April, 2015 Military Aviation News
04/30/2015
On March 27, DARPA successfully tested the full Persistent Close Air Support (PCAS) prototype system for the first time as part of TALON REACH, a U.S. Marine Corps infantry/aviation training exercise conducted in the southwest region of the United States in partnership with the Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One and the Marine Infantry Officer Course (IOC).
(Read More...)
04/30/2015
A Massachusetts Democrat and Iraq War veteran is pushing a compromise to let the Air Force keep flying half of its A-10 fleet and retire the rest. Rep. Seth Moulton on Wednesday sent a letter to colleagues in the House of Representatives containing a compromise that would keep 119 A-10s out of the current 283.
(Read More...)
04/30/2015
Bulgarian Defense Minister Nikolay Nenchev has announced the Air Force likely will pull its 12 MiG-29 fighter jets out of service rather than proceed with what he called an "overpriced" maintenance and repair deal with Russia. Nenchev told local daily Sega that signing an extended deal, until 2019, priced by the Russian side at some 80 million leva (US $46 million), would be unfavorable to Bulgaria, and so he refused to sign the contract.
(Read More...)
04/30/2015
We all know we are in a period of profound change, as well as an extremely disruptive time in technology. I’m excited about the possibilities, but I also have to manage in this time of change. I’ve spent a lot of time focused on how to do that well, both at the helm of an incumbent business and at an upstart. How can I focus my team? How do we really make a difference?
(Read More...)
04/30/2015
US Vice President Joe Biden delivered a speech in Washington April 23 on the occasion of Israeli Independence Day celebrations. He announced that in 2016, the United States will deliver two F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to Israel. Yet, the debate still rages on the cost-effectiveness of the Joint Strike Fighter project, with rumors circulating that the project may be terminated due to its phenomenal $1 trillion budget.
(Read More...)
04/30/2015
Guess who has applauded PM Modi's 'Make in India' initiative now? It is British Prime Minister David Cameron. According to a recent Economic Times report, the man has not only praised India's initiative to become a global manufacturing hub, but has also offered technological assistance to achieve its targets, including in developing its "own world class fighter aircraft" that is "better than Rafale."
(Read More...)
04/30/2015
Earlier this month Navy Secretary Ray Mabus remarked that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter “should be, and almost certainly will be, the last manned strike fighter aircraft the Department of the Navy will ever buy or fly.” This sparked a lot of discussion both inside and outside the military about the advantages, vulnerabilities, and ethical concerns of armed remotely piloted aircraft.
(Read More...)
04/30/2015
Dangerous frontline operations call for a safe and efficient method to locate and evacuate wounded personnel. To address this critical need and help save lives, Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), Kaman Aerospace (NYSE: KAMN), and Neya Systems demonstrated the first ever collaborative unmanned air and ground casualty evacuation using the unmanned aerial system (UAS) Control Segment (UCS) Architecture and K-MAX® cargo helicopter on March 26.
(Read More...)
04/30/2015
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is in Washington to discuss his plans for Japan to take on a wider security role beyond the direct defense of its home islands. The talks resulted in the two countries unveiling new guidelines for defense.
(Read More...)
04/30/2015
Russia will renew the production of its Tu-160 (Blackjack) supersonic strategic bomber and missile carrier, Russian Defense Minister Gen. Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday. "Today it is already necessary to solve the task of not only maintaining and modernizing long-range aviation, we must also produce the Tu-160 missile carrier," Shoigu said during a visit at the Kazan Aviation Plant.
(Read More...)
04/29/2015
A US Air Force refuelling aircraft disappeared off the radar over the English Channel last night but has since landed safely in Britain. The Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker left Amiens in northern France at 0.05am local time (11.05pm BST) and was last reported on a flight tracking website between Dover and Calais 15 minutes later.
(Read More...)
04/29/2015
For decades, senior military leaders and analysts have predicted the demise of manned aircraft. The Navy, expressing that the end is on the horizon, has created a new office to oversee unmanned air systems. Unmanned aircraft have certainly proven indispensable for more than a dozen years in reconnaissance, strike, communications relay and even transport. And the Air Force plans to increase its reliance on unmanned aircraft to remove worrying "about the limitations of the human body."
(Read More...)
04/29/2015
Outside this city at a Ukrainian army facility called the Polygon, which is typically used for tank training, about 200 civilian volunteers gathered this past weekend for a military exercise.
Many had no military experience; some had never held a weapon. But many decided to train for war due to widespread worries about an escalation in the Ukraine conflict and the potential for it to spread all the way to Dnipropetrovsk, with its nearly 1 million residents, is Ukraine’s fourth largest city.
(Read More...)
04/29/2015
Hundreds of air strikes later, Hadi remains in Riyadh and the Houthis remain near Aden. Riyadh needs a new approach. After nearly four weeks of consistent aerial bombardment against Houthi military positions across Yemen, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — with full backing from its colleagues in the Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt, and Morocco — announced with great fanfare on April 21 that Operation Decisive Storm had ended.
(Read More...)
04/29/2015
Ending the deadlock over Rafale fighter aircraft deal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi finalised the delivery of 36 fighter jets in fly-away condition during his France visit two weeks back but more shocking is how the Indian government sidelined the ‘Make In India’ project to seal the deal with Dassault Aviation, a French defence manufacturer. There are multiple reasons behind the immediate actions of buying the Rafale jets
(Read More...)
04/29/2015
The House Armed Services Committee inserted $683 million into the 2016 defense bill to stop the Air Force from retiring the A-10 Warthog. However, Air Force leaders said the service will have to mothball F-16s and delay the deployment of the F-35 in response to the move by the committee.
(Read More...)
04/29/2015
Saab announced today that it has developed PS-05/A fighter radar to a new version designated Mk4 for Gripen C/D improved performance and operating range. The PS-05/A Mk4 is the recent development of PS-05/A radar, originally developed for the Gripen fighter. A new hardware configuration with a complete new radar back-end gives improved radar performance and operational range, enhancing Gripen Weapon System capabilities and offers full AMRAAM and Meteor integration.
(Read More...)
04/29/2015
The information necessary to hack a military drone is freely available to the public, in academic publications and online documents, according to an Israeli defense manufacturer. One such paper was published just a month before Iran claimed it downed a CIA stealth drone in 2011, Esti Peshin said Monday at the Defensive Cyberspace Operations and Intelligence conference in Washington DC. Peshin is the director of cyber programs for Israel Aerospace Industries.
(Read More...)
04/29/2015
A pilot landed an F-18 equipped with the aptly named “Magic Carpet” software program on the deck of the Navy's Nimitz-class supercarrier USS George H W Bush, naval-technology.com reported. "This underway marked the first use of the Magic Carpet technology on an aircraft carrier. This software greatly reduces misses and wave-offs, which translates into more time on-mission and makes us an overall more effective force.”
(Read More...)
04/29/2015
The US State Department has approved a foreign military sale with Australia for the Boeing Company’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft in the amount of $1.5 billion, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced in a release on Tuesday.
(Read More...)
04/28/2015
The New York Times noted that “the coalition carried out airstrikes in several other provinces, suggesting a broadening, rather than a scaling back, of the monthlong Saudi air offensive against Houthi rebels.” Saudi-led warplanes targeted the Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies, forces loyal to Yemen’s former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, in the northern city of Saada, the western city of Taiz, and the southern city of Aden, reported The Associated Press.
(Read More...)
04/28/2015
The House announced moves this week to protect the A-10 Thunderbolt from a proposed retirement. The aircraft program is fully funded in a version of the annual defense budget unveiled Monday by the House Armed Services Committee. An Arizona congresswoman said she also plans to float an amendment that would bar the Air Force from eliminating the aircraft, also known as the Warthog, when the committee votes on the massive defense bill Wednesday.
(Read More...)
04/28/2015
Chosen by Italy, Israel, Poland and Singapore to prepare their pilots to the 4th and 5th Gen. fighter jets, the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 “Master” is considered one the world’s most advanced jet trainers.
(Read More...)
04/28/2015
Sweden's Saab AB on Monday ruled out facilitating the sale of Gripen fighter aircraft to Argentina as the result of a deal to build and export combat jets from Brazil. Argentina has expressed interest in buying 24 Gripen fighter jets from its Latin American neighbour once Brazil is able to export them, early next decade. Such a deal would face an almost certain veto from Britain, which provides some 30 percent of the Gripen's content, including the radar on its next-generation Gripen E/F.
(Read More...)
04/28/2015
A solemn ceremony to hand over four new training and combat aircraft Yak-130 to personnel of the 116th guards assault airbase took place at the Lida airfield on 27 April, BelTA has learned. The four new aircraft will make up an independent wing as part of the airbase. The aircraft were delivered to Belarus on board of an IL-76 cargo aircraft. They were then assembled by specialists of the Russian R&D corporation Irkut using the premises of the 116th airbase.
(Read More...)
04/28/2015
For decades, the Arab Gulf countries have been a very strong market for Western combat aircraft manufacturers. The Mideast is the largest single export fighter market, accounting for 29%, or $38 billion, of Teal Group’s $130.5 billion 2015-2024 export fighter forecast. This excludes tens of billions of dollars in weapons, support, and upgrade work. But over the past year, there have been profound political changes and diplomatic shifts in the region.
(Read More...)
04/28/2015
Lockheed Martin continues to advance C-130 aircrew and maintenance training under recent contract awards from the U.S. Air Force valued at more than $80 million. Contracts include the delivery of the following training solutions.
(Read More...)
04/28/2015
US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter also said that Washington’s defense cooperation with Tokyo would no longer be relegated to Japan’s surrounding waters as outlined in the 1997 defense guidelines. The new framework, according to Carter, would be extended to anywhere in the world where the two nations have common security interests.
(Read More...)
04/28/2015
Two separate US government watchdogs are outlining problems with the engines used in their F-35 jet fighters - one finding the systems unreliable and another citing dozens of violations in its quality assurance inspection.
(Read More...)
04/27/2015
Israel's military said Sunday it launched an airstrike on its border with Syria after spotting militants carrying a bomb in the Israeli-held Golan Heights. The military said it carried out the strike after troops saw "a group of armed terrorists" approach the border with an explosive intended to target Israeli troops. It said that Israeli aircraft "targeted the squad, preventing the attack."
(Read More...)
04/27/2015
The People's Liberation Army has begun loading operational J-15 carrier-based fighter jets onto the Liaoning, China's first and only aircraft carrier, reports the Beijing-based Sina Military Network. Recently leaked photos reveal that four J-15s, developed by the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation and the 601 Institute, have been moved onto the Liaoning, which sources indicate will eventually be able to carry up to 24 fighter jets of similar size.
(Read More...)
04/27/2015
Syrian military aircraft have bombed the north-western town of Jisr al-Shughour today, a day after insurgents seized control of it as part of a broader offensive that has left government forces in the area reeling. The opposition campaign, spearheaded by the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front and Islamic rebel factions, has captured the two largest urban centres in Idlib province in the space of a month.
(Read More...)
04/27/2015
Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry says a military training aircraft has crashed, killing the instructor and a student pilot. The official Saudi Press Agency quoted the ministry as saying the accident happened Sunday morning and involved a plane affiliated with the King Faisal Air Academy, a military flight school in the capital, Riyadh. It gave no further details.
(Read More...)
04/27/2015
Royal Navy ship-launched surveillance drones could be sent to scour the Mediterranean as part of Britain’s effort to combat the migrant crisis, under plans being considered by defence chiefs. The Navy’s new ScanEagle remote-controlled aircraft would search for dangerously overloaded boats packed with people making the perilous crossing from Libya to Europe.
(Read More...)
04/27/2015
Air raids, naval shelling and ground fighting shook Yemen on Sunday in some of the most widespread combat since a Saudi-led alliance intervened last month against Iranian-allied Houthi militia who have seized large tracts of the country. There were at least five air strikes on military positions and an area near the presidential palace compound in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa at dawn on Sunday, while warships pounded an area near the port of the southern city of Aden, residents said.
(Read More...)
04/27/2015
Indian Premier Narendra Modi’s arbitrary decision to scrap the $20 billion Rafale combat-aircraft contract — touted as the “mother of all defense deals” signed by New Delhi till date — serve as a warning to this still evolving democracy of the consequences of blindly electing leaders by believing their rhetoric.
(Read More...)
04/27/2015
Belgium has been successful in conducting military operations in Iraq: six Belgian F-16 bombers involved in the airstrikes against the Islamic State destroyed 107 ground targets over the last six months, Belgian Le Vif reported. The tiny European nation takes only 5 percent of aerial missions conducted by the anti-ISIL coalition led by the United States in Iraq and Syria. Six Belgian F-16 fighter jets are used by 110 people and operate from an air base in Jordan.
(Read More...)
04/27/2015
American and Norwegian specialists will fly over the territory of Russia under the Treaty on Open Skies on April 27-30, head of Russia's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center Sergei Ryzhkov has announced. Russian specialists on board the aircraft will monitor the use of equipment and American and Norwegian inspectors' adherence to the Treaty on Open Skies, according to Ryzhkov.
(Read More...)
04/26/2015
Coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State in Syria and Iraq on Saturday. In Iraq, coalition forces conducted 11 airstrikes approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, using fighter, attack, bomber and remotely piloted aircraft against IS terrorists, the U.S.-led coalition's command said in a statement.
(Read More...)
04/26/2015
Two Mexican air force planes collided Saturday during an air show at Mexico's Aerospace Fair 2015 in the central state of Mexico, causing one of the planes to crash but without anyone being hurt. The accident took place at 11:05 a.m. and caused no injuries because those on the plane were able to eject before the crash, the National Defense Secretariat, or Sedena, said in a communique.
(Read More...)
04/26/2015
China has now gone beyond simply bullying in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). It is now creating islands by destroying reefs. It is also building an airfield on one of the islands it has created. China claims that its rise to superpower status is intended to be peace. But these actions tell a different story. It is clear that it wants complete control of the 1.7 million square miles that make up the East China and South China Seas where six other countries maintain various territorial
(Read More...)
04/26/2015
The Marine helicopter unit at Robins will be seen in the skies a lot more often. The unit is getting three additional AH-1W Super Cobra attack choppers from other active-duty squadrons that are getting the new AH-1Z. That takes the unit’s Super Cobra fleet from four to seven. Two of the choppers have arrived in the past two weeks, and the third is expected soon.
(Read More...)
04/26/2015
The U.S. Air Force does not share the U.S. Navy's view of air warfare's future. The Air Force will continue deploying manned aircraft and will implement this on future designs, unlike the Navy, which will start focusing on unmanned aircraft. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh, speaking at an event hosted by Defense One, explained the Air Force will continue working with unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) in the future, expanding its current fleet.
(Read More...)
04/26/2015
Last week, the Navy made aviation history for the second time in two years by accomplishing yet another first for unmanned aircraft: a fully autonomous aerial refueling. This comes on the heels of the Navy's historic landing of a fully autonomous unmanned aircraft, the X-47B, on an aircraft carrier in 2013. To capitalize on these successes, the Navy plans to next retire the unmanned aircraft - built by Northrop Grumman - and stick them in a museum.
(Read More...)
04/26/2015
One of the major differences between military aircraft is the amount of money it costs to keep them operational. This is usually given in cost per flight hour (for fuels, spare parts and maintenance) or annual operating costs (including upgrades). The following data is for 2014.
(Read More...)
04/26/2015
The Indian Air Force is likely to get four more indigenously made light combat aircraft Tejas by the end of the current financial year from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, National Aerospace Laboratories' Director Shyam Chetty said here today. "The four aircraft may adhere to international standards on end-to-end accuracy," Chetty said, adding, further research was on to meet the parameters stipulated by the IAF.
(Read More...)
04/26/2015
Friendship between China and Pakistan continues to strengthen as Beijing promised to deliver another 50 fighter jets to its southern neighbor over the next three years, a top Chinese official said, according to the Express Tribute.
(Read More...)
04/25/2015
Why is Russia planning on building an aircraft supercarrier in the next decade? The answer may seem self-evident: Russia wants to challenge the United States as a global power. One of the United States’s chief tools of projecting its power is its fleet of aircraft supercarriers: 11 ships with a capacity of more than 70 aircraft. Carriers have participated in nearly every U.S. armed conflict since World War II and have proven time and time again to be strategic military tools.
(Read More...)
04/25/2015
The Islamic State shot down a regime aircraft near a key military airport in southern Syria on Friday, with pro-IS Twitter accounts saying the jihadist group had captured the pilot, a monitor said. The plane went down east of Khalkhalah airport, the only air base in Sweida province, a stronghold of the Druze minority that has largely avoided the bloodshed of Syria's war, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
(Read More...)
04/25/2015
One of the most spectacular fast jet displays on the European circuit is promised for this summer's Royal International Air Tattoo. The French Air Force's Ramex Delta team of two Dassault Mirage 2000N strike aircraft is set to provide a dramatic and noisy role demonstration at the Air Tattoo, which takes place at RAF Fairford in the Cotswolds, on July 17 to 19.
(Read More...)
04/25/2015
In all the confusion that hangs over the Modi government's decision to procure 36 Rafale fighters 'off the shelf', we need to focus on the real issues. First, the imperative of plugging the shortages in the Indian Air Force (IAF)'s combat strength. Second, to once again kickstart the decades-old effort to develop a fighter of our own.
(Read More...)
04/25/2015
Tensions off the coast of Yemen between the United States and Iran appear to be dissipating, with a fleet of Iranian ships possibly carrying weapons for Yemeni rebels and a U.S. aircraft carrier both turning away from the region, Pentagon officials said Friday.
(Read More...)
04/25/2015
The next generation fighter planes are also regarded as fifth generation fighter jets. All top fighter aircraft with the state of the art technology are enlisted in a classification list followed mainly by the United States. The aircraft have unique features like stealth, low probability of intercept radar (LPIR), high performance airframes, advanced avionics features, and highly integrated computer systems capable of networking with other elements.
(Read More...)
04/24/2015
A dozen A-10 attack jets have been deployed to the Middle East in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the Air Force announced this week. The deployment of 350 airmen and the 12 "Warthogs" come as Congress and the Pentagon battle over whether to retire the popular aircraft, which provides close air support for troops in combat.
(Read More...)
04/24/2015
They’re called lethal autonomous weapons, or LAWs, and their military mission would be to seek out, identify and kill a human target independent of human control. Human decision would not be in the loop, and the only button a military commander would push would be the “on” button. In military terms, it’s called “fire and forget.”
(Read More...)
04/24/2015
SQUADRON Leader Andrew Jackson, 37, started out flying elderly Macchi jet trainers, then graduated to the RAAF's classic Hornets and Super Hornets. Since January, he's been learning to fly the advanced new F-35, making his first flight in January and now qualifying to fly F-35s and also to instruct new RAAF F-35 pilots.
(Read More...)
04/24/2015
An Indo-French naval exercise VARUNA15 began on April 23 off the coast of Goa with the aim of further strengthening Indo-French cooperation and coordination, and also strengthening bilateral ties between the two nations, the Indian Navy said in a press release. India's latest aircraft carrier INS Viraat will for the first time join the French Navy in the naval exercises. French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will be participating in the exercise.
(Read More...)
04/24/2015
The 17th Special Operations Squadron sent off the final two MC-130P Combat Shadows in the Pacific Air Forces to retire on April 15. The 17th SOS highlighted the beginning of the MC-130P Combat Shadow retirement with one final formation flight on Oct. 16, 2014, at Kadena Air Base, but now they have sent their last ones to the “boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
(Read More...)
04/24/2015
An A-10 deployed in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) suffered a "non-combat" engine failure and had to divert to Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, according to an Air Force report. The jet’s number-one engine suffered catastrophic damage during a routine refueling mission, and the pilot was able to safely land the aircraft at the air base in central Iraq, said the report Wednesday.
(Read More...)
04/24/2015
A battle of the hawks is raging on Capitol Hill. Defense hawks say the nation’s security will be endangered if the caps imposed under the 2011 Budget Control Act aren’t lifted, allowing for more defense spending. Fiscal hawks assert with equal vehemence that the nation’s long-term economic health — the foundation for all government activities, including defense — will be permanently harmed if burgeoning deficits and debts are not addressed.
(Read More...)
04/24/2015
Yesterday, my colleague Franz-Stefan Gady covered the main takeaways from a new Carnegie Endowment for International Peace report, authored by Ashley Tellis, that calls for, among other things, broader cooperation between the United States and India on developing the latter’s naval capabilities. Specifically, Tellis focuses on carrier aviation and recommends that the United States ensure that India fields a more robust carrier capability than China.
(Read More...)
04/24/2015
The US government will provide F-35 fighter jets to Israel next year to the country a strategic advantage over its rivals in the Middle East, US Vice President Joe Biden said during a speech celebrating Israeli independence.
(Read More...)
04/23/2015
With the world becoming a more volatile place and certain high-threat environments becoming too dangerous to send personnel, the lack of human intelligence has placed a greater stress on signals intelligence to provide military commanders with greater knowledge of dangerous actors and potential threats.
(Read More...)
04/23/2015
Japanese first of 13 F-2B fighter aircraft which suffered damage due to 2011 Tsunami completed repairs, IHS Janes reported Tuesday. The Japanese Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) rolled out the overhauled F-2B fighter aircraft in a ceremony to mark to the completion of repairs by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Lockheed Martin held at MHI's Komaki South Plant.
(Read More...)
04/23/2015
India’s nuclear command has begun receiving fighter jets armed with the country’s most advanced, supersonic cruise missile. According to media reports, India’s Strategic Forces Command (SFC) has begun receiving 42 Su-30MKI air dominance fighters modified to carry air-launched BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. This will significantly enhance the striking power of the air leg of India’s nuclear triad.
(Read More...)
04/23/2015
In the last 15 years of the Cold War, the American A-10 Thunderbolt and the Soviet-built MiG-21 occupied hangars on either side of the Iron Curtain, waiting to pounce. The lumbering, heavily armed A-10 would have gone after Warsaw Pact tanks and troops; the nimble MiG fighter would have tried to shoot it down. But two decades later, they are taking part in exercises side by side, staged by the U.S. and Romania.
(Read More...)
04/23/2015
Saudi Arabia boasted Tuesday that it was winding down its air campaign in Yemen because its forces had destroyed the most powerful weaponry of the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels controlling most of the country. Turns out that Riyadh may have gotten ahead of itself: the Saudi ambassador to Washington said Wednesday that while the number of airstrikes might decrease, the bombardment of Houthi targets would continue until the rebel group halted its military offensive.
(Read More...)
04/23/2015
This week, the X-47B aircraft developed at Northrop Grumman’s facility in San Diego became the first unmanned vehicle to undergo in-flight refueling. Northrop and Navy officials said Wednesday that the the X-47B successfully maneuvered behind an Omega K-707 tanker and connected to that plane’s refueling system.
(Read More...)
04/23/2015
The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) has selected the Falcon 2000 Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA) proposed by Dassault Aviation to enhance its operational fleet.The Falcon 2000 MSA, based on a Falcon 2000 LXS (range 4000 NM), is designed for a broad range of missions including maritime surveillance, piracy control, drug interdiction, fishery patrol, law enforcement, search and rescue, intelligence and reconnaissance.
(Read More...)
04/23/2015
India’s decision to procure 36 Dassault Rafale combat jets is an attempt to stop short-term hemorrhaging, but is not a substitute for the urgent need to address both the erosion of the Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s) force strength or gaps in higher defense management that continue to plague the Indian armed forces.
(Read More...)
.jpg)
04/23/2015
The Air Force will not follow the Navy into an all-unmanned future strike fleet, as pilots will be needed in the cockpits of most of its combat fleet for the foreseeable future. While the Air Force will increase its reliance on remotely piloted and possibly autonomous aircraft, there will be no replacement for a fighter pilot, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said Wednesday.
(Read More...)
04/22/2015
The U.S. said Tuesday that deploying warships to Yemen to monitor nearby Iranian vessels has given America "options" for how it could react to Iran's behavior in the region. The warships are being deployed to monitor ships traveling from Iran that could be trafficking arms to Houthi rebels in Yemen, U.S. officials told CNN, saying the move was also meant to reassure allies in the region.
(Read More...)
04/22/2015
Tanker aircraft from four nations are nearing the completion of a European Defence Agency-backed exercise intended to increase interoperability and co-operation. Being conducted from Eindhoven air base in the Netherlands from 13-24 April, the European Air Refuelling Training (EART) activity is also supporting combat aircraft participating in the multinational Frisian Flag manoeuvres, which are running simultaneously from Leeuwarden air base.
(Read More...)
04/22/2015
Personnel at the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base (AFB) – responsible for training F-16 and F-35 fighter pilots and maintainers, qualifying instructors, conducting conversion pilot training, instructing forward air controllers, and deploying mission-ready combat pilots –performed the first F-35 training deployment this month. Luke AFB officials sent 10 F-35 Lightning II aircraft, half the base’s current fleet of F-35 jets, to Nellis AFB, Nevada.
(Read More...)
04/22/2015
The IAF may be forced to junk its transitional training for rookie fighter pilots because of Hindustan Aeronautics' continuing failure to deliver its Sitara intermediate jet trainer (IJT), which was first sanctioned in 1999 but still cannot stall-and-spin. Stall-and-spin is one of the critical maneuvers used to transform rookie cadets into top-gun fighter pilots in the inherently-dangerous art of combat flying.
(Read More...)
04/22/2015
Members of the 317th Airlift Group from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, flew to Pope Army Airfield April 7, to participate in Combined Joint Operational Access Exercise 15-01. The exercise takes place multiple times each year to certify the Air Force and Army's ability to deploy strategic airlift, contingency and support forces in a large formation airdrop.
(Read More...)
04/22/2015
While visiting France in early April, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the acquisition of 36 French Dassault Rafale jets. The announcement capped years of sometimes contentious negotiations, which had intensified since Modi came to power last year.
(Read More...)
04/22/2015
Personnel and aircraft from Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township have been deployed to join the fight against ISIS. Maj. Gen. Gregory J. Vadnais, the Adjutant General of the Michigan National Guard, announced Tuesday that approximately 350 airmen and 12 A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft from the 127th Wing of the Michigan Air National Guard have been deployed he Middle East as part of Operation Inherent Resolve to help in the fight against ISIS.
(Read More...)
04/22/2015
The Kazakhstan Air Force has received four Sukhoi Su-30SM Flanker C fighter aircraft from Irkut Corporation, a part of the Sukhoi Group. The new twin-engine multifunctional two-seat fighters were handed over at Taldykorgan air base in southern Kazakhstan. A maximum speed of 1,320 miles per hour can be achieved by the Su-30SM, meanwhile it has a ceiling of 56,800ft and a range of 1,620 miles. It is built to order at JSC Corporation Irkut.
(Read More...)
04/22/2015
Aviation from Russia's Northern Fleet has begun anti-ship military exercises in the Barents Sea beyond the Arctic Circle, the Northern Fleet's press service announced Tuesday. "Today, the crews of anti-ship Ka-27 [Helix] helicopters, Il-38 [May] and Tu-142 [Bear-F] airplanes from the Northern Fleet have begun planned exercises on the search and identification of submarines in the Barents Sea using hydro-acoustic equipment, as well as bombing," the press center said.
(Read More...)
04/21/2015
Before Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the presence of Russian military forces there was strictly defined by a 1997 treaty with Ukraine 1997. The specified that no more than 25,000 Russian military personnel could be present on the peninsula, and only 2,000 of them could be air force and another 2,000 could be marines. Equipment limits also applied. The Russians could have no more than 24 artillery, no more than 142 armored vehicles and 22 military aircraft.
(Read More...)
04/21/2015
The U.S. Air Force is winnowing down its fleet of EC-130H Compass Call electronic attack planes. The 15 high-tech jammers belong to the 55th Electronic Combat Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. But if the flying branch has its way, it will retire seven at the turn of the fiscal year in October, according to the Pentagon's budget request.
(Read More...)
04/21/2015
When commercial airlines look at Air Force pilots, they see aviators with upward of 1,500 flying hours and 10 years or more of flying experience. And they want to hire them. As airlines continue to grow and Vietnam-era pilots retire, the airlines will hire about 20,000 pilots over the next 10 years. United, American, Delta and the rest of the world's aviation companies see the Air Force's 13,000 veteran pilots as a ready way to staff their cockpits.
(Read More...)
04/21/2015
The video opens with high-definition footage shot from a drone flying over an oil refinery in central Iraq, but this video isn’t from a multi-million-dollar American drone. It’s from a drone operated by the Islamic State that likely cost a few thousand dollars. And the refinery – Iraq’s largest – is held by government forces, who have been besieged by the militants for the better part of a year.
(Read More...)
04/21/2015
Pakistan dispatched eight JF-17 Thunder fighter jets to escort Chinese President Xi Jinping's plane Monday when it entered Pakistani air space for a state visit to the country. It is a diplomatic etiquette commonly adopted by countries to escort a foreign leader's plane with fighters during a state visit, aimed at showing the importance attached by them to the visit and paying homage to their distinguished guests.
(Read More...)
04/21/2015
India's Rafale deal is not just purchasing fighter jets. It’s also about facing the challenge of national security, and balancing defense relationships as well as bilateral ties. A diplomatic deftness PM Narendra Modi seems to have lived up to. When India, the world's largest arms importer, makes a defense move it is watched keenly. The recent deal on 36 Rafale jets is no exception.
(Read More...)
04/21/2015
The two warships will join seven US warships in the area and come as Iran said it had dispatched nine warships toward Yemen. The aircraft carrier USS “Theodore Roosevelt and [guided-missile cruiser USS] Normandy have joined other US forces conducting maritime security operations in the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb and the Southern Red Sea,” the US Navy said.
(Read More...)
04/21/2015
Earlier in April, human rights activists claimed that the Syrian regime conducted several barrel bomb attacks on Idlib governorate in March, affecting over 200 people. Human Rights Watch (HRW) cited photo and video evidence saying that up to six attacks involving use of toxic chemicals had been made.
(Read More...)
04/21/2015
The decision will move the B-1 bomber fleets and Long Range Strike-Bombers under the same command as the B-2 and B-52 bombers. “Consolidating all of our Air Force assets in this critical mission area under a single command will help provide a unified voice to maintain the high standards necessary in stewardship of our nation’s bomber forces,” Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said on Monday.
(Read More...)
04/20/2015
Iraqi security forces backed by heavy air support from the American-led coalition have secured Iraq’s largest oil refinery from a determined Islamic State offensive. But they continued to struggle to fend of Islamic State fighters trying to capture the capital of the country’s largest province. The two battles, one in north central Iraq and the other in the country’s west, are reminders that only a few weeks after trumpeting the capture of the city of Tikrit from Islamist fighters.
(Read More...)
04/20/2015
The weapons are part of a deal to bolster the country's defences against the Islamic State (IS) group and other jihadist groups pressing along Lebanon's Syrian border. On Monday, anti-tank guided missiles will be delivered to an air force base in Beirut, overseen by French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and his Lebanese counterpart, Samir Mokbel.
(Read More...)
04/20/2015
The popular narrative surrounding the conflict between the West and Iran has always been one of a dangerous rogue state bent on obtaining nuclear weapons before triggering a nuclear-fueled Armageddon aimed at Israel. Underneath this elementary propaganda, lies a more complex truth underpinning a proxy conflict between East and West.
(Read More...)
04/20/2015
To wage war in Yemen, Saudi Arabia is using F-15 fighter jets bought from Boeing. Pilots from the United Arab Emirates are flying Lockheed Martin's F-16 to bomb both Yemen and Syria. Soon the Emirates are expected to complete a deal with General Atomics for a fleet of Predator drones to run spying missions in their neighborhood.
(Read More...)
04/20/2015
The United Arab Emirates has restarted talks on ordering the Dassault Rafale, with a planned major upgrade of the fighter jet in contrast to the off-the-shelf deals for Egypt and India, said an Arabian Gulf official source familiar with the issue. "Yes, there are renewed discussions," the gulf source said April 14. The talks could take some time "to reach an understanding" that meets the needs of the UAE Air Force, the source said.
(Read More...)
.jpg)
04/20/2015
Over the long years of its development, the F-35 fighter jet has been pummeled from every angle. What haven’t we heard: It’s overweight and underpowered; it’s a single engine when it should be a twin; its engine may suffer from a serious design and structural problem; its wings are too short, its stealth capacity too tenuous, its cost too prohibitive.
(Read More...)
04/20/2015
There is something about the procurement of fighter aircraft from Western commercial sources that generates interest far greater than perhaps the sum of its economic or strategic content. The entire spectacle of open tendering, nail-biting selection followed by endless negotiations, all played out in the public arena, resembles a soap opera more than the very serious business of dealing with a strategic weapon system for war fighting.
(Read More...)
04/20/2015
Aircraft manufacturer Airbus SAS of Toulouse said it is willing to set-up final assembly lines and establish supply chain and related infrastructure for military transport aircraft and helicopters in India. The defence and space unit of Airbus has also plans to develop and manufacture electronic sensors with a partner in India, and has advanced discussions to support state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s combat aircraft programmes.
(Read More...)
04/20/2015
"Basir is a self-control drone that moves according to the flight plan in the specified routes and land in the same take-off point after ending its mission," an official of the Northwestern city of Zanjan's 216 Armored Brigade Mohammad Mohammadi said Saturday, Fars news agency reported.
(Read More...)
04/19/2015
Two Greek F-16 jets intercepted two F-16 jets belonging to the Turkish Air Force on Saturday, according to a press release from the Turkish General Staff Headquarters. According to the report, the fighter jets were on a training flight in international air space over the Mediterranean Sea. Turkish General Staff said that the Turkish military planes were intercepted by the Greek planes for a total of 2 minutes and 40 seconds, prompting the Turkish jets to respond in kind.
(Read More...)
04/19/2015
Militiamen loyal to Yemen's exiled president besieged an air base Saturday once crucial to the U.S. drone program targeting al-Qaida militants in the country, trying to dislodge the Shiite rebels holding the complex, a spokesman said. Qa'ed Nasser, a spokesman for the pro-Hadi militia, said his fighters launched several attacks on the Al-Annad air base amid airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition targeting the rebels, known as Houthis.
(Read More...)
04/19/2015
On a wall inside the HSC-25 command building at Andersen Air Force Base, a plaque hangs emblazoned with the phrase "So others may live." It's flanked on the sides and below by more than 1,000 smaller plaques, each commemorating a successful rescue, medevac or firefighting mission. Flight training officer Lt. Monica Mondloch said new plaques appear on the wall every few months, memorializing the mission's date, crew members and location.
(Read More...)
04/19/2015
The commander of the US army in Europe has warned that Nato must remain united in the face of a "real threat" from Russia. "It's not an assumption. There is a Russian threat," Lt-Gen Frederick "Ben" Hodges said. "You've got the Russian ambassador threatening that Denmark will be a nuclear target if it participates in any missile defence programme. And when you look at the unsafe way Russian aircraft are flying without transponders in proximity to civilian aircraft, that's not professional conduc
(Read More...)
04/19/2015
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to buy 36 Rafale multi-role fighter jets off-the-shelf from France in a government-government deal was a surprise, but it was timely and bold, putting at rest rumors and debates that tend to show the country and its decision-making process in poor light. We are bombarded with information and some disinformation. Invariably, facts get dulled when emotions rise.
(Read More...)
04/18/2015
The Persian Gulf sits at the nexus of multiple regional security complexes overlaid one upon another, creating a delicately balanced yet dangerously volatile mosaic of cultural politics and armed forces. As a result, the calculated political positioning of states within the region have ramifications that produce a ripple effect across the entire globe.
(Read More...)
04/18/2015
An Air Force officer is on her way to realizing her dream of being a fighter pilot, as she is undergoing flight training at an air force base in the eastern county of Taitung. After three months of training at the base, 1st Lt. Kao Tzu-yu completed a mission of flying an F-5E fighter solo that included mid-air drills such as rolls, on Wednesday.
(Read More...)
04/18/2015
Two military aircraft allegedly collided with each other during a training session off the coast of the central province of Binh Thuan on Thursday, with the fate of the two pilots still unknown.
The Russian-made fighter jet Su-22M4 were believed to crash into the East Sea about 10 to 15 nautical miles north of Phu Quy Island.
(Read More...)
04/18/2015
he 56th Fighter Wing performed the first F-35 training deployment from Luke Air Force Base April 4 through 18, sending 10 aircraft to Nellis AFB, NV, for two weeks to see how well the team could conduct operations elsewhere. The 10 aircraft comprise half of Luke's current fleet of F-35 Lightning IIs.
(Read More...)
04/18/2015
Selex has been awarded a contract to supply its Skyward-G infrared search-and-track (IRST) systems to Saab.Under the contract, Selex will deliver 60 Skyward-G systems for installation on-board the Swedish Air Force's Gripen E multi-role combat aircraft fleet. Manufactured at Selex's facility in Nerviano, Italy, the Skyward-G is a long-range electro-optical sensor designed to register heat emissions from other aircraft, helicopters, as well as threats from the ground and sea surface.
(Read More...)
04/18/2015
Beijing issued a statement saying Japanese spy vehicles posed a threat to Chinese ships and planes. The comments come just days after Tokyo said it has been increasingly forced to scramble fighter jets in response to Russian and Chinese incursions. In a statement sent to Reuters, China's Defense Ministry said that Beijing “has a grip on the tracking and surveillance by Japanese ships and aircraft.”
(Read More...)
04/18/2015
New satellite imagery shows the extent of China’s construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea. Fiery Cross Reef could soon serve as a military-grade runway in the middle of the ocean. And despite its own military presence in the region, US officials are in panic.
(Read More...)
04/17/2015
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) tested a prototype of the Persistent Close Air Support (PCAS) system for the first time during the US Marine Corps’ Talon Reach exercise. A full-system PCAS was tested during the exercise in March in an effort to demonstrate the system’s ability to share real-time situational awareness data between air and ground.
(Read More...)
04/17/2015
Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) says lawmakers are working on a measure in the annual defense policy bill to keep the A-10 attack jet flying. “It’s best to be in the chairman’s mark because then it’s paid for. That’s what we’re working on,” the retired Air Force colonel and former A-10 fighter pilot said Thursday during an interview with The Hill.
(Read More...)
04/17/2015
On Apr. 16, “Salty Dog 502?, one of the two Unmanned Carrier Air Vehicle demonstrator (UCAS-D) aircraft of the X-47B program performed autonomous aerial refueling (AAR) test, plugging the in-flight refueling (IFR) probe into the hose of a Omega Air tanker off the coast of Maryland.
(Read More...)
04/17/2015
Saab of Sweden and Embraer of Brazil have formalized their partnership to supply Gripen NG fighters for Brazil's F-X2 air force project. The agreement signed earlier this week follows a previous Memorandum of Understanding on management of the F-X2 project for the Brazilian Air Force and the transfer of Gripen technology.
(Read More...)
04/17/2015
The first example of the nEUROn UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle), the full-scale technology demonstrator developed by France, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland and Greece, has started a new testing phase in Sardinia.
(Read More...)
04/17/2015
The operational use of the carrier-based joint strike fighter could mark the beginning of the end of the Navy's manned bombing sorties, if the Navy secretary gets his way. The F-35C "should be, and almost certainly will be, the last manned strike fighter aircraft the Department of the Navy will ever buy or fly," Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in a speech Wednesday at the annual Sea-Air-Space Exposition outside Washington, D.C. Fighter jocks would still be needed for dogfighting.
(Read More...)
04/17/2015
Foreign fighter jet makers see a multi-billion dollar opportunity in India's decision to scale back purchases of high-end aircraft from France, which may free up cash in the world's largest arms importer to buy a new fleet of mid-range planes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced last week that India would buy 36 French Rafale jets for an estimated $4.3 billion (2.88 billion pounds), in effect ending talks on a larger deal for 126 planes that would have sucked up some $20 billion.
(Read More...)
04/17/2015
“Right now we have no arms delivery contracts with Russia, but we are considering such a possibility and deciding exactly which types of Russian-made military hardware we really need,” Brigadier-General Rafael Jose Nunez said. He also mentioned the “high probability” of the Latin American country signing contracts with Russia on repairing and upgrading weapons previously purchased from Moscow.
(Read More...)
04/17/2015
Tehran is expecting to finalize an agreement on deliveries of Russian S-300 air defense systems within a month to ensure the implementation of the 2010 contract by the end of 2015, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said Thursday.
(Read More...)
04/16/2015
The Libya Dawn militia group appears to be making a number of MiG-25 aircraft operational, with satellite imagery showing two of the aircraft moved to an air base in Misrata. Google Earth satellite imagery from 31 January showed one MiG-25 parked at the base but imagery taken on 28 February showed three. Earlier this month a photo surfaced showing people apparently working on a two-seat MiG-25PU.
(Read More...)
04/16/2015
The first simulator for the Israeli Air Force's most advanced jets – the F-35 – arrived in the Jewish State recently and was unveiled on Wednesday at an airbase in the Negev as part of the preparations for the advanced warplane's expected delivery in 20 months. The simulator will integrate with the rest of the air force's preparations ahead of the establishment of the first squadron for the stealth fighter, codenamed Adir in Hebrew.
(Read More...)
04/16/2015
Cracks were also discovered in another six F-5 planes,which will be repaired between now and the first quarter of 2016, the department said. A fissure in the supporting structure of one of the air force’s F-5E Tiger planes was first noticed in 2014. A larger crack was noted in the airframe of a second plane in January 2015 leading to a detailed examination of all the 36 F-5 Tiger aircraft that were flying regularly.
(Read More...)
04/16/2015
Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has handed over the final upgraded F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft to the Turkish Air Force during a ceremony at its facility in Ankara. In April 2005, the Turkish and US Governments signed an initial letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) for upgrade of 163 Turkish F-16 fighter aircraft under the $1.1bn Peace Onyx III (PO-III) programme, as reported by IHS Jane's.
(Read More...)
04/16/2015
Two weeks after a critical victory at Tikrit, where a combination of U.S. airstrikes, government troops and Shiite Muslim militias overwhelmed an Islamic State force that had held the city for nearly a year, the Iraqi government faced a new challenge Wednesday, a sign of how much remains to be done to defeat the militants.
(Read More...)
04/16/2015
On April 7, a Russian fighter jet nearly collided with a U.S. Air Force spy plane over the Baltic Sea. The actions of the Russian aviator—which the Pentagon later called “sloppy”—underscore increasing tensions in Europe between the two countries. When the incident occurred, the RC-135U Combat Sent was flying over the Baltic near—and possibly snooping on—the Russian-controlled enclave of Kaliningrad.
(Read More...)
04/16/2015
The first combat and training aircraft Yak-130 for the Belarusian army has been delivered to the city of Lida, representatives of the Belarusian Defense Ministry told BelTA. The aircraft was delivered in a disassembled form by an IL-76 cargo aircraft. It will be assembled by Russian specialists later on. These aircraft will improve flight personnel training capacity right up to training how to fly prospective fifth-generation aircraft, explained the Defense Ministry.
(Read More...)
04/16/2015
Japan's air force said Wednesday that jet fighter scrambles have reached a level not seen since the height of the Cold War three decades ago as Russian bombers probe its northern skies and Chinese combat aircraft intrude into its southern air space. In the year ending March 31, Japanese fighters scrambled 944 times, 16 percent more than the same period the previous year, the country's Self Defense Force said.
(Read More...)
04/16/2015
The new Indian government’s decision ‘in principle’ to buy 36 Rafale combat aircraft direct from the Dassault production line in France, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 10, appears to spell the end of the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) acquisition process. Speaking on Indian television two days later, defense minister Manohar Parrikar acknowledged that the protracted delay in closing the MMRCA deal.
(Read More...)
04/16/2015
In 2013 and 2014, The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) took delivery of 15 new Boeing-built CH-147F Chinook helicopters, among the most capable and advanced variants of the legendary Chinook family. Now, the RCAF and Boeing have unveiled an equally advanced training facility for those helicopters.
(Read More...)
04/15/2015
Britain's Ministry of Defense said Typhoon fighter jets were launched after two Russian military planes were spotted flying close to British airspace. "Royal Air Force Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon fighter aircraft were launched today, from RAF Lossiemouth after Russian aircraft were identified flying close to UK airspace," the ministry said in a statement given to CBS News. "The Russian planes were escorted by the RAF until they were out of the UK area of interest.
(Read More...)
04/15/2015
They wax lyrical about the decline of their own forces, explain the growth of those of their challengers, and worry about the long term consequences for stability in many parts of the world. "What we have seen in the last two decades is a form of physical and moral disarmament… we're in a very dangerous place," said General Sir Richard Shirreff, number two in Nato's military structure until last summer.
(Read More...)
04/15/2015
India's defence R&D establishment will have to fire on all cylinders to fast-track the meandering Tejas light combat aircraft, which is still not fully operational or combat ready, if it does not want the Narendra Modi government to critically re-examine the entire project. The Tejas project, in fact, may even get some competition in the light-weight fighter category.
(Read More...)
04/15/2015
Marines with Marine Attack Squadron 223 traveled to Key West, Fla. to conduct air-to-air training March 18 through April 12. The squadron conducted the training to hone their skills to provide offensive air support, armed reconnaissance, and air defense for the Marine Air-Ground Task Force.
(Read More...)
04/15/2015
Prime Minister Modi’s move in Paris to offer a fresh deal to acquire 36 Rafale jets, buried the original contract for purchasing 126 of these next generation fighters. With one stroke, the Modi government has killed many birds. First, the purchase of new aircraft will settle, for the time being, the IAF’s anxiety over dwindling fighter strength.
(Read More...)
04/15/2015
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has built a robot to pull, bend, and twist samples of the composite materials used to build F/A-18s and other aircraft. Dr. John Michopoulos leads the project. With a machine that can, as he says, "Measure so much more than anybody else," and some very advanced math, he can "create a theory that is consistent with all these experiments that we made, and works for all scales.
(Read More...)
04/15/2015
In an interview for Russia's RIA Novosti, Greek defense analyst Ilias Iliopoulos noted that in the interests of closer military-technical cooperation with Russia, Greece could allow the country to use of its military bases, and that this possibility may well be discussed during the Greek Defense Minister's visit to Moscow later this week.
(Read More...)
04/15/2015
Israel may start sending arms to Ukraine in response to Russia’s decision to lift its five-year embargo on the delivery of the S-300 missile system to Iran, NRG reports Tuesday, citing unnamed Israeli military source. According to NRG, Israeli government has not made any decisions yet on sending weapons to Ukraine.
(Read More...)
04/15/2015
Russian MiG-31 (Foxhound) interceptor jet pilots have held air combat exercises over the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Russian Defense Ministry's Eastern Military District's press service said Tuesday. "The task of destroying a simulated enemy was complicated with poor weather conditions that are currently in Kamchatka," the press service said.
(Read More...)
04/14/2015
Taiwan’s defence planners are in a precarious position. Modernization of the PLA has irreversibly tilted the qualitative edge towards Beijing, and Taiwan lacks the wherewithal to engage in an arms race with its powerful neighbour, who happens to claim Taiwan as part of its territory. Perhaps the only way out is to redirect efforts towards asymmetrical platforms: Taiwan needs to mount anti-access/area-denial (A2AD) capability on its own.
(Read More...)
04/14/2015
Russia’s potential delivery of anti-aircraft S-300 missile systems to Iran has long been shrouded in controversy and contradictions. But with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decree allowing shipments of these high-precision systems to Tehran, will Moscow finally make good on these deliveries? Public statements from Russian officials suggest Moscow is serious about supplying this hardware to Iran after Putin’s April 13 decree lifting an earlier ban on these shipments.
(Read More...)
04/14/2015
Russia and its Nato neighbours in the Baltic have agreed dramatic increases in their military budgets, in marked contrast to countries that are further west and away from potential conflict zones, according to a report published by a leading think tank. Spending on arms will rise this year by 60% in Russia, by 50% in Lithuania, by nearly 20% in Poland, and by nearly 15% in Latvia, says the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Sipri.
(Read More...)
04/14/2015
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is visiting Washington Tuesday at a crucial moment in the war against the Islamic State. The recapture of the Sunni city of Tikrit, north of Baghdad, has brought the war to an inflection point, and two major questions now loom for military officials: Where should the counter-offensive go next and what more do the Iraqis need from Washington to press it?
(Read More...)
04/14/2015
The Department of Defense daily releases a list of U.S. and coalition airstrikes conducted in the previous 24 hours against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) forces across war-torn Iraq and Syria. Periodically a news outlet will use the strike data to weigh the effort by the United States and allies in trying to use air power alone, plus training of indigenous forces, to destroy radical Muslims spreading violence and fear.
(Read More...)
04/14/2015
The Navy is in the midst of sweeping changes in aviation, particularly in the future carrier air wing. As engineers continue to develop the F-35C Lightning II, the carrier variant of the stealth aircraft that has suffered repeated delays, service officials are trying to ensure an adequate number of F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets are available to operate at sea.
(Read More...)
04/14/2015
The defence minister indicated on Monday a $25-billion Indian tender for buying 126 advanced combat aircraft had virtually been scrapped, with New Delhi stressing any future deal for Rafale fighter jets would be through direct negotiations with the French government.
(Read More...)
04/14/2015
The Islamic State (ISIL) terrorist group has lost up to 30 percent of its territory in Iraq to US-led coalition forces, the US Department of Defense (DoD) announced in a statement. “Some 25 percent to 30 percent of Iraqi territory has been taken back from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [ISIL] terrorist group control by coalition forces,” Army Col. Steve Warren said in the DoD statement on Monday.
(Read More...)
04/14/2015
The Pentagon issued an official complaint Sunday over a Russian SU-27 fighter's interception of a US RC-135U reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea, citing the plane's "unsafe and unprofessional maneuvers" in close proximity to the spy plane, AP has reported.
(Read More...)
04/14/2015
The political and military crisis in Ukraine prompted European countries to increase their military spending, an arms watchdog said Monday. "The Ukraine crisis has fundamentally altered the security situation in Europe, but so far the impact on military spending is mostly apparent in countries bordering Russia.
(Read More...)
04/13/2015
Prime minister Abadi made it very clear that he had requested American air power to be used at Tikrit to support Iraqi Army units attacking the city. Abadi said he did this even though Iran told him that the Iranian supported Shia militias, which comprised most of the manpower attacking Tikrit, would withdraw. Abadi was not happy with how the Shia militias were taking all the credit for the advance on Tikrit but were unable to advance into the city center.
(Read More...)
04/13/2015
The mega deal with Rafaele is the first landmark in the Make In India plan for the defence sector, and promises to put into throttle investments and expansion of small and large industry to produce parts and tech that needs to go with it. It's a contract for 36 ready-to-fly fourth generation aircraft and 90 that will be built in India.
(Read More...)
04/13/2015
The Turkish Air Force received the last of a batch of F-16 fighter jets which underwent a comprehensive upgrade program. Speaking at a ceremony here at the corporate headquarters of Tusas Turkish Aerospace Industries, Turkey's chief procurement official Ismail Demir said the upgrade program substantially boosted Turkey's air combat power. "We are not dreamers, but we have dreams" Demir said, referring to Turkey's own efforts to design, develop and produce an indigenous fighter jet.
(Read More...)
04/13/2015
Why not just send in the drones? That seems the easy solution against the Islamic State, which has the capacity to shoot down jet aircraft and is vicious enough to burn captured pilots alive. Yet as of March 31, only a handful of the more than 5,500 airstrikes carried out by the US and allies against ISIS were conducted by remote-control drones. Whatever Hollywood may tell you, the drone revolution is still in its infancy.
(Read More...)
04/13/2015
Last month's commissioning of the Japanese helicopter carrier Izumo spearheads the buildup of Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) antisubmarine capabilities, analysts said. Defense Minister Gen Nakatani led the March 25 commissioning of the 248-meter, 24,000-ton helicopter carrier, Japan's largest postwar naval vessel, capable of carrying seven Mitsubishi-built SH-60K antisubmarine warfare (ASW) helicopters and seven AgustaWestland MCM-101 mine countermeasure helicopters.
(Read More...)
04/13/2015
To date approximately 50 people based at 19 Wing Comox have participated in Canada's contribution to the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Middle East, including air crews, maintenance, logistics and support workers.
(Read More...)
04/13/2015
A 76 page report by the Center for Budgetary and Strategic Assessments Trends in Air-to-air combat : Implications for future air superiority by John Stillion indicates that dogfighting jet capability no longer matters. Trends from the database of air combat since 1965 show the rise of long range missiles and a steep decline in dog-fighting. Of the 33 U.S. kills in the 1991 Persian Gulf war, only four involved any maneuvering at all.
(Read More...)
04/13/2015
U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Katie Higgins is the first female pilot in the team’s 69-year history. Katie reported to Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Florida, for aviation indoctrination in November 2009. She completed primary flight training in the T-6B Texan II at NAS Whiting Field, Florida, and completed intermediate and advanced training in the T-44 Pegasus while assigned to Training Squadron 31 (VT-31) at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. She received her wings of gold in October 2011.
(Read More...)
04/12/2015
The U.S. military has begun air-refueling operations for the Saudi-led coalition conducting airstrikes in Yemen, the Pentagon said Wednesday, signaling a deepening of American support for the Arab air campaign. The Pentagon also said the United States would expedite delivery of ammunition to the Saudis and other members of the coalition who are bombing targets in Yemen. The expedited ammunition has not been delivered yet but will include bombs and guidance systems.
(Read More...)
04/12/2015
U.S. military spending may be flat, but that’s not proving to be much of a problem for Israeli defense company Elbit Systems Ltd. That’s because the company, while long dependent on the U.S. for much of its sales, has been shifting its focus to faster growing markets in Asia and Latin America. Elbit said last month that demand from those regions helped push up its backlog of orders to $6.3 billion at year-end, an 8 percent jump from 2013.
(Read More...)
04/12/2015
Recently Eastern Russian Ministry of Defense fighter and attack aviation pilots of advanced Su-35 fighter aircraft practiced firing “air to air” missiles at special thermal targets meant to simulate the heat signatures of an enemy aircraft. “These are advance dog fighting techniques”, said one Russian pilot who wished not to be identified in this report.
(Read More...)
04/12/2015
The most sensitive border in Europe lies 130 miles east of Estonia’s elegant presidential palace. Elsewhere, the threat posed by Russia might seem academic or even alarmist, but for President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, the possibility of Estonia becoming the epicentre of the world’s next crisis is very real. As the smallest Baltic state – and the one possessing the longest frontier with Russia – Estonia is arguably the most exposed country in Europe.
(Read More...)
.jpg)
04/12/2015
Traditional fighter aircraft like the F-22 are becoming obsolete, according to a forthcoming study by a leading U.S. defense think tank. Next week the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) will publish a new paper entitled “Air-to-Air Combat – Implications for Future Air Superiority.”
(Read More...)
04/12/2015
The Department of Defense daily releases a list of U.S. and coalition airstrikes conducted in the previous 24 hours against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) forces across war-torn Iraq and Syria. Periodically a news outlet will use the strike data to weigh the effort by the United States and allies in trying to use air power alone, plus training of indigenous forces, to destroy radical Muslims spreading violence and fear.
(Read More...)
04/12/2015
Aircraft manufacturer Airbus SAS of Toulouse said it is willing to set-up final assembly lines and establish supply chain and related infrastructure for military transport aircraft and helicopters in India. The defence and space unit of Airbus has also plans to develop and manufacture electronic sensors with a partner in India, and has advanced discussions to support state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s combat aircraft programmes.
(Read More...)
04/12/2015
India will induct French Rafale fighters to the Indian Air Force (IAF) within two years, Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said Saturday. On Friday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during his visit to Paris that India will buy 36 French Rafale jet fighters under “fly-away” condition.
(Read More...)
04/11/2015
A Russia Su-27 jet fighter flew dangerously close and nearly collided with a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft this week in the latest aerial provocation by Moscow, defense officials revealed to the Washington Free Beacon. The Su-27 conducted the close-in intercept of an RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft in international airspace over the Baltic Sea on Tuesday, said officials. The incident prompted a diplomatic protest.
(Read More...)
04/11/2015
India has agreed to acquire 36 Rafale fighter jets from Dassault Aviation SA, marking another victory in France’s push to compete with American-made combat planes. The deal, announced during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to Paris on Friday, aims to wrap up more than three years of protracted negotiations between India’s government and Dassault Aviation. French officials said both sides were still negotiating the final details of the acquisition, including the final price.
(Read More...)
04/11/2015
The French Air Force and Navy are evaluating a terrain-following capability for single-seat variants of the Rafale multi-role combat aircraft. The new flight control mode has been developed by the air force's military aircraft test center (CEAM) and the navy's naval aviation flight trials detachment (Det CEPA). After integration into the aircraft, the new feature will enable the aircraft to fly at high-speed and low-level over the ground or sea.
(Read More...)
04/11/2015
The Air Force has released its full breakdown of unfunded priorities for 2016, with aircraft repairs and modernization making up most of the bill, including even funds for some aircraft the service is attempting to retire. The services on March 27 provided a cost breakdown of programs that didn't make their budget requests, which lawmakers can attempt to include in the defense authorization bill.budget request includes programs deemed more important than those in the unfunded list.
(Read More...)
04/11/2015
MV-22 Ospreys replaced the Marines' last squadron of CH-46E helicopters Thursday, officially ending the Sea Knight's 50-year run as the troop and supply transport workhorse of the Corps. Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 164 received the first Sea Knights assigned to the West Coast in early 1965 and introduced the medium-lift helicopter to combat in Vietnam in 1966. Parts of the squadron also flew missions in the evacuation of Saigon, making it the first in and last out of the Southeast Asian co
(Read More...)
04/11/2015
China is rapidly building coast guard ships, the vessels that China most commonly uses for patrols in the South China Sea, and in the last three years has increased the number of ships in that category 25 percent, a new report by the United States Navy says. China has the world’s largest coast guard fleet, with more such ships than its neighbors Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines combined, the report shows.
(Read More...)
04/11/2015
The retaking of Tikrit from Islamic State elements provided many lessons for Baghdad, especially when it comes to continuing the fight against the militant group. Tikrit was the first battle that brought the full spectrum of anti-Islamic State forces into the same space. In addition to the Sunni tribal elements, Shiite militias and Iranian advisers supporting Iraqi security forces at the behest of Baghdad, U.S.-led coalition aircraft carried out precision bombing missions.
(Read More...)
04/11/2015
The Argentine ambassador has been hauled into the British Foreign Office to explain a threat by Buenos Aires to prosecute any British company that drills for oil and gas off the Falkland Islands. Bellicose President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner made the threat in a speech to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Falklands conflict, promising legal action against any British company that drilled in the waters surrounding the disputed islands.
(Read More...)
04/11/2015
In Greek mythology, Gorgons were creatures whose terrible visages could turn men to stone with a single glance. The Air Force’s Gorgon Stare sensor system can’t do that, but its unrelenting gaze is turning thousands of terrorists into targets who can no longer elude U.S. weapons. The service almost never discloses details about operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere using the drone-mounted system, but insiders say Gorgon Stare has become the number-one reconnaissance asset.
(Read More...)
04/11/2015
Its nickname is Predator Porn, and Paul Rolfe used to watch it 12 hours a day. Sometimes it was horrific, sometimes it was life affirming; mostly it was just dull. But whenever fellow soldiers at his airbase in Nevada wandered past the "live feeds" from his console, he'd notice how their eyes would wander to the screen and have trouble looking away.
(Read More...)
04/10/2015
Russia is so close that the F-16 fighter pilots can see it on the horizon as they swoop down over a training range in Estonia in the biggest ever show of U.S. air power in the Baltic countries. The simulated bombs release smoke on impact, but the M-61 cannon fires live ammunition, rattling the aircraft with a deafening tremor and shattering targets on the ground.
(Read More...)
04/10/2015
The South Korean and U.S. Air Forces launched a large-scale, regular aerial exercise on Friday to boost combined defense capabilities. The biannual Max Thunder joint maneuver, set to take place in South Korean airspace through April 24, will "involve around 100 aircraft and 1,400 service personnel from the allies to display and hone our best combined air defense capabilities," the Air Force headquarters said in a release.
(Read More...)
04/10/2015
Since 2008, when the economic crisis in Spain began, the Spanish government has spent 130 billion euros ($139.76 billion) on military purposes, according to the Center’s estimates. "There is no danger to Spain's security that require such investments, no attacks from other countries," Ortega said.
(Read More...)
04/10/2015
The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) is using its new Typhoon jets for the first time in the bombing campaign against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. “The Typhoon aircraft is an amazing plane,” said Monther M. Tayeb, spokesman for BAE Systems, one of the manufacturers. Tayeb said the aircraft “combines a proven, agile airframe built from excellent materials with the latest sensor, control and weapons systems, thus delivering the optimum combat capability.”
(Read More...)
04/10/2015
Lockheed Martin could lose up to $40 million because it’s late delivering fully functioning software for the first F-35 fighters due to be declared combat-ready, according to the Pentagon. The money is part of $100 million that the Pentagon’s program office has held out as incentives for Lockheed, the contractor on the $391.1 billion F-35 program, to complete three successive versions of software needed to give the jet increasingly advanced combat capabilities.
(Read More...)
04/10/2015
The Department of Defense daily releases a list of U.S. and coalition airstrikes conducted in the previous 24 hours against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) forces across war-torn Iraq and Syria. Periodically, a news outlet will use the strike data to weigh the effort by the United States and allies in trying to use air power alone, plus training of indigenous forces, to destroy radical Muslims spreading violence and fear.
(Read More...)
04/10/2015
Croatia has confirmed that it will retain a combat fixed-wing fleet, which will include restarting a programme for the replacement of its aging Mikoyan MiG-21 bisD/UMD aircraft. The Croatian state defence council - chaired by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic - confirmed the decision, and the ministry of defence is believed to be “already evaluating three possible options” to replace its MiG-21 fleet.
(Read More...)
04/10/2015
This year’s snap combat readiness checks will involve all types of troops from all Russian military districts, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday. Over 3,500 military drills were held in Russia in 2015, with many large-scale drills yet to be conducted, Putin added.
(Read More...)
04/10/2015
Sukhoi Su-35 (Flanker-E) supermaneuverable multirole fighters have been relocated from the Khabarovsk Territory to the Primorsky Territory to take part in the tactical flight training, involving fighter jets and assault aviation, Russia's Ministry of Defense said.
(Read More...)
04/09/2015
The commander in charge of homeland defense signed an order to upgrade his F-16s with a specific threat in mind: cruise missiles headed into the U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command earlier this year issued an urgent operational need request for new active electronically scanned array radar for F-16s tasked with protecting the homeland. The service is moving quickly on the request, with the goal of installing the systems first on F-16s tasked with protecting the National Capital Region.
(Read More...)
04/09/2015
After integrating “smart” rocket launchers on MH-60S helicopters last year, the U.S. Navy now is equipping the MH-60R with the same modernized capability, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) announced in an April 7 release.
(Read More...)
04/09/2015
The Navy and Marine Corps are preparing their amphibious assault ships for the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter’s first ever deployment slated for 2018. The Marine Corps short-take-off-and-landing variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35B, will be the first ever fifth-generation aircraft to deploy. The Navy is working to prepare the flight decks, sensors and weapons systems on board several amphibs are ready in 2018, service leaders told reporters April 7.
(Read More...)
04/09/2015
The time has come for the United States to consider ending the sale of upgrades for F-16 fighter aircraft to Taiwan and instead shift military sales and cooperation to emphasize anti-access capabilities and concepts of operation.
(Read More...)
04/09/2015
The U.S. Marine Corps plans to carry out a tough, separate "inspection" before declaring the first squadron of 10 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets ready for initial combat use, the Marine Corps' top aviator said on Wednesday. Deputy Commandant for Aviation Lieutenant General Jon Davis told Reuters he was keeping close tabs on 13 items required to approve combat use of the jets, now ready after years of delays and cost overruns.
(Read More...)
04/09/2015
America’s next war plane may look much more like a stealthy long-range bomber than a sleek, fast and maneuverable fighter. That’s the conclusion of a wide-ranging study by the respected Center for Budgetary and Strategic Assessments. Breaking Defense obtained a copy of the report from a source not affiliated with CSBA.
(Read More...)
04/09/2015
The US Air Force desperately needs modernization: the American military air fleet is the smallest the United States has ever had since 1947, while its aircraft are the oldest that they have ever been, the US Air Force Secretary revealed.
(Read More...)
04/09/2015
A United States military commander said Russia has increased the number of flights by its long-range bomber fleet to demonstrate its status as a world power – a tactic American forces also use for precisely the same reason.
(Read More...)
04/09/2015
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has conducted its first airstrike on the positions of the Islamic State militant group in Syria, Canadian Defense Minister Jason Kenney said Wednesday.
(Read More...)
04/08/2015
The U.S. State Department has given the nod to Pakistan's possible acquisition of attack helicopters and missiles from the United States. The possible sale through the Foreign Military Sales program would be for 15 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters and 1,000 AGM-114 R Hellfire II missiles in containers for an estimated $952 million.
(Read More...)
04/08/2015
The Canadian government has floated tenders to purchase new search and rescue planes for the forces. The new aircraft will be replace the ageing fleet of "Buffalo" search planes. Besides Buffalo, the air force also uses the older H-model variant of the C-130 Hercules cargo planes. The new tender will bring aircraft that will replace both.
(Read More...)
04/08/2015
The crash of three military aircraft in late February and early March have prompted Turkey’s defense procurement officials to accelerate their efforts to choose a conceptual trainer aircraft, a program that should progress in tandem with a plan to build an indigenous Turkish fighter jet. Turkish officials said the twin crashes were a forceful reminder of a pressing need “to go faster” in selecting a fighter aircraft model based on which Turkey would also build a trainer.
(Read More...)
04/08/2015
Air Force tankers are standing by to provide fuel for Saudi Arabian pilots as they combat extremists in Yemen, but the U.S. won't foot the bill. The Saudi government requested U.S. tanker support for their fighter pilots, and the U.S. agreed as long as the Saudis reimburse the gas bill, Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren said Tuesday. The tankers are standing by, but have not launched for a refueling sortie yet.
(Read More...)
.jpg)
04/08/2015
Kadena Air Base pulled off their most aggressive exercise to date with Forceful Tiger off the coast of Okinawa, April 1. Forceful Tiger was a large force exercise (LFE) designed to demonstrate the 18th Wing's combat capabilities to defend Okinawa and had more participation from the 909th Air Refueling Squadron than ever before.
(Read More...)
04/08/2015
General Electric (GE) wants to supply state-of-the-art aircraft engines for Korea's next-generation indigenous fighter jet program. The world's leading infrastructure and technology firm plans to offer Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), a preferred bidder for the Korean Fighter experimental (KF-X) program, to use its F414-GE-400 engine.
(Read More...)
04/08/2015
Indonesia has taken an interest in buying Russia's brand new multirole fighter jet Sukhoi Su-35, United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) head Yuri Slyusar told Interfax in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday. "Indonesian colleagues are interested in buying this plane. The negotiations are at their beginning," Slyusar said.
(Read More...)
04/08/2015
British service chiefs are girding themselves for a post-election battle over defence spending. With UK and Nato forces cut so low that many feel they are now unable to mount an effective response to mounting global challenges, the contest over resources will be intense.
(Read More...)
04/08/2015
The Air Force has announced bonuses for select fighter and drone pilots. The categories of pilots eligible for the bonus – which go as high as $225,000, with half of it paid up front in a lump sum – include 11F fighter pilots, 11U remotely piloted aircraft pilots and 11X pilots who agree to move into the 11U specialty for their entire career.
(Read More...)
04/07/2015
A Jordanian military training jet crashed on Monday during a training mission in the eastern desert, near city of Mafraq, killing the pilot and his trainee, an army military source was quoted by Petra. The army said the trainee is an Iraqi national, while the pilot is Jordanian. Both died instantly as their plane hit the ground, according to sources.
(Read More...)
04/07/2015
Less than two years after being spotted in the air for the first time the new Chinese KJ-500 AWACS (Air Warning And Control System) aircraft has entered service. The KJ-500 AWACS can track over 60 aircraft at ranges of up to 470 kilometers. The KJ-500 aircraft looks more like the American AWACS (with a round radar dome on top) but is smaller and carried by the Y-9 four engine turboprop aircraft (similar to the U.S. C-130).
(Read More...)
04/07/2015
When the Obama Administration announced in January 2012 that the U.S. defense posture would be “rebalanced” to emphasize the Asia-Pacific region, that was not good news for the Army. America’s preeminent land force had largely abandoned the region after the Vietnam War, leaving almost no soldiers stationed west of the International Dateline outside the Korean Peninsula.
(Read More...)
04/07/2015
A test to prove an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can be refueled in flight could happen by the end of this month, officials with Naval Air Systems Command told USNI News on Monday. The test would pair a Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System demonstrator (UCAS-D) with a contracted tanker to prove out software that could allow future unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to be autonomously aerially refueled (AAR).
(Read More...)
04/07/2015
One of the many unanswered questions surrounding the so-called framework agreement on Iran’s nuclear program is whether and how it will limit Russia’s arms trade with Iran, including Moscow’s long-standing interest in selling advanced surface-to-air missiles. In fact, managing the Russian-Iranian military relationship may become increasingly difficult if the negotiating parties reach a final agreement by their self-imposed June deadline.
(Read More...)
04/07/2015
India will not ink the mega $20 billion MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) project to acquire 126 fighters till France agrees to stick to its original pricing, which led its Rafale fighter to defeat the Eurofighter Typhoon in commercial evaluation over three years ago.
(Read More...)
04/07/2015
Pakistan's Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif, told the parliament on Monday that Saudi Arabia has sought fighter aircraft, warships and troops as the Saudi-led Arab allies have continued airstrikes against Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen. "Saudi Arabia has asked for combat planes, warships and soldiers,"Asif, who recently visited Saudi Arabia, said the parliament will decide whether the country should extend military support.
(Read More...)
.jpg)
04/07/2015
Mounting evidence that the co-pilot crashed a Germanwings plane into a French mountain has prompted a global debate about how to better screen crewmembers for mental illness and how to ensure that no one is left alone in the cockpit. But among many aviation experts, the discussion has taken a different turn. How many human pilots, some wonder, are really necessary aboard commercial planes?
(Read More...)
04/06/2015
Taipei, April 5 (CNA) A report published Saturday by The National Interest, an American conservative bi-monthly international affairs magazine, suggests that backed by its economic might, advances in Chinese armaments are poised to elevate the People's Liberation Army (PLA) into a credible rival to U.S. forces in the Western Pacific theater.
(Read More...)
04/06/2015
The F-35 Lightning II is one of the most complicated weapons systems ever developed, a sleek and stealthy fighter jet years in the making that is often called a flying computer because of its more than 8 million lines of code. The Joint Strike Fighter comes in three versions, including one that is designed to take off and land on an aircraft carrier and another that lands vertically, as if it were a helicopter.
(Read More...)
04/06/2015
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France next week will herald a new chapter for the Indian Air Force, as its dream project of having 360 degree ‘eye in sky’ is likely to take off with both countries finalising a deal for procuring two Airbus-330 aircraft to be used as platforms for AWACS-India programme.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), in its meeting held last Saturday, has given a go ahead to the proposal of acquiring the aircraft for Rs 5,113 crore,
(Read More...)
04/06/2015
Given their druthers, the Afghans would probably like an air force geared toward close-air support of their troops combating Taliban fighters on the ground. For that role, the A-10 Warthog is by all accounts the best plane for the job. But beggars can't be choosers. Instead of the A-10, the U.S. Air Force will outfit Afghanistan with 20 brand-new A-29 Super Tucano fighter planes from Embraer.
(Read More...)
04/06/2015
The end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Corps' efforts to prepare for a fight against a tech-savvy enemy has prompted Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 to put a greater emphasis on electronic warfare. Two years ago MAWTS-1, a unit that helps develop aviation tactics and deliver new techniques to the fleet, formed a small division dedicated to electronic warfare. One year later, that division became the Spectrum Warfare Department.
(Read More...)
04/06/2015
American and Estonian specialists will fly over the territory of Russia and Belarus under the Treaty on Open Skies on April 6-11, head of Russia's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center Sergei Ryzhkov has announced. "Within the framework of the international Treaty on Open Skies a US mission with the participation of Estonian representatives plans to conduct an observation flight over the territory of a group of participating states, the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation.
(Read More...)
04/06/2015
The Saudi-led Arab coalition continued on Sunday to pound Houthi rebels' positions in two strategic port towns in western and southern Yemen, military sources told Sputnik. One airstrike "targeted al-Salif port in al-Hudayda province in western Yemen, and al-Hudayda military airport, despite it being bombed several days ago," a military official said.
(Read More...)
04/05/2015
The UAE (United Arab Emirates) is buying another two American C-17 air transports for $310 million each. The 290 ton C-17 is an intercontinental transport that the UAE uses to move commercial as well as military cargo. The UAE already has six and ordered the first four in 2009. These latest C-17s for the UAE may be the last ones ordered, with total production ending at 279.
(Read More...)
04/05/2015
The AG-600 amphibious flying boat, the largest seaplane in the world, designed by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, can potentially be used as for military transport across the Pacific, according to Vasily Kashin an analyst from Moscow's Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, according to Sputnik News.
(Read More...)
04/05/2015
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) registered its highest ever profit in the financial year 2014-15. According to a release issued here, the public sector undertaking recorded a turnover of Rs 15,480 crore (provisional) in 2014-15, as against Rs 15,128 crore achieved in FY 2013-14. “Our performance is in line with the MoU signed with the Ministry of Defence and we expect an ‘Excellent’ rating for FY 2014-15.
(Read More...)
04/05/2015
If there are vacant seats in the mess tent for Easter supper in the desert of Kuwait, it will be for a very good reason. Easter celebrations for our Canadian military personnel in Kuwait may not last long. They are a little busy right now preparing for the newly expanded mandate of Canada’s Operation Impact mission. Targets in Iraq have been on the receiving end of Canadian bombs for six months. ISIS controlled entities in Syria could soon be next. Very soon in fact.
(Read More...)
04/05/2015
Despite speculation that the emergency landing of two US Marine Corps McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornets at a Taiwanese air force base on Wednesday was a “political message” being sent by the Pentagon to Beijing, some Taiwanese analysts found the theory far-fetched. It was an “unintended incident,” said Alexander Huang, an assistant professor at Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies.
(Read More...)
04/05/2015
One day, the Air National Guard’s F-15C pilots were providing air defense for the United States. The next, they were jetting off to Europe to help deter Russian aggression. The Florida- and Oregon-based guard units touched down on the Continent earlier this week to take part in the U.S. military’s Operation Atlantic Resolve. The unit will stay at the Netherland’s Leeuwarden Air Base for about a month, where it will conduct training with the Dutch air force, before moving on to Bulgaria.
(Read More...)
04/05/2015
The Russian military has carried out successful field testing of a new rocket with maneuverability capability for the S-400 surface-to-air air defense system, Aerospace Defense Forces told Russian Radio on Saturday.
(Read More...)
04/05/2015
Deputy head of Russian Aerospace Defence Forces said that Russia has already deployed air defense missile and artillery weapon systems Pantsir and plans to place MiG-31 interceptor aircraft in the Arctic region.
(Read More...)
04/04/2015
Tunisian Foreign Minister Taieb Baccouche said the Libyan military plane that penetrated into Tunisian airspace on Wednesday belongs to Khalifa Haftar's forces. Baccouche said during a news conference in Tunis on Thursday: "The plane is a MiG-23 military aircraft model and it belongs to the Army of General Haftar and came to fight the forces of Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn), which belongs to the leadership of the General National Congress (GNC) held in Tripoli, on our borders.''
(Read More...)
04/04/2015
Creating franchises among groups claiming affiliation with al Qaeda or the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is among the biggest change in international terrorism, two leading experts told the Atlantic Council on Thursday.
(Read More...)
04/04/2015
A Saudi-led air campaign has failed to halt the advance of Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen, where growing violence is plunging the country deeper into chaos and further undermining the U.S.-backed government. Houthi rebels continued to advance toward the port city of Aden, where forces loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi are attempting to make a stand. Friday, the Arab coalition dropped weapons and supplies for the first time to forces battling Houthis around Aden.
(Read More...)
04/04/2015
As the Saudi-led bombing campaign against Houthi forces in Yemen continue, the US is standing by one of its key allies in the Middle East. On Thursday, a senior military official said that American tankers will begin refueling Saudi warplanes.
(Read More...)
04/03/2015
The U.S. has deployed 12 A-10 Warthog planes to Romania as part of a theater-security effort to counter Russian aggression in Ukraine – all while debate over whether to retire the close-air support platform rages on in Congress and the Pentagon. "The 354th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron forward deployed 12 A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft and approximately 200 Airmen and support equipment from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany to Campia Turzii, Romania over the weekend.
(Read More...)
04/03/2015
On Tuesday, President Obama called Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and conveyed news of long-brewing decisions in the Obama administration regarding U.S. military aid to Egypt – including the release of some long-withheld arms that Egypt desperately wants.
(Read More...)
04/03/2015
The Navy plans to perform an aerial refueling for the first time on its carrier-launched demonstrator drone aircraft, the X-47B, within the next few weeks, service officials said. The refueling, to take place at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., will have the X-47B link up with an Omega air refueling tanker, Navy officials told Military.com. Omega is a contractor that works with the Defense Department.
(Read More...)
04/03/2015
When the Pentagon picks the winner of the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB) contest in the next few months, it faces an interesting choice. It could give Lockheed Martin — which is doing the design work for the Boeing-Lockheed team — almost all of the country’s advanced stealth design work. Or it could maintain the status quo, in which the entire stealth bomber fleet is made by Northrop Grumman.
(Read More...)
04/03/2015
Iran and six world powers agreed to a path that would block Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, but key points left unresolved in the marathon negotiations and fierce regional and U.S. political opposition suggested major hurdles remain to reaching a final deal. Officials laid out on Thursday what amounted to goals for a deal by the end of June that would place constraints and controls on Iran’s nuclear work for up to 25 years, with severe limits for the first decade.
(Read More...)
04/03/2015
After an exercise in the Gulf of Mexico, the US Air Force said that an armed Reaper drone demonstrated that it can hit maritime targets in coordination with other aircrafts, including A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, F-16 Fighting Falcons and F-35A Lightning IIs.
(Read More...)
04/03/2015
The landing of two US fighter jets on Taiwan on Wednesday has angered China’s Foreign Ministry. While the Pentagon says the planes suffered mechanical trouble while flying a routine training exercise, others see it as a political message, warning China to slow its growing influence.
(Read More...)
04/03/2015
A batch of Kamov Ka-27 ship-based antisubmarine warfare helicopters will be repaired and upgraded by the Russian Helicopters Holding Company, with the first updated units slated to enter service already before the end of this year, the company press service said Thursday.
(Read More...)
04/03/2015
NATO military buildup in Eastern Europe is an unprecedentedly dangerous move, which violates all existing agreements, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday. "NATO buildup on the Eastern flank, or in the so-called 'front-line countries,' is an unprecedentedly dangerous step that violates all agreements, including the Russia-NATO Founding Act, which is still in force," the ministry's spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said at a news briefing.
(Read More...)
04/02/2015
China has released pictures of an unnamed “new-type of bomber”, along with an announcement that it has carried out its first military drills in the airspace above the Western Pacific Ocean. According to a statement on the Chinese Ministry of Defence website, the drills took place over the Bashi Canal, which is between a Taiwanese island and a Philippines island.
(Read More...)
04/02/2015
Saudi Arabia and its allies plan an ambitious ground offensive on multiple fronts in Yemen. It may be inevitable if they want to defeat Iranian-backed Shiite rebels but it also carries enormous risks, from the inhospitable, mountainous terrain and a possible guerrilla war to al-Qaida militants waiting in the wings.
(Read More...)
04/02/2015
Lockheed Martin, maker of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, whose engines are produced by Pratt & Whitney, recently held a glitzy reception in the atrium of the Rayburn House Office Building, complete with a buffet and the chance to “fly” the F-35 in a cockpit simulator, to press home a point – don’t cut funding for the program. The F-35 faces a host of challenges. A recent Pentagon report detailed significant technical and design issues, including engine problems and serious computer glitches.
(Read More...)
04/02/2015
The F-35 Lightning II is one of the most complicated weapons systems ever developed, a sleek and stealthy fighter jet years in the making that is often called a flying computer because of its more than 8 million lines of code. The Joint Strike Fighter comes in three versions, including one that is designed to take off and land on an aircraft carrier and another that lands vertically, as if it were a helicopter.
(Read More...)
04/02/2015
This time, when the terrorist insurgency is defeated in Iraq, Washington needs to keep American forces on the ground to sustain the victory, former war planners say. The former military officers talk of a robust presence that would extend beyond mere advisers to include standby combat troops and air power.
(Read More...)
04/02/2015
Ahead of the April 2 anniversary of the invasion of the Falkland Islands, tensions between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the islands are predictably on the rise again. For the next several years, the United Kingdom's capability to respond to potential threats to the Falklands will be limited by the lack of deployable aircraft carriers.
(Read More...)
04/02/2015
The programme for India and Russia to jointly develop a Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), long touted as the flagship of a time-tested defence relationship, has run into a stone wall. Documents available with Business Standard indicate India's defence ministry is cold-shouldering Russian requests to continue the negotiations on a "R&D Draft Contract", which will govern the partnership to develop a futuristic, fifth-generation fighter.
(Read More...)
04/01/2015
An Iranian military observation aircraft flew within 50 yards of an armed U.S. Navy helicopter over the Persian Gulf this month, sparking concern that top Iranian commanders might not be in full control of local forces, CNN has learned. The incident, which has not been publicly disclosed, troubled U.S. military officials because the unsafe maneuver could have triggered a serious incident.
(Read More...)
04/01/2015
Last week, a coalition of predominantly Sunni Arab countries, primarily from the Arabian Peninsula and organized by Saudi Arabia, launched airstrikes in Yemen that have continued into this week. The airstrikes target Yemeni al-Houthis, a Shiite sect supported by Iran, and their Sunni partners, which include the majority of military forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. What made the strikes particularly interesting was what was lacking: U.S. aircraft.
(Read More...)
04/01/2015
After Houthi rebels toppled the Yemeni government causing president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi to flee to Aden earlier this month, a Saudi-led coalition of Middle Eastern states launched an air campaign to intervene. Operation Decisive Storm began on March 26 and has resulted in one of the most extraordinary gatherings of air power seen in recent years, with air arms from the Gulf Cooperation Council nations, except Oman, joined by aircraft from Morocco, Egypt and Sudan, as well as Jordan.
(Read More...)
.jpg)
04/01/2015
Top Navy and Air Force officials today told the House Armed Services subcommittee on tactical air and land forces the president’s budget request for fiscal year 2016 will support modernizing combat aviation programs.
(Read More...)
04/01/2015
The Marine Corps would purchase 10 new aircraft, improve the digital interoperability of existing aircraft and boost connectivity through additional communications systems and unmanned aerial vehicles if Congress provided additional funding.
(Read More...)
04/01/2015
After surviving numerous attempts to scrap it from the U.S. defense budget over the last few years, the 40-year-old A-10, a warplane built during the Cold War to destroy Soviet tanks, is back on the front lines of what could become a confrontation between NATO and the Russian army. The plane is about to take part in long-term exercises in Romania designed to counter Russian moves in the region.
(Read More...)
04/01/2015
The first MiG-29UPG underwent modifications conducted by Indian specialists and soared into the sky in February this year, stated CEO of MiG Corporation Sergey Korotkov in an interview with Interfax-AVN. The group of MiG-29’s, which underwent modernization in India, is made up of four fighter aircraft.
(Read More...)
04/01/2015
Chinese aircraft flew over the Bashi Channel, a waterway contested between the Philippines and Taiwan. Bashi Channel is part of the Luzon Strait that connects the Philippine Sea to the South China Sea.
(Read More...)
All Articles