March 27, 2014 Military Aviation News
03/27/2014
Raytheon has secured its first export customer for the Paveway IV 500lb dual-mode (INS/GPS and laser-guided) precision guided munition (PGM), company officials confirmed on 25 March. While the company was unable to confirm the identity of the customer, it is understood to be the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF). The Saudi export order is estimated to be worth in the region of GBP150 million (USD248 million) and to be for around 2,400 Paveway IVs.
(Read More...)
03/27/2014
Admirals are notoriously conservative regarding their capital ships. By the early twentieth century, the cost of a battleship and the time required for construction demanded extraordinary care with respect to the survival of the vessels. Capital ships do not simply represent or implement national power; because of their great cost and the long periods of construction, they effectively constitute national power.
(Read More...)
03/27/2014
In 1992, Boeing’s Phantom Works program began development on the Bird of Prey, a project managed by the U.S. Air Force, funded by Boeing, and borrowing the name from the Klingon starship in 1984’s Star Trek III: The Search For Spock. It pioneered dozens of new technologies that we use in airplanes today, but the Bird of Prey was never meant for production.
(Read More...)
03/27/2014
The software needed for the U.S. Navy's version of Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 fighter jet could be delayed by four to six months, the U.S. general who runs the $392 billion program for the Pentagon said on Wednesday.
(Read More...)
03/27/2014
The Philippines will spend more than $100 million to buy eight Canadian-built helicopters as the country bolsters its military with new equipment, including fighter jets, to counter Chinese interests in the region. The first of the Bell 412 helicopters are to be delivered next year, said Philippines Defence Undersecretary Fernando Manalo.
(Read More...)
03/27/2014
South Korea is considering leasing second-hand F-16 fighter jets from the United States to fill a potential vacuum in its air power from delays in aircraft acquisition and development, a senior Air Force official here said Wednesday. Seoul recently confirmed a plan to buy 40 F-35s by Lockheed Martin from 2018-21, scaling down from the initial program for 60 advanced combat aircraft, while pushing to develop midlevel fighter jets with a goal of deploying them between 2023 and 2025.
(Read More...)
03/27/2014
The Lockheed TriStar, closely linked to the recent history of the Falkland Islands has flown its last operational mission with the Royal Air Force. On 24 March, two TriStars of 216 Squadron based at Royal Air Force Brize Norton flew an air-to-air refueling mission over the North Sea before one of them conducted fly-pasts at airfields associated with its history.
(Read More...)
03/27/2014
Russia plans to offer Brazil joint development of the fifth-generation combat aircraft, the Sukhoi T-50, according to Alexander Fomin, the head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation. The proposal is reportedly in support of an unsolicited offer by Sukhoi whose Su-35 fighter was taken off Brazil’s shortlist for its F-X2 tender for the purchase of 36 fighter jets worth $4 billion.
(Read More...)
03/27/2014
Russian flags have been raised at all military units in Crimea, less than a week after the Russian leader signed a decree finalizing the reunification of the former Ukrainian region, Russia's military chief said Wednesday. As Crimea's reunification process began last week, all 193 military units in the predominantly Russian-ethnic region have replaced Ukrainian flags with Russian ones and applied to join the Russian armed forces.
(Read More...)
All Articles