January 15, 2013 Military Aviation News
01/15/2013
The Pentagon is preparing to provide military support to French forces in their new fight against rebel militants in northern Mali, according to senior defense officials. The U.S. is considering a range of options to help, including sending cargo aircrafts to lift more French ground troops into Mali, providing air refueling tankers for French air combat patrols, and offering intelligence gleaned from aerial surveillance.
(Read More...)
01/15/2013
The global aerospace and defence company SAAB had organised a unique contest during Aero-India 2011, which had allowed the winning contestant the privilege of co-piloting the Gripen, Sweden’s newest multi-role jet fighter.
(Read More...)
01/15/2013
Despite undergoing regular test flights, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, called the Lightning II, remains vulnerable to its namesake — lightning. Additionally, attempts to lighten the JSF by 11 pounds may have left the fifth-generation stealth fighter more vulnerable than the aircraft it will replace.
(Read More...)
01/15/2013
Turkey has decided to delay the purchase of its first two Lockheed Martin F-35s by one year, citing technical factors and a "high cost yield". The Turkish government approved an initial two-aircraft purchase on 5 January 2012, before launching talks with Lockheed to finalise a deal. However, an order for the pair has been put on hold because the technical capabilities of the aircraft are "not at the desired level yet", the nation's Undersecretary of Defence Industries procurement agency says.
(Read More...)
01/15/2013
David Cameron today boasted that he had offered Britain's 'most advanced' transport plane to hep France in fighting Al Qaeda-linked militants in Mali, moments before the aircraft broke down. The Prime Minister ruled out 'army boots' on the ground but insisted it was in Britain's interests to provide two RAF C-17 Globemaster cargo planes - 'our most advanced and capable transport planes' - to the French forces.
(Read More...)
01/15/2013
Colombia announced Monday the purchase of another C295 airplane, intended for troop transport and humanitarian aid. Airbus Military, a Madrid-based subsidiary of Airbus, said the Colombian government had placed an order of six C295 transport planes, up from five a year ago, intended for the Colombian Air Force.
(Read More...)
01/15/2013
U.S. military fighter jets provided backup support to a failed French hostage rescue mission in Somalia, the White House announced Sunday in a rare public acknowledgment of American combat operations in the Horn of Africa. In a letter to Congress, President Obama said U.S. combat aircraft “provided limited technical support” to French forces late Friday as they attempted to rescue a French spy who had been held captive for more than three years.
(Read More...)
01/15/2013
Islamist militants are fleeing major towns in northern Mali after two days of air strikes by French troops, which sources say have left scores of rebels dead. French fighter jets have pounded insurgent training camps, arms and oil depots as the French defence ministry confirmed reports of Islamist deaths, together with at least 11 civilians including three children.
(Read More...)
01/15/2013
A Royal Canadian Air Force heavy lift transport will depart for France Tuesday morning to assist Mali’s effort against Islamist rebels in west Africa. The C-17 plane is expected to take off from Canadian Forces Base Trenton at 8 am (ET). It will be used to assist the French in transporting equipment into Bamako, the capital of Mali. About 35 Canadian Forces personnel, such as flight crew staff, will accompany the plane.
(Read More...)
01/15/2013
A district court in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod Region has ordered the seizure of real estate from a former official found guilty of fraud involving fighter jets for Syria, according to the court’s website. Andrei Silyakov’s land plot and house qualified for confiscation because he had other places to live, the Vachsky court said on Friday without specifying the property’s value.
(Read More...)
All Articles