May 04, 2015 Military Aviation News
05/04/2015
Qatar's planned signing of €6.3 billion (US $7.1 billion) of contracts for the Rafale fighter jet and missiles boosts French arms exports to more than €15 billion, the highest value France has ever reached in a single year, defense officials said. President François Hollande is due to attend the May 4 signing for 24 fighters by Dassault Aviation and missile maker MBDA in Doha, signaling high-level ties.
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05/04/2015
Pilots and passengers using Djibouti International Airport, site of the only U.S. air base in Africa, take their lives into their hands thanks to a dangerously incompetent air traffic control system there. Documents obtained by The Washington Post show that the air traffic controllers, civilians who work for the Djibouti government, regularly nap, listen to music, play video games and text on their mobile phones while directing military traffic from several nations.
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05/04/2015
The crew of Pelican One keeps a watchful eye as the U.S. Navy patrol plane swoops low to identify a ship operating near waters off southwestern Japan that China now claims as its territory. After a radio check and a close look confirms the ship is a harmless Panama-flagged commercial tanker, Pelican One veers off and resumes a patrol that can last up to 12 hours and takes the plane thousands of miles from its base in Okinawa, Japan.
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05/04/2015
Several large transport aircraft and four tilt-rotor MV-22 Ospreys landed at Kathmandu’s international airport Sunday as U.S. forces arrived to assist in the Nepal earthquake relief effort. People’s Liberation Army soldiers, whose own massive transport jet was parked next to the first American C-17 to land on the tarmac, were clearly impressed when a group of Marines unloaded a UH-1 Huey helicopter.
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05/04/2015
A new agreement between the US and Japan sets up the island nation to take a larger role in the politics of the Pacific while opening new opportunities for military research and development. The updated guidelines for the US-Japan military relationship reflect the changes in the Pacific that have occurred since the last version in 1997.
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05/04/2015
India is running out of patience with Russia and its shoddy military equipment. The most irritating issue, one that lasted more than five years, has been the low reliability of the Su-30MKI jet fighters. Fifty of these Russian designed aircraft were built in Russia and the rest of the 272 aircraft order are being assembled locally. Deliveries should be complete by 2019 and at the moment India is not keen on ordering any more.
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05/04/2015
Afghan security forces are suffering record casualties in their first battles against the Taliban since the US combat mission in Afghanistan ended in December after more than 13 years. The number of killed and wounded so far this year was about 70 per cent higher than during the same period last year, said Colonel Brian Tribus, director of public affairs for NATO's Afghanistan mission.
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05/04/2015
Saab's Gripen jet, for years often seen as an also-ran in international fighter competitions, is turning that reputation around. The trajectory began to change in October by the finalization of a deal to sell 36 Gripen NG aircraft to Brazil and a 2015 Swedish government commitment to buy 60 JAS 39 Gripen Es and Fs.
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05/04/2015
The multi-billion deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets could see French defence major Dassault Aviation entering into a joint venture with state-run HAL or any private player to set up a base here for augmenting its existing production line. Defence sources said such a step, if taken will not only allow the French firm to ramp up its production rate but will help it to meet offset obligations in India, likely to be 30-50 per cent of the sales value.
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