April, 2017 Military Aviation News
04/30/2017
In keeping with changing military needs, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been asked by its chief to maintain a state of combat readiness for a possible 10-day war with Pakistan. The force has also been told to be ready for a possible 15-day conflict with China.
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04/30/2017
Sweden's offer to supply Gripen combat aircraft to Bulgaria's Air Force has been ranked first, public radio broadcaster BNR reported on Wednesday. The offers submitted by Portugal (with a logistics package sourced from the USA) and Italy were ranked second and third, respectively, BNR said following a meeting of the caretaker government which endorsed the conclusions of the working group in charge of assessing the offers.
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04/30/2017
A ballistic missile launched early Saturday by North Korea in defiance of international pressure and at a time of heightened regional tensions appears to have failed. The missile blew up over land in North Korean territory, said US Navy Cmdr. Dave Benham, a spokesman for the US Pacific Command
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04/30/2017
Another ballistic missile launch carried out by Pyongyang has increased the probability of a military conflict in the region, Victor Ozerov, the chairman of the Russian upper house of parliament’s committee on defense and security, told Sputnik Saturday.
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04/30/2017
The US government approved the sale of more than 100 supersonic anti-radar missiles to the Australian government, the Department of State said in a press release. "The proposed sale of this equipment and support does not alter the basic military balance in the region," the release stated.
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04/28/2017
China on Thursday launched an upgraded version of a fighter jet manufactured jointly with Pakistan that can be used for training in peacetime and for combat missions during wartime.
The dual-seat fighter trainer JF-17B is an upgraded version of the military aircraft JF-17. The JF-17B was developed by Aviation Industry Corporation of China to meet the requirements of international customers and the global market, according to AVIC.
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04/28/2017
On August 26, the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) launched its first domestically constructed aircraft carrier from a shipyard in Dailan. The as-yet-unnamed carrier still requires much more additional work before it joins PLAN's fleet. But the ship's construction began less than five years ago (in November of 2012), and it only moved into full dry-dock construction in 2015.
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04/28/2017
Syria’s military said Israel struck a military installation southwest of Damascus International Airport before dawn Thursday, setting off a series of explosions and raising tensions further between the two neighbors. Apparently seeking to interrupt weapons transfers to the Hezbollah group in Lebanon, Israel has struck inside Syria with increasing frequency in recent weeks, making the war-torn country a proxy theater for Israel’s wider war with Iran.
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04/28/2017
Bulgaria's government has announced the Saab Gripen C/D as the preferred candidate in the country’s new combat aircraft competition. Sofia late last year issued a request for proposals for the purchase of eight multirole fighters, to be delivered by 2020. Another eight of the selected type would be contracted in 2022 under current plans.
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04/28/2017
In an effort to upgrade its air force and to bolster the nation’s military, Poland is considering the possibility of replacing its aging fleet of Soviet military aircraft with US-manufactured warplanes. According to RIA Novosti, the Polish military seeks to do away with the Su-22 and MiG-29 military aircraft currently employed by Poland’s Air Force, and has currently set its eyes on theF-16 and F-35 multirole fighters, which may eventually replace the aging Soviet planes.
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04/27/2017
The Boeing/Saab team which is vying to win the US Air Force's T-X advanced jet trainer recapitalisation contest is on track to accumulate all required information by the end of this quarter, according to the Swedish manufacturer.
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04/27/2017
The Lockheed Martin F-35 will skip an appearance in June at the Paris air show, the joint programme office confirms. With the event less than two months away, the JPO has not received an invitation to attend and is not aware of any F-35 participation in the show, a JPO spokesman tells FlightGlobal.
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04/27/2017
Israel's air force is negotiating the purchase of Lockheed Martin's automatic ground collision avoidance system (AGCAS) for its F-16 fleet. The system was developed to address the problem of accidents caused by distracted or incapacitated pilots flying into the ground in an otherwise fully functioning aircraft.
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04/27/2017
MBDA has been awarded a £41 million ($52.6 million) contract to begin preparing its Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile for integration with Lockheed Martin's F-35B for the UK. The European company – which will perform the activity at its Stevenage facility in Hertfordshire, England – says its funding allocation includes "test assets, productionisation and engineering work needed to support Meteor's compatibility and use from F-35".
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04/27/2017
A top US Navy admiral and former F/A-18 fighter pilot will lead a comprehensive review of recent reports of pilots suffering oxygen deprivation or cockpit pressurisation issues on Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and T-45 Goshawk trainers.
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04/26/2017
The U.S. Air Force’s F-35A Joint Strike Fighter has made its first trip to Estonia. Though small, the deployment is an important statement to Russia, America’s NATO allies, and critics of the often vexing aircraft. On April 25, 2017, U.S. Air Forces in Europe formally announced that two F-35As stealthy fighter jets and approximately 20 airmen had arrived at Ämari Air Base in the Baltic country’s Harjumaa County.
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04/26/2017
Bulgarian working group has completed the analysis on offers for the supply of new combat aircraft to replace its ageing fleet of Russian-made MiG fighter aircraft. The working group set up by the defence ministry and led by Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Tsanko Stoykov has analysed and assessed the offers and will submit its conclusions to the government which is to make a decision on the next step in the procurement procedure, the defence ministry said in a statement Monday.
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04/26/2017
For US Army aviation, the future is spelled FVL, as in Future Vertical Lift, and it is being explored by bold prototype models: Bell V-280 Valor, Karem ATR36, Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 Defiant. To power that future, the service and industry are grappling with another Herculean project, ITEP – the improved turbine engine programme, to replace the GE T700 engine that powers the Boeing AH-64 Apache and Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky UH-60.
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04/26/2017
An aircraft factory in Kazan is expected to become the birthplace of a new generation of Russian Tu-160 long-range supersonic bomber aircraft known throughout the world as the White Swan.
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04/26/2017
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has deployed Sukhoi-30MKIs at the Halwara base station, close to the India-Pakistan border. The Sukhois have been inducted into the IAF’s 221 Squadron, Valiants, which used to fly MiG-23 aircraft till 2009.
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04/24/2017
In a military that operates Raptor stealth fighters, A-10 tank busters, B-52 bombers and Harrier jump jets, the U.S. Navy’s placid-looking E-6 Mercury, based on the 707 airliner, seems particularly inoffensive. But don’t be deceived by appearances. Though the Mercury doesn’t carry any weapons of its own, it may be in a sense the deadliest aircraft operated by the Pentagon, as its job is to command the launch of land-based and sea-based nuclear ballistic missiles.
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04/24/2017
The head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Nuclear Risk Reduction Center said that Russian military experts will carry out observation flights over the territory of such Balkan states as Croatia and Slovenia.
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04/24/2017
Three new Lockheed F-35 joint strike fighters have arrived at Nevatim air base in Israel, to enter service along with another two that were purchased late last year. They are the first five of 50 expected to be delivered by 2021.
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04/24/2017
Pyongyang vowed to sink the USS Carl Vinson in what it described as a "show of military force," Reuters reported citing the the newspaper of the North's ruling Workers' Party. The news comes as Japan sent two destroyers for drills with the US carrier group. Two Maritime Self-Defense Force ships have left the Sasebo naval base in Nagasaki to meet up with the USS Carl Vinson-led group for joint drills following fresh ballistic missile tests in North Korea, The Japan Times reported.
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04/24/2017
In an interview with Sputnik, Syrian President Bashar Assad said that Damascus is interested in buying Russian advanced air defense system. Currently, the Syrian Army has in service Soviet-made S-200 air defense systems.
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04/23/2017
The Korean People's Army Air Force is perhaps the least threatening branch of Pyongyang’s military forces. However, while technologically backwards and often lacking the level of proficiency of Western air forces (with pilots often receiving fewer than 20 annual flight hours), the KPAAF does have a few strong points. As with many North Korean facilities, most KPAAF air bases are hardened to withstand air attacks and the country has a large number of aircraft available.
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04/23/2017
Over the next 10 years, US-made F-35 fifth-generation fighter jets delivered to the UK will be modified to carry English air-to-air Meteor missiles. Citing a need to integrate European armament with US-built military aircraft, Lockheed-Martin F-35s delivered to the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy will be equipped with English-built ‘Meteor' Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) weapons, according to defense-update.com.
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04/23/2017
The fighter jets of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) followed US Air Force in intercepting two Russian Tu-95MS military planes that were flying in the neutral airspace around the northern coast of Canada, local media reported, citing the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) spokeswoman.
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04/23/2017
Raytheon has been awarded $79 million for engineering services and training for AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II tactical missiles for the US Navy, Air Force and the governments of 20 nations, the US Department of Defense said in a press release.
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04/22/2017
The pilot of a strike fighter on final approach to the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson safely ejected in the Celebes Sea early Friday morning and was recovered, Navy officials said. The incident occurred as the pilot of the F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to Carrier Air Wing 2 was trying to land. The Navy didn’t identify the person publicly.
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04/22/2017
CNN reports that the Syrian government has relocated the majority of its combat planes to protect them from potential U.S. strikes. CNN bases its report on comments by two U.S. defense officials. The aircraft in question reportedly were moved to an airfield close to a base where the majority of Russian air forces helping the Assad regime are located. The theory is that President Trump is unlikely to launch an attack that might strike Russian assets.
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04/22/2017
Sikorsky-Boeing’s SB-1 Defiant has fallen months behind its scheduled first flight in the US Army’s Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstration (JMR-TD), even as Bell Helicopter’s V-280 Valor marches toward its first flight in September.
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04/22/2017
It has not been a great week for the US Army’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL) programme. The Sikorsky-Boeing team has acknowledged that its SB-1 Defiant will not fly until next year, or several months after its rival in the army’s joint multi-role technology demonstration (JMR-TD) effort – the Bell Helicopter V-280 Valor – completes its first flight in September (assuming that programme runs to schedule, of course).
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04/22/2017
The Chinese Defense Ministry denied on Friday media reports alleging escalated activity of state military aircraft. On Thursday, Reuters news agency reported on an increased level of activity of Chinese bombers, citing US officials who wished to remain anonymous and did not specify the reason for the activity. The news outlet suggested that the move might be linked to concerns over the threat of North Korea.
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04/20/2017
The Royal Canadian Air Force and Sikorsky appear no closer to finding the root cause of a failure with a flight control computer that has left its fleet of CH-148 Cyclone maritime patrol helicopters grounded since 10 March.
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04/20/2017
Boeing will not compete its F/A-18 Super Hornet to replace Belgium’s fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16s, the company informed the nation's government this week. In a statement, the airframer says it will not participate in a 19 April bidders' conference, nor respond to Brussels' request for proposals for the new fighter.
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04/20/2017
Two of the six Lockheed Martin F-35As deployed by the US Force Lakenheath AB last week were left behind in the UK as their squadron mates made the return trip. An USAF pilot noticed a possible refueling issue on one F-35A and decided to hold back deploying both that aircraft and its wingman, says Lt Col George Watkins, commander of the 34th fighter squadron. Watkins called the check a routine safety precaution.
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04/20/2017
US military has tracked two Russian nuclear-capable bombers near the coast of Alaska for a second night in row, according Fox News. Following a similar incident on April 17, the Russian planes appeared close to the Aleutian Islands on Tuesday night, Fox News reported citing US officials.
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04/20/2017
Carrier Strike Group One Commander Rear Adm. Jim Kilby said that supercarrier Carl Vinson will spend additional 30 days at sea to ensure US military presence off the Korean Peninsula.
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04/19/2017
U.S. Marine Corps Fighter Attack Squadron 121, the service’s first overseas-deployed F-35B squadron, has conducted a hot-reload exercise at an airbase in Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture on April 6. It was the first time that ordnance was loaded onto a running F-35B, the U.S. Marine Corps variant of the supersonic fifth-generation F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, capable of vertical or short takeoffs and vertical landings without requiring a catapult launcher.
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04/19/2017
Two Russian TU-95 Bear bombers were intercepted in international airspace off the coast of Alaska by two US F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft on Monday, the Pentagon confirmed to CNN. The intercept, which was described by a US military official as safe and professional, took place about 100 miles from Kodiak Island after the Russian aircraft flew into the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone.
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04/19/2017
Norway has begun testing of the braking parachute it will employ on its fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35As. Initial efforts at Edwards AFB in California will focus on how the Joint Strike Fighter handles with the parachute fitted, as well as braking on both dry and wet runways. A later phase, running until early 2018 at Eielson AFB in Alaska, will evaluate its performance on icy runways.
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04/19/2017
Maintenance and support facilities for US helicopters are being expanding in the Asia-Pacific region with the opening of a center in Thailand, the Lockheed-Martin subsidiary Sikorsky announced in a press release on Tuesday. "This support center will represent Sikorsky’s seventh in the Asia-Pacific region and add to the growing network of 20 Sikorsky support centers world-wide," the release stated.
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04/19/2017
Observers worldwide took note of the array of weapons put on display during Saturday's military parade in Pyongyang, including mockups of new long-range missiles. In a special commentary for Sputnik, analyst Vasily Kashin said that while the country's ICBM program is still far from the test phase, its leaders certainly aren't lacking in ambition.
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04/18/2017
A new version of Iran’s ridiculous Qaher F-313 stealth fighter has made an appearance complete with a video of the aircraft performing taxi trials. While Iran’s latest effort shows improvement over the last iteration of the Qaher, this new version of the alleged stealth fighter is probably just a model.
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04/18/2017
The U.S. and South Korea deployed numerous air assets for a massive air combat drill one day after North Korea’s latest ballistic provocation, the U.S. military reports. Around 1,000 U.S. airmen and fighter jets will train alongside the South Korean Air Force in the two-week Max Thunder exercise, one of the largest military flying exercises held in South Korea, U.S. Pacific Command revealed. The joint combat exercises began Monday and will last until the end of April.
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04/18/2017
As part of the international Open Skies Treaty … a group of member states, the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, plans to carry out an observation flight on the Russian An-30B jet over the territory of the French Republic. An observation flight over France will be carried out in the period from April 18 to April 22, 2017, from the Open Skies airfield Orleans Bricy with a maximum range of up to 2,078 kilometers [over 1,291 miles]," Ryzhkov said.
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04/18/2017
As parties continue to beat the drums of war in the Korean Peninsula, defense officials from Seoul, Tokyo, and Washington will convene in Japan on Wednesday to hold the Defense Trilateral Talks (DTT).
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04/18/2017
The US Navy’s commander of Naval Air Forces allowed the service’s T-45 Goshawk trainer jets to return to flight 17 April, after US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) temporarily grounded the fleet in light of persistent oxygen issues on the aircraft.
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04/18/2017
Squadrons across the Air Force will be grounded. Moves will be put on hold, throwing families into turmoil. New recruits won’t be able to start basic training. Bonuses for critical personnel could be deferred. And that’s just the beginning. More than halfway through fiscal 2017, Congress still hasn’t gotten its act together enough to pass a budget that funds the Air Force and other government agencies.
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04/17/2017
U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy personnel and aircraft will train with the Republic of Korea Air Forces in the annual, bilateral training Exercise MAX THUNDER 17, which will be hosted at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea, April 17-28, 2017. Exercise Max Thunder is part of a continuous exercise program to enhance interoperability between U.S. and ROK forces.
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04/17/2017
According to our partner defenceWeb, the US government will approve the sale of Super Tucano to Nigeria. US lawmakers are expected to approve the sale of Super Tucano light attack and trainer aircraft to Nigeria in the coming weeks. Former President Barack Obama’s administration originally agreed on the sale, but delayed it after incidents including the Nigerian Air Force’s bombing of a refugee camp in January that killed 90 to 170 civilians.
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04/17/2017
Beijing and Moscow have launched intelligence-gathering vessels to follow the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier as it travels toward the Korean Peninsula, according to numerous sources in the Japanese government.
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04/17/2017
As China’s second aircraft carrier is being prepared for launch in late April, experts are predicting what kind of technological breakthroughs the third China-made carrier may have. During an interview with BTV, a Chinese military, expert Xu Guangyu made his forecast suggesting that the third aircraft carrier may be nuclear-powered.
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04/16/2017
Footage and photographs showing a new prototype (marked “08”) of the famous Qaher F-313 stealth fighter jet have just emerged as Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani participated Saturday in an exhibition displaying the achievements of the Defense Ministry Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan gained during the past two years.
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04/16/2017
Combat-ready F-35A Lightning II multi-role fighter aircraft arrived today at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, demonstrating U.S. commitment to NATO allies and European territorial integrity. “The forward presence of F-35s support my priority of having ready and postured forces here in Europe,” said Army Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, the commander of U.S. European Command and NATO’s supreme allied commander for Europe.
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04/16/2017
With the kind of fanfare that only a totalitarian state can muster, North Korea on Saturday flaunted missiles that can theoretically reach the United States and defiantly stated that it was prepared to counter any U.S. attack with “a nuclear war of our own.” But it soon looked like a case of style over substance. North Korea somewhat ruined the impression created with the parade, which took place on the most important day of the year for Kim Jong Un’s regime, with a failed missile launch Sunday.
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04/16/2017
Chinese engineers from the Beijing Research Institute of Machinery are set to test a prototype combined-cycle hypersonic aircraft engine and first-stage carrier rockets later this year, Aviation Week reported. That will pave the way for the first demonstration flight of a full-scale propulsion system by 2025.
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04/15/2017
Early in the morning on Tuesday, April 4, bombs filled with sarin gas began falling from Syrian military aircraft on the town of Khan Shaykhun, and soon thereafter images of dying men, women and children gasping their final breaths flooded the global media. By the end of the day, two Navy destroyers – the Porter and the Ross – were racing across the Mediterranean, scrambling to get into position to launch.
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04/15/2017
The U.S. Air Force acknowledges "optical warfare" operations will be essential to future aerial victories and has accelerated the development of airborne "optical radiation weapons" for both offensive and defensive operations. Developing new offensive and defensive weapons that advance the air force's optical warfare capabilities will be the task of Virginia-based defense contractor Engility Corporation.
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04/15/2017
The American government is “stonewalling” on the details of a proposed multibillion-shilling arms sale to Kenya, a congressional critic of the deal charged. “On March 30, I asked for the offer the United States government had made to the Kenyan Ministry of Defence, just so we could make sure that everything was above board,” Congressman Ted Budd said in a statement. “That was 12 days ago.
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04/15/2017
A small squadron of the US Air Force’s F-35As will fly to Europe this weekend for training with NATO allies, marking the F-35A’s first international deployment. As part of a long-planned effort within the European Reassurance Initiative, the squadron will train for several weeks with other US and NATO aircraft in Europe, the US Defense Department says in a 14 April statement.
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04/15/2017
“Once a war really happens, the result will be nothing but loss all around,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday, emphasizing that “no one will be a winner.” "Tensions have risen," Wang said in Friday’s joint news conference with French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Marc Ayrault. "One has the feeling that a conflict could break out at any moment," he added.
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04/14/2017
HAMPTON — American, British and French fighter pilots have been battling together since the first generation of fighter aircraft flew over Europe during World War I. One hundred years later, that tradition is continuing at Langley Air Force Base with pilots of fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft training for what the future will bring.
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04/14/2017
The US military has just dropped a big bomb in Afghanistan. The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast, also called the “mother of all bombs” or MOAB for short, is the largest non-nuclear bomb ever used by the US military on the battlefield. The 11-ton weapon was first tested in 2003 but had never been used in combat prior to Thursday — when a US MC-130 aircraft dropped one on what it claims was a network of ISIS tunnels.
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04/14/2017
The Italian Air Force has received a new Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft from Leonardo Aircraft Division. The latest Eurofighter Typhoon delivered is the 500th aircraft produced by the company so far. Leonardo delivered the first and 100th Eurofighter to the UK Royal Air Force in 2003 and 2006 respectively.
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04/14/2017
It was, as chief executive Volker Paltzo put it, a very special day as the Eurofighter consortium delivered its 500th production example of the Typhoon in Turin. Resplendent with its commemorative red tail livery, Italy’s latest example joins a global fleet which includes jets operated by partner nations Germany, Spain and the UK, plus export customers Austria and Saudi Arabia. The first Typhoons for Kuwait and Oman are now in production.
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04/14/2017
As China seeks to move deeper into the Western Pacific, Japan’s Defense Ministry reports that the country’s fighter jets intercepted foreign aircraft in record numbers in the fiscal year that ended March 30.
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04/13/2017
Frisian Flag 2017 was a large scale exercise organised by the Royal Netherlands Air Force. From Mar. 27 to Apr. 7, Leeuwarden Air Base in the Netherlands hosted the tactical aircraft taking part in Ex. Frisian Flag 2017. The purpose of the drills was preparing the participating units for a modern conflict or crisis support operation by strengthening cooperation between air arms of multiple NATO countries called to undertake joint training missions twice a day.
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04/13/2017
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has secured a contract with Embraer to supply panels for the E2 and KC-390 programmes. KAI will supply wing bottom panels for the E-190 E2 and E-195 E2 regional jets, and panels for both top and bottom of the KC-390 tactical airlifter.
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04/13/2017
The F-16 Falcon will live to fight another day, or at least another 4,000 hours, according to the US Air Force and Lockheed Martin. The USAF authorized extending the F-16’s service life from its original 8,000 flight hours to 12,000 flight hours, a 12 April Lockheed release states. After performing SLEP modifications, the service will be able to operate the Block 40 through 52 aircraft beyond 2048, according to Lockheed.
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04/13/2017
The US Air Force’s chief of staff is not counting out retiring the F-15C/D fleet, but can’t make any solid plans for the aircraft until the service has funding in place. The air force is examining the cost it would take to retire its fleet of Boeing F-15C/Ds and replace them with Lockheed Martin F-16s, but that’s not unlike the analysis the service executes across all its weapons systems, USAF chief Gen David Goldfein told reporters 12 April.
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04/13/2017
As the US Navy’s Carrier Strike Group One makes its rounds through the Korean Peninsula with the Nimitz class Carl Vinson aircraft carrier flanked by two destroyers and a guided missile cruiser, the Vinson will practice helicopter landings with Japan’s Maritime Self Defense Force.
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04/13/2017
Singapore’s Air Force and the US Air Force will collaborate in exercises aimed at enhancing security at a US air base in Guam. The tag-team marks the first sign of cooperation between Washington and Singapore’s air crews, according to Singapore’s Ministry of Defense. On Tuesday, Defense News reported that six RSAF F-15 fighters had been deployed to US’s island territory to conduct joint exercises.
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04/13/2017
As tensions continue to simmer on the Korean Peninsula, due in part to North Korea’s continuous nuclear weapons development, a “nuke sniffing” US aircraft arrived at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan on Friday.
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04/13/2017
The success of Russia's fleet of warplanes in Syria has added to an increase in demand among foreign customers for advanced Russian combat aircraft such as the Su-30SM, Su-34 and Su-35, according to Russian United Aircraft Corporation President Yury Slyusar.
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04/13/2017
A delivery of two additional FA-50PH advanced light attack and jet trainer aircraft by Korea Aerospace Industries arrived at Clark Base near Manila in late March, according to a statement released by the Philippine Air Force (PAF).
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04/12/2017
The U.S. Air Force, working with Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works (which, as its name suggests, is its skunkworks operation) have demonstrated another round of flight capabilities for an autonomous F-16 fighter jet, which is meant to show what an eventual “Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle” (UCAV) could do using technology they’ve developed.
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04/12/2017
US lawmakers are expected to approve the sale of Super Tucano light attack and trainer aircraft to Nigeria in the coming weeks. Former President Barack Obama's administration originally agreed on the sale, but delayed it after incidents including the Nigerian Air Force's bombing of a refugee camp in January that killed 90 to 170 civilians.
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04/12/2017
A US maritime strike group armed with 90 aircraft and more than 300 Tomahawk cruise missiles will arrive off the Korean peninsula in the next 24 hours. The USS Carl Vinson, a nuclear-powered Nimitz-class carrier, accompanied by a cruiser, two destroyers and a Los Angeles-class attack submarine, all with a maximum payload of Tomahawks, received orders on Saturday to head at 30 knots (35mph) towards the Sea of Japan.
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04/12/2017
Just how much remains of the Syrian Arab Air Force? The Pentagon is claiming that the U.S. Navy’s Tomahawk cruise missile strike on April 7 destroyed some 20 percent of the Assad regime’s remaining operational aircraft. The U.S. Navy launched some 61 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian airbase at al-Shayrat in response to an Assad regime Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter strike aircraft dropping chemical weapons—thought to be Sarin—on civilians on April 4.
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04/12/2017
Eurofighter has delivered to the Italian air force its 500th Typhoon, 14 years after it handed over the first example to the UK Royal Air Force. The aircraft will become operational at the end of April, following an acceptance flight by Eurofighter and a number of key assessments by the customer.
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04/11/2017
Egypt appears to be close to receiving the first of its RAC MiG-35 fighters, with a lead example having been photographed during flight testing near Moscow late last month. Flight Fleets Analyzer records Egypt as having signed a production order for 46 MiG-35s. The nation's air force also is modernising its capabilities via a 24-aircraft deal with Dassault for the Rafale fighter.
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04/11/2017
The jets were accepted at Clark Air Base in the north of Manila, says the Philippine air force in a statement. The final four aircraft will be delivered by the end of 2017, bringing the fleet to 12 units.
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04/11/2017
Head of Russia's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center Sergei Ryzhkov said that Russian experts will carry out an observation flights over the United States and over Canada.
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04/11/2017
Head of Russia's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center Sergei Ryzhkov said that experts from the United States and the Czech Republic will carry out an observation flight on a US plane OC-135B over the Russian territory under the Open Skies Treaty on April 10-14.
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04/11/2017
The S-500 Prometey isn't merely a next-generation Russian missile system; it can be seen as as a whole set of measures to turn the Russian air defense system into a single information space, according to the Russian news network Zvezda.
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04/08/2017
US cruise missile strikes launched against a Syrian air base in the early hours of 7 April have delivered a significant blow to the nation's air force. A total of 59 Raytheon Tomahawk land-attack missiles were launched from US Navy vessels in the eastern Mediterranean during the action, which was conducted in response to a chemical weapons attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province on 4 April, which killed at least 86 people.
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04/08/2017
A senior US military official told reporters that some 20 Syrian waplanes have been destroyed by US cruise missiles launched on an airbase in the Homs province. On Thursday night, the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha’irat, located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the city of Homs. US President Donald Trump said the attack was a response to the alleged chemical weapon use in Syria's Idlib on Tuesday.
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04/08/2017
The Russian Aerospace Forces held long-range aviation exercises in western Russia involving more than 20 combat aircrew, the Defense Ministry said Friday.
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04/08/2017
The experts believe that the Aerospace Forces will likewise be spared the cuts with the focus being on the tried-and-true Su-30SM, Su-34, Su-35 fighter planes, Mi-8AMTSh, Mi-28N and Ka-52 helicopters and the S-400 air defense missile systems. As for the top-of the-line S-500s, they will have to wait.
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04/07/2017
SNP MP George Kerevan is to call for an inquiry into the policy in the light of last year's attempted coup in Turkey and tensions with its Nato partners. Major repairs to RAF combat jets have previously been carried out in the UK. The Ministry of Defence said the F-35 was an international project with a global support network.
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04/07/2017
The Trump White House is mulling a new package of arms sales to Taiwan, according to unconfirmed media reports. The weapons could allegedly be sold as early as this summer and may include fifth generation Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft and advanced air defense systems.
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04/07/2017
An F-22 has a combat radius of some five hundred miles on internal fuel. The F-35 can fly 875 miles when loaded for air-to-air combat. Now consider the thousands of kilometers lying between U.S. bases in the Pacific and Europe and various potential conflict zones.
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04/07/2017
Malaysia is looking for a replacement for its twenty-two year old MiG-29 fleet. France wants to sell its Rafale medium fighter to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). Having tasted success in the Malaysian market by bagging an order for four A400M military transport aircraft and two Scorpene submarines, France believes it is on a roll.
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04/07/2017
The US Air Force is conducting market research for a next-generation ejection seat for fighters and bombers, according to a 5 April notice posted on the Federal Business Opportunities web site. The service plans to release a draft request for proposals in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017 and a final RFP in the second quarter of FY18, programme schedule slides state. The air force will select two qualified sources and award contracts at the beginning of FY19.
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04/07/2017
US Marines deployed to Australia will soon be joined by a group of MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft for their annual six-month rotation. More than 1,200 of the California-based troops will use the versatile aircraft as they move across Australia’s Northern Territory.
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04/07/2017
Brazil is interested in buying an additional batch of Russian Mi-35 helicopters, and negotiations are underway, Deputy Director of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) Anatoliy Punchuk said on Thursday.
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04/07/2017
Venezuela is interested in purchasing a new batch of Russia's Su-30 fighter aircraft despite difficult political and economic situation in the Latin American county, Deputy Director of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) Anatoliy Punchuk said Thursday.
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04/07/2017
A Pentagon official said about 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from US Navy destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean at a Syrian air base. In a televised address, President Donald Trump said the base was where Tuesday's attack was launched from. He called on "all civilised nations" to help end the conflict in Syria.
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04/06/2017
The Vietnam People’s Air Force (VPAF) is shopping for a new training jet and it appears they are going to purchase the Russian Yak-130. The Yak-130 first flew in 1996 and has been marketed as a light attack aircraft. There have been over 100 of the twin engine, tandem seat jets built at an estimated cost of $15 million each.
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04/06/2017
China's first stealth fighter, the Chengdu J-20, "has the potential to provide China with a variety of previously unavailable air combat options and enhance its capability to project power." That's the conclusion of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington D.C.-based security think tank. CSIS also concludes that the fighter, first flown in 2011, could enter service as soon as 2018.
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04/06/2017
Despite having the highest accident rate of any U.S. Marine Corps fixed-wing aircraft, the Marines will keep the AV-8B Harrier around longer than planned. The reason is simple: Marine F/A-18 Hornets are in far worse shape and need to be replaced sooner. In 2014, the Marines were committed to retiring the Harrier earlier than planned and extending the Hornet fleet, however, after an intensive review of the Harrier fleet and the rapid aging of Marine Hornets, the Harrier will be around longer.
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04/06/2017
A fighter pilot on a training mission ditched his jet in a wooded area of a suburban Washington neighborhood early Wednesday so that the plane would avoid crashing into a suburban Washington neighborhood, military officials said. The F-16C, which military officials said was at least 30 years old and worth $20 million, went down about 200 yards behind a small subdivision of two-story brick homes in the middle-class suburban community of Clinton, about 3 miles southwest of Joint Base Andrews.
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04/06/2017
Compared to a Lockheed Martin F-35C, a Block III Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet will be able to detect and track stealth aircraft at long range by their heat emissions and carry a full load of external weapons for significantly longer distances, says Boeing programme manager Dan Gillian.
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04/06/2017
The US Navy has ordered a three-day grounding of its T-45 Goshawk trainer jets while US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) looks for ways to correct persistent oxygen issues on the aircraft.
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04/06/2017
North Korea’s latest missile launch has caused more concern than usual, as experts suspect it may have been a second trial run of a worrisome new technology. Wednesday’s launch came a day ahead of US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, and some think the timing may not be coincidental.
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04/06/2017
According to Chinese news portal Sina, “At the moment, the aircraft carrier being prepared for launch is optimized in terms of load which compared to the Liaoning aircraft carrier can reach from 28 to 36 units of J-15 fighters.” Currently, the Chinese Navy arsenal consists of the Liaoning aircraft carrier, created on the basis of the Soviet cruiser Varyag. Liaoning can base 24 J-15 fighters.
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04/06/2017
The US-led coalition carried out 15 strikes consisting of 22 engagements against the Daesh terror group (outlawed in numerous countries) in Iraq and Syria on Tuesday, and destroyed a Daesh media center near the Iraqi city of Al Qaim, Operation Inherent Resolve said in a press release.
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04/05/2017
Government-controlled Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is looking to aggressively market the upgraded Advanced Hawk trainer jets — jointly developed by HAL and BAE Systems of the UK — to foreign buyers, given the “rather tepid response” from the Indian Air Force for which the jets were initially intended. “We are looking to target friendly countries of both India and the UK, with India (HAL) priming the orders,” official sources said.
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04/05/2017
The biggest challenge in preparing pilots to fly remote-piloted aircraft is not one of technological skills and expertise. It’s one of mental and environmental preparedness, as pilots go from a training environment to immediately flying combat missions solo, often with limited live flying with manned aircraft.
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04/05/2017
Embraer subsidiaries Bradar and Savis announced beginning of global cooperation with Rockwell Collins on the opening day of the Latin American Aerospace and Defence (LAAD) in Rio de Janeiro on 4 April.
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04/05/2017
Aero Vodochody is in early negotiations to provide its L-159 light-attack aircraft to Argentina, after the company officially re-established its manufacturing of the type following a 13-year production hiatus.
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04/05/2017
Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck said trat the government of South Korea has condemned a new missile test carried out by North Korea as a challenge to peace and security of the international community.
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04/04/2017
Boeing received a $41 million contract modification to provide services for F/A-18 and EA-18G aircraft operated by U.S. foreign military sales customers. Under the agreement, tasks will include engineering services, provisioning, information systems, training and technical data updates. The contract supports planes operated by the governments of Australia, Finland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Switzerland, Canada and Spain.
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04/04/2017
International peace researchers have warned Botswana to reconsider its decision to purchase Gripen fighter jets from Swedish manufacturers, saying the move could trigger a regional arms race. However, Botswana’s Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Shaw Kgathi, defended the country’ s high military expenditure, following accusations by the opposition that it could spark an arms race in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
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04/04/2017
Now-retired Dr Michael Gilmore, until recently the Director of Test and Evaluation for the US military, has published his final evaluation of the F-35 program, and it's a treat. In his parting report (PDF), deliciously dated April 1*, Gilmore details a host of issues remaining with the US$391 billion-and-counting project, with everything from its combat-readiness to its wing design under the microscope.
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04/04/2017
Boeing has secured a $2.2 billion contract covering 17 P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft destined for the US Navy, the Royal Australian Air Force, and the Royal Air Force. The deal includes options for 32 additional aircraft, and money for long-lead parts for future orders, says Boeing. Overall, the entire contract could be worth $6.8 billion if all options are exercised.
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04/04/2017
Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) generated revenues of Rs174 billion ($2.6 billion) in the financial year ended 31 March 2017, while receiving orders of Rs210 billion. The government-owned airframer revealed the performances figures in a brief statement. Sales for the 12 months to 31 March were Rs167 billion.
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04/04/2017
A set of mid-life updates to the US Navy’s MH-60R Seahawk helicopter will likely appear in the Future Vertical Lift rotorcraft, along with the service’s next MH-XX maritime helicopter, according to the H-60 programme manager.
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04/04/2017
The US Air Force completed electromagnetic environmental effects (EEE) testing on the Lockheed Martin F-35’s escape system 23 March, marking the last round of testing on the Martin-Baker US16E (MKk16) ejection seat.
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04/04/2017
Two of the US Air Force’s premier fifth-generation fighters, the Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II and F-22A Raptor, still can’t transmit data back and forth but the service’s plan to fix the communication gap is undetermined.
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04/04/2017
China’s first domestically constructed aircraft carrier is slated to take on the high seas for the first time within the next three weeks. The Shandong will be the second aircraft carrier to join the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s rapidly growing fleet.
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04/02/2017
The Soviet Union had extraordinarily lengthy borders that were difficult to patrol against American nuclear bombers and spy planes. New ground-based surface-to-air missiles simply could not cover such a vast area. Confronted with a sizeable problem, the Soviets in typical fashion produced a gargantuan solution: the Tupolev Tu-128 jet fighter, which measured thirty meters long and grossed forty-three tons fully loaded—roughly half over the weight and size of the famously large F-4 Phantom.
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04/02/2017
After conducting all its ground tests, the Saudi-Ukrainian military aircraft Antonov AN-132 completed its first flight. The AN-132 was first launched last December. Video of the aircraft’s first flight showed Antonov AN-132’s first maneuvers in Ukraine under the supervision of an engineering committee from the Saudi and Ukrainian sides.
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04/02/2017
BAE Systems has been awarded a sub-contracted work worth £40 million by Lockheed Martin to work together on speeding up delivery of Royal Air Force’s F-35 Lightning II fleet. Awarded under the main contract worth more than £80m (US$102.2m), sub-contract work will bring together Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems to form a team of more than 100 skilled technicians at RAF Marham, which will provide engineering and technical expertise, deliver air-crew and ground-crew training, facilitate routine main
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04/02/2017
State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) posted sales of Rs 17,406 crore in the just-concluded fiscal 2016-17, registering 4 per cent annual growth from Rs 16,736 crore in the previous fiscal, the defence behemoth said on Saturday.
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04/01/2017
Imagery released earlier this month indicates that China has nearly completed construction of several facilities in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Fiery Cross Reef has hangars, mobile missile shelters, and radar arrays. Mischief and Subi reefs house similar structures. In total, the Spratly Islands can now accommodate 72 combat aircraft and about 15 larger planes including bombers, transporters, and refueling aircraft.
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04/01/2017
Since its inception nearly 40 years ago, the F/A-18 fighter family has come to dominate Navy carrier decks — and supported a base of more than 200 military contractors in Southern California. With a stealthy replacement rolling off assembly lines, though, its days seemed to be numbered.
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04/01/2017
Sweden will equip its future fleet of Gripen E fighters with an extended-range version of the Saab/Diehl Defence-produced RBS15 anti-ship missile, under a project worth SKr3.2 billion ($358 million).
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04/01/2017
Under the project, the Canadian company will equip 22 locally designated CT-156 Harvard IIs with a traffic advisory system, automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) transponder and wide area augmentation system GPS receiver. The enhancements will enable the single-engined turboprop to comply with the US Federal Aviation Administration’s incoming ADS-B Out regulations.
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04/01/2017
A military acquisition manager has a tough job. There are schedules to meet and budgets to keep, fickle politicians to placate, penny-pinching from bureaucrats and relentless finagling by contractors.
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04/01/2017
As part of an endless effort to modernize and enhance the capabilities of the US armed forces, the US Marine Corps is considering upgrading the multirole V-22 Osprey with high intensity directed energy weaponry – or, more simply, lasers.
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04/01/2017
The Czech Republic's Aero Vodochody aircraft company has unveiled its first upgraded Aero L-159 ALCA light attack jet after an almost 15-year pause in production, local media said Friday.
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04/01/2017
The discussion about whether Serbia can become a regional center for the repair of Russian Mi helicopters has been ongoing for over a year. Recently the Serbian Defense Ministry stated that Russia has expressed interest in such a center.
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04/01/2017
UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon on Friday announced a 90 million pound ($112 million) contract for UK-based BAE Systems to support the upkeep of F-35 fighter jets.
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