May, 2017 Military Aviation News
05/31/2017
German chancellor Angela Merkel has reaffirmed her position as the unlikely superhero of Europe’s liberal elites. Twelve years in power and facing a difficult election in September, she struck out at the least popular man in Europe: Donald Trump.
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05/31/2017
An Antonov An-26 aircraft has crash landed during a flight training mission, Russia’s Defense Ministry has confirmed. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, “the aircraft failed to maintain the parameters of descent during the final approach and went below the glide path.”
“Six crew were on board the plane, which caught fire after the crash landing. One serviceman died and five crew members were evacuated to the hospital by rescue helicopter.”
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05/31/2017
A source with knowledge of the acquisition says the aircraft will be equipped with the Swedish firm's Erieye radar system, which can track both air and surface targets. On 15 May, Saab released a statement that it had signed a contract with an undisclosed customer in the airborne early warning & control segment valued at SEK1.35 billion ($155 million). It said that deliveries would run from 2017 to 2020, with the order to be booked within the next six months.
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05/31/2017
Commander of Russian Military Transport Aviation, Lt. Gen. Vladimir Benediktov, said that it plans to receive three bland new Il-76MD-90A military transport aircraft in 2017.
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05/31/2017
Deputy Defense Minister said that Russian military is expecting to complete the final tests and commission the advanced Su-35S fighter jet by the end of 2017.
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05/30/2017
Aircraft-launched laser weapons from fighter jets could eventually be engineered for a wide range of potential uses, including air-to-air combat, close air support, counter-UAS(drone), counter-boat, ground attack and even missile defense, officials said. Low cost is another key advantage of laser weapons, as they can prevent the need for high-cost missiles in many combat scenarios.
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05/30/2017
The NATO fighter aircraft supporting BAP (Baltic Air Policing) mission in the Baltic States conducted six alert scrambles to identify and escort Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea in one week. The Ministry of National Defence Republic of Lithuania has just released some interesting data about the activities conducted by the NATO fighter aircraft deployed to the Baltic States in support of NATO BAP mission.
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05/30/2017
On Monday, the second week of Europe’s largest air force exercise this year takes off from the airports in Bodø (Norway), Luleå (Sweden) and Rovaniemi (Finland). More than 100 aircraft from 12 nations continue with training sorties in the skies over northern Scandinavia.
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05/30/2017
China's Defense Ministry on Sunday denied intercepting a US Navy surveillance aircraft, saying its fighter jets were verifying the US aircraft and that the operation was lawful, professional and safe. Two Chinese J-10 fighter jets tried to intercept a US Navy surveillance aircraft over the South China Sea on Thursday, US officials said.
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05/30/2017
It’s starting to get crowded about the South China Sea, and US surveillance planes in the area could result in a civilian air tragedy, a security expert warns. After Chinese fighters intercepted a US plane earlier this week, fears are growing that military aircraft in the area could jeopardize the safety of civil air traffic.
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05/28/2017
President Donald Trump’s proposed budget would add funding to buy up to 74 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets through 2022, or 60 more than planned in previous budget forecasts.
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05/28/2017
The US Navy is taking one of the final steps before sending out a request for proposals for its unmanned carrier-based tanker programme, with the release of a notice informing the industry that the competition for the MQ-25 development contract will be limited to four companies.
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05/28/2017
Elta Systems will develop an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for South Korea's KF-X fighter, under a contract signed with the state-run Agency for Defense Development.
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05/28/2017
The second prototype of the Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) Light Utility Heicopter (LUH) has conducted its first flight. The aircraft, LUH PT2, made its maiden sortie on 22 May, eight months after first prototype, PT1, flew in September 2017, says HAL.
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05/26/2017
The Air Force expects to operationalize the F-35’s latest “3F” software iteration by October or September of this year, a development which will integrate additional technology and equip the stealth aircraft with a wider range of weapons such as the Small Diameter Bomb and AIM-9X, service leaders said.
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05/26/2017
Boeing has become the second competitor to file a protest against the US Air Force’s acquisition strategy for the Compass Call recapitalisation programme, alleging L-3 Communications’ lead on the cross-deck effort will hand the award to Gulfstream’s G550.
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05/26/2017
Sikorsky hopes it can secure at least 200 export orders for its CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter, with Germany and Israel its clearest near-term prospects. Both nations are seeking to replace elderly fleets of legacy CH-53s delivered in the 1970s and late 1960s, respectively.
Frank Crisafulli, sales director international, heavy-lift helicopters at Sikorsky, describes Germany as the "closest opportunity, provided it stays on schedule".
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05/26/2017
The Pentagon has tasked US aerospace giant Boeing with the Navy's F/A-18 Super Hornets with Infrared Search and Track System to give pilots ability to view multiple targets at higher resolutions and longer ranges compared to radars.
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05/26/2017
Pictures on Chinese social media of battleship parts have led to frenzied discussion as to whether China’s Type 002 aircraft carrier is underway ahead of schedule, but analysts say the engineering chops for the ship simply aren’t there yet.
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05/25/2017
The release of president Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget, which continues millions of dollars in funding for ongoing upgrades to the Boeing F-15C – as well as a new service life-extension programme (SLEP) for the aircraft’s longerons – has allowed the US Air Force to officially quash rumours of a near-term retirement for the fighter.
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05/25/2017
The US Air Force has no near-term plans to retire two of its most iconic aircraft: the Fairchild Republic A-10 and Lockheed Martin U-2. President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget request ensures that both the close-air support specialist and high-flying surveillance aircraft will remain in the USAF’s inventory – although it is unclear for how long, given the Department of Defense’s shaky overview of its future years' programme budget.
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05/25/2017
Israel's air force will take delivery of an additional Lockheed Martin F-35 in 2020 with a special suite of test instrumentation. "This unique aircraft, which was not part of any other F-35 contract, will enable us to begin the work of upgrading the capabilities of this aircraft so that it answers our special operational requirements," says the commander of the air force's test centre, identified only as Lt Col Shlomy.
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05/25/2017
The Israeli air force is upgrading the capabilities of its Leonardo M-346 advanced jet trainers, to equip the "Lavi" with inert training bombs and external fuel tanks. "We work closely with the manufacturer, and this may lead to offering the same upgrades to other customers," says the commander of the air force's flight test centre, identified only as Lt Col Shlomy. The unit is tasked with overseeing the modifications, as well as opening the trainer's full flight envelope.
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05/25/2017
Sweden is changing. After a lengthy period of shrinking investment in its armed forces and a tactical shift from national defence to developing expeditionary capabilities, Stockholm's focus has reverted to protecting its population against invasion.
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05/25/2017
The Pentagon announced Wednesday it had awarded $76 million worth of foreign military sales contract for logistics support of the Afghanistan Air Force's helicopters. US contractor MD Helicopters won more than $76 million to provide logistics support for the Afghan Air Force’s chopper fleet, the Department of Defense said in a press release.
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05/25/2017
As threats of military conflict continue unabated from its northern neighbor, South Korea’s military officials have signaled the need to upgrade their nation’s ability to quickly determine whether incoming aircraft are friend or foe.
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05/24/2017
The Air Force wants to add 4,000 airmen, buy 46 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and keep bonuses relatively unchanged despite a pilot shortage, according to its fiscal 2018 budget request.
The service is requesting to boost end-strength by slightly more than 1 percent from 321,000 active-duty airmen in the current fiscal year to 325,000 airmen in the next -- part of a modest increase since reaching a low in 2015, according to budget documents released Tuesday.
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05/24/2017
China is determined to close that gap, but it has not yet succeeded in doing so. Last year, Beijing setup the Aero Engine Corp. of China (AECC) as part of its efforts to solve the problem. The firm has $7.5 billion in capital and 96,000 employees. According to a CNN report, Beijing's most recent five-year development plan states that developing and producing indigenous engines is one of China’s most important goals.
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05/24/2017
With a Defense Department review of Lockheed Martin F-35 and Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet still ongoing, procurement for the Joint Strike Fighter remained steady in the president’s fiscal year 2018 budget request.
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05/24/2017
In his first international trip as US president, Donald Trump arrived in Riyadh bearing a record-setting arms deal for Saudi Arabia that features integrated air defense systems, Black Hawk helicopters - including local assembly - and precision-guided munitions, in a multi-billion contract bonanza for Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
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05/24/2017
As a decision on acquiring new tankers for the Israeli air force becomes time-critical, two options are the subject of a heated debate within the nation's defence ministry.
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05/24/2017
Israel's air force has formally split its "Knights of the Yellow Bird" squadron into two separate units: one operating upgraded Lockheed Martin C-130Hs; and the other equipped with the new-generation J-model Hercules.
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05/24/2017
US Navy has awarded a $7.5 million contract to test and integrate new technology into a carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning aircraft that is designed to provide real-time tactical intelligence in maritime combat zones.
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05/24/2017
South Korean experts managed to establish the type of missile that the DPRK military launched on May 21. According to sources in the Defense Ministry of the Republic of Korea, it was a Pukykson-2 type missile. In the West, it is known as KN-15.
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05/24/2017
A Sukhoi-30MKI jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) has gone missing on Tuesday morning near the Tezpur IAF base in the north-eastern state of Assam while on a routine sortie near the China border.
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05/22/2017
An Israeli-American aerial coalition squared off against enemy forces in southern Israel, sustaining heavy (mock) losses, but learning invaluable lessons along the way, an IDF official said Sunday, speaking to reporters at the end of a two-week exercise.
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05/22/2017
The Trump administration sees no good military options in North Korea. The rogue regime’s missile tests are growing more frequent, and Kim Jong-Un is closer than ever to being able to deliver a nuclear-tipped missile to the United States’ West Coast. Yet given Seoul’s proximity to the border, military leaders fear that any preemptive strike would almost certainly set in motion a cataclysmic chain of events resulting in profound loss of life.
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05/22/2017
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered on Monday to deploy Pukguksong-2 ballistic missile for combat use. Earlier on Monday media reported, that Pyongyang announced the successful launch of the intermediate-range ballistic missile. "This type of missile should be rapidly mass-produced in a serial way," Kim said as quoted by Yonhap news agency.
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05/21/2017
An ambitious Indo-Russian project to co-develop fifth generation fighter planes has hit major roadblocks over the issues of price and technology even as New Delhi has scrapped a programme to jointly produce multirole transport aircraft with Moscow over similar issues.
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05/21/2017
Saab is counting down to performing the first flight of its Gripen E combat aircraft before the end of June, as it also strives to finalise a slew of potential new sales of the earlier C/D version in Europe and Africa.
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05/21/2017
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi in a Saturday phone call affirmed that the two countries must work more closely to use diplomatic dialogue to counter the threat posed by Pyongyang's unbridled ballistic missile and nuclear weapon testing, as well as on other international issues.
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05/21/2017
Russia's latest achievements in the construction of state-of-the art helicopters will be presented at the 10th HeliRussia exhibition, which is due to kick off in Moscow on May 25, according to the news network Zvezda.
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05/21/2017
Ottawa is dispatching its CF-18 combat aircraft to Iceland as part of Operation Reassurance to contribute to NATO deterrence efforts, the Canadian Armed Forces announced in a statement on Friday.
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05/19/2017
As India struggles to beef up its fighter aircraft fleet due to slow induction of new jets, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is narrowing the gap with the Indian Air Force. The IAF has 33 fighter squadrons compared with almost 25 units, including those for training, of the neighbouring country, translating into a combat ratio of 1.3 to 1, defence experts say. A squadron usually has 16 to 18 fighters.
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05/19/2017
On May 17, two Russian Su-24M Fencer attack jets flew quite close to the Royal Netherlands Navy Frigate HNLMS Evertsen, operating in the Baltic Sea. The two unarmed aircraft, escorted by Swedish JAS-39 Gripen jets in QRA (Quick Reaction Alert), come within 200 meters of the ship.
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05/19/2017
The 2026 delivery date is dependent upon Boeing achieving full-rate production approval from the US Army in 2023 and its first full-rate production delivery in 2025, Randy Rotte says this week. The upgrade is also only available to countries with CH-47Fs in their inventory, such as Australia, since Boeing does not currently have the ability to transition a CH-47D to the CH-47F Block II configuration.
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05/19/2017
Finland is continuing to analyse responses to a request for information it issued last year as part of the HX programme to replace its air force’s fleet of Boeing F/A-18C/D Hornets. It anticipates beginning the formal selection process in early 2018, when it will send a request for quotation (RFQ) to five manufacturers. These are Boeing, BAE Systems (representing Eurofighter), Dassault, Lockheed Martin and Saab, for their respective F/A-18E/F, Typhoon, Rafale, F-35 and Gripen E.
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05/19/2017
General Atomics will manufacture and install the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) for the third next-generation Ford-class aircraft carrier Enterprise (CVN 80) under a $195 million contract, the US Department of Defense said in a press release.
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05/19/2017
China’s latest domestically produced military vehicle has made its first flight. The Z-19 helicopter conducted its maiden flight Thursday morning over the city of Harbin in northeastern China. State-owned AVIC Harbin Aircraft Industry developed the Z-19E attack chopper with the intention of selling it to foreign clients. The Z-19E is “the first export-oriented helicopter made especially for attack purposes,” Chinese media reported.
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05/18/2017
The US Department of Defense announced that BP has received a nearly quarter billion dollar contract from the US Defense Logistics Agency to supply jet fuel to air bases in Turkey and possibly along the Central European pipeline system.
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05/18/2017
Following the deployment of the cutting-edge US-built THAAD missile system in South Korea and Sunday’s successful launch of Pyongyang’s most powerful ballistic missile to date, newly elected South Korean President Moon Jae-in has declared that war with the North is a "high possibility."
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05/18/2017
A British RAF drone strike has managed to stop a public execution by Daesh in eastern Syria. The drone which is known as a General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations, spotted the group of jihadists mustering a large crowd in the town of Abu Kamal in eastern Syria.
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05/17/2017
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratories and Lockheed Martin have demonstrated a mixed formation of manned and unmanned F-16s in a simulated combat environment. The Have Raider demonstration at Edwards Air Force Base in California included two phases, Lockheed announced on April 10, 2017. The first phase, Have Raider I, focused on formation-flying. Have Raider II sent the pilotless F-16 on a mock bombing run through “dynamic” enemy defenses.
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05/17/2017
French plane-maker Dassault Aviation SA sees a new sale contract for its Rafale fighter jet in 2018, Chief Executive Eric Trappier said in an interview with French regional newspaper Sud-Ouest on Sunday. "After a contract signed in India, regarding the delivery of 36 Rafale jets, and the order of 24 of these aircraft by Egypt and 24 other by Qatar, we should soon conclude a fourth contract abroad, but it will rather be in 2018," Trappier said in the interview.
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05/17/2017
Faced with a two-front war scenario against Pakistan and China, the Indian Air Force is set to deploy its latest Rafale combat aircraft at Ambala in Haryana and Hasimara in West Bengal. In September 2016, India signed a deal with French Dassault Aviation to procure 36 Rafale fighter jets for close to Rs 60,000 crore to meet the urgent requirements on the eastern and western fronts.
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05/17/2017
The US Air Force has removed a nearly two-year-old restriction in the Lockheed Martin F-35A cockpit that banned pilots lighter than 61.9kg (136lb) over concerns that an ejection could cause a severe neck injury.
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05/17/2017
Textron Aviation has confirmed the US Air Force will invite the AT-6 turboprop and Scorpion twin-jet to face off against the Sierra Nevada/Embraer A-29 Super Tucano in a demonstration of close air support capabililty in August called the Light Attack Experiment.
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05/16/2017
The Hindustan Aernautics (HAL) Tejas light combat aircraft has successfully fired the Rafael Derby beyond-visual-range (BVR) missile. The aircraft released the weapon in "lock-on after launch" mode, and successfully destroyed an aerial target, says India's defence ministry in a statement.
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05/16/2017
Oman will take delivery of its first Eurofighter Typhoon later this year, with BAE Systems having rolled out a lead example for the customer at its Warton final assembly site in Lancashire, the UK.
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05/16/2017
Sweden is to further extend the operational use of its Saab 105 (SK60) jet trainers until the middle of the next decade, to enable it to consider the Boeing/Saab T-X platform as a potential replacement.
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05/16/2017
The UK's project to field Boeing AH-64E attack helicopters has been advanced, under a contract modification detailed by the US Department of Defense on 11 May. At the Farnborough air show last July, the UK Ministry of Defence announced that 50 new-build examples of the Apache would be acquired under a foreign military sales deal agreed with Washington. These would replace an in-service inventory of Boeing/AgustaWestland-built Apache AH1s flown by the British Army.
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05/16/2017
In what could be a turning point in China’s foreign policy toward North Korea, Beijing may be ready to support an increase in economic pressure against the isolated state to end ballistic missile and nuclear bomb testing.
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05/16/2017
In an interview with Sputnik, expert on combat aviation Makar Aksenenko said that Vietnam may be considering bringing back the “Vietnamese Tigers” or the F-5E/F Tiger II fighter jets. What could be the possible reasons behind this decision and how might these jets come in handy?
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05/15/2017
The Tejas Mk 1 had delivered an agile performance at Aero India 2017 last February. The smallest combat aircraft in its class, it keeps costs down and its small size contributes to its agility — a vital capability for an interceptor. It can turn circles around other larger and less agile aircraft.
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05/14/2017
The RAF is positioning itself for a triple transition. The first transition is from the Tornado to Typhoon. The second is the transition is to a fifth generation enabled air combat force. The third transition is the deployment of F-35s aboard the new Queen Elizabeth class carriers and shaping their operational integration with land based Typhoons into an air-sea-land combat package.
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05/14/2017
The US Air Force has invited Sierra Nevada Corp (SNC) and its Brazilian partner, Embraer Defense and Security, to participate in the OA-X light attack experiment, SNC announced 12 May.
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05/14/2017
Canadian politicians have recommended that the country cancel its proposed acquisition of 18 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, describing the plan as a "political decision" that fails to serve either the air force or taxpayers.
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05/14/2017
North Korea has fired what appears to be a ballistic missile from its west coast, the South Korean military reported early Sunday. According to a South Korean military official, the type of projectile is not yet known, but South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported early on that it appears to be a ballistic missile. US Pacific Command has also announced that it tracked the missile and that its flight did not appear consistent with an intercontinental ballistic missile.
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05/14/2017
China has extended its surveillance and monitoring operations to include the deployment of a new early warning system- and radar-equipped aircraft. The KJ-500 recently took off joined older patrol aircraft at the Jialaishi Air Base on Hainan Island, the southernmost province of China that sits prominently in the disputed South China Sea, according to satellite image from DigitalGlobe.
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05/12/2017
The construction of aircraft carriers will not stop after the commissioning of China's recently-launched second carrier, experts say, assuming that the third carrier will likely still be conventionally powered but will use steam launch catapults, whereas the fourth carrier could be nuclear powered and use advanced launch and lacing systems.
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05/12/2017
The Turkish Undersecretary for Defense Industries (SSM) has awarded Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) a contract for the sale of 52 MFI-395 Super Mushshak military training aircraft. According to media reports, the deal was concluded on May 10 at the sidelines of this year’s International Defense Industry Fair, which is taking place in Istanbul.
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05/12/2017
Saab has dramatically enhanced its Swordfish maritime patrol aircraft, adding increased capability for the anti-submarine warfare and maritime-strike roles. Revealing the company's updated Swordfish design on 10 May, head of marketing and sales for airborne ISR Emilien Saindon said the heavily adapted business jet – using Bombardier's Global 6000 airframe – would have greater weapons carrying ability than the design announced in February 2016.
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05/11/2017
Airbus’ A310 MRTT company development aircraft performed six automatic contacts with an F-16 of the Portuguese Air Force in a demonstration of a technique which the company believes holds great promise for enhancing in-service AAR operations.
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05/11/2017
US manufactured combat aircraft are being used in Libya in violation of a UN arms embargo on the war-torn country, an American magazine has revealed. The supply of at least six American-made turboprop planes to an eastern authority - the chief rival to the UN-backed government in Tripoli - could thwart US interests in Libya, according to a report published in TIME magazine.
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05/11/2017
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems will deliver the extended range MQ-1C Gray Eagle to the US Army by 2018, the army’s medium altitude and endurance office product manager says this week.
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05/11/2017
Talks with Russia on deliveries of S-400 air defense systems to Turkey are at final stages, but Ankara still aims to manufacture its own components for such systems, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik said Wednesday.
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05/11/2017
NATO has received a request from its military authorities to increase its military presence in Afghanistan with a few thousand troops, and is assessing it, a decision is expected in coming weeks, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday.
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05/10/2017
Turkish Aerospace Industries plans to soon begin the TF-X combat aircraft alongside British counterparts, with the goal of developing its own “5th generation” fighter which will replace the currently-used Lockheed Martin F-16. “The building of the TF-X fighter jet will be the most important technology project developed in Turkey within the last 30-40 years,” Temel Kotil, general director of Turkish Aerospace Industries told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.
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05/10/2017
The Navy has been training with and testing high-tech adjustments to the stealthy carrier-launched F-35C’s Helmet Mounted Display to better enable targeting, sensor data viewing and pilot awareness of flight information such as airspeed, heading and altitude, service and industry developers explained. Development and operational pilot training of the aircraft is underway after four F-35C Lightning II aircraft arrived several months ago at Naval Air Station Lemoore in Southern Calif.
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05/10/2017
Airbus has demonstrated the ability to perform an automated air-to-air refueling of a combat aircraft by an airborne tanker with a refueling boom, the company announces on 9 May. With the refueling boom set on automatic mode, an Airbus Defence and Space A310 flying testbed made six contacts with a Portuguese Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16 flying at 270kt and 25,000ft over the Atlantic Ocean on 21 March during a 1h15min test period.
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05/10/2017
The Pentagon has awarded a contract to provide original equipment manufacturer engineering and logistics support for the KC-130J aircraft engines for the Marine Corps and Kuwait's military. The Rolls-Royce Corporation has received a close to $80 million US Navy contract to provide engineering support for KC-130J Hercules military air transport aircraft engines supplied to Kuwait, the Department of Defense announced.
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05/10/2017
Satellite images captured on Monday show Chinese military installments being placed on a crucial islet in the contested waterway. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has previously called China’s island building in the South China Sea “illegal.”
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05/09/2017
In a rapid reversal, the US Air Force plans to take the stealthy Lockheed Martin F-35 to the Paris Air Show after all. Only two weeks after the Joint Programme Office declared the F-35 would not make a debut appearance at the international marketing event, the air force announced on 6 May that the stealthy strike fighter will participate in the Paris air show next month.
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05/09/2017
The US Army has confirmed that Israeli and US pilots will be engaging joint drills this week at Uvda Air Force Base near the Israeli city of Eliat. Aircrews will be trained in a number of exercises at the base’s advance facilities while other squadrons train in the Negev Desert.
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05/09/2017
A total of 72 military helicopters and planes will fly over the Red Square and Kremlin in Moscow on May 9 as part of the WWII Victory Day Parade. The country’s famous aerobatic team the Russian Knights scheduled to demonstrate their aerobatic skills flying the brand-new Su-30SM jets, Russian Aerospace Forces Commander Col. Gen. Viktor Bondarev said Monday.
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05/08/2017
The US military’s experimental X-37B space plane landed on Sunday at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, completing a classified mission that lasted nearly two years, the US air force said. The unmanned X-37B, which resembles a miniature space shuttle, touched down at 7.47am ET on a runway formerly used for landings of the now-mothballed space shuttles, the air force said in an email.
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05/08/2017
Military analysts are raising questions about the potential strategic impact of two weapons systems Kenya has been cleared to purchase in the US for use against Al-Shabaab in Somalia.
The Kenyan government could spend up to $671 million (Sh67.1 billion) in a pair of pending deals involving a dozen attack helicopters and the same number of weaponised agricultural aircraft.
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05/08/2017
The U.S. Navy has not yet selected the design of its new carrier based UAV (the MQ-25A) but it is already testing new software developed so carrier capable UAVs can be communicated with using the same software used for manned carrier aircraft. Called UMCS (Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System) this uses existing software modified to communicate with UAVs on the carrier deck as well as the air.
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05/08/2017
Many believe that Russia’s veteran Tu-95 strategic bomber is hopelessly passé, but more than sixty years after it hit the skies in 1952, Tupolev’s legendary “Bear” still remains a formidable weapon to be reckoned with.
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05/06/2017
Russia’s fifth-generation T-50 (PAK FA) multi-role fighter jet will be armed with an extended range Kh-35UE tactical cruise missile, according to Russian media reports citing the missile’s developer, Russian defense contractor Tactical Missile’s Corporation JSC. Russian defense experts speaking to Izvestia newspaper claim that the potential new armament will turn the new fighter jet into a “multi-functional fighting machine.”
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05/06/2017
Russia has made a lot of noise about the modern weapons it has used during combat in Syria and how effective these new weapons are. Fresh Su-34 attack jets scream through the skies, while the latest in small arms test their mettle. But the reality is most of what Russia has used is not as shiny and advanced as Moscow would like you to believe. The vast majority of aircraft carrying out airstrikes are among the oldest in the Russian military, and it only gets worse from there.
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05/06/2017
Atlantic Trident 17 brought together the United States Air Force, British Royal Air Force and French Armée de l'Air best fighter aircraft to train together. The idea was to integrate fifth-generation stealth fighters like the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter with fourth-generation fighters like the British Eurofighter Typhoon and the French Dassault Rafale.
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05/06/2017
The first short take-off vertical landing Lockheed Martin F-35B assembled outside Fort Worth, Texas, rolled off the final assembly and check out (FACO) facility 5 May in Cameri, Italy. Lockheed and Leonardo operate the Cameri FACO, owned by the Italian Ministry of Defense, which will complete full assembly of both the conventional take-off landing F-35A variant and F-35B. Leonardo also assembles wings for the F-35A at the Cameri site, as a second-source supplier to Lockheed.
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05/06/2017
Safe zones across Syria have officially gone into effect as of midnight tonight in the country.
Diplomatic efforts in Astana, Kazakhstan, between Russian, Turkish and Iranian delegations have resulted in an agreement to enact safe zones in Syria in what observers hope will be a big step toward peace in the war-torn country. Moscow, Ankara and Tehran emerged as the guarantors of the strategy and authorized the memo creating the safe zones.
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05/05/2017
The US Army is upgrading a fleet of Sikorsky UH-60Ls with a glass cockpit layout similar to the UH-60M, but the newly-minted UH-60V fleet's mission computers are still restricted to a single-core processor.
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05/05/2017
Boeing will deliver two more CH-47F Chinooks to the Netherlands under an ongoing $541 million contract with the US Army. Under the current multi-year buy, the US Army ordered 12 CH-47Fs last year as part of an effort to replace the Dutch CH-47Ds. The recent contract award adds two more Chinooks for the Dutch, raising the total new aircraft purchased to 14, a Boeing spokesman says in an email to FlightGlobal.
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05/05/2017
MD Helicopters could supply Kenya with 12 armed MD530 rotorcraft, under a Foreign Military Sales deal worth $253 million. Outlined by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on 2 May, the potential deal would also cover the provision of armaments including pod-housed cannons, unguided rockets and .50cal machine guns.
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05/05/2017
Boeing has bolstered its flight-test fleet for the KC-46A programme to six aircraft, as the company strives to complete a development campaign with the 767-based tanker. The latest addition – Boeing's second low-rate initial production example – made its debut flight from the company's Everett site in Washington on 29 April. The new asset will be dedicated to tasks including electromagnetic testing, the company says.
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05/05/2017
Two US F-22 fighter jets intercepted and visually identified two Russian Tu-95 bombers as well as two Su-35 fighter jets that entered Alaska’s Air Defense identification zone. The flight of Russian bombers and fighter jets off the west coast off Alaska on Wednesday was conducted in a safe and professional manner, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) spokesperson Capt. Ashleigh Peck told Sputnik.
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05/03/2017
As the United States Air Force continues its struggle with fielding enough aggressor aircraft for its combat aircraft crews to train against, contractors are stepping up to the plate. In some cases, contractors are able to field remarkable aircraft that provide an exceptionally authentic replication of enemy aircraft. Such is case of Air USA—the company has managed to acquire three two-seat trainer versions of the Mikoyan MiG-29UB Fulcrum.
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05/03/2017
The U.S. Air Force’s Atlantic Trident 17 exercise brought together some of the NATO alliance’s most capable combat aircraft including the fifth-generation Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter as well as the British Eurofighter Typhoon and the French Dassault Rafale at Joint Base Langley Eustis in Virginia.
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05/03/2017
Boeing and Leonardo Helicopters, along with their rotorcraft competitors, are baffled by the US Air Force’s requirements for the UH-1N Huey replacement programme but are pressing ahead with a bid based on the MH-139, a militarised version of the commercial AW139 medium-twin.
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05/03/2017
NATO staged the two-day "Ramstein Alloy 4" exercise in late April over Lithuania, giving locally deployed air forces the opportunity to practise quick reaction alert procedures and boost interoperability.
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05/03/2017
The US State Department has approved the possible sale of four Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to New Zealand. The deal is estimated at $1.46 billion, says the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) in a statement. It follows a request from New Zealand about the Poseidon.
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05/03/2017
The two-seat variant of the Chengdu/Pakistan Aeronautical Complex JF-17 Thunder fighter has conducted its first flight. Reports and images on Chinese defence sites indicate that the jet conducted its maiden sortie on 27 April at 11:04 a.m. from Chengdu.
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05/03/2017
The scheduled delivery of 179 next generation aerial tankers is critical for the air campaign in the Middle East and Afghanistan, as well as other theaters, the Commander of US Transportation Command Gen. Darren McDew told Congress on Tuesday.
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05/03/2017
Amid heightened tension at its western border, the Indian Army has successfully test-fired an extended-range version of the BRAHMOS land-attack cruise missile in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
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05/02/2017
North Korea is surging to the brink. Advancements in their missile technology and nuclear weapons program will soon put the United States in the crosshairs. As Senator John McCain recently remarked: “A North Korean missile tipped with a nuclear warhead, capable of reaching our homeland is no longer a distant hypothetical, but an imminent danger.”
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05/02/2017
The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) is marketed its growing portfolio of combat aircraft in Latin American by attending Feria Aeroespacial Mexico (FAMEX), which concluded on April 29. The newly revealed Wing Loong II was also in attendance at FAMEX. The Wing Loong II is an update to the Chengdu Wing Loong, also known as the Pterodactyl-I. The Wing Loong II was revealed in November at Air Show China 2016 and had its first flight in February 2017.
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05/02/2017
US Forces Korea spokesman Col. Rob Manning said that the THAAD missile defense system is currently operational and ready to defend South Korea if Pyongyang launches an attack.
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05/02/2017
A keel-laying ceremony for the 14,500-ton amphibious landing ship was held in Busan Friday at the Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. shipyard. The vessel is set to be launched in April 2018.
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05/02/2017
Head of Russia's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center Sergei Ryzhkov said that the joint mission of Canada, the United Kingdom and Ukraine will carry out an observation flight over Russia and Belarus on May 2 – 6 under the Open Skies Treaty.
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