Special Purpose

Military Aviation News

Russian military aid to Syria: Burning questions and answers

05/20/2013

Two systems. One, the S-300, is an advanced version of the air-defense system originally designed in the Soviet Union in the 1970s and further developed in the 1990s. The S-300 has several advantages over the older Soviet-era anti-air batteries Syria already uses. First, the range of its radar and missiles allows it to hit targets at ranges of up to 200 kilometers.

Osprey reputation rebounds in Afghanistan

Almost four years after the MV-22 Osprey arrived in Afghanistan, trailing its reputation as being dangerous and hard to maintain, the U.S. Marine Corps finally has had an opportunity to test the controversial hybrid aircraft in real war conditions. The reviews are startlingly positive. “This is an ugly duckling that turned into a swan,” said Richard Whittle, the author of a book about the craft and a senior scholar at the Wilson Center, a research center in Washington.

The Afghanistan War May End by 2024 … Maybe

Hamid Karzai has let the Pentagon’s cat out of the bag — to the displeasure of the Obama Administration. The Afghan president revealed inside information about President Obama’s war plans after all U.S. “combat troops” completely withdraw in 17 months at the end of 2014.

UCAS-D makes Naval Aviation history twice In a week

The U.S. Navy’s first Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator (UCAS-D) designed to fly from the flight deck of an aircraft carrier entered the public consciousness in June, 2012 as a UFO sighting as it traveled from Edwards AFB to Naval Air Station Patuxent River. Not quite a year later and within 72 hours time, the UCAS-D provided a glimpse of what the future might be for Naval Aviation.

Afghan pilots learn air assault tactics from 101st

This March 10, 2010 photo released by the U.S. Navy shows Afghan commandos practicing a quick disembark from and MI-17 transport helicopter during static drills prior to an air assault into the outer regions of Kabul, Afghanistan. The air assault was the second mission coordinated through the Afghan National Air Corps with the commandos, but the first combined assault with the American CH-47 Chinook helicopter. Photo: MC2 David Quillen, U.S. Navy.

Armed with Science: The Unmanned Way of Warfare

Air Force Lt. Col. Peter Garretson is the Division Chief for Air Force Irregular Warfare Strategy, Plans and Policy (and previously the Chief of Future Science and Technology Exploration for Air Force Strategic Planning). Recently he published a paper titled A Range-Balanced Force, An Alternate Force Structure Adapted to New Defense Priorities. The topic on hand was, you guessed it, RPAs and UAVs.

Suspected U.S. Drone Strike In Yemen Kills 4 Al Qaeda Militants

A suspected U.S. drone strike killed four al-Qaida militants Saturday in a southern Yemeni province once overrun by the group, according to security officials. The officials said the attack took place around dawn in an area called Deyqa in Abyan province. Officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Yemen blames jet crashes on ‘systematic sabotage' of air force

Yemen's air force has been the target of "sabotage", the country's military aviation chief said in a televised interview, days after a fighter jet crashed in the capital Sanaa. "The air force is the target of systematic sabotage," General Rashed al-Janad told the private channel Al-Saida in the interview broadcast late on Friday. He said the Sukhoi SU-22 that crashed in Sanaa last Monday, killing the pilot, was caused by "shots hitting the aircraft" as it prepared to land at a base next to the c

China’s Lijian UCAV “Sharp Sword” spotted taxiing

China’s first jet-powered stealth unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), the Lijian or “Sharp Sword,” was recently spotted undergoing taxiing tests in China, AIN reports. The Lijian prototype rolled off the assembly line late last year after three years’ joint development by Hongdu Aviation Industry and Shenyang Aircraft , subsidiaries of the state-owned China Aviation Industry (Avic).

Libyan air force jets on air surveillance along southern, eastern borders

Navy’s X-47B performs first touch-and-go landing on an aircraft carrier

Rafale Fades Some More

Russia Seeks New Arms Deals on Growing Latin American Market

Russian Military Inspectors to Make 2 Flights Over US

Airbus Targets A400M Military Airlifter Sales Push at Paris Show

France Expects 1st Batch of Reapers Soon

New Zealand Describes Defense Goals for 2013-2016

Pentagon Asks Congress to Move $9.6 Billion to Priority Projects

Fiscal Fight Takes Toll on Military Readiness

Last A-10s in Europe depart