January, 2016 Military Aviation News
01/31/2016
A month before Turkey shot down a Russian bomber which it accused of entering its airspace, Russian military intelligence had warned President Vladimir Putin that this was the Turkish plan. Diplomats familiar with the events say that Putin dismissed the warning, probably because he did not believe that Turkey would risk provoking Russia into deeper military engagement in the Syrian war.
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01/31/2016
U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today. Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.
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01/31/2016
Turkey summoned Russia’s ambassador after it said a Russian military aircraft flew into the country’s airspace, two months after a similar incident strained relations between the nations.
The Sukhoi Su-34 strike fighter entered Turkish airspace at 11:46 a.m. local time on Friday, even after warnings from Turkish radar units, according to a statement on the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. Russia’s envoy to Ankara was called to the ministry within hours.
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01/31/2016
China has built a potent military machine over the past 30 years but is struggling to develop advanced engines that would allow its warplanes to match Western fighters in combat, foreign and Chinese industry sources said. The country’s engine technology lags that of United Technologies unit Pratt & Whitney, General Electric and Rolls-Royce, said Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.
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01/31/2016
You remember Top Gun, the movie about Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer playing volleyball. There was that sexy airplane too, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat: A twin engine, swing wing, carrier-borne fighter built to chase off the Russkies. What you may not remember is that we sold Tomcats to Iran. As you can see from the video above, they're still flying today. Sort of.
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01/31/2016
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged Russia on Saturday to "take all necessary measures" to ensure NATO airspace was not violated again, after Turkey said a Russian warplane had entered its airspace on Friday despite radar warnings.
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01/31/2016
Turkey warned of consequences on Saturday after saying a Russian SU-34 jet had violated its airspace despite warnings, once more stoking tensions between two countries involved in Syria's war, but Russia denied that there had been any incursion. In a similar incident in November, Turkey shot down a Russian warplane flying a sortie over Syria that it said had violated its airspace, triggering a diplomatic rupture in which Russia imposed economic sanctions.
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01/31/2016
The patrolling near the Paracel Islands archipelago, conducted by a US Navy destroyer, is unlawful as such action can only be allowed with the permission of the Chinese authorities, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said.
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01/31/2016
The Iraqi Army is all set to liberate the city of Mosul, which has been controlled by Daesh terrorists since June 2014, Iraqi Media News agency reported, citing a senior military commander.
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01/30/2016
A Russian fighter jet 'buzzed' a US surveillance aircraft passing within 20 feet when it intercepted its target over the Black Sea. The Su-27 Flanker passed dangerously close to the Boeing RC-135 which was 30 miles from the Russian coast while flying over international waters. According to US officials, the Russian jet drew alongside the surveillance aircraft before turning away violently and hitting it with the jet blast from its engines.
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01/30/2016
A number of new planes will be added to the squadron of Sukhoi Su-30SM multirole interceptors deployed in Crimea, the Black Sea Fleet Commander, Admiral Alexander Vitko, said on Friday.
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01/30/2016
France's Dassault Aviation has delivered the second batch of Rafale multirole combat fighters to the Egyptian Air Force (EAF). Three more aircraft were delivered as part of a $5bn deal signed between the company and the Arab Republic of Egypt in February 2015 for the supply of 24 Rafale fighter aircraft. France will also supply an FREMM frigate to Egypt as part of the deal.
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01/30/2016
“We had the impression the crisis was over and the world was back to recovery.” The downturn in markets that as recently as 2014 were darlings of Dassault, and its rivals in large-cabin business jets, surprised the French firm’s boss Éric Trappier, but it illustrates the fragility of a sector that depends on discretionary spending much more than, say, commercial aviation.
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01/30/2016
Tests to determine how Lockheed Martin’s F-35 will perform in combat won’t begin until at least August 2018, a year later than planned, and more than 500 of the fighter jets may be built before the assessment is complete, according to the Pentagon’s test office.
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01/30/2016
Iran flew a drone over a U.S. aircraft carrier and took “precise” photographs of it as part of an ongoing naval drill, state television reported Friday. The U.S. Navy said an unarmed Iranian drone flew near a French and American carrier on Jan. 12, but couldn’t confirm it was the same incident.
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01/30/2016
Boeing will further equip the U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) with maritime patrol capabilities, building 20 more P-8A Poseidon aircraft following a $2.5 billion U.S. Navy order announced yesterday. The contract, for Lot 7 of the total P-8A program of record, includes 16 aircraft for the U.S. Navy and the next four aircraft for the RAAF. The RAAF’s initial four P-8A aircraft were included in the August 2015 Lot 6 contract award.
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01/30/2016
The US Air Force has given Sallyport Global Holdings in Virginia a $271.8 million contract to run security and life support operations at Balad Air Base in Iraq over the next year, the Department of Defense announced.
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01/30/2016
The Chinese Navy will likely deploy an aircraft carrier for permanent operations in the South China Sea, where China and other countries in the region are feuding over competing territorial claims, an expert said.
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01/30/2016
Airstrikes against Daesh in Syria will make the fight against the group in Iraq, where the Netherlands is already carrying out attacks, more effective, the government said. "Disrupting supply chains in eastern Syria is crucial," Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said in a statement published by the government.
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01/29/2016
Rolls-Royce has been given two firm-fixed-price Air Force delivery orders, each worth more than $70 million, relating to the C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft, the U.S. Department of Defense announced in its Wednesday publication of military contracts.
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01/29/2016
The United States and South Korea are conducting a joint drill involving fighter pilots from both air forces in the wake of North Korea's nuclear test. The exercises are ongoing as the United States vowed Thursday to defend another ally, Japan, should a chain of disputed islands claimed by Tokyo and Beijing fall under attack – in a statement that directly warned China against provocations.
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01/29/2016
A Russian fighter intercepted a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance flight in an “unsafe and unprofessional manner’ in international airspace over the Black Sea, a Pentagon spokeswoman confirmed to USNI News on Thursday. According to the Pentagon, a Russian Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker intercepted a RC-135U Combat Sent “flying a routine route in international airspace over the Black Sea,” read a statement provided to USNI News.
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01/29/2016
Ahead of President Barack Obama’s budget rollout next week, an influential Air Force pilot-turned lawmaker called on the commander-in-chief and his defense secretary to request full funding for the legacy A-10 until plans for its replacement take shape.
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01/29/2016
For two years the United States has delayed action on a Qatari attempt to buy 36 (and eventually 73) F-15E fighter bombers (for nearly $4 billion) and Kuwaiti efforts to buy 28 F-18E fighters (for $3 billion). The American Department of Defense and State Department approved the deal and there was support in Congress but for reasons unclear the American president refused to approve (or disapprove) the deal or even explain why not.
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01/29/2016
Queries were received about the country's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas for possible export, during the recently held Bahrain air show, HAL chief T Suvarna Raju today said but refused to identify the interested countries. He also asserted that the first upgraded Tejas with better radar, missiles system, mid-air refueling capability, would be handed over to the force by 2018.
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01/29/2016
Japan on Thursday unveiled its first stealth fighter jet, officials said, with the maiden test flight planned for next month. The defense ministry's acquisition agency showed off the domestically developed, radar-dodging X-2 fighter at a regional airport near the central city of Komaki.
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01/29/2016
Lockheed Martin and Advanced Electronics Company (AEC) recently celebrated the opening of the Sniper® Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) Expanded Repair Capability center in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This marks the start of operations at the first Sniper ATP support center located outside the United States.
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01/29/2016
Department of Defense Press Secretary Peter Cook said that the US Department of Defense held a video conference with the Russian Ministry of Defense on ways to further improve safety of military jets operating in Syria.
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01/28/2016
For more than two decades, the Air Force's Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System has provided valuable intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to commanders by detecting, locating and tracking enemy ground forces from afar. Identified as the service's fourth largest acquisition priority, the JSTARS weapon system is currently undergoing a major recapitalization - including its radar.
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01/28/2016
US air force’s Combat Rescue Helicopter programme is on track to complete a preliminary design review in April that will unlock funds for five more aircraft. Programme officials from the service and Sikorsky say that during 2015 the two sides came to an agreement on more than 1,000 design requirements and 3,000 subsystem specifications through the government’s "system requirements review" process.
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01/28/2016
Combat air force squadrons from across the world joined Tyndall Air Force Base’s Checkertails at Nellis AFB, Nevada, this week for the joint-training, full-spectrum, readiness exercise, Red Flag 16-1.
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01/28/2016
The RSAF Hotshot Challenge is a biennial air-to-surface competition where squadrons undergo several challenges that test skills in areas like basic weaponry, weapon loading, and precision and creative marshalling.
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01/28/2016
The US Army is considering how multi-component units might help it achieve greater capability as the force shrinks in a time of budget austerity and implemented such a structure within its fixed-wing aviation branch for the first time.
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01/28/2016
The push by the U.S. Air Force to modernize its equipment, even as it pursues big-ticket items like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and a next-generation bomber, is setting up the Defense Department for a budgetary flood of spending, according to a new think-tank study.
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01/28/2016
The F-35 Lightning II will appear at the Royal International Air Tattoo and Farnborough Air Show in July, the US Air Force has announced. It was due to be shown at the 2014 events but was cancelled days before after the entire fleet was grounded in the US following an engine fire. The RAF says the aircraft will place it at the forefront of fighter technology.
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01/28/2016
The Indian Air Force’s requirement for a medium multi-role combat aircraft continues to remain unfulfilled. In the early 2000s, the IAF decided that the logical answer to its problems of obsolescence, attrition, and declining fleet strength was to induct additional numbers of the single-engined Mirage 2000. This aircraft had an excellent safety and serviceability record, and played a decisive role in the Kargil conflict.
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01/28/2016
Citing an unnamed government official, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reports that satellite imagery appears to show Pyongyang preparing to launch a long-range missile from a test site known as Tongchang-ri.
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01/27/2016
A cornerstone of Russia’s national air defense is temporarily down after the Defense Ministry on Monday grounded all of Moscow’s 120 or so serving MiG-31 interceptors pending an investigation into the loss of a MiG-31 in the skies of Siberia earlier that day. The Russian Defense Ministry announced Monday afternoon that a MiG-31 went down over the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk. The plane’s pilots ejected safely and the crash did not cause any damage on the ground.
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01/27/2016
On January 15, four A-29 attack planes touched down at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan. For a project beset by seemingly never-ending delays and military-industrial rivalries, the event was a major milestone.
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01/27/2016
After confronting serious technical and economic difficulties, Russia has dramatically cut back its air force program to field its first radar-evading “stealth” fighter jet. By delaying large-scale acquisition of the Sukhoi T-50 fighter, the Kremlin is tacitly acknowledging a truth that the U.S. military learned decades ago — and that China might also learn in coming years: developing stealth fighters is hard.
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01/27/2016
Germany's military is overstretched and underfunded as its troops are engaged in anti-jihadist missions from Syria and Afghanistan to Mali while also aiding refugees at home, the defense commissioner said Tuesday, according to Agence France-Presse. Plagued by a series of defense equipment failures, the military is "at a crossroads" and has reached "the limit of its capacity for interventions," said Hans-Peter Bartels.
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01/27/2016
As of early 2016 the U.S. Air Force struggle to retire all its A-10 ground attack aircraft is over. For the moment at least. The air force now says that the war against ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) and the threat from Russia caused this change of mind. The real reason is that the A-10 has long been the most effective and popular ground attack aircraft and that Congress agreed with these troops rather than the air force generals.
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01/27/2016
Australia will never achieve regional air superiority with the new Lockheed F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighter and should instead look to the US F-22 Raptor, a former RAAF officer says. Retired Wing Commander Chris Mills said the F-35 was never designed to achieve air superiority and was outclassed by advanced new Russian aircraft entering service in regional air forces.
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01/27/2016
A very special F-22 belonging to the 27th Fighter Squadron from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia visited the 411th Fighter Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base, California in June and November of 2015 as part of the Signature Management Program, which is aimed to maintain its stealth characteristics.
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01/27/2016
The Nigeria Air Force headquarters says it has reconfigured two demilitarized Alpha Jets acquired without weapons delivery capability for counter-insurgency operations in the north east. A statement on Tuesday by Air Force spokesman Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa said the two aircrafts are among the four Alpha Jets bought from the United States in 2015.
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01/27/2016
The Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) program will soon train C-17 aircrews at Boeing’s [NYSE: BA] C-17 International Training Centre (ITC) in the United Kingdom under a new $8 million contract. SAC is comprised of ten NATO countries and two NATO Partnership for Peace countries. The program will begin training its multinational aircrews early this year. Prior to this contract, the SAC program sent aircrews to the United States for training.
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01/26/2016
Russia’s Defense Ministry has denied speculations about constructing second air base in Syria. The rumor could be a false flag operation by Ankara to cover up the concentration of Turkish forces on the Syrian border, MoD spokesman said. “There are no ‘new’ airbases or additional ‘jump-up bases’ for Russian warplanes in the Syrian Arab Republic, as well as no plans to create any,” Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov told media briefing on Monday.
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01/26/2016
In perfect weather for a test flight Sunday, Boeing's KC-46 tanker successfully passed jet fuel to an F-16 jet fighter in the air, the first time the new tanker has accomplished an air-to-air refueling mission. The Air Force said the tanker passed 1,600 pounds of fuel to an F-16 piloted by Lt. Col. Daniel Alix, 416th Flight Test Squadron, 412th Test Wing out of Edwards AFB, Calif., who characterized the mission as a complete success.
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01/26/2016
The German armed forces has shortlisted the CH-53K from Sikorsky and the CH-47F Chinook from Boeing as potential successors to its aging fleet of CH-53 heavy-lift helicopters, a spokesman for the German Air Force confirmed. A selection should be made by the end of this year, the spokesman said, but added there is currently no favorite.
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01/26/2016
The U.S. Air Force delivered four A-29 Super Tucano airplanes to the Afghan Air Force Jan. 15 at Hamid Karzai International Airport here. Eight combat-ready attack pilots and a handful of maintainers graduated Dec. 17, 2015, and have returned to Afghanistan after a year of training at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, with the 81st Fighter Squadron. These pilots are the first of 30 who will be trained by the 81st FS in the next three years.
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01/26/2016
The Philippines will take part for the first time in Cope North, a large-scale air exercise with the U.S. and four other nations in the western Pacific. Philippine airmen will join more than 1,800 personnel from the U.S., Japan, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand for the exercise, which runs Feb. 10-26 out of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.
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01/26/2016
Dassault says it will “go step by step” to securing further Rafale orders from India after prime minister Narendra Modi signed an agreement on 25 January with his French counterpart to purchase 36 of the type.
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01/26/2016
Speaking at the Bahrain International Air Show on 22 January, Dr S Christopher, director general of New Delhi’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), noted the Make in India policy also extends to seeking international sales of its equipment. “Our aim is to ensure we have a quality product – not just for indigenous requirements, but also for export,” he says.
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01/26/2016
The Russian Defense Ministry has released fresh footage from its combat operation in Syria, publishing a video showing combat sorties of Tu-22M3 long-range bombers against terrorist targets.
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01/26/2016
India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Russia’s Sukhoi negotiators cut the costs of Fifth-Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project joint project from $12 billion to $8 billion.
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01/25/2016
The Philippines Supreme Court on Tuesday declared constitutional a security deal with the United States, allowing an increased US military presence in the former USA colony as tension rises in the South China Sea. Aquino negotiated the accord to help the Philippines improve its military capabilities and draw the United States closer, partly to counter a fast-expanding Chinese presence in disputed parts of the South China Sea.
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01/25/2016
The final primary batch of PAK-FA fighter jets is almost complete and tests will be finished in 2016, top military officials told the media. The Russian Air Force hopes to start regular production of the new 5G jets soon, with the first planes coming in 2017.
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01/25/2016
The Indian Air Force (IAF), once an ardent backer of the proposed Indo-Russian fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA), has for the last two years sharply attacked the project. Critics say the FGFA is on the back burner to clear the way for the French Rafale fighter.
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01/25/2016
On Sunday, French President Hollande began a three-day state visit to India. Hollande’s visit will address a broad bilateral agenda, covering collaboration on defense, counter-terrorism, clean energy, and economic ties. Notably, Hollande will be the guest of honor at India’s Republic Day celebrations on January 26. India hosts an annual military parade in New Delhi for Republic Day and has in recent years featured foreign heads of state and government to emphasize growing strategic ties.
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01/25/2016
One of the earliest stealth weapons on record was a stone used by the young Israelite David to kill the Philistine giant Goliath. In the biblical account, David shunned the conventional armaments of his time: sword, helmet, armor. Instead, he went forth with a slingshot and a few stones, kept undetected in a pouch. As any schoolchild knows, one well-aimed fling was all it took to put Goliath down for good. The big guy never saw it coming.
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01/25/2016
While awaiting as the Iraqi army gets prepared for the liberation of Mosul, the Kurdish armed militia Peshmerga spent their time in recurrent skirmishes with Daesh fighters who dared to come too close to their outposts. Pilots from the US-led coalition provided air support or, to omit the vague military slang, attacked terrorists from above.
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01/25/2016
The prototype PAK DA may hit the skies before 2021, the chief added. “Work on the PAK DA is coming along and the pace is suiting us. The challenge remains to raise the prototype into air by 2021, but if all continues at the current pace, it will take off even earlier,” Bondarev said.
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01/25/2016
China and Djibouti have “reached consensus” regarding the construction of logistical facilities in the African state. The deal that has been hinted at for months has finally been confirmed.
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01/25/2016
Although Beijing has repeatedly stated that its efforts to modernize its military are aimed strictly at boosting China's defense capabilities, US military officials never miss an opportunity to present these developments as an alarming trend.
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01/24/2016
While Russia already has military facilities in northwestern Syria, in the Latakia Province, the Russian military is believed to be doing some preliminary scouting in northeastern Syria’s Hasakeh Province, with an eye toward setting up a separate airfield in that area. US officials are saying Russia has dispatched personnel to an airfield in Qamishli and are believed to be trying to figure out if they want that site.
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01/24/2016
On Jan. 22, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted four strikes using fighter and attack aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 20 strikes coordinated with and in support of the Government of Iraq using attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets.
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01/24/2016
The United Arab Emirates is awaiting final assurances from France and the Iraqi government to sell its fleet of Dassault Mirage 2000-9s before completing their deal for 60 Rafale fighters, Defense News has learned.
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01/24/2016
An increasingly common problem for commercial and military aircraft is bird strikes. This is especially true of Africa where there are larger populations of birds and small land animals. Military air bases, which tend to be in remote areas, are even more exposed to the possibility of bird strikes or animals unexpectedly moving onto air strips. There have been some clever solutions to this problem.
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01/24/2016
The majority of Britain’s fighter jets have not been fitted with safety systems that would help prevent a catastrophic mid-air collision with a passenger plane, despite the Government pledging to install them almost 20 years ago, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.
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01/24/2016
Canada’s military mission against Islamic State extremists has cost close to $300 million so far, the Star has learned. The first six months of the mission, which began in October 2014, actually came in under original estimates at $70 million — some $52 million less than defence planners had originally projected, defence department spokesperson Daniel Le Bouthillier told the Star.
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01/24/2016
To equip the French-made Mistral-class ships, Egypt is buying 46 Russian Ka-52 Alligator reconnaissance and combat helicopters, Austrian online newspaper Die Presse reported.
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01/24/2016
The King of Bahrain visited the hangars of various foreign companies during the Bahrain International Airshow-2016, including hangars of ‘Sukhoi’, ‘Rosoboronexport’ and holding ‘Helicopters of Russia’.
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01/23/2016
The Philippine Air Force (PAF) formally commissioned its third and last Airbus Military C-295 medium transport aircraft during ceremonies at Clark Air Base in Angeles City, Pampanga last Jan. 20. PAF spokesperson Col. Enrico Canaya said on Friday the ceremony was led by Air Logistic Command head Major Gen. Isagani Silva. Canaya said the third C-295 transport aircraft arrived at Clark Air Base last Dec. 11.
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01/23/2016
North Korea did not shrug off the recent overflight of a 55-year-old B-52H bomber near Seoul that was escorted by US and South Korean combat jets, according to vice chairmen of the US joint chiefs of staff Gen Paul Selva.
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01/23/2016
According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR)—which is affiliated with the opposition—the U.S. advisors arrived at the Rmelian base several weeks ago. The base’s infrastructure is being expanded so that it can support U.S. military operations in the area. U.S. helicopters are already using the base according to the SOHR. The group expects that fixed-wing aircraft will soon operate from the runways, which are currently being expanded.
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01/23/2016
Although the Joint Program Office maintains the F-35 program remains on track, the Pentagon’s top weapons tester recently raised concerns that the fifth-generation fighter jet’s software development could fall behind.
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01/23/2016
Russia may possibly be exploring a base near the Syrian border with Turkey to build another air base to support Russian offensive air operations against anti-Assad forces and the Islamic State. Russia has been steadily expanding its presence in the Middle East in concert with Syrian forces and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
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01/23/2016
One thing that has helped keep the F-35 program going is a perception that there is no ‘Plane B.’ As Margaret Thatcher famously said,“There is no alternative.” No matter how bad the F-35 is, it is going to be built because the U.S. Air Force needs something to replace its worn-out fighters. That appears to be the fallback position in Lockheed Martin’s marketing plan for the F-35.
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01/23/2016
Indian and French negotiators haggled Friday over the price of 36 combat aircraft for the aging Indian air force, officials of the two nations said, just days before President Francois Hollande visits New Delhi to cement commercial ties, according to Reuters.
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01/23/2016
Indigenously developed India's light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas fighter participated in its first air show on foreign soil in Bahrain. Tejas is a single engine, light weight aircraft with supersonic capability at all altitudes. Here's a look at how the aircraft enthralled the audience at the Bahrain International Airshow, being held from January 21 to January 23.
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01/23/2016
Hungary plans to buy about 30 Russian helicopters with the value of the contract expected to reach $490 million, a spokesperson for Russia’s Center for Analysis of World Arms Trade (CAWAT) said Friday.
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01/23/2016
Russia’s nuclear strategic forces have received 10 modernized Tu-160, Tu-95, and Tu-22 strategic bombers, head of the Russian General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov said Friday. “We have received new means of weaponry, new missiles…We have received for the Russian Navy two new strategic missile cruisers, the Alexander Nevsky and the Vladimir Monamakh, and from the industry, we have received for the aviation strategic nuclear forces 10 modernized strategic bombers.
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01/22/2016
A student pilot from Taiwan is feared dead after an F-16 fighter jet from Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix crashed Thursday in a remote area of northwestern Arizona, authorities said. Base officials said the man with the Taiwanese Air Force was flying solo and engaged in air-to-air combat training with an instructor when his F-16 went down for still unknown reasons.
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01/22/2016
Twelve Marines who went missing when the two helicopters carrying them apparently crashed off the coast of Hawaii last week have been declared dead. A witness on January 14 saw a fireball in midair; another reported seeing a flare. The U.S. Marine Corps notified the Coast Guard that two CH-53 copters, carrying six men each, were missing. A search ensued involving the Navy, the National Guard, as well as Hawaii fire, police and Ocean Safety.
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01/22/2016
Three Mi-25 gunship helicopters supplied by India are to officially join the Afghan Air Force today. The gunships, delivered at the end of December last year, have been in the assembly process. The decision for the delivery of Mi-25 gunship helicopters was concluded during the recent visit of Afghan National Security Adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar to New Delhi.
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01/22/2016
Eight F-22 stealth fighters flew from the United States to the U.S. Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo on Jan. 20 in an apparent show of strength following key developments in East Asia. The headquarters of U.S. Forces Japan, which is located at the U.S. Air Force base straddling Fussa and other western Tokyo suburbs, said the move was nothing special.
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01/22/2016
The low price of oil and a weak currency have led to speculation Norway is questioning its purchase of the costly Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the first example of which was handed over to Oslo in September 2015.
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01/22/2016
The rise of ISIS may have inadvertently saved the A-10 ground attack jets from retirement.
Gen David Goldfein, the Air Force's vice chief of staff, said ISIS and a US air campaign have prompted a reconsideration of plans made by the Air Force to retire the A-10, which first joined the service's fleet in 1975. The Air Force's F-35 is expected to eventually replace the A-10 Thunderbolt, but the new jets have not been battle tested.
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01/22/2016
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today said full-scale production of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas will begin by next year and that other countries have shown interest in the plane. ”As per my primary report, it is appreciated by other countries who are interested. By next year, we are starting full-scale production,” he told reporters at the NCC Republic Day camp here.
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01/22/2016
Light combat aircraft Tejas, made in India by state-run company Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), flew for the first time at the Bahrain International Air Show on Thursday. “Two Tejas fighters are participating in the three-day Bahrain air show to display its air prowess through aerobatic manoeuvres like 8-G (gravity) pull, vertical loop, slow fly past and barrel roll,” HAL chairman and managing director T. Suvarna Raju said in a statement from the island country in the Persian Gulf.
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01/22/2016
With mayoral elections coming up in Okinawa, the Japanese government is working to ensure that a candidate in the ruling party wins. Dangling financial benefits to voters, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to ensure that a US airbase remains on the island.
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01/22/2016
Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG is ready to deliver the required number of naval MiG-29K/KUB multirole fighter aircraft for the new Indian Vishal aircraft carrier, a company spokeswoman, Anastasia Kravchenko, said Thursday.
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01/21/2016
Algeria is negotiating with Russia over the purchase of Su-34 strike aircraft, with around 12 apparently being considered. Sergei Smirov, the director of the Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association (NAPO) plant, which manufactures the aircraft, told Russian business daily Vedomosti on 30 December that talks have resumed on the export of Su-32 bombers (export designation of the Su-34) to Algeria after eight years of negotiations.
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01/21/2016
The Kuwait Ministry of Defence has decided to allocate $10bn towards strengthen the country's military capabilities. The funds will be used to purchase new fighter jets, tanks and air defence systems, enhancing capabilities of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces over the next ten years. The move is part of the country's larger modernisation project, which aims to replace the legacy military weapons currently in use.
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01/21/2016
After confronting serious technical and economic difficulties, Russia has dramatically cut back its air force program to field its first radar-evading “stealth” fighter jet. By delaying large-scale acquisition of the Sukhoi T-50 fighter, the Kremlin is tacitly acknowledging a truth that the U.S. military learned decades ago — and that China might also learn in coming years: developing stealth fighters is hard.
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01/21/2016
Helicopter gunships sweep low around Russia's air base on the Syrian coast and long-range air-defense missile systems tower at the base's edge as warplanes take off one after another. The sound is deafening. Russia's heavy airstrikes in Syria continued Wednesday, days ahead of the hoped-for start of talks on how to end one aspect of the country's five-year-old war, where government forces fight rebels, and militants including the extremist Islamic State have seized substantial stretches of terri
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01/21/2016
China is often considered a “Black Box” in terms of its military research and development. The opacity surrounding the often-hyped Chinese military modernization program has fueled much speculation about its potential, capabilities and its planned intended use by the Chinese Communist Party.
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01/21/2016
The U.S. Air Force’s elite Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, has started using contractors flying privately-owned combat aircraft to help train the service’s tactical gurus. The contractors have been hired for what amounts to a trial run. If it goes well, there are likely to be further contracts.
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01/21/2016
On Tuesday evening, the Turkish army reportedly entered Syrian territory near Jarablus. While ostensibly aimed at liberating the city from Daesh, the operation may have more to do with keeping Kurdish People’s Protection Units away from the Turkish border.
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01/21/2016
Canada will continue to provide military support to a US-led coalition against Daesh jihadist group, despite a decision to halt airstrikes on the militants’ positions, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau said Wednesday.
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01/21/2016
Highly-ranked official in the Russian military industrial complex said that Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, will not be used in operations in the Eastern Mediterranean against Daesh terrorists.
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01/21/2016
Northrop Grumman will fly a prototype of its T-X concept aircraft sometime in the next six months, ahead of an upcoming Air Force competition to replace the aging T-38 fleet used for advanced jet training.
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01/20/2016
It was reported late last week that Washington might offer Taipei surplus Boeing AV-8B Harrier II Plus strike aircraft as the U.S. Marine Corps retires the venerable jump-jets in favor the stealthy, supersonic F-35B Joint Strike Fighter. According to Defense News, the Harriers would be offered under the Defense Security Cooperation Agency’s Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program.
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01/20/2016
The U.S. is adding more than 1,100 personnel and spending $1 billion on new C-130J aircraft and support facilities at Yokota Air Base as part of the Pacific pivot. The servicemembers and their families will arrive at the base over the next few years along with a Special Operations Squadron bringing 10 CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, said Col. Douglas C. DeLaMater, 374th Airlift Wing commander.
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01/20/2016
Canada has been excluded from a meeting of defense ministers in Paris this week to discuss the fight against Islamic State militants. The apparent snub follows new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's vow that he would remove the country's six fighter jets from the anti-IS coalition and at a time the U.S. is looking for its allies to step up their contributions.
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01/20/2016
German Tornado jets deployed to Syria for reconnaissance missions can't fly at night, Bild daily reported Tuesday in a new embarrassment for the Defense Ministry, which has been battling equipment problems. The six aircraft sent to Syria are fitted with surveillance technology, and had been touted as being capable of taking high-resolution photos and infrared images, even at night and in bad weather.
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01/20/2016
As the secretary of the air force has put it many times, the US military is on the losing side of the cost curve – with few aircraft coming in, and cuts, cuts and more cuts just to pay the bills. In terms of aircraft, USAF is smaller today than at any point since it split from the army in 1947. This month marks the 25th anniversary of Operation Desert Storm – arguably the greatest display of combat airpower in history. Now, the air branch is reminiscing about how mighty it once was.
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01/20/2016
A record number of Air Force drones crashed in major accidents last year, documents show, straining the U.S. military’s fleet of robotic aircraft when it is in more demand than ever for counterterrorism missions in an expanding array of war zones.
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01/20/2016
For the past two years, Chinese territorial encroachment in the South China Sea has surged to unprecedented levels. Last week the Philippine Supreme Court handed down a decision that could provide the ideal way for the U.S. to respond.
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01/20/2016
wo Chinese soldiers were “co-conspirators” in a plot to steal US military secrets, including designs for the F-35 stealth fighter and other warplanes, a Canadian newspaper reported Tuesday. The unnamed pair allegedly worked with a recent immigrant to Canada now facing extradition to the United States to identify and raid secure databases of US military contractors, said the Globe and Mail newspaper, citing a prosecution summary of a cyber espionage probe launched in 2014.
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01/20/2016
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has won a $43.7 million US Air Force foreign military sales contract to supply France with MQ-9 Reaper Drones, the US Department of Defense announced.
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01/19/2016
Further detail on the UK Ministry of Defence’s November Strategic Defence & Security Review (SDSR) has revealed the retirement of a Panavia Tornado GR4 squadron will be pushed back to 2018, from the previously announced 2017 date.
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01/19/2016
The Russian military presence in Syria is significantly upgrading the military skills of Hezbollah, according to an Israeli general. In a report for a Washington think tank, Gen.Muni Katz, a former commander of the Israeli division posted on the Lebanese border, said that the Lebanese militia, whose strategy against Israel had previously been defense oriented, is indirectly picking up lessons in sophisticated offensive warfare from their new Russian comrades-in-arms.
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01/19/2016
The international media landed itself a gift shortly before ushering in 2016, when it transpired at a recent Chinese Defense Ministry press conference that Beijing’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, and the second one for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) after the Liaoning entered service since September 25, 2012, is currently under construction.
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01/19/2016
New video footage seems to reveal that the Islamic State (ISIS) operates its own research lab that is developing weapons of unprecedented sophistication for a nonstate actor. If the footage is confirmed, ISIS poses a much more lethal threat than first thought, not only against ground attacks, but also against airpower.
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01/19/2016
Authorities searching the area where two Marine helicopters crashed off Hawaii have found some life rafts that were carried aboard the aircraft, but still no sign of the 12 crew members who were on board. The Coast Guard said Monday that three of the four life rafts confirmed to have been aboard the helicopters have been recovered and efforts were being made to recover the fourth. Some of the rafts were inflated, but it was unclear how they came to be inflated, USCG Chief Petty Officer Sara Mooe
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01/19/2016
As Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) continues over Iraq and Syria, the U.S. Air Force has maintained the involvement of top-of-the-line Lockheed Martin (LM) F-22 Raptor stealth fighters. On six-month rotations to Al Dhafra airbase in the United Arab Emirtates, the Raptors have flown approximately 300 sorties in OIR, dropping weapons and providing “mission assurance” to other elements of the strike package, according to U.S. Air Force officials.
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01/19/2016
In February or early March, a combat-coded F-35A from the 34th Fighter Squadron at Hill AFB will release an inert, laser-guided bomb at the nearby Utah Test and Training Range. What will seem ordinary and routine to the pilot will actually be a “monumental achievement” for the multinational F-35 programme, which has been building to this moment since Lockheed Martin won the Joint Strike Fighter contract in 2001.
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01/19/2016
About 1,200 units of modern and modernized weapons and military hardware are expected to be delivered to the Russian Southern Military District forces, according to Commander of the Southern Military District Col. Gen. Alexander Galkin.
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01/19/2016
For Russian Helicopters company, the end of sanctions against Tehran means an opportunity to supply Iran with new military helicopters and after-sales services, according to the Russian state technology company Rostec.
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01/18/2016
The deepening in bilateral defense collaboration between non-aligned Nordic states Sweden and Finland is expected to include the establishment of joint units and the sharing of naval and Air Force infrastructure. Moreover, Sweden remains interested in selling the JAS Gripen-E to Finland, which has begun the process of replacing the Air Force’s F/A-18 C/D Hornet aircraft, which are scheduled to be retired between 2025 and 2030.
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01/18/2016
US Coast Guard Air Station Astoria received a yellow-painted MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter at its base in Warrenton on Jan. 15, in celebration of 100 years of Coast Guard aviation. The Jayhawk helicopter, the first of all this year’s specially painted aircraft delivered by the Coast Guard to an operational unit, arrived from Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and will operate out of the Warrenton base for the next 4 years.
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01/18/2016
Fighting Falcon F-16, an American built multi-role fighter jet, has enjoyed a deep-rooted relationship with Pakistan for over three decades. Thanks to its design, it offers an almost complete solution to the tactical and narrowed strategic demands of a compact Air Force like Pakistan’s. Its matchless aerodynamics and upgraded avionics put it a notch above its peers of third generation fighters.
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01/18/2016
Congratulatory messages on several social networking sites flowed in big numbers from Pakistanis around the world saying kudos to their Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on his first ‘sale’ of 8 JF-17 thunder jets to Sri Lanka, but within a few days, it came down with a thud when Sri Lanka said, “Sorry we call it a day with the deal.” Several Pakistani media also quoted that the deal for JF-17s will be inked during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s three-day visit to Colombo that took place two weeks ago.
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01/18/2016
One domestic issue with many foreign policy implications currently generating much national and international interest is that of $2.1 billion arms procurement deal. Under the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ) administration, the $2.1 billion was earmarked to purchase arms for the prosecution of the anti-Boko Haram war.
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01/18/2016
With barely a week left for the arrival of French President Francois Hollande in the national capital, a crucial deal to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from France has hit turbulence. Nine months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in Paris India’s plans to buy the fighter aircraft directly from the French government, officials of the finance wing of the Ministry of Defence are worried about the high costs of the warplanes, which has turned out to be the way above their calculations.
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01/18/2016
The ongoing search for 12 Marines who are missing after two helicopters crashed off Hawaii entered the third day with no plans Sunday to call off or suspend the massive effort, the Coast Guard said. While high surf complicated the mission for rescuers on the water, a green laser off Haleiwa Beach Park on Saturday night struck a Coast Guard plane, forcing crew members to alter search patterns.
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01/18/2016
The Canadian minister of defense has openly favored a ground operation against Daesh instead of airstrike-only campaigns. But Canada’s army has a more important job to do at home: engage more women and minorities into the military service. Someone else will have to do the dirty job in the Middle East in the end, most likely.
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01/18/2016
The fifth-generation J-20 stealth fighter and the Y-20 heavy-lifting transport plane are about to enter the initial production stage, the observers said. Wang Ya'nan, deputy editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, said the newest J-20 prototype must be tested to inspect technical changes designers made to it based on test results from earlier prototypes.
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01/18/2016
Currently, Russia has only one aircraft carrier in service – the Admiral Kuznetsov. It was built in the Ukrainian SSR, at the Nikolayev shipyards. After the USSR collapsed in 1991, Russia lost access to the facilities which built all Soviet aircraft carriers. As a result, Moscow was forced to create its own aircraft carrier industrial base.
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01/16/2016
Russian Kamov Ka-52 (NATO reporting name “Hokum-B”) helicopters would be about to deploy to Syria according to a source who talked to ITAR-TASS.vThe attack choppers will be used to protect the Russian Task Force deployed to Hmeymim airbase, near Latakia, as well as to conduct CSAR (Combat Search And Rescue) missions as the one launched to rescue the two pilots who ejected from the Su-24 Fencer shot down by a Turkish Air Force F-16 in November 2015.
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01/16/2016
For starters, the subsonic, twin-engine jet costs $20 million, and operating costs dial in at around $3,000 per flight hour, according to a BBC report by Russell Hotten. For comparison, the efficient A-10 Thunderbolt II, otherwise known as the “Warthog,” costs an initial $19 million and operational costs are estimated at $17,716 per flight hour, though these numbers will vary based on year and modifications.
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01/16/2016
The federal government wants to know if hacked trade secrets are aiding the rise of an army of Chinese androids. At least one China-backed cyberspy operation reportedly snared robotics research from QinetiQ, a Pentagon contractor and the supposed inspiration for gadget-maker “Q” in the James Bond movie franchise.
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01/16/2016
Government and military leaders should make a decision this year about the fate of the Croatian Air Force combat aircraft. In April last year, the National Defence Council decided to retain combat air force capabilities and acquire Western-type aircraft. However, in the meantime, the government and military leadership have reportedly changed their minds.
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01/16/2016
Two Marine Corps helicopters carrying six crew members each collided and went down off the Hawaiian island of Oahu while on a nighttime training mission, and rescuers searched choppy waters Friday where debris had been sighted, military officials said. There was no immediate word on the fate of those aboard or what caused the accident.
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01/16/2016
Italy’s Defense Ministry has ordered the deployment of four AMX fighter aircraft and one Predator drone to its Birgi base near Trapani, Sicily, amid concerns over the situation in Libya, the General Staff said.
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01/16/2016
The turboprop aircraft can fire guided rockets, Dawlat Waziri told the Pajhwok Afghan News agency. The jets would help bolster the Afghan Air Force, he added. A-29 Super Tucano, manufactured by Brazilian Embraer aerospace company, is able to carry out advanced training, border surveillance and internal security missions.
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01/16/2016
The Philippines will offer the US military use of eight bases, a military spokesman said Wednesday after the country's Supreme Court supported a security agreement with Washington; the deal was implemented following the onset of rising tensions with China.
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01/16/2016
Serbia eyes buying Russian-made Tor, Pantsir, and Buk air defense systems as well as MiG-29 jet fighters, in response to Croatia’s plans to purchase US-made MGM-140 ATACMS tactical missiles.
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01/16/2016
Lebanon is due to receive the second arms shipment from France in April, a year after Paris sent the first batch of weapons to Beirut, local media reported Friday.
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01/15/2016
A defense publication reported this week that the Pentagon is preparing to formally delay its long-standing proposal to retire the nation’s fleet of A10 Warthog attack planes, which includes the dozen or so flying out of Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County.
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01/15/2016
Vietnam is negotiating with American and European manufacturers to purchase new warplanes—including fighters, maritime patrol aircraft and unmanned aircraft. The move comes as part of Hanoi’s strategy to lessen its dependence on Russian hardware and to counter China’s growing power.
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01/15/2016
The Department of Defense disclosed on December 30 that it has ordered 32 more C-130J Super Hercules airlifters from Lockheed Martin, the first installment of a multiyear contract for 78 of the four-engine turboprops that will ultimately be worth $5.3 billion.
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01/15/2016
With just days to go before French President Francois Hollande arrives in India, a crucial deal for Delhi to buy 36 French-built Rafale warplanes has not yet been decided. Speaking to Reuters today, the French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that the deal remains evasive, underscoring the considerable differences between negotiators for both sides, nearly nine months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Paris and announced the plans to buy the fighter jets directly from French.
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01/15/2016
The first Japan-made stealth plane will take to the skies in its maiden flight over central Japan next month. The experimental aircraft is designed as a testbed for the stealth technology planned to be incorporated into the next-generation fighter jet for the Air Self-Defense Force. The combat aircraft will be replacing the ASDF's F-2 fighter jets in fiscal 2028 at the earliest, if all goes according to plan.
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01/15/2016
The Russian government on Thursday posted on its legal information portal the full text of the agreement with Damascus on the deployment of the Russian combat air group in Syria.
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01/15/2016
Boeing, which has maintained and supported the U.S. Air Force T-38 Talon trainer fleet for 16 years, will do that for another ten years through a new contract worth up to $855 million. The company will work on avionics, cockpit displays, control panels, and communications systems for 456 of the aircraft as well as upgrading 37 aircrew training devices.
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01/15/2016
The Bulgarian parliament approved amendments to the defense legislation in the first reading on Thursday, allowing NATO member countries to participate in patrolling the country's airspace, local media reported.
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01/15/2016
Russian Air Force will practice intercepting targets with advanced Su-30SM multirole fighters, capable of air-to-air and air-to-ground strikes and equipped with a wide variety of precision-guided munitions.
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01/15/2016
The French Air Force carried out several airstrikes against terrorist targets in the Iraqi city of Mosul, the French Defense Ministry was quoted as saying by Reuters.
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01/14/2016
Defense Secretary Ash Carter signaled Wednesday that the U.S. military will expand efforts to target Islamic State militants beyond the group's territory in Iraq and Syria, potentially involving airstrikes and raids in other Islamic countries. “The threat posed by ISIL, and groups like it, is continually evolving, changing focus and shifting location,” Carter said, using an alternative acronym for the Islamic State group.
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01/14/2016
Further exports of the Sino-Pakistan JF-17 “Thunder” combat aircraft have been reported, following an initial sale last year, which is now known to be 16 aircraft for Myanmar. According to Pakistan's President Mamnoon Hussain, Azerbaijan and Nigeria are both interested. But a proposed sale to Sri Lanka has been opposed by India, according to unconfirmed reports.
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01/14/2016
Vietnam is negotiating with American and European manufacturers to purchase new warplanes—including fighters, maritime patrol aircraft and unmanned aircraft. The move comes as part of Hanoi’s strategy to lessen its dependence on Russian hardware and to counter China’s growing power.
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01/14/2016
The Air Force is delaying plans to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt attack plane due to its usefulness in the campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Officials say the “Warthog” will still need to be shelved at some point to make room for newer warplanes, but the timeline for its retirement has been thrown off due to increased demand from commanders who now depend on the Warthog to bomb Islamic State targets, Defense One reported, citing unnamed Air Force sources.
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01/14/2016
The Bulgarian Air Force could have its ageing Soviet-made combat aircraft replaced by new multi-role warplanes in the next three to three-and-a half years, Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev said on Wednesday. The government commission tasked with studying the available options is expected to submit a report by the end of March, Nenchev told bTV broadcaster.
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01/14/2016
Iran freed 10 U.S. sailors on Wednesday, a day after detaining them aboard two U.S. Navy patrol boats in the Gulf, bringing a swift end to an incident that had rattled nerves just before the expected implementation of a landmark nuclear accord.
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01/14/2016
Six of the U.S. Air Force’s B-52 bombers can now take flight with a greater variety of weapons, thanks to enhanced internal weapons bay launchers delivered by Boeing [NYSE: BA]. The upgraded launchers allow the B-52 to carry GPS-guided or “smart” weapons in the weapons bay for the first time and are ready for use.
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01/14/2016
China is concerned about a growing number of "Chinese-origin" terrorists within Daesh group, which is banned in a range of countries, including Russia and the United States, the newspaper said on Wednesday.
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01/14/2016
According to the sources four F-16s and two F-4 combat aircraft were involved in the operation. Turkish warplanes destroyed Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) shelters and warehouses in the Avasin-Basyan, Gare and Zap camps in northern Iraq. The positions were identified by drones prior to the attack.
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01/14/2016
The Russian aerobatic team Russkiye Vityazi (Russian Knights) on Wednesday completed preparations for a performance at the international air show in Bahrain, the Russian Defense Ministry’s press service said in a statement.
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01/13/2016
The Iranian military took control of two U.S. Navy vessels and their crew Tuesday after the boats apparently strayed into Iran’s territorial waters, U.S. officials said. The circumstances surrounding the incident, which comes at a volatile moment in U.S.-Iranian relations, remained unclear late Tuesday. Senior U.S. officials said they expected the crew of ten to be released from Iranian custody Wednesday morning.
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01/12/2016
Korean Air signed a deal late last month with the state-run munitions procurement organization to mass produce a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or drone, for military reconnaissance missions, the top air carrier said on Sunday. The budget for the deal with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, which will conclude in 2020, totals 400 billion won ($334 million), and Korean Air will receive 230 billion won through 2018 in its initial phase.
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01/12/2016
With no fanfare other than the fading rumble of its four turbo-prop engines, one of Patrick's well-worn HC-130P/N King aircraft - number 65-00976 - disappeared into the afternoon sky heading into retirement at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base's 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, the aircraft retirement "bone yard," in Arizona.
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01/12/2016
The Air Force Chief Scientist said F-35 pilots will be able to control a small group of drones flying nearby from the aircraft cockpit in the air, performing sensing, reconnaissance and targeting functions. At the moment, the flight path, sensor payload and weapons disposal of airborne drones such as Air Force Predators and Reapers are coordinated from ground control stations.
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01/12/2016
This is according to military analyst Aleksandar Radic, who spoke for the Beta agency."It is not possible to realize these promises and obviously these are empty stories and intentional deception. These promises have so far mainly come from the Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, and this time from Chief of General Staff General Dikovic," Radic said, adding that this was "heard the least from the one who should have said it the most - Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic."
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01/12/2016
As Benjamin Baker wrote last week in The Diplomat, the JF-17 Thunder, a low-cost multi-role fighter built collaboratively by China and Pakistan, has run into some problems on the global fighter market. Recently, every time it appears to have locked down a buyer, problem crop up. Malaysia became the latest supposed buyer of the JF-17 to come out publicly and say that there was no finalized deal.
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01/12/2016
India and France are close to a deal to buy 36 combat planes from Dassault, India's defence minister said on Monday, after months of wrangling over price and other terms of the sale.
French President Francois Hollande is due in New Delhi this month as a guest of honour at a military parade and the two sides are expected to seal the pact for the Rafale fighters either just before he arrives or during the visit.
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01/12/2016
An air regiment of Russia's Eastern Military District (EMD) will receive its first two Su-35S fighter jets soon, the head of EMD's press service said Monday. "Two new Su-35S 4++ generation jets are due to enter service with the EMD air regiment deployed in Primorsky Territory," Col. Alexander Gordeyev told reporters.
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01/11/2016
Fairchild Air Force Base gave a behind the scenes look of its KC-135 refueling tanker for the first time in two years on Friday. They allowed KREM 2 cameras on the plane as they headed out to put fuel in six F-15s in Oregon and one C-17 in Lewis-McChord.
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01/11/2016
On Jan. 9, coalition military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 11 strikes using fighter, attack, bomber, and remotely piloted aircraft. Separately in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 15 strikes coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq using rocket artillery, fighter, bomber, and remotely piloted aircraft against ISIL targets.
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01/11/2016
The Sri Lankan government cancelled a deal to buy Pakistani fighter jets after a “diplomatic missive” from India, reports The Indian Express. New Delhi reportedly told Sri Lanka that its current defence requirements meant it did not need the JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft from Pakistan, whilst also sending a negative technical assessment of the aircraft.
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01/11/2016
The Defense Ministry and the Self-Defense Forces have decided that Japanese P-3C patrol aircraft returning home from anti-piracy activities off the coast of Somalia will give priority to stopping along the way at bases of countries facing the South China Sea, including the Philippines and Vietnam, according to sources.
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01/11/2016
The US Air Force wants to double the number of units flying drones and recruit more pilots to decrease the burden on current crews as demand for the missions soars. The Air Force also recently allowed enlisted airmen to become drone pilots for the first time as the military increasingly uses unmanned aircraft for surveillance, protecting US soldiers on the ground and attacking targets.
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01/11/2016
The prime minister of Iraq claimed this weekend that the country’s air force does a better job striking Daesh across the country than the whole US-led '60+ nation' coalition.
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01/11/2016
Russian navy fleet in 2016 will see a significant broadening of training for captains and captains' senior assistants on ships with naval aviation on board, according to naval aviation Chief Igor Kozhin.
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01/11/2016
Four of Russia's airborne troop units received the newest combat equipment supplied in bundles which included the Verba man-portable surface-to-air defense system with the Barnaul-T automatic control system, as well as a single learning and training set, according to a military official.
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01/09/2016
Seven Turkish fighter jets entered Greek air space over the northeastern and southeastern Aegean without permission on Friday, according to local military officials. A formation of six planes breached Greek air space twice, while one jet flying on its own made a single incursion.
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01/09/2016
The French military is continuing to build its fleet of NH90-TTH helicopters, ordering six additional tactical transport aircraft. The order to NH Industries from the French defense procurement agency DGA, bringing the number of Caiman model helicopters ordered to 74, of which 44 will have been delivered by 2019.
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01/09/2016
China will consider developing a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier after it gains enough experience in operating large vessels, Senior Captain Zhang Junshe with the People's Liberation Army Naval Military Studies Research Institute said.
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01/09/2016
An MQ-1 Predator drone crashed Thursday in Iraq but was destroyed and is not in militant hands, the Air Force said in a news release Friday. The remotely piloted aircraft was flying a combat mission when airmen lost control of the aircraft. The craft was not hit by enemy fire, the Air Force said, but an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash.
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01/09/2016
The KC-135 Stratotanker fleet at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, flew more than 14,700 sorties in 2015 accumulating 103,419 combat hours in support of Operations Inherent Resolve and Freedom’s Sentinel. “We provide refueling to every flying unit in the area of responsibility which is Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Afghanistan and supported 12 coalition nations,” said Lt. Col. James Murray, the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron director of operations.
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01/09/2016
Nigeria plans to buy three JF-17 Thunder multirole fighter jets this year from Pakistan for $25 million, which would make the West African country the first export operator of the warplanes. The Nigerian government, led by President Muhammadu Buhari, has also set aside money to buy 10 PAC Super Mushshak basic trainers and two Mi-35M helicopters, Nigerian newspaper Punch reported Wednesday.
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01/08/2016
Not withstanding conventional arguments that Russia’s intervention in Syria has sharply increased its influence in the Middle East, Moscow may ultimately find that its gains do not outweigh its losses from the venture. Much will depend on whether, when and how Syria’s civil war ends.
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01/08/2016
During a three-day state visit to Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sealed a landmark deal for the purchase of eight Pakistan Aeronautical Complex/Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (PAC/CAC) JF-17 Thunder combat aircraft.
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01/08/2016
British media confirms that British air campaign in Syria has ground to a complete stop. US media confirms US air campaign in northern Syria has stopped following Russian anti aircraft missile deployments.
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01/08/2016
The Army wants to fuse 3-D imagery to enable its aviators to control manned and unmanned aircraft. The goal is to help UAV operators as they "transition from their current roles actively piloting vehicles to serve instead as Mission Commanders supervising highly intelligent autonomous systems," according to the Army Small Business Innovation Research solicitation.
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01/08/2016
Korea Aerospace Industries and Indonesia have reached a cost-sharing agreement for the development of their next generation KF-X/IF-X fighter aircraft. KAI President Ha Sung-yong (C) signs the work assignment agreement with PTDI head Budi Santoso in Jakarta on January 7, 2016.
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01/08/2016
Lockheed-Martin and the Pentagon’s F-35 Program Office say they’ve finished delivering jets for 2015, increasing their yield from last year by 25 percent. Joe DellaVedova, a spokesman with the F-35 Joint Program Office at the Pentagon, said 45 F-35’s were delivered, which met Lockheed and the program office’s delivery goal for the year and exceeded last year’s deliveries by nine jets.
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01/08/2016
The federal cabinet is reviewing options to bolster Canada’s role in the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State that run the gamut from maintaining surveillance and refuelling aircraft to clandestine operations, military and government officials say.
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01/08/2016
The Defense Department is set to expand its fleet of Super Hercules aircraft, a hi-tech workhorse that mixes versatility with toughness. The DOD is awarding Lockheed Martin a contract worth more than $1 billion to build 32 of the C-130 Super Hercules. It is part of a $5.3 billion contract to eventually provide the U.S. Air Force with 78 of these aircraft - 30 MC-130Js, 13 HC-130Js and 29 C-130J-30s and the U.S. Marine Corps six KC-130Js.
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01/08/2016
The U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin a $54.3 million contract in December 2015 to upgrade the Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PNVS) on the AH-64E Apache helicopter, bringing color to the cockpit for the first time.
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01/07/2016
Flying under the radar has long been the aim for pilots on secret missions. Now scientists have developed a lightweight anti-reflective coating based on the structure of a moth's eye that could make aircraft invisible to radar. The secret to the new coating is the creation of millions of tiny hollow spheres of carbonised sugar, arranged in a tightly-packed hexagonal monolayer.
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01/07/2016
The U.S. reportedly was sending a WC-135 "sniffer" plane Wednesday to check on North Korea's claim of setting off an underground hydrogen bomb as Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and his South Korean counterpart conferred on a possible response. Susan Romano, a spokeswoman for the Air Force Technical Applications Center, said that the Air Force "as a matter of policy" does not discuss the operations of the WC-135 Constant Phoenix.
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01/07/2016
Six Zambian Air Force pilots have completed training on Hongdu Aircraft Industry Group’s L-15 lead-in fighter trainer. As the first export customer for the type, Zambia will soon introduce it into active service. Hongdu, part of China’s Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), announced on 28 December that the first Zambian pilots and maintenance personnel had completed conversion to the supersonic L-15 Falcon.
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01/07/2016
On Tuesday, four Tornado combat aircraft of the German Luftwaffe were deployed to the Turkish airbase at Incirlik to support the war against ISIS in Syria. According to the official web site of the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces), the combat jets will conduct their first sorties toward the end of this week. On January 12, two more fighter jets will follow.
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01/07/2016
Last month, Daesh forces (aka IS) launched a surprise offensive against five separate targets in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. It was quickly confirmed that members of the Canadian Special Operations Regiment (CSOR) deployed in the area as trainers were involved in the combat effort to contain and ultimately repel the Daesh attackers.
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01/07/2016
A recent directive by the US secretary of defence that pits strike fighters against ships in the navy’s next five-year spending plan will be a showdown to watch going into 2016, with increases in F-35C and F/A-18 spending coming at the expense of the Littoral Combat Ship.
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01/07/2016
The U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin a $31.8 million contract in December 2015 to sustain the AH-64D/E Apache’s targeting and pilotage system, the Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PNVS).
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01/07/2016
Two civilian aircraft took off from the Meilan Airport of Haikou, capital of Hainan Province and landed at the airfield on Yongshu Jiao in the Nansha Islands. They flew back to Haikou on Wednesday afternoon. “China's testing of a newly-built airfield is nothing more than an effort by the country to better serve the needs of the great many vessels and seafarers using one of the world's busiest shipping lanes,” Wang Haiqing wrote for an article in Xinhua.
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01/07/2016
The Indian Ministry of Defense is busy finishing up a final agreement, which is expected to be signed during French President Francois Hollande’s visit to India later this month, the Indian newspaper Financial Express reported.
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01/06/2016
Turkey is getting ready to widen the reach of its military considerably by building a multipurpose aircraft carrier with “trans-continental” capabilities. The 225-meter ship dubbed the Anadolu (or Anatolia), set to enter service in 2021, is designed to take fighter aircraft, attack helicopters, tanks, troops, and landing vessels to areas around the Mediterranean and as far as the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans, officials say.
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01/06/2016
A test flight by a civilian plane landed on an island in the South China Sea, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. It’s the first time the country has done so in the disputed Spratly Islands. Tensions are now high with neighboring Vietnam and the Philippines.
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01/06/2016
On 7 January, Spain will take the lead role for the next four-month, NATO-led Baltic Air Policing (BAP) rotation, as it deploys four Eurofighters to Šiauliai air base in Lithuania.
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01/06/2016
Pakistan to sell eight combat JF-17 Thunder aircraft to Sri Lanka under an agreement signed during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit on Tuesday. The multi-roll fighter aircraft is the joint production of Pakistan and China. Defence officials accompanying the prime minister said that both countries signed eight agreements related to defence, security, anti-terrorism, trade and science and technology and Pakistan would provide eight JF-17 fighter jets to Sri Lanka at the first phase.
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01/06/2016
The Algerian Air Force has ordered 12 Sukhoi (Su-34) 'Fullback' fighter bombers from Russian aircraft manufacturer Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association to replace an aged fleet of Soviet-era MiG-25s, which are long over-due for retirement from service, as part of an ongoing force modernization program.
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01/06/2016
The Federal Government is proposing to spend N65.03bn for the acquisition of various military aircraft, combat equipment, trucks and maintenance of boats among others in the 2016 fiscal period. Details of this amount are contained in the 2016 budget which President Muhammadu Buhari presented to a joint session of the National Assembly in December, 2015.
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01/06/2016
India’s Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) will conduct a flight demonstration during this year’s Bahrain International Air Show held from January 21-23, The Business Standard reports based on information obtained from India’s Ministry of Defense. “The show will witness flying demonstration of the ‘Tejas’, the latest and state of the art Light Combat Aircraft, the ‘Four-plus’ generation and highly cost effective fighter aircraft,” a defense ministry spokesperson said on January 1.
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01/06/2016
A group of MiG-29 multirole jet fighters will be deployed to the Russian airbase Erebuni in Armenia in the second half of 2016, the press office of the Russian Southern Military District reported. MiG-29 jets which will be deployed to the airbase after being fully repaired have been used to protect Armenia’s airspace within the joint air defense systems of the CIS. They have also been involved in regular training flights in accordance with the combat readiness program.
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01/06/2016
The units of the SDF, which are also supported by Russia, have been advancing on the Daesh forces near the town of Ain Isa in the country’s northern Al-Raqqa province, SDF spokesman, Colonel Talal Selo, said. "We no longer think as we did before that Daesh cannot be defeated," he added.
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01/05/2016
Two industry heavyweights of electronic warfare have been chosen to equip special-mission Lockheed Martin AC-130J and MC-130Js with next-generation radio frequency countermeasures (RFCM) systems that can “detect, disrupt and defeat” anti-aircraft weapons, radars and other threats that use electromagnetic signals.
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01/05/2016
The military concept of delaying or preventing opposing forces from capturing a specific area is as old as warfare. History is littered with brave examples of the few holding off the many, though "famous last stands" are just as numerous. When discussing contemporary anti-access and area denial, however, the focus is typically on naval and aerial operations that establish tactical superiority, not ground operations.
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01/05/2016
China has apparently begun mass production of its new J-20 stealth fighter, making it only the second country in the world to produce radar-evading warplanes on a large scale. But as with all military developments in China, it’s hard to separate fact from Communist Party-sponsored fiction—and equally difficult to predict just how heavily even large numbers of working J-20s could weigh on the military balance of power in the Pacific region.
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01/05/2016
Will the U.S. Air Force’s new stealth bomber be sufficiently survivable? Naive calculations sometimes presume, to quote Stanley Baldwin’s 1932 speech in the House of Commons, that “the bomber will always get through.” History has proven otherwise, and at the start of a ten-year development effort, the LRS-B’s survivability is clearly a known unknowable.
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01/05/2016
The Indian Air Force's quest for a Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) is finally over with the Indian government confirming the order for 36 Rafale jets with the French government. According to sources, documents for the government-to-government deal were delivered by New Delhi to Paris on New Year's eve, and the agreement is on the same lines as that for the Mirage 2000 aircraft signed in the early 1980s. IAF will buy all the Rafale aircraft from Dassault, in a flyaway condition.
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01/05/2016
The Philippine military will look to purchase more than 100 million pesos ($5.77 million) worth of ammunition for two of its new fighter aircraft from South Korea, defense officials confirmed this week. As I reported for The Diplomat in December, the Philippines had received the first two of a dozen new FA-50 jets it had ordered from South Korea, with the remaining jets expected to be delivered through 2017.
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01/05/2016
The Missile Defense Agency awarded Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) a $528 million contract in December 2015 for production and delivery of interceptors for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. The new interceptors will support a growing number of U.S. Army THAAD units.
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01/05/2016
A prototype of the aircraft, developed by the Defense Ministry's Technical Research and Development Institute (TRDI), will undergo taxiing and ground trials at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries testing center in Aichi Prefecture, before taking to the skies 'sometime in February'. It will be flying to the Gifu Air Field in neighboring Gifu Prefecture.
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01/05/2016
In 2015, the Syrian Army, supported by Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, was able to tip the scales against the dark tide of Islamist jihad. Now, the question on geopolitical analysts' minds is whether 2016 will see an end to the brutal conflict, or its escalation and spillover into neighboring countries.
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01/04/2016
A deal has been reached external link which will see Egypt acquire forty-six of a navalized variant of the Ka-52 Alligator helicopter. The Ka-52K was developed to operate on the French manufactured Mistral class helicopter carrier that had been initially ordered for the Russian Navy.
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01/04/2016
The French military says its warplanes have destroyed a site in Syria used by Islamic State extremists to produce missiles and store weapons. The Defense Ministry said in a statement Sunday that the overnight airstrikes targeted a site east of Aleppo, in an operation conducted by Rafale fighter jets using SCALP cruise missiles.
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01/04/2016
In the past year, China's air force held 4 drills over the western Pacific, aimed at enhancing its combat capabilities over long distances and in the open sea. On March 30, aviation troops of the People's Liberation Army, or PLA, flew to the open sea via the Bashi Channel of Taiwan. This was the troops' first exercise in the western Pacific. The next drill took place on May 21. PLA aircraft flew over the Miyako Strait.
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01/04/2016
Three developments emerged clearly from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Moscow for the 16th Indo-Russian annual summit with President Vladimir Putin. First, making bilateral ties more broad-based by giving the economic partnership between the two nations its due importance. Secondly, efforts towards transforming Indo-Russian strategic ties from a buyer-seller relationship to that of a partnership.
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01/04/2016
As U.S. commanders in Afghanistan look ahead to the 2016 fighting season, they plan to keep force levels steady while deploying special operations troops and “expeditionary advise-and-assist” teams to support the Afghan army’s ground-level fight against the Taliban insurgency, a top U.S. general in Afghanistan said.
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01/04/2016
The T-X program may most likely be the next lucrative military contract available for the defense sector, as the Government looks to reduce military spending. Designed to replace T-38 Talon—originally manufactured by Northrop Grumman Corporation —about 350 aircraft are expected to be ordered at an estimated $8.4 billion. The lifetime cycle for the entire program is expected to be nearly 50 years.
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01/04/2016
China's second aircraft carrier, which is now under construction, will focus on military operations rather than training and technological experiments, according to a senior military researcher. "This carrier will have different missions than those for the Liaoning (the country's first aircraft carrier)," Senior Captain Zhang Junshe with the People's Liberation Army Naval Military Studies Research Institute told the official PLA Daily on Friday.
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01/03/2016
The Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), an official army of South Sudan, has admitted to have recently acquired supplies of shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles brought through the neighboring countries of Kenya and Uganda, prompting United States government to warn its citizens of danger to fly in South Sudan.
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01/03/2016
Canada has never been a big spender on the military, outside of wartime. And that’s not likely to change on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cash-strapped watch. In its first throne speech the Trudeau government promised to review the country’s defence capabilities and “invest in building a leaner, more agile, better-equipped military.” At the same time the government has signaled it intends to hold the line on defence spending.
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01/03/2016
The status of China’s artificial islands in the disputed Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea hit a new milestone on Saturday. China landed a civilian aircraft on Fiery Cross Reef, drawing a sharp reaction from the Vietnamese government.
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01/03/2016
Britain's controversial air campaign in Syria has been branded a “non-event” after it emerged that the Air Force has carried out only one attack on the country in the last four weeks. Since MPs voted for war over Syria on 1 December, more than a month ago, RAF Tornados and Typhoons have mounted only three strike missions – all in the first five days of the operation.
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01/03/2016
In late 2015 Britain revealed that their Reaper UAVs in Iraq had carried out over 230 missile attacks since November 2014 and killed at least 300 Islamic terrorists. The Reapers have flown many more reconnaissance and surveillance missions. While Britain is quite pleased with the performance of their American built Reapers they have also begun using a British made Watchkeeper UAV as well.
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01/03/2016
Crack counter militant troops and a NSG team prepositioned at the Pathankot air base in anticipation of an attack contained the terror strike, minimizing damage to the installation as well as preventing them from entering the technical area that houses fighter aircraft and choppers.
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01/03/2016
After more than a year in limbo, the Navy has decided to shutdown one of its two dedicated special operations helicopter squadrons, in a money-saving reorganization to retain the service's spec ops expertise. In March, the Navy will shutter Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 84 in Norfolk, which, along with HSC-85, has flown a decade of shadowy missions in war zones with aging helicopters.
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01/03/2016
Canadian fighter jets taking part in the air campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have had a busy start to 2016. The Canadian Forces says two CF-18 Hornets took to the skies on New Year's Day to attack ISIL fighting positions in Ramadi in support of Iraqi security forces.
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01/03/2016
raqi Kurdistan military officials have announced that two brigades of Kurdish armed forces, known as Pesmerga, will undergo reorganization and armament by the US in mid-January.
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01/02/2016
The Canadian government is setting the stage for a multibillion-dollar training program for its military pilots that will see them receive instruction not just on basic skills but also on flying a new fighter jet and other future aircraft.
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01/02/2016
France said on Friday it would buy four C130 Hercules military transport planes from U.S. weapons maker Lockheed-Martin due to problems with European planemaker Airbus's A400M. A Defense Ministry source had said in May that France had penciled several hundreds of millions of euros into its latest defense budget for the possible purchase of those four planes and would make a decision by year-end.
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01/02/2016
China’s first home-made aircraft carrier will be a copy of a Soviet-era vessel with some refinements, with the navy rushing to ramp up its combat capacity as maritime tensions rise in the region, according to analysts. The defence ministry confirmed on Wednesday that the country’s second aircraft carrier was under construction in the port of Dalian.
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01/02/2016
India's Light Combat Aircraft Tejas will take part in Bahrain International Airshow this month to explore export potential in what will be the first time the indigenously developed plane will fly outside the Indian air space. Besides the fighter and naval version of Tejas, India will also showcase state-of-the-art airborne platforms and associated sensors and communication systems designed and developed by DRDO.
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01/02/2016
Lockheed Martin will deliver 78 C-130J Super Hercules to the U.S. government through a C-130J Multiyear II contract, which was announced by the U.S. government on Dec. 30, 2015.
Yesterday, the Department of Defense announced the award of more than $1 billion in funding for the first 32 aircraft of the Multiyear contract. The overall contract, worth $5.3 billion, provides Super Hercules aircraft to the U.S. Air Force (30 MC-130Js, 13 HC-130Js and 29 C-130J-30s) and the U.S.M.C. (six KC-130Js).
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01/02/2016
Two of the attackers have been killed, The Times of India said early on Saturday. The attack started at 03:30 a. m. local time on Saturday, according to NDTV. An official car was used to launch the attack, NDTV said citing authorities.
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01/02/2016
Despite being one of the fastest combat aircraft in the world, the Mikoyan MiG-31 (NATO reporting name: Foxhound) supersonic interceptor went out of production in 1994. However, as Russia still requires this type of aircraft to protect its sizeable airspace, the Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG is already working on a new combat aircraft which will eventually replace the old reliable Foxhound.
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01/02/2016
Russia has successfully completed testing of the newest multi-purpose Mi-38 helicopter. The Federal Air Transport Agency has issued a certificate of compliance with the requirements of the Mi-38 aircraft standards. This means that the helicopter will launch into production in 2016.
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01/02/2016
The flight crew of Russia’s Eastern Military District (EMD) air regiment carried out over 4,000 flights aboard the advanced Su-30SM Flanker jets this year, the head of EMD’s press service said Thursday.
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