February 18, 2015 Military Aviation News
02/18/2015
The Air Force's special operators are about to stand up their newest wing, but the wing's home, at RAF Mildenhall, England, will be temporary. The 352nd Special Operations Group at Mildenhall is accepting CV-22 Ospreys, and its base personnel has climbed to more than 1,000, the line between a group and a wing. Soon, the group will become a wing, said Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command.
(Read More...)
02/18/2015
The Royal Australian Air Force’s air combat and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities will be substantially increased over the next decade as new fifth generation capabilities are introduced. The current RAAF air combat fleet comprises 71 Boeing F/A-18A/B Hornets in three fighter squadrons and one operational conversion unit based at Williamtown near Newcastle and Tindal in the Northern Territory, and 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets in a single squadron based at Amberley.
(Read More...)
02/18/2015
President Barack Obama's strategy in Syria and Iraq is not working. The president is hoping that limited air strikes, combined with U.S. support for local proxies—the peshmerga, the Iraqi security forces, the Sunni tribes and the Free Syrian Army—will "degrade and ultimately destroy" the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
(Read More...)
02/18/2015
Sen. Debbie Stabenow Tuesday pledged her support for the A-10 aircraft fleet to members of the Base Community Council at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township. The U.S. Air Force has announced plans to retire the A-10 aircraft fleet from Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township in fiscal year 2017, a decision that could have huge financial impact in Macomb County and the region.
(Read More...)
02/18/2015
A French Defense Ministry official denied a media report that France is in the final stage of talks for a sale of up to 36 Rafale fighter jets to Qatar. "Certainly not," the defense official said when asked about a Reuters report that the negotiations with Qatar were in the "final stage." The Reuters report quoted a senior French source.
(Read More...)
02/18/2015
The State Department announced Tuesday it would allow sales of armed drones to allies and partners on a case-by-case basis, a move that stands to dramatically expand exports of American-made unmanned aircraft around the world. The Obama administration said that, under a new policy, it would expand the sale of unmanned military aircraft but would approve the sales individually.
(Read More...)
02/18/2015
The mega-competition to build South Korea's indigenous fighter jet, dubbed KF-X, kicked off on Feb. 9. But the first round of bidding in the country's largest-ever arms procurement deal failed due to an insufficient number of participants. Only the team of Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Lockheed Martin submitted a proposal for the KF-X program by the deadline, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
(Read More...)
02/18/2015
The 10th edition of the biannual Aero India show will not showcase a flight display by any Russian aircraft, despite ongoing programs between the two countries, while the US is expected to have the largest corporate presence with 64 companies, according to the Indian Ministry of Defence.
(Read More...)
02/18/2015
British Prime Minister David Cameron praised Boeing [NYSE: BA] for providing excellent value, and a close partnership with the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MOD), which led to a five-year extension of the contract under which Boeing supports the Royal Air Force’s Chinook helicopters.
(Read More...)
All Articles