Special Purpose

Military Aviation News

Rival F-16 Upgrades Proceed; Iraq Delivery May Not

07/24/2014

Lockheed Martin (LM) and BAE Systems reported progress this month on their rival upgrades for F-16 Fighting Falcons. Two aircraft from each company’s launch customer (Taiwan for LM, South Korea for BAE) are now in rework, ironically just a few miles from each other in Fort Worth, Texas. Meanwhile, the ferry of Iraq’s first two new Block 52 aircraft in September is looking unlikely.

Information Warfare: The More Things Change The More They Remain The Same

It’s become popular to depict American UAVs as some kind of super weapon and a danger to world peace. Anyone who understands how modern warplanes operate knows this is not true, but the mass media and many politicians who find it useful to follow whatever idea the mass media is behind have created a fictional reality in which UAVs do unspeakable things that are unique in human history.

Exercise Winter Solstice to test SAAF readiness

Starting on Saturday the SA Air Force (SAAF) will stand up and be counted for operational and combat readiness when Exercise Winter Solstice 1V starts. The two week long exercise will see portions of airspace over Eastern and Northern Cape utilised by jets, helicopters and transport aircraft in partially simulated field training exercise.

Air Force refocuses on training as wars wind down

After more than a dozen years fighting wars against unsophisticated opponents and technology in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Air Force is refocusing its training on tests ripped from the headlines — surface-to-air missiles, chemical weapons and cyber warfare. The training, according to military analysts and the service's top boss, a former fighter pilot himself, is vital to the service as it faces increasingly sophisticated threats from Eastern Europe to the Pacific.

For Civilian Airliners, Shoulder-Fired Missiles Still a Global Threat

The horrifying deaths of 298 passengers of a jetliner shot down over Ukraine have focused the world's attention on a previously unrecognized threat: the proliferation of surface-to-air missiles in the hands of rogue, non-state actors. Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was brought down by a BUK-17, a high-tech Russian-built missile designed to intercept high-speed, high-altitude combat aircraft.

Airbus, Boeing, Lockheed Announce Bids on Danish Fighter Competition; Saab Withdraws

Airbus, Boeing and Lockheed Martin have confirmed they have submitted bids to replace the Royal Danish Air Force’s aging F-16 combat jet fleet but Saab has withdrawn from the competition. The Danes invited two European and two US bidders to respond to a request for binding information by July 21 to supply between 24 and 30 jets. Only three of the contenders replied with bids.

2 Ukrainian Fighter Jets Shot Down as Fighting Intensifies

Two Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jets were shot down on Wednesday in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border. The planes were downed in an area of heavy fighting between government forces and Russian-backed separatists, near where a Malaysia Airlines jet was blown out of the sky last week, killing 298 people and drawing international dismay.

Lockheed Martin Demonstrates JAGM Dual-Mode Guidance Section in Second Flight Test

Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] recently demonstrated its Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) dual-mode guidance section during a second internally funded flight test at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. During the test, the rail-mounted JAGM flew 6.2 kilometers and initially acquired the target using its precision strike, semi-active laser. The dual-mode guidance section then engaged its millimeter wave radar, and the moving target was destroyed.

Military Specialists From Almost 100 Countries to Attend Russia’s Aviadarts

More than 90 countries are sending their military attaches to Russia’s international air force crew competition Aviadarts, Lt. Gen. Viktor Bondarev, Russian Air Force commander-in-chief said Wednesday. “The costs [of organizing the competition] are comparable to those of the military training,” Bondarev said, without providing the exact figure.

Joint RMAF-USAF exercise brings Raptors

Everything you need to know about the F-35, Britain's £70m new stealth fighter

India Still Negotiating Dassault Jet Purchase, Defense Minister Says

Osprey to make rare EAA Oshkosh appearance

“Calamitous” state of Argentine Armed Forces equipment

More than security: Airmen are last line of defense for aircraft, crew

Boeing Delivers Upgraded French AWACS Aircraft

Russia Urges End to Military Action in MH17 Crash Area

Jeppesen Flitedeck Pro EFB features on Ipad enhance situational awareness

Iraq: It Is Happening Again

Saab pulls out of Denmark fighter bidding