February, 2021 Military Aviation News
02/28/2021
The fighter-like machine is an evolution of the Boeing T-X concept and has been developed by Boeing together with Swedish company Saab. It is powered by a General Electric turbofan engine capable of generating 17,000 lbf (76 kN) of thrust with afterburner, while seating, of course, two pilots.
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02/28/2021
The U.S. Air Force A-10C Thunderbolt II demonstration team is being assigned a new jet ahead of the 2021 airshow season. The aircraft, serial 81-0962, was recently repainted by the 355th Equipment Maintenance Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, in the Vietnam-era SouthEast Asia (SEA) camouflage. The A-10 is not new to camouflages, as it was painted with the green and gray European One camouflage during the Cold War.
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02/28/2021
A Tyrannosaurus rex replica named “Stan” proudly stands in front of the Google Corporation’s headquarters in California. With his threatening gaze and gaping mouth, he provides a stark contrast to the rest of the campus. Google highlights the extinct apex predator as a sobering reminder innovation is more than just a term – we must ‘innovate or die’.
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02/27/2021
Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, commander of Pacific Air Forces, said the U.S. Air Force should push for the rapid procurement of the Boeing-built E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft to replace the service’s aging E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system fleet and meet the demand for such capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region, The War Zone reported Thursday.
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02/27/2021
Two pilots aboard a Mirage F1B fighter jet suffered non-life-threatening injuries after the aircraft slid off the runway at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida Thursday morning, an official for the aircraft owner told Air Force Times. “They are doing fine,” said John Rupp, a spokesman for Airborne Tactical Advantage Company said Thursday evening. “One of our two-seat Mirage F1Bs supporting military flight training at Tyndall, upon return, slid off the runway. One of the pilots elected to eject.”
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02/27/2021
The Sukhoi Su-57 is a stealth-capable multi-role fifth-generation fighter jet being developed for the Russian Air Force. Airforce Technology details the key features of Su-57 that make it a force multiplier for the Russian armed forces.
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02/27/2021
A top U.S. Air Force general wonders whether the U.S. has the “courage and focus” to build a next-generation warplane to counter China. Gen. Mark Kelly, who oversees his service’s fighter jets and drones as head of Air Combat Command, gave full-throated support for the highly classified Next Generation Air Dominance, or NGAD, project.
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02/27/2021
The U.S. Air Force’s top general said the service is committed to the F-35 stealth fighter following comments and headlines in the past week that suggested the demise of the aircraft may be near. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown said on Thursday the U.S. could end up buying fewer than the 1,700-plus jets it envisioned when the project began more than two decades ago, but rejected recent high-profile reporting portraying the aircraft as a failure.
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02/26/2021
One of the contenders for Canada’s Strategic Tanker Transport Capability (STTC) project is now conducting limited operations for the United States Air Force (USAF). The KC-46A Pegasus is “executing four to six missions daily” to support USAF and joint training missions, Gen Jacqueline Van Ovost, commander of Air Mobility Command, said during the Air Force Association’s virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium on Feb. 24.
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02/26/2021
Reports are coming in of an unspecified “incident” involving a Mirage F1 fighter jet operated by the Airborne Tactical Advantage Company, or ATAC, at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. An official statement from the base's public affairs office confirmed that an incident occurred at around 11:25 AM local time, but offered no additional details.
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02/25/2021
The jets are supporting an operation by Syrian pro-government forces to secure the road between Homs and Deir al-Zour, according to a monitoring group. IS militants have carried out a string of deadly ambushes and hit-and-run attacks in the region recently. The latest, on Wednesday, reportedly killed nine soldiers and militiamen.
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02/25/2021
China's unrelenting air assault on Taiwan has claimed its first victims – that nation's defence and home affairs ministers. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force shows no sign of releasing the pressure on Taiwan. Instead, it has continued its recent escalation of sending bombers and long-range fighters along with surveillance aircraft over the tiny Taiwanese Pratas Atoll at the northern tip of the South China Sea.
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02/25/2021
The Air Force’s next generation tanker is starting to go operational, but in a very limited way, with the goal of freeing up older planes for combat missions. Air Mobility Command announced Feb. 24 it is phasing the KC-46 into operations, by making it available to U.S. Transportation Command for taskings that would otherwise be filled by KC-135s and KC-10s, based on what the Pegasus has been cleared to do.
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02/25/2021
The transformational acquisition ideas championed by former Air Force acquisition chief Will Roper will survive his departure from the service, but it will take “courage” to implement them, USAF acquisition leaders said at AFA’s virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium. They also said the Air Force’s new tactical aircraft study—in parallel with a Joint Staff study—will take a decades-long look at aviation requirements.
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02/25/2021
The head of the Senate panel that authorizes military programs said he’s impatient for the Pentagon to finish rigorous combat simulation testing of the F-35 and provide an assessment of the stealthy fighter jet’s effectiveness. “We’ve been building it” for years “and it’s still in operational testing and evaluation, and once that’s finished -- and we hope it’s finished promptly -- then we can make a much more thorough assessment of the system,” Senator Jack Reed, chairman of the Armed Services
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02/25/2021
India’s biennial military aircraft show, Aero India, went off without a hitch in early February in the southern Indian tech capital of Bengaluru. Despite the travails of pandemic-era traveling, the United States sent a deputy undersecretary, a Navy admiral, and three Air Force generals. It also sent a nuclear-capable B-1B bomber. But the real star of the show was what escorted the U.S. aircraft in the sky: an Indian-built Tejas fighter jet.
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02/25/2021
The U.S. Air Force isn't ruling out bringing a new fighter jet into its inventory as it looks to replace older, fourth-generation F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, according to the service's top general. As the service tries to determine the right mix of aircraft for its future inventory, it's considering the idea of a new fighter that falls somewhere between fourth- and fifth-generation airframes -- one that could easily be upgraded throughout its life, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles "CQ" B
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02/24/2021
A Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 23), marking the 16th such intrusion this month. One People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane flew into the southwest corner of Taiwan’s ADIZ, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND). In response, Taiwan immediately sent fighter jets, issued radio warnings, and deployed air defense missile systems to track the Chinese aircraft.
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02/24/2021
Agile Combat Employment exercise at Amendola Air Base, saw U.S. Air Force F-16s operate alongside the Italian Air Force F-35s. U.S. Air Force F-16s belonging to the 555th and 510th Fighter Squadrons of the 31st Fighter Wing, based at Aviano Air Base, Italy, took part in an Agile Combat Employment exercise at Amendola AB, Italy, on Feb. 16-17, 2021.
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02/24/2021
Like all good ideas, this one began in a bar. The participants were test pilots and flight test engineers, each with a decade or more of experience launching and certifying new airframes. Some had been there at the beginning of the C Series and other Bombardier business jet and multi-mission programs; others had test-flown de Havilland aircraft and even combat platforms.
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02/24/2021
The Russian-built Sukoi Su-57 could soon be operating over foreign skies as the latest reports suggest international customers have expressed interest in the fifth-generation combat aircraft. The Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation has reportedly received a number of requests from foreign customers for the Su-57E—the export version of the multirole fighter aircraft that is currently entering service with the Russian Air Force.
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02/23/2021
The first batch of Tejas fighter jets will be equipped with the Uttam radars. Of the 123 Tejas fighters that the Indian Air Force will get, 40 will have Israel’s mechanical radars and 83 will have Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars.
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02/23/2021
Israel has signed a letter of acceptance (LOA) with the United States for the procurement of two Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker aircraft, and plans further similar agreements to enhance its qualitive military edge (QME) in the region.
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02/23/2021
Russia has released a video showing, apparently for the first time, its Orion unmanned aerial vehicle during field trials in Syria, including dropping weapons. The footage seems to have originated from the drone’s combat evaluation that reportedly took place in 2018.
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02/22/2021
The annual review of Global Firepower ranked Egypt's military strength 13th globally for the year 2021 out of 139 "countries considered" compared to ninth out of 138 states in 2020. The rating Egypt received is 0.2216 - with 0.0000 considered 'perfect' – against 0.1872 last year. Egypt was preceded - in order - by the United States, Russia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, France, United Kingdom, Brazil, Pakistan, Turkey, and Italy.
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02/22/2021
After a series of pandemic-defying trips across the world, Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto appears to have settled on the French-made Rafale and an under-strength squadron of American F-15EX jet fighters to bolster Indonesia’s front-line air defenses, with deliveries expected over the next three years.
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02/22/2021
In the first decade of February, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, better known as DARPA, announced the start of the design phase of a program it calls LongShot. Three companies were selected for this stage, namely General Atomics, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
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02/22/2021
Britain's new space force could be deploying RAF Typhoon fighter jets to the 'edge of space' in a bid to destroy enemy satellites in the near future, senior military sources have revealed. Selected fighter pilots will take part in Space Command's training missions with the ultimate aim of taking down Chinese and Russian military, intelligence and communication satellites during wartime.
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02/21/2021
Two pilots, including a trainee from Japan, died when a military training jet crashed near Montgomery Regional Airport in Alabama on Friday, officials said. Executive airport director Marshall J. Taggart Jr. said officials were informed about the crash in an adjacent, wooded area just after 5 p.m.
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02/21/2021
After nine Chinese air force aircraft flew near the Pratas Islands on Friday, the Taiwanese Defence Ministry said it tracked 11 aircraft on Saturday - eight fighter jets, two nuclear-capable H-6 bombers and an anti-submarine aircraft, also near the islands.
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02/21/2021
The company made its debut at the February IDEX defence show in Abu Dhabi where, alongside Everis ADS it showed all the capabilities it can offer to the military sector after a particularly positive 2020 in terms of defense projects.
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02/21/2021
At least four rockets struck an Iraqi airbase Saturday night, the Iraqi military said in a statement, while other officials said one person was wounded at the base where an American defense company services combat aircraft. Four security officials said that the individual wounded at Balad airbase in Salahaddin province worked for the company, and one of them said his nationality was South African. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
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02/20/2021
A total of nine Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on the day the country reshuffled its top military, intelligence and China policy officials, reports said Friday (Feb. 19). The government changes included the announcement in the early evening of new heads for the Ministry of National Defense, the Mainland Affairs Council and the top intelligence agency, the National Security Bureau (NSB).
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02/20/2021
Top Aces Corp., the first company to operate the F-16 commercially, imported its first four of 29 jets from Israel late last month, President Russ Quinn told Air Force Magazine. The jets were broken down and flown via cargo jet to the company’s F-16 Center of Excellence in Mesa, Ariz. After nearly six years of locking down the deal and working with the State Department, Quinn said Top Aces has received approval to bring all 29 aircraft to the U.S.
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02/20/2021
The image shows what may be yet another upgrade to the fighter jet, as it is shows a “Beast Mode” configuration with fourteen Meteor Beyond Visual Range weapons and two Infrared Imaging System Tail-Thrust Vector Controlled short-range air-to-air missiles, along with an external fuel tank for extended missions.
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02/20/2021
F-16 Fighting Falcons from the “Triple Nickel” and 510th fighter squadrons participated in a training exercise this week with the first air unit in Europe to acquire F-35 Lightning II jets. The U.S. jets and personnel, assigned to the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base in Italy, participated in the exercise alongside Italian air force partners taking place on Feb. 16 and Feb. 17, according to an Air Force media release.
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02/20/2021
The Afghan air force, a key factor in the government’s ability to keep Taliban insurgents at bay, won’t be able to fly effective combat missions within months if the few remaining allied advisers leave, a new report said. Almost 94% of NATO’s Train Advise Assist Command-Air personnel, tasked with helping build Afghanistan’s air force, have already left the country over the last nine months, a report to Congress by the Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel said.
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02/20/2021
The U.S. Air Force (USAF) is progressively overturning its long-held ambition to operate a fighter fleet comprised solely of fifth-generation stealth aircraft. The commander-in-chief has announced that he is launching a new study of the Air Force’s tactical fighter fleets that could result in expanded plans to blend “legacy” fourth- and fifth-generation fighters to meet a range of mission sets.
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02/19/2021
China’s FC-31 is a twin-engine stealth fighter demonstrator, which includes two iteratively different flying airframes that have been under active flight test since late 2012 and late 2016, respectively. This aircraft has often incorrectly been dubbed the “J-31” and been given various other names over the years, such as “J-21.” None of these J-designations remain true to the aircraft’s current state.
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02/19/2021
In support of its efforts to modernize America’s bomber fleet, the Air Force will begin divesting 17 B-1B Lancers from its current fleet as authorized by the National Defense Authorization Act.
This action will not affect the service’s lethality or any associated maintenance manpower. It will allow officials to focus maintenance and depot-level manpower on the remaining aircraft, increasing readiness and paving the way for the bomber fleet modernization ready to meet future challenges.
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02/19/2021
Indonesia will purchase F-15EX jets from Boeing and Rafale fighter aircraft from France between 2021 and 2024, the head of its air force said on Thursday. The country will also buy C-130J transport planes and medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned combat aerial vehicles, Marshal Fajar Prasetyo, chief of staff of the Indonesian Air Force, said at the annual Air Force Leadership Meeting.
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02/19/2021
Satellite imagery appears to indicate China has begun serial production of a tanker aircraft based on its indigenous Xi’an Y-20 airlifter, filling a notable gap in the power projection capabilities of its air force. The overhead imagery of the airfield at Xi’an-Yanliang — taken Dec. 30, 2020, and provided to Defense News by Planet Labs — shows four Y-20s with the shadows of refueling pods on their outer wings clearly visible, indicating that these are Y-20U tankers.
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02/18/2021
After the US and the UK, Italy will soon become the third country to fly the ‘world’s most-advanced’ F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters from an aircraft carrier. The country’s ‘Cavour’ carrier is set to undergo the first trials with the fifth-generation fighter jets.
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02/18/2021
Germany and France have launched a new effort to resolve an impasse over the development of a joint fighter jet, Europe’s biggest defence project that has sparked tensions between Berlin and Paris, security and industry sources said on Wednesday.
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02/18/2021
The People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has made significant progress in updating its initial fighter pilot training regime. A new report from the China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI) has outlined a number of initiatives the PLAAF has taken to improve how it prepares young pilots for joining operational squadrons. Authored by CASI analyst Derek Solen, the report also lists several previous shortcomings in initial fighter pilot training.
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02/18/2021
The US Air Force is studying a future fighter fleet that might include new Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters or possibly a clean-sheet 4.5 generation fighter. The service has for years advocated for recapitalizing its fleet with stealth aircraft, in particular the Lockheed Martin F-35. However, in 2020 it deviated from that stealth aircraft buying plan and began purchasing the Boeing F-15EX to replace ageing F-15C aircraft.
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02/18/2021
A surprising defence-technology partnership is emerging between Japan and the UK. The cooperation is mostly preliminary but not at all basic: the two countries are working together on some of the most challenging systems used in combat aircraft. And there’s good reason to think they’ll pool resources on more such programs.
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02/17/2021
An Israeli ministerial committee approved the purchase of new jets, aircraft and munitions from U.S. companies, an Israeli official said on Tuesday, in a deal that would be worth billions of dollars. “A ministerial procurement committee has approved the purchase of a new F-35 squadron, four new refueling planes, and a large quantity of munitions,” the official said on condition of anonymity to discuss matters still under negotiation.
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02/17/2021
The U.S. Air Force will call its first U.K.-based F-35 Lightning II fighter squadron the Valkyries.
The 495th Fighter Squadron, part of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, will take on the title, according to a release. The service announced the nickname for its first overseas Joint Strike Fighter squadron Monday; the name beat other crowdsourced choices, including Archangels, Sabres, Sentinels and Swordsmen, the release states.
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02/17/2021
Securing the first Asian customer for its latest product, Czech aircraft maker Aero Vodochody has signed a contract to sell 12 L-39NG jet trainers to Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defence. Deliveries are scheduled for the years 2023 to 2024, and Czech arms exporter Omnipol is acting as an intermediary for the deal.
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02/17/2021
The Navy this year will be firing a high-energy laser weapon that is fully integrated with one of its destroyers, which proponents say is a major step toward fielding directed energy technology. Joe Ottaviano, Lockheed Martin business development director for advanced product solutions, said he has heard the adage that battlefield lasers always seem to be “one year away” from fielding, but asserted that this time is different.
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02/16/2021
Seeking to score a long edge over its adversaries - China and Pakistan, India is developing the Astra Mark 2 missile which will allow its fighter aircraft to destroy enemy planes from 160 kms in aerial combat, senior defence official said. Astra is a beyond visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM), which flies over four times the speed of sound at Mach 4.5, and efforts are now on to integrate the over 100 km strike range missile on the indigenous fighter aircraft LCA Tejas, sources said.
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02/16/2021
The Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira: FAB) announced on 12 February that it had despatched one of its recently acquired airlifters to Fairbanks to be exposed to temperatures as low as -37.8°C (-47.8°C including wind chill).
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02/16/2021
Following its Atlantic crossing, the aircraft carrier Cavour, the flagship of the Italian Navy, will conduct its first trials with the F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter. Italy will become the third nation to begin flying the fifth-generation aircraft from an aircraft carrier.
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02/15/2021
Eyeing Iran and its terrorist proxies in Syria and Lebanon, Israel’s Cabinet approved on Feb. 7 an Israeli Air Force request to use U.S. foreign military financing and loans to fund approximately $9 billion worth of U.S. military aircraft and weapons. Jerusalem’s decision initiates a process intended to culminate in the Air Force’s acquisition of new American fighter aircraft, air refuelers and helicopters.
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02/14/2021
Fighter aircraft were scrambled in response to a "potential air threat" on Saturday (Feb 13) morning, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) said. "Some of you might have heard us flying this morning. Our fighter aircraft were scrambled in response to a potential air threat," said RSAF in a Facebook post. The RSAF said it responds to and investigates more than 350 suspicious air threats on any given year in order to protect Singapore’s skies.
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02/14/2021
The F-35A Joint Strike Fighter will participate in fewer air shows this year as military leaders deal with an engine shortage for the fifth-generation stealth jet. Bloomberg News reported this week that there is a growing shortage of F135 engines, which are manufactured by Pratt & Whitney, now owned by Raytheon Technologies Corp.
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02/13/2021
Before the development of the F-22 Raptor, the F-15 Eagle ruled the skies. It replaced the vaunted F-111 as the U.S. military’s primary fighter bomber and, for much of its life, it was the fast-moving air superiority fighter, king of all air superiority fighters. In much of the world, it still rules — and there are many, many reasons why.
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02/13/2021
When the Clinton administration first conceived the notion of a “joint strike fighter” in 1995, it was the ideal solution to a host of military challenges. The basic idea was a family of highly survivable tactical aircraft that could share common technology to accomplish a dozen different missions for three U.S. military services.
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02/12/2021
The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has notified Congress of the potential foreign military sale (FMS) of an F-16 air combat training centre (ACTC) to Jordan. Approved by the US State Department, the estimated $60m FMS includes related devices such as mission trainers, combat tactics trainers, instructor / operator stations, tactical environment simulators and brief / debrief stations.
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02/11/2021
The first Boeing KC-46 tanker aircraft destined for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) has completed its maiden flight. The first flight marks a major milestone in the delivery programme as the aircraft will now move into the certification phase of development. KC-46 programme manager Jamie Burgess said: “This is an exciting milestone for the JASDF and Boeing.
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02/11/2021
As the U.S. Navy asserts its presence in the South China Sea, Taiwan’s leader says its ties with Washington remain solid over the transition from the Trump to the Biden administration. President Tsai Ing-wen said Tuesday that U.S. military support remains firm even as China sends increasing numbers of military aircraft into Taiwan's southwestern airspace.
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02/10/2021
The flight, which lasted for 12 hours, took place over Russia and the Barents-, Norwegian- and Greenland Seas, the Defense Ministry in Moscow informs. Russia’s strategic bombers are based at Engels Air Force Base near Saratov in southwestern Russia and have to fly north for exit to international air space without violating other nations borders.
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02/10/2021
Russian state-run corporation Rostec has announced that the fifth-generation Su-57 multirole fighter jet’s cockpit received maximum automation. The development was disclosed by Rostec-controlled United Aircraft Corporation in its New Horizons corporate magazine. The publication noted that the single-seat fighter jet achieved maximum automation of the ‘routine piloting and combat use processes’.
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02/10/2021
Two US Navy aircraft carrier strike groups began operations in the disputed waters of the South China Sea on Tuesday, the latest show of naval capabilities by the Biden administration as it pledges to stand firm against Chinese territorial claims. The carriers USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Nimitz and their accompanying guided-missile cruisers and destroyers are showing the US Navy's ability to operate in highly trafficked, challenging environments, the US Navy said in statement.
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02/10/2021
The U.S.-led air campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria often prioritized tactical, close-air support operations and bombing runs over strategic, "deep strike" missions, according to a new Rand Corp. report. But while the aggressive effort crippled some ISIS strongholds, it did little to accelerate the caliphate's defeat in the long run, the report found.
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02/09/2021
Boeing has received a licence from the US government to offer its F-15EX fighter jet to the Indian Air Force. Boeing will compete with Sweden's Gripen and France's Rafale among others for the Indian Air Force's plan to buy 114 multi-role aircraft to replace its Soviet-era fleet.
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02/09/2021
Air Force fighter jets will lose out on the benefits of upgraded training ranges unless the service also decides to relocate certain squadrons, according to a new RAND Corp. report. The Air Force contends its crumbling, outdated training infrastructure doesn’t offer what Airmen need to learn how to fly against adversary pilots and threats like surface-to-air missiles or communications jammers. Improving those ranges is one aspect of a multibillion-dollar push to modernize air bases
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02/09/2021
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, has hired General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, to craft designs for an air-launched missile-toting air-to-air combat drone as part of a program called LongShot. In concept, a larger manned aircraft would fire this unmanned air vehicle, which could then fly to a certain area and engage multiple aerial threats with its own weapons.
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02/08/2021
The danger is rising that long-running tensions between China and the US over Taiwan could lead to military hostilities. That puts the island in the front rank of geopolitical risks for US President Joe Biden. Conflict need not come about by design. Revelations that Chinese military aircraft simulated missile attacks on a nearby US aircraft carrier during an incursion into Taiwanese airspace, three days after Mr Biden’s inauguration, underscore how misunderstandings could escalates.
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02/08/2021
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the Chinese military to enhance its combat readiness during the upcoming Spring Festival holidays when he recently inspected an aviation division of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force. Experts said other militaries should not have the illusion that they can make provocative moves during the holidays without meeting PLA's countermeasures.
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02/08/2021
Not that long ago, Boeing was asked to create of an improved version of the F-15 strike fighter. Last week, the new version of the aircraft, dubbed F-15EX, completed its first successful test flight at the Lambert International Airport in St. Louis, Missouri.
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02/07/2021
n recent years, China’s technological strides and development of a wide range of air-to-air missiles (AAM) has prompted some nations to integrate these missiles on their fighter fleet, or simply go in for collaboration/purchase of a Chinese combat aircraft like the Chengdu JF-17 Thunder. The JF-17, developed in partnership with Pakistan, has been exported to Myanmar and Nigeria and promises to equip a host of third world countries with an affordable option towards beyond visual range.
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02/07/2021
China on Friday warned off a US warship sailing near contested islands in the South China Sea, Beijing said, the first such encounter made public since the inauguration of President Joe Biden. The USS John S. McCain "broke into China's Xisha territorial waters without the permission of the Chinese government," Beijing's military said in a statement, using its name for the disputed Paracel Islands.
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02/07/2021
A Chinese Y-8 tactical reconnaissance plane entered the southwestern section of Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Saturday, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND). The aircraft flew into the airspace between Taiwan and the Dongsha (Pratas) Islands, which are controlled by Taiwan, in the South China Sea, according to a chart provided by the MND.
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02/07/2021
The Marine Corps is converting a fifth squadron to the F-35B Lightning II strike fighter. In a Jan. 29 ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma, Arizona, the “Vikings” of Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 225 (VMFA(AW)-225) were re-designated Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 225 (VMFA-225) as they engaged in the process of learning to operate and maintain the F-35B version of the Lightning II, according to a release from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
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02/06/2021
The final KC-46A Pegasus tanker in a fleet of 12 arrived at the New Hampshire Air National Guard Base at Pease on Friday, capping off a nearly two-year transition from the former Eisenhower-era KC-135 tankers used by the 157th Refueling Wing. Celebrating the last of the tanker’s dozen at Pease was Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, who has pushed for the fleet's full arrival, as well as transparency and continued monitoring of the manufacturing of the aircrafts.
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02/06/2021
On the morning of Jan. 8, 2021, 13 U.S. Airmen, all assigned to the 517th Airlift Squadron, boarded a C-17A Globemaster III aircraft and flew from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to March Air Reserve Base, California. Their mission: to train and prepare for global operations in a deployed environment.
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02/06/2021
Among the myriad technological developments in airpower—including advanced propulsion, better stealth, directed-energy weapons and hypersonics—perhaps the most important will turn out to be artificial intelligence. AI has the potential to transform air combat operations and the way airpower is conceived and used.
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02/06/2021
At a ceremony at Yelahanka airbase in Bangalore this Wednesday, Indian aircraft manufacturer Hindustan Aerospace Limited (HAL) signed onto a $6.58 billion agreement to deliver 73 new Tejas Mark 1A Light Combat Aircraft jets and 10 Tejas Mark 1 two-seat training jets to the Indian Air Force.
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02/05/2021
The 5th-generation F-22 Raptor has been one of the world’s most dominant fighter aircraft since entering service and has defined what air dominance means to the U.S. Air Force. To ensure that it remains relevant for years to come, the Ogden Air Logistics Complex’s 574th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, through collaborative efforts of the F-22 System Program Office along with partners Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
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02/04/2021
The Azerbaijani government has denied accounts, first published on January 8 in Haqqin.az but subsequently deleted, of three Turkish military bases allegedly being established in Azerbaijan as a consequence of Turkish military assistance to Baku during last year’s 44-day Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict. The reports, if accurate, would represent a significant development in the geostrategic balance of power in the post-Soviet Caucasus.
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02/03/2021
Over two decades since the inception of Russia’s hotly-anticipated fifth-generation fighter, the first serial Su-57 model has entered service. Russia’s United Air Corporation has released video footage of the first Su-57 (North Atlantic Treaty Organization reporting name “Felon”) being built and, literally, rolled out of the factory prior to being transferred to Russia’s Air Force.
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02/03/2021
The US Naval Aviation Training System and Ranges programme office (PMA-205) has flight tested the Tactical Combat Training System Increment II (TCTS II) on an F/A-18F Super Hornet.
Developed and built by Collins Aerospace Systems, TCTS II is the US Navy’s next-generation air combat training system.
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02/02/2021
The Finnish Defence Forces’ Logistics Command has submitted its Best and Final Offer (BAFO) to Eurofighter for the HX Fighter Programme. The HX Fighter programme is aimed at replacing the airforce’s Hornet fleet. In February last year, the Finnish Defence Forces’ Logistics Command received responses from five fighter manufacturers to the revised request for HX Fighter jet replacement programme quotation.
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02/02/2021
Turkey will retrofit F-16 fighter jets to extend their life cycle significantly, the head of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), Ismail Demir, said Sunday. “Structural upgrades of the F-16 Block 30 aircraft continue. In the project, 1,200-1,500 pieces of structural parts per aircraft are being renovated, and repair and replacement work are being carried out if necessary with body reinforcement,” Demir said on Twitter.
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02/02/2021
Our colleagues at the Italian defense journal RID have highlighted the departure of the Cavour for the United States: “The aircraft carrier CAVOUR has left for the United States where it will embark the F-35Bs of the Navy stationed Beaufort and will acquire the certification to operate the aircraft.
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02/02/2021
Dassault Aviation has signed a contract for the sale of 12 Rafale fighter jets to the French Air and Space Force (FASF). The contract was signed on 29 January by Dassault Aviation chairman and CEO Eric Trappier and French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly. Parly was on a visit to the Argonay plant in Haute-Savoie, which has been producing flight control systems for all Dassault aircraft since 1963.
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02/02/2021
The LRASM already is integrated with the U.S. Air Force’s B-1B jet bomber and U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter-bomber aircraft, and soon will be integrated with the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. It appears that the F-35 Lightning II will become the fourth aircraft able to launch this next-generation anti-ship missile. LRASM is designed to detect and destroy high-priority targets within groups of ships from extended ranges in electronic warfare jamming environments.
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02/02/2021
The US and India have held discussions on F-15EX fighter jets and the two respective air forces have exchanged information about it, a top Boeing official has said after the aerospace major received approval from the American government to offer its latest multi-role combat aircraft to the Indian Air Force. The F-15EX is the latest and most advanced version of the multi-role, all-weather, and day and night versions of the F-15 aircraft family.
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02/01/2021
Beijing’s two largest air sorties into Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ) last month were more directed at the new administration of US President Joe Biden than Taiwan, an analyst said. Institute for National Defense and Security Research assistant research fellow Jeremy Hung made the comments in a research paper published on the institute’s Web site on Wednesday.
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02/01/2021
Five Chinese military aircraft flew into Taiwan's southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Sunday, the same day the Ministry of National Defense (MND) revealed a United States military reconnaissance aircraft was monitored flying close to Taiwan's airspace. Although the American aircraft's flight route was not indicated, this is the first time the ministry has revealed the movement of a U.S. military aircraft since September 2020.
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02/01/2021
Large-deck nuclear-powered aircraft carriers will be a key part of the Navy’s force structure for the next half-century, at a minimum. The primary reason for this is the remarkable adaptability and flexibility of the carrier air wing. When the current, evolving air wing is married to the functional improvements embodied in the new Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (CVN),?the result will be an advanced military capability of unparalleled flexibility, mobility, effectiveness, efficiency,
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02/01/2021
The Indian Air Force (IAF), which has been undertaking one fighter aircraft project at a time, is now looking to acquire 114 combat aircraft in a deal expected to cost over Rs 1.3 lakh crore. The IAF has already issued the Request for Information for the tender. Very soon, a proposal would be made to get the Acceptance of Necessity before the Rajnath Singh-led Ministry Defence for the project.
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