September 23, 2014 Military Aviation News

US launches air strikes on Syria Islamic State militants

09/23/2014

Spokesman Rear Adm John Kirby said fighter and bomber jets and Tomahawk missiles were used in the attack. The strikes were expected as part of President Barack Obama's pledge to "degrade and destroy" IS, which has taken huge swathes of Syria and Iraq. The US has already undertaken 190 air strikes in Iraq since August.

Pentagon to deploy 12 A-10s to Middle East

09/23/2014

The Pentagon is deploying 300 airmen and 12 A-10 combat jets to the Middle East in early October, according to the Indiana Air National Guard. The six-month deployment from the 122nd Fighter Wing is not specifically part of President Obama’s fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, but the airmen and jets could provide air support to troops battling ISIS on the ground.

Why is ISIS taunting the West?

09/23/2014

For a while, it seemed that the threat from ISIS was limited to sparsely populated desert regions in the Middle East. Through brutal tactics and persecution of minorities, the Sunni extremist group brought slaughter and chaos to large areas of Syria and Iraq. But its merciless efforts to establish its version of an Islamic caliphate unsettled the wider region, prompting U.S. airstrikes aimed at stemming its advance.

Iraq PM opposes foreign ground forces in Iraq

09/23/2014

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi opposes the deployment of foreign ground forces in Iraq as part of efforts to combat jihadists, his office said on Monday. During a meeting with Australian Defense Minister David Johnston in Baghdad, Abadi reaffirmed his "rejection of any ground intervention in Iraq," a statement said.

Islamic State jihadists cause 130,000 Syrian Kurds to flee to Turkey

09/23/2014

SIX weeks of US air strikes against the Islamic State have had little effect in containing the jihadists’ advances, with a string of towns and bases falling to the black flag. Caught between the rock of jihadists and the hard-place of Turkey, which has long struggled to suppress its ethnic Kurd population, tens of thousands of Kurds are streaming across the border to escape the advancing Islamic State (IS).

Navy aviation, today and tomorrow

09/23/2014

Rescue swimmer Ryan Benaglio was a spectacular ambassador for the Navy’s MH-60 Seahawk helicopter Saturday. He told visitors how much hydraulic fluid flows through its pipes, showed them how the hoist works and even lifted toddlers into the rescue basket for photos. But as excited as the 27-year-old was about his aircraft, he was pretty frank with visitors attending the North Island Naval Air Station open house.

Bergen: Hezbollah and armed drones

09/23/2014

Over this past weekend, Hezbollah, the militant Shiite group that is headquartered in Lebanon, reportedly used drones to bomb a building used by the al Qaeda affiliated Nusra Front, along Lebanon's border with Syria. The armed drones, combined with fire from Hezbollah ground troops, killed 23 Nusra Front militants and wounded some 10 others, according to a report by an Iranian news agency.

GAO Draft Slams F-35 On ‘Unaffordable’ Costs: $8.8B Over Legacy Fighters

09/23/2014

The F-35's long-term costs may “not be affordable” and appear to be substantially higher than those of the existing combat aircraft fleets that the Joint Strike Fighter will replace, the Government Acocuntability Office says in a draft report. “The annual F-35 operating and support costs are estimated to be considerably higher than the combined annual costs of several legacy aircraft,” the draft says.

Half of German Navy Helicopters Not Cleared to Fly: Media

09/23/2014

Half of the helicopters in the German Navy are not cleared to fly, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reports citing a document produced by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Defense. The report comes as a response after Navy helicopter flights were suspended when the crew aboard the Luebeck frigate discovered a 20-centimeter crack in the tale of a Sea Lynx Mk88A helicopter, according to the document. Similar defects were later found on other helicopters of that type.

Arms Exporter: African Countries Interested in Buying Russian Jet Trainer

09/23/2014

Several African countries are interested in the Russian combat training aircraft Yak-130, Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport's delegation head Yury Demchenko told journalists following the Africa Aerospace and Defense 2014 exhibition. "Preliminary analysis of the interest in the Russian MIC [military-industrial complex] on the part of the countries of the region showed a very strong tendency of readiness to buy Russian helicopters and aviation equipment.

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