April 16, 2013 Military Aviation News
04/16/2013
The US Air Force (USAF) stood down two of 48th Fighter Wing’s F-15 Eagle Squadrons, based at RAF Lakenheath, from operations yesterday. A third squadron will be kept “combat mission ready” until September. The moves comes amid steep defence cuts by the US Government, but last night councillors in Suffolk said they were confident there remained a long-term USAF commitment to the county.
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04/16/2013
The Senegalese Air Force signed a contract to acquire three A-29 Super Tucano light attack, advanced training turboprops from Embraer Defense & Security. The order includes logistical support for the operation and the installation of a training system for pilots and mechanics (TOSS) in Senegal, bringing autonomy to that country's Air Force in preparing qualified personnel. The aircraft will be deployed on border surveillance and internal security missions.
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04/16/2013
A new variant of Eurocopter's Tiger medium-weight support and protection gunship has been approved for use by the French army. The approval, in the form of military qualification by DGA, France's Directorate General of Armaments, opens the door for its production for France and awarding of a joint bilateral qualification for use by Spain from the Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation, a European intergovernmental body that facilitates collaborative armament programs.
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04/16/2013
A few months after the D-Day invasion in June 1944, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower surveyed the Normandy beaches with his son. "You'd never get away with this if you didn't have air supremacy," then 2nd Lt. John Eisenhower told his father. "Without air supremacy," the elder Eisenhower replied, "I wouldn't be here."
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04/16/2013
Plans to demonstrate autonomous aerial refueling of the Northrop Grumman X-47B unmanned combat aircraft are a casualty of cuts in the U.S. Navy’s fiscal 2014 budget. Previous plans called for the X-47B naval unmanned combat air system demonstrator (UCAS-D) to conduct autonomous Navy-style probe-and-drogue and Air Force-style boom-and-receptacle refueling tests in 2014.
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04/16/2013
The Middle East region accelerated spending by 8.3 percent over the course of 2012 despite an overall slowdown in global military expenditure last year, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Oman increased its expenditure by 51 percent in 2012, the largest hike posted by any country. Kuwait’s defence budget increased by 10 percent.
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04/16/2013
China can "throw'' at least 21 fighter squadrons against India, from its eight airbases in Tibet and other airfields to their north. Even more Chinese fighters can join forces if they are able to overfly Myanmar. Similarly, Pakistan can deploy 21 to 25 fighter squadrons against India.
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04/16/2013
Czech Defence Minister Vlastimil Picek will submit to the government a concept of the transport and helicopter air force counting with the purchase of two bigger planes in the latter half of 2013, he said on Prima television Sunday. He said the criticised CASA C-295 transport aircraft only meet a part of the demands soldiers place on the transport air force.
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04/16/2013
Lockheed Martin successfully demonstrated the launch, guided flight, target acquisition and precision strike capability of its Nemesis missile in three flight tests at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. Nemesis is a man-portable, surface-launched missile that enables warfighters to engage targets with precision lethality from as close as 100 meters to well beyond line of sight.
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04/16/2013
Boeing recently completed the first flight of the newest CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter for the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force. The March 15 flight, at the Boeing helicopter facility near Philadelphia, happened ahead of schedule and confirmed initial airworthiness for the Mk6 Chinook. "This is a truly impressive achievement for both Boeing and the project team," said Capt. David Childs, Chinook Team Leader, UK Defence Equipment & Support.
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