September 27, 2017 Military Aviation News

Why the U.S. Military Misses the F-14 Tomcat

09/27/2017

The service has not had a dedicated air-to-air combat aircraft since it retired the Grumman F-14 Tomcat in 2006. But even the Tomcat was adapted into a strike aircraft during its last years in service after the Soviet threat evaporated. Now, as new threats to the carrier emerge and adversaries start to field new fighters that can challenge the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Lockheed Martin F-35C Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), attention is starting to shift back to this oft-neglected Navy mission

Israel, Croatia discuss combat aircraft tender

09/27/2017

Israel’s Defense Minister on Tuesday confirmed his country was in discussions with Croatia over supplying combat aircraft and military cooperation. Croatia will close a tender for the purchase of a squadron of combat aircraft, which was announced in July this year to replace its existing MIG combat fleet that does not meet NATO standards. Defense Minister Damir Krsticevic said Greece, Sweden, the U.S., Israel and South Korea had submitted offers, which were now being evaluated.

Germany lifts Tiger helicopter grounding

09/27/2017

Germany has lifted a flight ban on the fleet of Airbus Helicopters Tiger attack rotorcraft operated by its army, but has yet to restart operations with the type. Berlin grounded the Tiger, except for operational emergencies, following a late-July fatal crash near Gao in Mali in which two servicemen were killed.

Germany, Norway sign for five A330 tankers

09/27/2017

Germany and Norway have formally added a further five Airbus Defence & Space A330 multirole tanker transports to a multinational programme launched earlier this year by Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Bulgarian government backtracks on Gripen selection

09/27/2017

Bulgaria is to restart its fighter procurement initiative, following recommendations made by a parliamentary investigation board after its review of the decision to name Saab's Gripen C/D as preferred candidate. The review board – which completed its work on 20 September – indicates that a combined offer of used Lockheed Martin F-16s submitted by the governments of Portugal and the USA was disqualified in an improper manner, preventing a fair evaluation of all submitted bids.

Israeli Parliament Orders Review of Future F-35 Purchases

09/27/2017

Coinciding with the Pentagon’s contemplation of whether it is prudent to retire 100 F-35s from combat operations rather than give them costly upgrades of their outdated software, the Israeli Parliament will explore whether alternatives might be more effective than the expensive Lockheed Martin jets.

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