August, 2019 Military Aviation News
08/31/2019
Panel Loss is Second Caught on Film This Month Following U.S. F-16 Three Weeks Ago. A new MiG-35D two-seat, advanced “generation 4++” fighter lost a large wing panel from its left wing after takeoff during a flight demonstration at the MAKS Aviasalon 2019 air show at Zhukovsky Air Base outside Moscow on Thursday, August 29, 2019. The aircraft, which may have been crewed by a delegation from the Indian Air Force at the time of the panel separation.
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08/31/2019
China appears to be considering arming a future aircraft carrier with the country's first fifth-generation stealth fighter, a move that will seriously boost the Chinese navy's combat power if it can overcome the relevant hurdles in the coming decade or so.
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08/31/2019
The Navy is currently analyzing air frames, targeting systems, AI-enabled sensors, new weapons and engine technologies to engineer a new 6th-Generation fighter to fly alongside the F-35 and ultimately replace the F/A-18.
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08/30/2019
Russian Su-35s took off from Hmeimim Airbase and made their way towards the Mediterranean Sea as the Israeli aircraft were preparing an attack against Syria. While IAF managed to hit one of its main targets, the Russian publication Tsargrad.TV reported that IAF aircraft were forced out of Syrian airspace as they were preparing for a second wave of strikes.
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08/30/2019
A US military plane flew over the Taiwan Strait on Thursday (Aug 29), the island's government said, just days after one of its navy ships sailed through the waters and the latest arms sale between Washington and Taipei. Taiwan's defence ministry said in a statement that the transport aircraft flew south along the "median line" of the narrow strait, a traditionally respected maritime line dividing self-ruled Taiwan and mainland China, in a move likely to provoke Beijing.
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08/30/2019
The U.S. military has started moving aircraft from the East Coast to the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth as part of preparations for Hurricane Dorian’s landfall over the weekend. Approximately 150 aircraft will be arriving in the next couple of days. They’ll be coming from as far south as Key West, Florida to as far north as Beaufort, South Carolina.
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08/30/2019
On Aug. 28, 2019, the Russian Ministry of Defense published a video showing Su-34s bombers operating from a highway strip during a material and technical support exercise (MTO) of the Russian Federation Armed Forces in the Central Military District. During the exercise 12 Su-34 Fullback bombers and two An-26 Curl cargo aircraft landed on the highway strip, where the entire airfield support infrastructure was deployed along with at least three Mi-8 helicopters.
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08/30/2019
The Chinese Army will send 1,600 troops and around 30 helicopters and aircraft to take part in Russia’s Tsentr-2019 (Center-2019) strategic drills, Spokesman for China’s Defense Ministry Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang said at a news briefing on Thursday.
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08/29/2019
Pakistan's JF-17 Jet Has Its First Victory by Destroying an Iranian Drone. An Iranian drone operating in Pakistan’s Parom area of Panjgur district was shot down by a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) JF-17 fighter. It was unknown when the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was shot down but the wreckage was recovered by local security forces on Jun. 19, 2017.
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08/29/2019
In short, the MiG-31 mistakenly shot down its wingman. It has now emerged that the twin-engine fighter was brought down by another MiG-31 which fired an R-33 air-to-air missile mistakenly.
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08/29/2019
Last week, NATO jets scrambled three times to intercept nine Russian warplanes flying over the Baltic in international space, according to Lithuania's Defense Ministry. On Monday, August 19, the NATO air force intercepted a pair of Su-30s flying from the Kaliningrad exclave to another part of the Russian Federation, the report says. On Tuesday, August 20, a NATO jet identified Russia's Su-34 and T-134 aircraft, which were also flying from Kaliningrad region.
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08/29/2019
Russia's defence export agency Rosoboronexport has unveiled the Su-57E, the export variant of its fifth generation fighter aircraft, at the MAKS international air show here. Russia said the latest aircraft is a priority in marketing plans and preliminary negotiations for foreign buyers will start.
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08/28/2019
A little over a month after the USA dumped Ankara from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme over its decision to buy the Almaz-Antey S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile system, Turkey’s President Recip Erdogan showed up at the MAKS air show looking for a new defence partner.
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08/28/2019
BrahMos Aerospace may conduct a second air-launch test of its supersonic cruise missile to further demonstrate the weapon’s ability to fly to a number of waypoints before reaching its final destination.
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08/28/2019
The first Gripen E fighter to have been produced for Brazil completed a 65min flight debut from Saab’s Linkoping site in Sweden on 26 August. Performed by company test pilot Richard Ljungberg, the milestone sortie “included test points to verify basic handling and flying qualities at different altitudes and speeds”, the airframer says.
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08/28/2019
Lisbon has selected Elbit Systems to provide the electronic warfare (EW) suite of its five new Embraer KC-390 tactical transports. The suite includes radar and laser warning systems, an infrared (IR) missile warning systems, a countermeasures dispensing system, DIRCM (Direction IR countermeasures) and an active electronic countermeasures system, says Elbit.
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08/27/2019
Boeing has delivered the 11th C-17 Globemaster III to the Indian Air Force India’s adding capability to meet current and future strategic airlift requirements. Boeing’s C-17 Globemaster III is a premier transporter for military, humanitarian and peacekeeping missions. The massive, sturdy, long-haul aircraft can carry large combat equipment, troops and humanitarian aid across long distances, directly to austere airfields anywhere in the world, in all weather conditions.
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08/27/2019
Rosoboronexport JSC (part of the Rostec State Corporation) has invited 120 delegations from 65 countries to the MAKS 2019 International Air Show, which will be held from August 27 to September 1, 2019 at the Gromov Flight Research Institute’s airfield in Zhukovsky, Moscow region.
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08/27/2019
China’s rapid military modernisation has triggered an intense discussion about Australia’s defence priorities, reviving old debates about an independent ‘defence of Australia’ doctrine or a deeper alliance with the United States. Missing from that debate, however, is an understanding of the weaknesses and shortcomings of the People’s Liberation Army.
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08/26/2019
From the vast deserts of Saudi Arabia to the crowded neighborhoods of Beirut, a drone war has taken flight across the wider Middle East, raising the stakes in the ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Since the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal last year, there has been an increasing tempo of attacks and alleged threats, notably this weekend, from unmanned aircraft flown by Tehran's and Washington's allies in the region.
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08/26/2019
“It was dusk, one of the worst times to use night vision goggles. The sun was going down over my right shoulder. The Mediterranean was dark and the sky was dark, like being in a gigantic black hole. It was hard to tell which way was up and which way was down. We started looking for targets outside of Tripoli. We had determined, by the amount of surface-to-air equipment there, the Gaddafi regime would be using it to target coalition aircraft. Eliminating the equipment was a high priority.”
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08/26/2019
In a rare announcement, the Israeli government said its military aircraft carried out a preemptive strike against Iran-linked targets southeast of Damascus on Sunday, allegedly thwarting a planned drone attack on Israeli territory. “The IDF, by Israeli aircraft, was able to thwart an Iranian attempt led by the Quds Force from Syria to conduct an attack on Israeli targets in northern Israel using killer drones,” IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus told reporters early Sunday.
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08/25/2019
Held at Mollis Air Base, Switzerland between Aug. 15 and Aug. 17, 2019 Zigermeet took place two months after the Swiss Air Force ended the evaluation for the five types of combat aircraft under consideration (Eurofighter Typhoon, the Boeing F-18 Super Hornet, the Dassault Rafale, the Lockheed Martin F-35A and the Saab Gripen E) to replace its ageing fleet of F-5 fighter jets, and older model F/A-18C/D fighters.
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08/25/2019
Noteworthy the Egyptian Air Force MiG-35 deal represents the largest order for the Fulcrum fighter aircraft in the post-Soviet period. Taken by Dmitri Terekhov at Zhukovsky Air Base, Russia, the interesting photo in this post shows first Egyptian Air Force (EAF) MiG-29/35.
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08/25/2019
Carriers may be on the verge of a global comeback. China’s ambitious aircraft carrier program is already well documented—but Beijing’s northeastern neighbors are set to deploy three new aircraft carriers between them. The United Kingdom will soon have two carriers of its own, as will Italy. There’s a common factor behind these developments, and that is the F-35B stealth jet.
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08/25/2019
Officials in Tokyo have requested Marines deploy F-35B fighters aboard Japan’s largest warships, a U.S. defense official confirmed to USNI News on Friday. The service is now studying the feasibility of deploying short take-off vertical landing (STOVL) fighters from JS Izumo (DDH-183) and JS Kaga (DDH-184), Japan’s 24,000-ton big deck amphibious.
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08/24/2019
MAKS International Airshow is setting up this week, and some of the most remarkable aircraft in the world are flying into Zhukovsky for the massive commercial, civil and military aviation business expo and airshow. Along with other aviation journalists and photographers from around the world, we clamber for the best spotting locations awaiting arrivals and watching rehearsals the week before the show opens.
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08/23/2019
We’re outside the fence of Zhukovsky Airport in Zhukovsky, Russia, about 40 kilometers from downtown Moscow. The instant Alex’s car comes to a stop we are out and setting up cameras. Alex, who speaks both English and Russian, plugs his earphone into his scanner.
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08/23/2019
MBDA’s Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM) appears set for integration on several Indian combat aircraft. The weapon will be part of the missile armament for Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) Tejas Mk-1A, a combat capable version of the Hawk Mk132 called Hawk-India (Hawk-i) and Sukhoi SU-30MKIs, in addition to upgraded Sepecat/HAL Jaguar strike aircraft.
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08/23/2019
The US Air Force (USAF) awarded Boeing a contract worth up to $999 billion for 27 wing replacements for the service’s Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft, with the option to order 85 more sets over the contract’s 11-year period.
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08/22/2019
As reported by AirforceTimes, lawmakers at a House Armed Services readiness subcommittee hearing on Mar. 22, 2017 were told by Lt. Gen. Scott Rice, director of the Air National Guard (ANG), about plans to retire its 236 F-15C/Ds to save costs. He added that the service plans to replace those retired aircraft with upgraded F-16s.
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08/22/2019
Northrop Grumman plans to more than double production capacity for the RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-4C Triton unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) to 12 aircraft per year in anticipation of growing demand for the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform.
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08/22/2019
Russian fighter manufacturer RSK MiG is preparing production of an updated version of the Ilyushin Il-114 regional turboprop in a bid to create additional workload beyond its long-standing MiG-29 family.
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08/22/2019
Washington's formal approval to sell 66 new Lockheed Martin F-16 C/D Block 70s to Taiwan provides a much-needed boost for the island state, but has already drawn the (inevitable) ire of Beijing. A Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) statement on the pivotal sale has been expected for some months, with confirmation finally coming late last week from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
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08/21/2019
The U.S. Navy says two Blue Angels jets touched midair during a practice run in the Florida Panhandle. Navy spokeswoman Lt. Michelle Tucker tells the Pensacola News Journal a jet made momentary contact with the underside of a second jet’s outer wing Wednesday as the pilots practiced over the Naval Air Station Pensacola. She says no one was injured.
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08/21/2019
As India looks to overhaul its Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fleet for better, India also hopes to make a mark in the defence export market by offering upgraded Sukhoi aircraft to friendly nations. The Russian aircraft is one of the best fighters the Indian Air Force has and now India hopes to sell the tweaked versions to strategic partners.
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08/21/2019
The Turkish Air Force allegedly deployed some of their warplanes to the southern countryside of the Idlib Governorate after the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) scored a series of gains near the city of Khan Sheikhoun. According to the aviation publication Avia.Pro, two Russian Su-35 jets intercepted the Turkish warplanes and forced them to leave Syria’s airspace.
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08/21/2019
South Korea is set to receive four additional Lockheed Martin F-35As, bringing the number of the type on the Korean peninsula to eight. According to a report by official news agency Yonhap, quoting military sources, the four aircraft will arrive later this week. By the end of 2019 the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) will have ten examples on the peninsula, out of a total order for 40.
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08/20/2019
Eleven years after the U.S. Air Force retired the type, an F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter has made yet another public appearance. Dismantled and being hauled across the American West on a tractor-trailer. Photographer Chris McGreevy spotted the truck and its F-117 cargo on Aug. 16, 2019 on Columbia Way near the Palmdale Regional Airport outside Palmdale, California.
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08/20/2019
The US Navy (USN) is soliciting options to improve or replace the electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) air-to-air and air-to-surface targeting pods on its Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers. The move comes amid concern about the current hardware's readiness state and sustainment cost.
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08/19/2019
The Japanese Ministry of Defense announced formally its decision to select the U.S. F-35B stealth fighter as the country’s short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft. The decision was virtually assured given that the United States and Lockheed Martin, the aircraft’s manufacturer, were the only bidders for the Japanese contract.
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08/19/2019
The interesting photo in this post shows a People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Shenyang J-16 fighter jet wearing a new silver-gray scheme which according to Chinese sources is able to give the aircraft a certain stealth capability.
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08/17/2019
Back in 2013, Pentagon press secretary George Little said that an Iranian air force F-4 Phantom combat plane attempted to intercept a U.S. MQ-1 Predator drone flying through international airspace near Iran. As we reported back then, one of the two F-4 Phantom jets — in service in Iran since the Shah — came to about 16 miles from the Predator, but broke off pursuit after two American planes escorting the drone broadcast a warning message.
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08/17/2019
A photo of the J-20 was recently released as part of China’s recent defense white paper release titled “China’s Defense in a New Era.” Over the last few years, many photos of the J-20 5th generation fighter have been released, including photos of the J-20 in service with the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). However this J-20 bore a serial number indicating it belonged to a frontline combat unit, marking a major milestone for the aircraft.
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08/17/2019
The Trump administration has approved the sale of new Lockheed Martin F-16Vs to Taiwan, a long considered decision that will likely worsen tensions with China, which wants to bring the island nation back under its control. Several media outlets pegged the sale at $8 billion for 66 jets, citing anonymous sources. The deal was confirmed by a joint statement from House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, a Democrat, and ranking member Michael McCaul, a Republican.
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08/17/2019
The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and Dzyne Technologies have developed a robotic system that successfully flew a 1968 Cessna 206 for 2h during a demonstration at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah on 9 August. The Robotic Pilot Unmanned Conversion Programme intends for a mechanical robot to fly an aircraft in same way as a human pilot would, says the AFRL. Its robotic system is called Robopilot.
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08/17/2019
Boeing has upgraded six Lockheed Martin P-3K2 Orions operated by the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) to improve their capability in the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) mission. The $22 million project saw upgrades and modifications to both mission systems and aircraft components, the addition of improved simulation for training purposes, and support.
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08/17/2019
Boeing Australia continues work on developing technology for autonomous aircraft, as it aims for the first flight of the Air Teaming System (ATS) prototype in 2020. Work designed to simulate mission capabilities and the aircraft’s lifecycle are taking place at the company’s Systems Analysis lab in Brisbane, says Boeing.
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08/16/2019
Watch out China, India May Be Getting the Super Hornet for Its Aircraft Carrier Boeing is vying for a Indian Navy contract for 57 new fighter jets to operate from its next aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. Dan Gillian, Boeing’s program manager for the F/A-18 and EA-18G, told Economic Times that his company had done simulations of the Super Hornet taking off from a ski jump and the aircraft can be launched with a ‘significant’ payloadwithout any modifications.
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08/16/2019
U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation stealth fighters held a real hunt for Draken International’s L-159 Honey Badger multi-role aircraft during the Northern Lightning exercise at Volk Field, Wisconsin. U.S. Air Force Airmen on its F-35A fighter jets assigned to the 33rd Fighter Wing take part in annual Northern Lightning exercise. August’s edition of the exercise is the second iteration of Northern Lightning this year, the first of which occurred in May.
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08/16/2019
As reported by TASS, starting from 2019, MiG Corporation and Sukhoi will merge into the combat aviation structural unit of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC). “For us, the year 2019 is the year when we switch to the format of a single company, a single corporate contour while the division will be in the format of a unit of the UAC single company,” UAC President Yuri Slyusar said at Paris Air Show responding to a question about establishing a combat aviation complex based on Sukhoi and MiG.
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08/15/2019
A photograph of what appears to be a small-scale model of Taiwan’s newest jet aircraft was released online a day before the opening of the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE), which is taking place this week from Aug. 14 to Aug. 17 at the Nangang Exhibition Center.
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08/15/2019
State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has pitched for an order to manufacture four additional squadrons of the Su-30 MKI jets to quickly meet gaps in fighter squadron strength but the air force seems to be only keen on ordering replacements for aircraft that have been lost in accidents.
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08/15/2019
A Spanish F-18 fighter jet had a tense encounter with a Russian Su-27 over the Baltic Sea on Tuesday, as seen in a video released by Russia’s Defense Ministry. The Spanish aircraft, which is deployed at the Lithuanian base of Siauliau as part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission, is seen tagging a plane that was reportedly carrying Russian Defense Minister Serguéi Shoigu.
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08/14/2019
State-run Chinese media is claiming that the People’s Liberation Army has been able to track the U.S. Air Force’s Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor stealth fighters over the East China Sea. While the Chinese report might be easily dismissed as propaganda—it is not beyond the realm of possibility. In fact—it’s very possible that China can track the Raptor. Stealth is not a cloak of invisibility, after all. Stealth technology simply delays detection and tracking.
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08/14/2019
The U.S. Air Force has given the OK for a majority of its C-130 Hercules fleet to fly again after about a quarter of its cargo aircraft were grounded last week for precautionary inspections. As of Aug. 12, 88 aircraft have been inspected and 87 returned to service, Air Mobility Command spokeswoman Rose Riley told Military.com on Tuesday.
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08/14/2019
The U.S. Air Force has completed a re-winging effort for 173 A-10 Warthog attack aircraft that began nearly a decade ago. As part of the $1.1 billion "Enhanced Wing Assembly" contract awarded to Boeing Co. in 2007, the Ogden Air Logistics Complex at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, recently completed work on the last A-10 slated to receive the upgrade, the service said in a news release Monday. The effort began in 2011.
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08/14/2019
Indian Air Force (IAF) is getting ready to receive the first batch of four `Rafale’ fighter aircraft from Dassault Aviation in France next month. These state-of-the-art Rafale fighter planes are twin-engine multi-role fighter aircraft, nuclear-capable and can engage in both air-to-air and air-to-ground attacks. After receiving these combat aircraft equipped with Meteor missile.
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08/14/2019
Germany is working to progressively bring its Airbus Helicopters Tigers back into service after a safety issue forced their grounding on 2 August. Berlin's decision to suspend flight of the army's attack helicopter fleet was based on information from the airframer that certain titanium bolts in "safety critical" areas could suffer from a manufacturing defect.
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08/13/2019
Pakistan is moving its fighter aircraft at forward air base Skardu near Ladakh, said reports by the intelligence agencies. Intelligence agencies have spotted atleast three Pakistan Air Force transport aircraft C-130 bringing equipment to Skardu air base.
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08/13/2019
Marines in the Pacific carried out the first-ever, at-sea F-35B "hot reloads" in that theater, allowing the aircraft to drop back-to-back 1,000-pound bombs on a target in the middle of the Solomon Sea. Marines from the amphibious assault ship Wasp went to war last week with the "killer tomato," a big red inflatable target that was floating off the coast of Papua New Guinea.
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08/13/2019
Boeing delivered three more KC-46A Pegasus in-flight refuelling tankers to the US Air Force (USAF) on 8 and 9 August, a week after winning a $55 million contract to redesign the aircraft’s boom telescope actuator.
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08/11/2019
U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Anneliese Satz made history on June 27, 2019 when she became the first female USMC fighter pilot to complete the F-35B Lighting II training syllabus. Following her completion of training in the F-35B at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, Capt. Satz attended the grueling SERE school (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape) for training combat pilots how to survive and escape if they are forced down over enemy areas.
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08/11/2019
The Turkish defence procurement authority has asked the Turkish military to formally weigh in on the possible purchase of Russian Su-35 jets and will start official negotiations with Rosoboronexport if the military approves the proposal, pro-government daily Yeni Safak reported on Saturday.
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08/08/2019
The United States persuaded Turkey to forestall its planned invasion of Syria, the U.S. embassy in Ankara announced on Wednesday. The embassy statement said that U.S. and Turkish military delegations met this week at the Turkish Defense Ministry in Ankara and agreed to "discuss plans to coordinate establishment of a safe zone in northern Syria."
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08/08/2019
Eurofighter Typhoons, the British RAF fighter jets intercepted Russian combat airplanes over the Baltic Sea; the Russian aircraft went for another provocative act in Europe. According to BBC, on Monday, the fighter jets intercepted a Russian Antonov AN-26 “Curl” transport aircraft. Following this and on the same mission, the fighters later diverted to intercept a Russian TU-142 “Bear” Bomber and two SU-27B “Flanker” fighters. The planes approached the airspace of Lithuania.
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08/08/2019
Despite years of attempts to address the problem, the Army is struggling to deal with a shortage of about 700 pilots, a persistent manpower problem that could impact the readiness of the entire force. Two years ago, the head of Army aviation told lawmakers that the Army was grappling with a hole in its warrant officer corps ? 731 pilots at the time ? and said the Army would tackle the problem through recruiting efforts, increasing seats at training schools and an aggressive push to retain seaso
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08/08/2019
Lockheed Martin and the US Air Force (USAF) integrated the F-35 Lightning II’s target tracking data with the US Army’s Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command System (IBCS), an important milestone for the stealth aircraft's ability to act as an elevated sensor.
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08/07/2019
The Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced last week that the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) has resumed training flights of its fifth-generation Lockheed Martin Lightning II F-35A Joint Strike Fighters as of August 1. Following the crash of a JASDF F-35A into the Pacific Ocean off northern Japan on April 9, the service’s entire fleet of 12 Joint Strike Fighters was grounded pending an investigation into the causes of the accident.
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08/07/2019
Raytheon delivered the first Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) pod to the US Navy (USN) for the service to begin ground and aircraft integration testing. The jamming pod is the first of 15 EMD pods to be delivered to the USN for mission systems testing and qualification on the Boeing EA-18G Growler, the service’s carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft, Raytheon says.
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08/07/2019
One criticism – among many – of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is that the fighter lacks the range needed to conduct long-range stealth strike missions. While Lockheed Martin has studied adding external fuel tanks to extend the aircraft's range, slinging the bulky hardware under the F-35 would ruin its minimal radar cross section, giving away the stealth fighter's chief advantage.
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08/06/2019
A scramjet engine made by Northrop Grumman set a record for the highest thrust produced by an air-breathing hypersonic engine in US Air Force history. Ground tests of the 5.5m (18ft)-long engine were conducted by US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and Air Force Test Center staff at Arnold Air Force Base in Tennessee.
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08/06/2019
The US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded Lockheed Martin an $800 million contract linked to the production and future support of 14 F-16V Block 70 fighters for Slovakia. Work under the contract will be completed by January 2024, the DoD said on 31 July, with the deal made via the US Foreign Military Sales mechanism.
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08/02/2019
If land-based precision artillery, maneuvering Air Force fighter jets and Navy destroyers were all able to seamlessly share sensitive targeting information in real time during high-intensity combat, the Pentagon would be closely approaching its currently-envisioned concept of modern joint multi-domain warfare.
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08/02/2019
In Michigan's 26-year defense cooperation with Latvia under the National Guard Bureau's State Partnership Program (SPP), a defining area of collaboration has been the Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) program. The latest chapter in this story of cross-cultural teamwork is being written at Grayling Air Gunnery Range, Michigan, July 22 - Aug. 2 during exercise Northern Strike 19, with a visiting team of qualified Range Control Officers from Adazi Military Base, Latvia.
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08/02/2019
Fighter jets on training missions drop into a narrow canyon in California’s Death Valley National Park, banking and dodging the jagged walls. On a nearby overlook, tourists and aviation enthusiasts crane their necks or aim cameras at the jets, some of them so close that onlookers can glimpse into cockpits.
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08/02/2019
Germany has selected the NH Industries NH90 as the replacement for its navy's 21-strong fleet of Westland Sea Lynx 88A anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters. Due to be delivered from 2025, Berlin will take a version of the NFH model, which is closest to the "Caiman" ASW variant operated by France, the country's defence ministry says.
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08/02/2019
Aero Vodochody has transformed its certification plan for the L-39NG, and is now seeking to clear the type for delivery in a full trainer configuration during the third quarter of 2020. It had previously been working towards securing approval for a basic standard before the end of this year.
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08/01/2019
A Rolls-Royce (R-R)-led team is to conduct a two-year study into hypersonic propulsion systems for the UK Ministry of Defence, with the technology demonstration linked to its Project Tempest future combat air system activity.
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08/01/2019
Leonardo has secured a launch order for six examples of the M-346FA – the fighter attack variant of its advanced jet trainer – from a major "international customer". Speaking on a half-year results call on 30 July, Leonardo chief executive Alessandro Profumo said the deal was signed during the last month.
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