August 23, 2011 Military Aviation News
08/23/2011
U.S. Navy officials are giving the go-ahead for the The Boeing Co. Defense, Space & Security segment in St. Louis to begin full-scale development of an infrared search and track (IRST) system for the F/A-18E/F carrier-based jet fighter-bomber, which will give the combat jet the ability to detect enemy aircraft and missiles at long ranges without using radar.
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08/23/2011
There are new concerns about the safety of drone technology, after an unmanned aircraft hit a military cargo plane over Afghanistan. No one was hurt, but as drone technology expands, some are concerned a disastrous drone accident is just waiting to happen. The American drone that collided with a huge air force cargo plane was only 12 feet long. But the collision forced the huge Air Force plane to make an emergency landing in Afghanistan, and it's raising questions about the safety of UAVs.
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08/23/2011
The chief worry is China’s new DF-21D whose primary target is America’s huge aircraft carriers. According to Chinese sources, the DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) has recently become operational in limited numbers. Originally developed for submarines, the DF-21D is said to have a range of 2,700km and at least some capability to strike moving targets.
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08/23/2011
Besides an ongoing plan to develop a fighter jet program with the US or Europe, Turkey is seeking to broaden its fleet with a second option. South Korea’s KAI and Sweden’s Saab are the two possible partners, according to a Turkish procurement official. Turkey is supposed to take part in the design of the possible project.
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08/23/2011
In PROSECUTING the air campaign against the forces of Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi there can be no doubt Nato far exceeded the action mandated by UN Resolution 1973. Only in a reading so broad as to make a mockery of language could the phrase "all necessary measures to protect civilians" be taken to justify the punitive ground-attack sorties undertaken by assorted warplanes.
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08/23/2011
NATO officials say the campaign won't necessarily be seen as a template for further intervention in the Middle East. The Libyan campaign had United Nations backing, giving it a legitimacy that the U.N. isn't likely to bestow too readily on other interventions, observers say. Cash-strapped Western governments and their war-weary publics have little appetite for more costly and riskier military adventures.
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08/23/2011
No question about it — the Brits have given the world some classic combat aircraft: The Spitfire. The Harrier. The Fairey Gannet. The Buccaneer. Their joint ventures with European partners have also been successful, including the Jaguar, the Tornado and most recently, the Eurofighter Typhoon. But the outgoing boss of UK aerospace supplier GKN warns that with the realities of the defense world today, the Typhoon could be Britain’s last fighter — and it’s only a portion British to begin with.
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08/23/2011
Boeing on Aug. 3 successfully completed an evaluation flight of the B-52 Combat Network Communications Technology (CONECT) interphone system. The six-hour flight from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., evaluated the interphone system's readiness for formal flight tests and accomplished formal flight tests of other CONECT capabilities. The interphone system enables crew members to communicate with one another, other aircraft and the ground.
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08/23/2011
Boeing has received a $1.64 billion (£1 billion) contract from the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) to provide 14 new CH-47 Chinook helicopters and associated support for the first five years to the Royal Air Force (RAF). The new-build CH-47 Mark (Mk)-6 Chinooks are part of the MOD's Strategic Helicopter Vision to modernize its helicopter force structure, and will expand the RAF fleet to 60 Chinooks.
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