Special Purpose

Military Aviation News

KC-46 tanker to assume limited operations

02/26/2021

One of the contenders for Canada’s Strategic Tanker Transport Capability (STTC) project is now conducting limited operations for the United States Air Force (USAF). The KC-46A Pegasus is “executing four to six missions daily” to support USAF and joint training missions, Gen Jacqueline Van Ovost, commander of Air Mobility Command, said during the Air Force Association’s virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium on Feb. 24.

Mirage F1 Aggressor Jet Crash Lands At Tyndall Air Force Base

Reports are coming in of an unspecified “incident” involving a Mirage F1 fighter jet operated by the Airborne Tactical Advantage Company, or ATAC, at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. An official statement from the base's public affairs office confirmed that an incident occurred at around 11:25 AM local time, but offered no additional details.

Syria war: Russian jets 'bomb IS positions in desert region'

The jets are supporting an operation by Syrian pro-government forces to secure the road between Homs and Deir al-Zour, according to a monitoring group. IS militants have carried out a string of deadly ambushes and hit-and-run attacks in the region recently. The latest, on Wednesday, reportedly killed nine soldiers and militiamen.

Taiwan scrambles fighter jets in response to China's ongoing air incursions

China's unrelenting air assault on Taiwan has claimed its first victims – that nation's defence and home affairs ministers. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force shows no sign of releasing the pressure on Taiwan. Instead, it has continued its recent escalation of sending bombers and long-range fighters along with surveillance aircraft over the tiny Taiwanese Pratas Atoll at the northern tip of the South China Sea.

Air Mobility Command to Start Integrating KC-46 Into Limited Operations

The Air Force’s next generation tanker is starting to go operational, but in a very limited way, with the goal of freeing up older planes for combat missions. Air Mobility Command announced Feb. 24 it is phasing the KC-46 into operations, by making it available to U.S. Transportation Command for taskings that would otherwise be filled by KC-135s and KC-10s, based on what the Pegasus has been cleared to do.

Going Digital Will Take Courage; Fighter Study Looks to 2040s

The transformational acquisition ideas championed by former Air Force acquisition chief Will Roper will survive his departure from the service, but it will take “courage” to implement them, USAF acquisition leaders said at AFA’s virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium. They also said the Air Force’s new tactical aircraft study—in parallel with a Joint Staff study—will take a decades-long look at aviation requirements.

Key Senator Urges Pentagon to Finish F-35’s Combat Tests Quickly

The head of the Senate panel that authorizes military programs said he’s impatient for the Pentagon to finish rigorous combat simulation testing of the F-35 and provide an assessment of the stealthy fighter jet’s effectiveness. “We’ve been building it” for years “and it’s still in operational testing and evaluation, and once that’s finished -- and we hope it’s finished promptly -- then we can make a much more thorough assessment of the system,” Senator Jack Reed, chairman of the Armed Services

How Did India Manage to Build an Advanced Fighter Jet Like the Tejas?

India’s biennial military aircraft show, Aero India, went off without a hitch in early February in the southern Indian tech capital of Bengaluru. Despite the travails of pandemic-era traveling, the United States sent a deputy undersecretary, a Navy admiral, and three Air Force generals. It also sent a nuclear-capable B-1B bomber. But the real star of the show was what escorted the U.S. aircraft in the sky: an Indian-built Tejas fighter jet.

The Air Force May Soon Be Shopping for a New Fighter Jet

The U.S. Air Force isn't ruling out bringing a new fighter jet into its inventory as it looks to replace older, fourth-generation F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, according to the service's top general. As the service tries to determine the right mix of aircraft for its future inventory, it's considering the idea of a new fighter that falls somewhere between fourth- and fifth-generation airframes -- one that could easily be upgraded throughout its life, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles "CQ" B

Chinese anti-submarine aircraft enters Taiwan’s ADIZ

U.S. Air Force F-16s Integrate With Italian Air Force F-35s During Agile Combat Employment Exercise

Canadian company proposes multi-role tactical aircraft

Russia’s Su-57E Stealth Fighter Has Some Serious Tire Kickers

India To Equip Its Tejas Mk-1A Fighter Jets With Homegrown ‘Uttam’ Radars — Reports

Israel signs LOA with US for KC-46A, plans agreements for other capability enhancements

Russia Provides A Glimpse Of Its Orion Drone Executing Combat Trials In Syria

Egypt's military strength ranks 13th globally in 2021

Indonesia to arm up with Rafale, F-15 fighter jets

This Could Be Northrop Grumman’s Lethal Drone for DARPA’s LongShot Program

Britain's new space force 'could deploy RAF Typhoon fighter jets to the "edge of space" to destroy Russian and Chinese military satellites'