June 27, 2014 Military Aviation News
06/27/2014
U.S. Navy warships teamed up with Philippine crews on Thursday for combat drills, as a maritime dispute simmers between China and the Philippines in the nearby South China Sea. The two sides chose Subic Bay as the venue for the exercises a year ago, and not in direct response to any of the recent incidents which have soured Sino-Philippine relations. Even so, the proximity of Scarborough Shoal—one of the territories disputed by Beijing and Manila that lies 120 miles to the west of Subic Bay.
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06/27/2014
As the first armed American drones began flying over Iraq on Thursday, Shiite political leaders were locked in meetings to try to decide who should be the country’s next prime minister. For the first time, some of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s own party members expressed doubt that he would be a viable candidate.
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06/27/2014
The C-145A Skytruck is a light cargo and troop transport aircraft designed and manufactured for the US Air Force (USAF). The aircraft is primarily used to assist Aviation Foreign Internal Defence (AvFID) missions of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The C-145As were deployed to support theatre special operations commands in Afghanistan and eastern Africa. The Air Force Special Operations Warfare Center operates up to ten C-145A Skytrucks.
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06/27/2014
If you’re a resident of Georgia there’s a strong chance that sometime next year an Afghan pilot trainee could be flying over your head. Moody Air Force Base, Ga., was selected as the most likely option for the new Afghan pilot training location, the Air Force announced in a news release. Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, and Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., are also being considered as potential sites, but Moody is preferred.
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06/27/2014
The Obama administration asked Congress on Thursday to authorize $500 million in direct U.S. military training and equipment for Syrian opposition fighters, a move that could significantly escalate U.S. involvement in Syria’s civil war.
Money for the assistance, which would expand a CIA covert training program, is included in a $65.8?billion request for the Pentagon’s Overseas Contingency Operations, or OCO.
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06/27/2014
The drawn out drama over the signing of the Rafale jet fighter contract means the Indian Air Force (IAF) will rely on its heavy hitter, the Sukhoi-30MKI, to boost its dwindling fighter fleet. The 25-ton Su-30 – NATO reporting name Flanker – is the IAF’s elite fighter-bomber. Filling its low-end fighter needs will be the locally developed Tejas II light combat aircraft, while the Rafale is meant to straddle the middle tier as an intermediate fighter.
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06/27/2014
The U.S. Air Force has awarded a $1.28 billion contract to Sikorsky Aircraft for the first of what could be an order of 112 combat rescue helicopters. Thursday’s contract award to Sikorsky is the first step in what could be a $7.9 billion deal for up 112 helicopters.
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06/27/2014
There is a pressing need for the new Indian government to engage with Myanmar at the highest levels as Pakistan and China are all set to enlarge their strategic footprints in Myanmar by selling fighter aircraft to that country. Myanmar government is planning to procure an unspecified number of JF-17 Thunder multi-role combat aircraft. JF-17 is the joint project of Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (CAC) of China.
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06/27/2014
France is likely to seek an early clinching of a $20 billion (around Rs.1.2 trillion) deal to sell India 126 fighter aircraft during the visit of foreign minister Laurent Fabius to New Delhi early next week, people close to the development said on Thursday. Both sides are to sign 15-16 preliminary pacts to cement cooperation in higher education during Fabius’ three-day visit.
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06/27/2014
Russian Defense Ministry is planning to substitute 95 percent of imports from Ukraine, Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said Tuesday. “The work is on schedule. The whole process of import substitution will carry on as planned, and by the end of the specified period, dependence on supplies from Ukraine will be decreased by 95 percent,” Borisov said during a visit to an aircraft factory in Russia’s Far East.
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