Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

No, Russia Really Doesn’t Need A New Single-Engine Fighter

12/12/2020

Russia is working on the development of a new light-to-medium-weight fighter jet, reports suggest. In a significant change from recent-generation fighters from that country, the new design is apparently a single-engine configuration, rather than a twin-engine one. However, the Russians have explored a number of somewhat similar concepts in the past that did not ultimately enter large-scale production and it's not clear how many prospective customers there might be for such a jet now.

The veteran spyplane too valuable to replace

12/11/2020

Satellites – and drones – were intended to replace it. But the 65-year-old Lockheed U-2 is still at the top of its game, flying missions in an environment no other aircraft can operate in. Nearly twice as wide as it is long, the Lockheed U-2 spy plane is one of the most distinctive aircraft in the United States Air Force – and the hardest aircraft to fly, earning itself the nickname “The Dragon Lady”.

Australia Grounds Entire Fleet Of US-Origin F-18 Super Hornets

12/11/2020

The Royal Australian Air Force has grounded its whole F/A-18 Super Hornet and Growler fleet after the accident at Amberley airbase, as an act of precaution while the investigations are underway to find the cause.

Mesmerized By The F-35s, UK To Buy More Stealth F-35 Warplanes For Its Aircraft Carrier

12/11/2020

Air Marshal Richard Knighton, the deputy chief of the defense staff for capability, told the parliamentary defense committee that the number and profile of future order will in part be decided by the outcome of assessment work the British are doing on their future combat air strategy.

Senate sinks Dem-led effort to block Trump’s arms sales to UAE

12/10/2020

The Senate on Wednesday defeated a pair of Democrat-led measures to block the Trump administration’s proposed sale of advanced military weapons to the United Arab Emirates, a crucial victory for President Donald Trump as he seeks to solidify his foreign policy legacy.

British F-35 buy is still a moving target, defense ministry tells lawmakers

12/10/2020

British Ministry of Defence officials have confirmed the military will buy more than the 48 F-35B combat jets already on order, but they were reluctant to be drawn on exactly when and how many aircraft may eventually be involved when they gave evidence to the parliamentary Defence committee Dec 8.

Search for pilot continues after military aircraft crashes in Delta County

12/10/2020

The search for the pilot of a downed F-16 Fighting Falcon continues this morning, according to the 115th Fighter Wing’s Facebook page. The plane, assigned to the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing at Truax Field Air National Guard Base in Madison, Wisconsin, crashed in Delta County at about 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Nigeria’s MiG-21 Fighter Jet Force Is Up For Sale

12/10/2020

Twenty Soviet-made MiG-21 Fishbed jet fighters are being advertised for sale online. The jets, which apparently comprise the Nigerian Air Force’s entire remaining Fishbed fleet, are described as being in a “used” condition and are offered together with 15 “new” engines, as well as spares.

Why Germany Rejected Stealth F-35 Jets & Opted For Eurofighter Typhoons?

12/10/2020

The German parliament, known as the Bundestag awarded a whopping contract worth 5.4 billion euros to European aviation juggernauts Airbus, to deliver thirty-eight additional Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to the Luftwaffe (German Air Force). The latest contract cements Germany’s position as the largest ordering nation in Europe for the biggest defense program in the continent, with the deal expected to secure more than 100,000 jobs.

Lawmakers just saved dozens of A-10 Warthogs from the boneyard

12/10/2020

The Air Force may be desperate to retire a significant chunk of its A-10 Thunderbolt II fleet, but lawmakers have other ideas. The service sought to retire 44 A-10 “Warthogs,” or three squadrons worth, of the service’s total fleet of 281 ground attack aircraft as part of its fiscal year 2021 budget request.

India offers fighter jet trainer to US

12/10/2020

In a first major weapons sales pitch by India, a fighter jet trainer has been offered to the United States. The US Navy has launched a global search for Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS). In response, India has offered Lead in Fighter Trainer (LIFT) version of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), reported The Economic Times.

Search underway for pilot of Madison-based F-16 jet that crashed in Michigan's Upper Peninsula

12/09/2020

A F-16 jet out of the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing at Truax Field in Madison crashed Tuesday night in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs reported. When the crash happened about 8 p.m., the jet was on a routine training mission with one pilot on board, the department said in a statement.

Macron kicks off French race to build a new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier

12/09/2020

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Dec. 8 that his country’s next aircraft-carrier will be nuclear-powered and should be operational by 2038 in time to replace the Charles de Gaulle, which entered active service in 2001.

Chuck Yeager: First pilot to fly supersonic dies aged 97

12/08/2020

US test pilot Chuck Yeager, the first person to break the sound barrier, has died aged 97, his wife says. In a tweet, Victoria Yeager wrote: "It is w/ profound sorrow, I must tell you that my life love General Chuck Yeager passed just before 9pm ET." Yeager went into the history books after his flight in the Bell X-1 experimental rocket plane in 1947.

South China Sea: US 'acting in own interests' as 2,000 military aircraft seen in 6 months

12/08/2020

China and the US have continually tussled over the waters, with Beijing stepping up its military presence in the South China Sea. Both sides have directed threats at each other, with accusations of conflict warned as the tussle for supremacy over the seas has simmered for years. But Wang Wenbin, China's foreign military spokesman, accused US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Washington of purposefully building up its armies across the South China Sea, a claim that has also been directed at Beij

Russia’s Su-57 Jet is ‘More Stealthy’ with New Air Intake Grille

12/08/2020

Russia has managed to lower the radar signature of its first stealth jet, the Su-57, by adding a new grille to the air intakes. Photographs of the modified jet with coaxial radial grating were shared by the Russian media today. The grating is made of radar absorbing material and is placed in the air intakes of the Su-57. In comparison, Lockheed Martin has used an S-channel design for the intakes of the F-22 aircraft to reduce the direct frontal transmission of radar by the engine compressor blad

Aero Vodochody helping Nigerian Air Force reactivate L-39 jets

12/08/2020

Czech manufacturer Aero Vodochody is helping the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) return a number of L-39ZA jets to service, with two refurbished aircraft handed over on 4 November, while three L-39ZAs undergo maintenance in the Czech Republic. Local refurbishment work began on three L-39ZAs on 6 November and on 27 November the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, paid a visit to 403 Flying Training School (403 FTS) at Nigerian Air Force Base Kano to assess progress.

MacDill strengthens capabilities through integrated training with Shaw

12/08/2020

Airmen from the 6th Air Refueling Wing conducted an off-site integrated training with the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina Nov. 29 to Dec. 5, 2020. Over the course of five days, Aircrews with the 91st Air Refueling Squadron, maintainers with the 6th Maintenance Group and Airmen with the 6th Operations Support Squadron teamed with Airmen assigned to Shaw AFB in order to bolster each unit’s full-spectrum readiness capabilities.

China slams Australia's efforts to develop a new hypersonic missile capable of flying from Melbourne to Sydney in seven minutes - saying it makes the country a 'threat'

12/07/2020

China has hit out at Australia's plans to develop advanced hypersonic missiles with the US - labelling the strategy a 'potential threat' to the Asian superpower. The Morrison government announced on Tuesday plans to build and test the high-tech cruise missiles that can travel at five times the speed of sound and sink aircraft carriers.

Armenia's Military Equipment Loss in Recent Karabakh War Stands at $4 Billion, Exceeding State Budget

12/07/2020

Scholars at the University of Economics of Azerbaijan have recently calculated the cost of Armenia's military material loss in the wake of the latest war in Azerbaijan's internationally recognized Karabakh region. The total cost of the Armenian army's military equipment destroyed and captured by the Azerbaijani forces during the war is estimated to be $4.008 billion, according to data compiled by the researchers at the Economic Research Institute of the university.

ARGENTINA WILL TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT THE JF-17 THUNDER

12/07/2020

In an interview with Pucará Defense, the Chief of the General Staff of the Argentine Air Force, Brigadier Xavier Isaac, revealed that the country will reconsider the JF-17 Thunder.[1] The disclosure follows Buenos Aires’ inability to secure the F/A-50 from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). The F/A-50 uses six key British components which required the United Kingdom’s approval for third-party transfers. KAI could not get those approvals for Argentina due to the country’s marred relationship with

Watch: Neither US Nor Israel, This Tiny Country Is Set To Acquire The Most Powerful, Heavy-Duty Jets From Boeing

12/07/2020

Boeing’s F-15EX has been offered to India that will be based on the most advanced variant of the F-15 Eagle — the F-15QA — featuring an advanced cockpit and other new improvements for the first time.

Britain to send aircraft carrier strike group to waters near Japan

12/06/2020

The British navy will dispatch an aircraft carrier strike group to waters near Japan as soon as early next year, Japanese government sources said Saturday, in a rare development that comes amid the growing maritime assertiveness of China in the region.

Belgian companies circumvent arms embargo to Turkey

12/06/2020

In October last year, Turkey took sides in the conflict in Syria, backing Islamist jihad forces against the Kurdish minority. Flemish minister-president Jan Jambon reacted by freezing all Flemish government licences for export of military equipment to Turkey. At the time, that concerned four shipments of dual-use equipment – products which normally have civil applications, but which can be used for military ends.

Rafale Jets: After India, Another Asian Country To Acquire Dassault Rafale Fighters – French Minister

12/06/2020

With this, Indonesia’s hunt for a new fighter aircraft, for which its Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto has been traveling around the world, would come to an end. Among the various options, Indonesia has explored so far are Austria’s retiring Eurofighter Typhoons, the American F-16 Vipers, and Russian Su-35s. These jets are intended to be a replacement for the retiring F-5 Tigers of the Indonesian Air Force.