February 21, 2013 Military Aviation News
02/21/2013
An unchecked flood of weapons out of Libya, including thousands of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, is providing new firepower to al Qaeda-linked jihadist militias across northern Africa, according to Defense Department officials, accelerating conflict and raising new risks for U.S. and western interests.
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02/21/2013
Russia's Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) does not rule out the possibility that India might annul the results of a tender to buy 126 combat aircraft.
"The tender for the purchase of combat planes that our MiG-35 participated in has still not gone into effect, despite the fact that it was announced the winner. It's possible that the results of the tender might be annulled and a new one will be announced.
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02/21/2013
Earlier this month, the Japanese Defense Ministry said two Russian fighter jets had violated its airspace, roughly a month after Japan announced a similar violation by China. In an email interview, Richard Bitzinger, an expert in Asia-Pacific military modernization at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, discussed the state of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces and Japan’s response to regional tensions.
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02/21/2013
A little more than a week before the first wave of federal budget cuts would take effect, the Navy on Tuesday released an updated list of savings, including canceling the Bataan amphibious ready group's deployment, buying four fewer F-35 fighter jets and nearly halving training programs for midshipmen, flight officers and new pilots.
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02/21/2013
New military aircraft will soon begin filling Taiwan’s skies as it takes delivery of new fixed-wing maritime patrol aircraft along with attack and utility helicopters. All told, $7.6 billion worth of new equipment and aircraft designed to keep China’s hands off the island will begin filling the arsenals of Taiwan’s military this year.
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02/21/2013
The Department of Homeland Security may soon replace cheaper commercial planes with military aircraft to absorb 8.2% in budget cuts in March, Popular Science reports. The department was exploring buying used aircraft from the military but discovered that it’s more inexpensive to use commercial planes, Popular Science wrote.
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02/21/2013
Boeing and Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Turkey’s leading aerospace engineering and technology institution, today announced a new collaboration in aerospace research to benefit the flying public. Boeing Turkey President Bernard Dunn and ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Karaca held a signing ceremony at the university campus to celebrate an agreement to launch joint research and development programs.
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02/21/2013
Boeing will provide the U.S. Air Force with a lightweight, compact laser targeting system designed to improve the effectiveness of battlefield airmen on Close Air Support missions. The $3 million contract award includes design, development, delivery, training and sustainment for the Line of Sight – Short (LOS-S) integrated targeting system, as well as priced options for production systems. With all options exercised, the contract has a potential total value of more than $100 million.
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02/21/2013
The Russian Aerospace Defense Forces will develop a series of measures aimed at protecting the Russian soil from falling meteorites and other dangerous space objects, commander of the western military district’s aviation Maj. Gen. Igor Makushev said on Wednesday. “The Aerospace Defense Forces have been ordered to handle this issue and come up with a plan to protect Russia from these ‘space travelers,’” Makushev said.
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02/21/2013
The Defense Ministry and Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) are close to signing a deal for new Ilyushin Il-78 Midas aerial refuelling tankers for the Russian Air Force, a UAC source told RIA Novosti on Wednesday. “The contract for the delivery of Il-78 planes is at the signing stage,” the source said without specifying the number of aircraft.
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