September 20, 2011 Military Aviation News

2 die in chopper crash at Camp Pendleton

09/20/2011

A military helicopter crashed in a remote area of Camp Pendleton, killing the two Marines on board and sparking a wildfire, base officials said Monday. The crash took place after 1:05 p.m. at a training area near De Luz Road east of Fallbrook, Sgt. Art Carlson said.

Major war games by Russia on modern tactics, cooperative operations

09/20/2011

The Russian army on Monday kicked off a pair of major war games aimed at making the Kremlin's forces more agile and better capable of deploying to allied countries, the Interfax news agency reported. More than 12,000 service personnel from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan were participating in the Centre-2011 exercise, which will be the region's biggest military training operation of 2011.

For U.S. Air Force, the Cost of Operating Unmanned Aircraft Becoming ‘Unsustainable’

09/20/2011

The fastest-growing occupation in the U.S. Air Force — warzone surveillance — soon may be reaching its peak as the Defense Department looks for ways to cut costs. The deployment of Air Force remotely piloted spy aircraft across Iraq and Afghanistan grew rapidly over the past eight years, at the same time that the Army also expanded its fleet of unmanned surveillance drones.

China criticizes US deal to upgrade Taiwan F-16s

09/20/2011

China expressed its opposition Monday to a reported deal between the United States and Taiwan to upgrade Taiwan's existing fleet of F-16 fighter jets, even though the U.S. apparently rejected the island's bid for a more advanced version of the plane.

US Air Force vows to spare F-35 from budget cuts

09/20/2011

The US Air Force vowed Monday to "protect" costly weapons programs despite budget pressures, saying the country needed the F-35 fighter jet, a long-range bomber and other aircraft. While acknowledging the need for reductions to the defense budget, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley proceeded to list several big ticket programs that were not up for negotiation.

F-35 Program Completes Static Structural Testing

09/20/2011

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program has successfully completed static structural testing, achieving one of five milestones established by the Joint Program Office for 2011. Static structural testing is used to verify the structural integrity of the airframe and to ensure specifications outlined in technical drawings used to produce the aircraft are accurate. Engineering teams at Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman and the Joint Program Office conducted the tests over the past two years.

Azerbaijan to build 60 pilotless spy planes for its army

09/20/2011

Azerbaijan’s armed forces will take delivery of 60 Orbiter and Aerostar unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) by the end of this year, the Azerbaijan Press Agency (APA) said on Monday quoting military sources.

Qatar said to be considering "substantial" investment into EADS

09/20/2011

Qatar's government is said to be considering purchasing a substantial stake in EADS – the European aerospace and defence conglomerate which owns Airbus, Eurocopter and other major manufacturers.

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