January 18, 2013 Military Aviation News
01/18/2013
General Dynamics and Alenia Aermacchi, a Finmeccanica company, announced today the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) to join forces and compete for the U.S. Air Force’s T-X trainer program, which will replace aging T-38 trainer jets and related training systems. The agreement leverages General Dynamics’ legacy of successfully integrating and delivering large, complex systems to the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy and other government customers.
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01/18/2013
India could buy up to 189 of the Rafale fighter jets currently being used by France to bomb Islamist militants in Mali, sources close to negotiations on the multi-billion dollar deal have told AFP.The possibility of an additional 63 jets being added to an expected order for 126 was raised during a visit by India's Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid to Paris last week, they said.
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01/18/2013
Sweden's government has approved a proposal by the armed forces to acquire 60 Saab Gripen E combat aircraft, delivering a major boost for the developmental version of the manufacturer's flagship product. Confirmed on 17 January, the decision to field the new aircraft from 2018 is also of significance to the Swiss government, which last year signed a framework agreement with its Swedish counterpart to jointly advance the E-model programme.
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01/18/2013
Canada's C-17 heavy-lift military transport plane touched down on Malian soil for the first time Thursday carrying a French military armoured vehicle among other equipment. The aircraft departed Le Tube, France, and landed in Bamako, Mali's capital, arriving at 10 a.m. local time (5 a.m. ET). Jay Paxton, spokesman for Defence Minister Peter MacKay, said the aircraft also carried 900 kilograms of batteries.
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01/18/2013
The weather outside the cockpit looked frightful for CH-47 Chinook pilots, Capt. Ron Braasch and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Ryan Drouin as they approached Simmons Army Airfield, Jan 10. Once they had safely landed and logged their flight hours, the two 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade aviators stepped into the parking lot where the weather was bright and sunny — a far cry from the fog, rain, snow and ice they encountered during their flight.
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01/18/2013
The Kazakh Air Force fleet is being replenished with new generation aircraft for the first time during the 20-year history of independent Kazakhstan, the defence ministry said today. 'Today, Astana's air base has received two C-295 aircraft from the European aviation group Airbus from Spain', the report says. According to the Defence Ministry's information, the Kazakh Air Force fleet will be replenished with eight C-295 aircraft up till late 2018.
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01/18/2013
The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus said Jan. 17 that it was on track to deliver its badly needed new A400M transport plane to the French air force in the second quarter of this year, after its latest problems with engines were resolved.
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01/18/2013
Lockheed Martin has received a $90.6 million Performance Based Logistics (PBL) contract from the U.S. Army for sustainment of the Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PNVS) system. The firm, fixed price contract provides a comprehensive sustainment solution that enables mission readiness, reduces operation and support costs, and drives reliability and maintainability improvements.
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01/18/2013
Russia's prototype fifth-generation Sukhoi T-50 fighter jet has carried out its first long-range flight during the transfer from a manufacturing plant in Russia’s Far East to an assigned airfield near Moscow, deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Thursday. “It is a serious breakthrough! The plane flew 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles), making two landings, in Abakan and Chelyabinsk, on the way to the Russian capital.
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01/18/2013
The United States and Kyrgyzstan are continuing talks on the future of a US military transit center at Manas international airport, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake said on Thursday. “We are currently discussing the future of the Transit Center in Manas, but I would rather not speculate on the possible outcome of these discussions,” Blake, who arrived in Bishkek to attend bilateral Kyrgyz-US consultations, told reporters.
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