could arrive, a third drone slammed into the pilothouse early in the morning of July 30. The explosion ripping a six-foot-hole in the vessel and killing the ship’s Romanian captain and his British bodyguard.

Photos: Riding aboard the Navy's new littoral combat ship

09/05/2021

The U.S. Navy has just unveiled one of its latest ships: the Kansas City LCS 22, an Independence-Class Littoral, in San Diego. It is one of the most nimble ships the Navy has ever created. It's also controversial, with critics calling out its troubled history and saying it breaks down too easily. As recently as 2018, and after billions of dollars in investment, it wasn't clear the Littoral Combat Ship program had much of a future at all.

UAE and Egypt engage in joint military marine exercise

09/04/2021

The UAE and Egyptian navies have embarked on a 10-day joint marine drill in Emirati waters as part of the countries' Zayed 3 military exercise programme. Zayed 3 was launched in May, and has also featured land and air elements. It is the third such joint exercise between the UAE and Egypt since 2014.

Baltic Fleet aircraft hammer enemy with precision strikes in western Russia drills

09/04/2021

The crews of Su-24 bombers and Su-30SM multirole fighters of the Baltic Fleet’s naval aviation delivered precision bombing strikes from an altitude of 2,000-meters against targets that simulated a notional enemy’s command posts, manpower and combat hardware during drills in the Kaliningrad Region, the Fleet’s press office reported on Friday.

No foreign requests for Russia’s cutting-edge Checkmate fighter yet — defense official

09/04/2021

No requests have come from foreign states yet for the purchase of Russia’s most advanced Checkmate light tactical fighter jet, Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev said on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) on Friday. "No," he said in response to a corresponding question.

South Korea's new aircraft carrier could look like a mini HMS Queen Elizabeth

09/04/2021

South Korea's planned aircraft carrier could have a distinctly British flavor. In fact, it could be a mini version of the Queen Elizabeth. Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) this week signed a memorandum of understanding with top British defense contractor, Babcock International, to work together to design and build the new CVX, South Korea's light aircraft carrier.

Panjshir - the valley trying to hold off the Taliban

09/03/2021

Senior Taliban leader Amir Khan Motaqi has called on the residents of the Panjshir Valley to lay down their weapons, but there is little sign of them complying. Dozens of Taliban fighters are said to have been killed in skirmishes along its borders since 15 August, when Kabul fell, and fighting is continuing.

Former Special Forces Personnel Stay Behind Enemy Lines, Keep Evacuation Mission Going in Afghanistan

09/03/2021

Even though the Biden administration has stopped its efforts to evacuate people from Afghanistan, private citizens are working around the clock to rescue those who have been left behind. The group Ark Salus intends to rescue Afghans who helped the U.S. military during nearly two decades of war.

Philippine military aircraft crashed after 'unrecoverable stall': armed forces

09/03/2021

A Philippine aircraft carrying soldiers crashed in July after an "unrecoverable stall", killing more than 50 people in one of the country's worst military air disasters, the armed forces said Thursday. The C-130 Hercules transport plane was loaded with nearly a hundred people, most of them fresh army graduates, when it overshot the runway while trying to land on the southern island of Jolo in Sulu province.

Taliban seeking to expand capabilities with US weaponry

09/03/2021

U.S. troops destroyed or disabled nearly 100 combat vehicles and dozens of aircraft before vacating the airport in Kabul on Monday, in a last-ditch bid to deprive the Taliban of the use of some American military equipment.

Pentagon says military aircraft left at Kabul airport was disabled

09/01/2021

Hours after the U.S. Military officially withdrew from Afghanistan Monday, video surfaced of Taliban fighters celebrating at Kabul’s airport. The militants can be seen sitting inside cockpits of airplanes and helicopters the U.S. provided to the Afghan Air Force. While U.S. forces were able to get some of the equipment out of the country, much of it was abandoned. The Pentagon says troops disabled the gear before they left Afghanistan.