August 31, 2016 Military Aviation News

Drone piloting now open to enlisted airmen from all career fields

08/31/2016

Enlisted airmen from all career fields may now apply to fly the RQ-4 Global Hawk, the Air Force said Monday in a move that potentially opens the opportunity to pilot the unarmed intelligence-gathering drone to tens of thousands of more airmen. The announcement comes just over a month after the Air Force released details of how the service planned to retrain a select group of enlisted airmen to fly the Global Hawk.

Meanwhile, U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier jump jets continue to pound Daesh in Libya

08/31/2016

Operation Odyssey Lightning kicked off on Aug. 1, when the U.S. launched a new round of air strikes against Islamic State positions in northern Libya following a request by the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) to support GNA-affiliated forces seeking to defeat Daesh in Sirte.

Argentina’s Military Decline

08/31/2016

In March 2016, President Barack Obama made an official visit to Argentina where he was feted by the recently elected President Mauricio Macri. The visit was not without controversies, coinciding as it did with the 40th anniversary of the March 24, 1976 military coup that plunged Argentina into years of a repressive dictatorship. Another controversy got buried in the furore over the timing of the visit – the fact that the Argentine Air Force did not have a single operational fighter to escort.

Top U.S. general says Syrian bombs fell very close to U.S. forces

08/31/2016

Syrian warplanes were dropping bombs just “several hundred meters” away from U.S. Special Forces troops operating alongside Kurdish troops on Aug. 18, a top U.S. general said Tuesday. Army Gen. Joseph Votel, head of U.S. Central Command, spoke publicly for the first time about the unprecedented incident that sparked a standoff between the U.S. and Syrian air forces.

Why the F-35 could 'never in a million years' out dogfight the RAF Typhoon or the Russian Su-35

08/31/2016

In a recent interview with Business Insider, Justin Bronk, a research fellow specializing in combat airpower at the Royal United Services Institute, dropped a bombshell about the US's $1 trillion F-35 program: "The F-35 cannot out dogfight a Typhoon (or a Su-35), never in a million years."

How the U.S. Air Force Almost Brought Back the P-51 Mustang

08/31/2016

The North American P-51 Mustang was one of the greatest fighters of World War II. Had life worked out differently, the Mustang could also have fought in Vietnam and flown against a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. In fact, it might even have replaced the A-10 Warthog.

Defence bill language could affect bomber technology development

08/31/2016

A provision within the House of Representative’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2017 could affect the development of emerging technologies for major defence acquisition programmes, including the Northrop Grumman B-21 bomber.

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