October 20, 2014 Military Aviation News
10/20/2014
From the battlefield near Baiji, an Islamic State jihadist fired a heat-seeking missile and blew an Iraqi army Mi-35M attack helicopter out of the sky this month, killing its two crew members. Days later, the Islamic State released a chilling series of images from a video purporting to capture the attack in northern Iraq: a jihadist hiding behind a wall with a Chinese-made missile launcher balanced on his shoulder; the missile blasting from the tube, its contrail swooping upward as it tracked it
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10/20/2014
South Korea is threatening to break an agreement with BAE Systems to upgrade its fleet of KF-16s, opening a window of opportunity for competitor Lockheed Martin to reclaim its dominance in the lucrative F-16 upgrade market. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) selected BAE Systems’ North American subsidiary in December 2012 as prime integrator to take charge of software and hardware upgrades for 134 KF-16 aircraft.
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10/20/2014
The military procurement agency signed a 7.3 trillion won ($7 billion) deal to purchase 40 Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters for the Air Force's next-generation fighter (F-X), although it was previously informed of engine faults by the U.S., claimed an opposition lawmaker, Monday. Rep. Ahn Gyu-baek of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy argued that the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) tried to cover up the problem involving the project.
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10/20/2014
Lebanon is buying 18 upgraded UH-1H transport helicopters for about $10 million each (including training, spare parts and maintenanceequipment). Lebanon already has 23 older UH-1s. Lebanon uses its UH-1s for combat as well as transportation. For combat the Lebanese have modified the UH-1s to carry 250 kg (550 pound) and 400 kg (880 pounds) and launch tubes for multiple 68mm unguided rockets.
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10/20/2014
The Swedish military has made three sightings of foreign undersea activity in its waters during the past few days amid reports a suspected Russian submarine is in the area. Rear Adm. Anders Grenstad said yesterday that the activity the armed forces had registered - two incidents on Friday and one on Sunday - was in the Stockholm archipelago and nearby coastal area. He declined to give any details about any operation to track the vessel. The scenario is reminiscent of the Cold War when Sweden's a
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10/20/2014
China is building a fleet of a hundred large transport aircraft that will be able to deploy troops all around the world, according to a Russian military expert. In an article published Oct. 16 on the Russian Council website, Vasily Kashin, a China expert at the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies in Moscow, says that the People's Liberation Army hopes to complete the project by 2020.
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10/20/2014
Against the backdrop of delays in several of its major projects, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today told DRDO to speed up and complete its programmes in time as the world will not wait for it. Urging the country’s only defence research agency to give more opportunities to the youth, the Prime Minister suggested that DRDO should take initiatives in projects which would help in easing the lives of the armed forces personnel.
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10/20/2014
Boeing Co. (BA) is revising its master schedule for developing the new U.S. Air Force aerial tanker, adding to uncertainty about a plane that already has run up an estimated $1 billion in excess costs for the contractor. The Air Force “has been continually monitoring” Boeing’s “progress on their internal schedules, and as we get” the contractor’s proposed revised time line “we will continue to assess the milestones,” Ed Gulick, a spokesman for the service said in an e-mailed statement.
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10/20/2014
What qualities make a great fighter aircraft? Speed or maneuverability? Armament or ruggedness? How many enemies it shot down, or how often it managed to avoid being shot down? Perhaps it is all of these factors, or none. Maybe greatness is just being the right aircraft in the right place at the right time. Whatever the reason, some fighters go on to become legends, while others are derided as turkeys.
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10/20/2014
The U.S. military said it has airdropped weapons, ammunition and medical supplies to Kurds defending the northern Syrian town of Kobani from Islamic State militants. That could strain U.S.-Turkish relations. The “first-of-its-kind” supply mission came as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was in Jakarta trying to enlist Southeast Asian leaders in what one U.S. official called the global "effort to combat violent extremism."
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