April, 2021 Military Aviation News
04/30/2021
As the Navy approaches the first-ever deployment of its advanced carrier air wing – with the fifth-generation F-35C Joint Strike Fighter paired with the CMV-22B Osprey to serve as the carrier onboard delivery plane – leadership from USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) and Carrier Air Wing 2 say they’ve ironed out many integration issues between the ship and the two new aircraft types and are ready for a final exercise this summer to prove they can deploy.
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04/30/2021
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has conducted a trial of the 5th generation Python-5 air-to-air missile (AAM) for the Tejas, India’s indigenous light combat aircraft. The trials aimed to test the Python-5’s air-to-air weapons capability and the capability of the already integrated Derby Beyond Visual Range (BVR) AAM.
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04/30/2021
Cobham Mission Systems announced on April 29, 2021, it won subcontracts to provide chaff and flare dispenser equipment for the German Air Force’s Tranche 4 Eurofighter Typhoon fleet.
Cobham’s Chaff and Flare Defensive Aid Systems include flare dispensers for off-board infrared-seeking missile countermeasures and chaff dispensers that deploy particles to neutralise threats from radar guided missiles.
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04/30/2021
The latest, upgraded version of the JF-17 fighter jet has recently been spotted equipped with China's most advanced air-to-air combat missile that is also used by China's J-20 stealth aircraft, with military observers saying on Thursday that the weapon will give the China-Pakistan jointly developed light fighter the upper hand against its counterparts in dogfights and make it one of the world's best in its class.
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04/28/2021
As the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)’s first ever carrierborne fighter, the J-15 Fei Sha (Flying Shark) has been the focus of substantial English language and foreign media coverage since its maiden flight in August 2009. On cursory review of various Chinese fighter types, perhaps only the J-20 and FC-31 stealth fighters have received more foreign interest (and prompted a greater word count) than the J-15.
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04/28/2021
Taiwanese military intercepted a Chinese spy plane apparently trying to test Taiwan's radar capabilities by flying at an extremely low altitude of only 30 meters. On Monday, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense announced that a Y-8 electronic warfare plane (Y-8 EW) and a Y-8 tactical reconnaissance aircraft (Y-8 RECCE) intruded into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), Taiwan News reported.
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04/28/2021
The Israeli military continues to engineer new external fuel tanks for its specially configured “Adir” variant of the F-35 stealth fighter jet. The Adir, or F-35I, is an aircraft tailored by Israel for unique mission sets particular to address the kinds of enemy threats Israeli forces are likely to encounter. Simply put, extra fuel tanks can massively extend strike range and multiply combat options for Israel, should it be confronted with an operational need to attack enemies at greater distance
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04/27/2021
U.S. military planners have a growing number of options should the Taliban, or any other group, decide to target American and NATO troops as they prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan. Two U.S. B-52 bombers arrived at al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Monday, charged with providing air cover for the approximately 10,000 U.S. and NATO forces set to depart Afghanistan over the coming months.
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04/27/2021
Since the end of the 1970s, Iran has been the target of international sanctions that have limited its ability to acquire new aircraft. The restrictive measures have been used as a way for the United States to strongarm the policies of the Islamic republic, particularly on its nuclear program. While Iran previously seemed to have found an alternative supplier in China, things appear more complicated.
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04/26/2021
The Atlantic Council called for the speedy approval of the military protocol between Bulgaria and Romania. The document was signed nearly a month ago. The aircraft of the third NATO countries will be allowed to conduct airspace protection operations on both sides. According to lawmakers in the new parliament, the document has not been submitted for ratification.
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04/26/2021
In the past couple of weeks, Russia has deployed a large, battle-ready military force on the borders of Ukraine. Elements of that force have now been returned to barracks, but the threat of a Russian attack on Ukraine can no longer be dismissed. Neither can the possibility of military co-ordination between China’s President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin to demonstrate their rising military power compared with the relative decline of America.
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04/26/2021
It is no secret that the Israeli Air Force considers the combat range as one of the most important factors when adopting a new fighter aircraft and that, because of this, it was the first operator to ask for external fuel tanks for the F-35 Lightning II or, more specifically, for the customized F-35I Adir. The first studies for new fuel tanks started at least during the system design and development phase (SDD) of the 5th gen aircraft, but after 2019 nothing new surfaced, at least online.
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04/25/2021
The T-50TH is a special version of the T-50 Golden Eagle developed for Thailand. The T-50 Golden Eagle is a family of South Korean supersonic advanced jet trainers and light combat aircraft, developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) with Lockheed Martin. The T-50 is South Korea’s first indigenous supersonic aircraft and one of the world’s few supersonic trainers.
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04/24/2021
Four F-2000A Typhoon jets, belonging to the Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force) have deployed to Kuwait, to support Operation Inherent Resolve, the multinational campaign against Daesh in Iraq and Syria, as part of “Prima Parthica”, as the Italian Armed Forces operation is dubbed at national level.
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04/24/2021
Despite solid combat performance, the F-35’s high maintenance costs and ongoing parts supply problems continue to be a drag on the fifth-generation fighter aircraft, giving critics ammunition as Congress readies to receive the Biden administration’s first budget.
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04/24/2021
Just five weeks after the first F-15EX Eagle II fighter jet touched down at Eglin Air Force Base — and less than two weeks after that F-15EX was officially unveiled to the public — the second of the new fighter aircraft arrived at the base. F-15EX "002" was flown to Eglin on Tuesday by Maj. Aaron Eshkenazi, F-15EX operational test pilot with the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron (85th TES), part of the Eglin-headquartered 53rd Wing.
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04/23/2021
A senior US general said on Thursday that he believed a Syrian missile exploding in Israel was not intentional, but rather showed a lack of Syrian air defense capability. “I think it reflects actually incompetence in Syrian air defense ... I do not believe it was an intentional attack,” Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, head of US Central Command, said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing
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04/23/2021
Myanmar seems to be on the verge of a full-blown civil war. The energy-rich country has long been prey for various regional and global actors, including Russia. What are Moscow’s ambitions in the Southeast Asian nation? On February 1, Myanmar’s generals seized power in a coup, triggering nationwide protests. It is believed that around 700 protesters and civilians have been killed over the past two and a half months.
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04/23/2021
The US Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) said in a press release: “The MQ-9 is an unmanned aircraft with intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike capability, traditionally used for Counter-Violent Extremist Organisation (C-VEO) combat operations. That mission is now shifting.”
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04/23/2021
Imagine an aircraft that can be used as an advanced trainer for Air Force recruits, which also can carry bombs and ammunition to counter hostile targets both in the air and land and is cheaper than conventional fighter jets. Well, the Indian Air Force’s Hawk trainer could offer you a package deal after the latest modification.
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04/23/2021
Over the last two weeks you may have heard a rumble in the sky, that’s because the Air National Guard has started its fighter jet training exercises. Off the Savannah coast, airmen from across the country are getting fighter jet training at Savannah’s Air Dominance Center. In 20 second intervals, 40 fighter jets took to the sky to hone their skills for whenever they’re called on.
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04/21/2021
The Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF) next-generation A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) is now fully operational, able to carry out missions such as transporting personnel across large distances and extending the range of fighter jets. Other than refuelling RSAF's F-16 and F-15SG fighters in mid-air, it can also refuel another MRTT, enabling the refuelled A330 to travel further or stay in the air longer on a single flight.
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04/21/2021
Nine Chinese military planes entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Tuesday (April 20), marking the 17th intrusion this month. Five People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Shenyang J-16 fighter jets, two Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare planes, one Shaanxi Y-8 electronic warfare plane, and one Shaanxi Y-8 reconnaissance plane flew into the southwest corner of Taiwan’s ADIZ.
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04/21/2021
Twenty F-15s and four F-16s belonging to the U.S. Air Force deployed to Poland on Apr. 19, 2021. The two dozen USAF fighters arrived at Lask (EPLK) and Krzesiny (EPKS) airbases from where they will operate within the framework of an Agile Combat Employment exercise during Aviation Detachment Rotation (AvRot) 21-2. The F-15s, both E and C models, come from RAF Lakenheath, UK, and belong to the 48th Fighter Wing, whilst the F-16s are assigned to the 480th Fighter Squadron.
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04/21/2021
South Korea celebrated its entry into the “elite group of fighter jet producers” this month, unveiling its domestically-developed KF-21 Boramae in a blaze of lights and pop music and a glowing endorsement from President Moon Jae-in. Moon lauded the technology, economic benefits, military capabilities, and national prestige the development of the plane represented, a perspective largely shared in most reporting of the multibillion-dollar project to develop a multi-role fighter jet.
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04/21/2021
The defense ministers of France and Germany on Tuesday set a deadline for the end of April to reach a deal on the future of a next-generation stealth fighter. During a visit to Paris, German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said there were still some final points, involving engine development and legal issues, that needed clarification.
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04/20/2021
The Italian Navy flagship, the aircraft carrier ITS Cavour (CVH 550), departed Naval Station Norfolk Apr. 16 after Joint Force operations with U.S. military forces in the Atlantic Ocean. ITS Cavour participated in a sequence of operations with U.S. assets and the F-35 Joint Program Office has delivered a flight clearance recommendation to the Italian Navy for the safe operation of fifth generation F-35B fighter aircraft.
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04/20/2021
The four U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets that recently flew a mission over the highly contested South China Sea were photographed landing at their home base, Yokota Air Base in Japan, at the end of their return flight. The images confirm that these jets were armed for counter-air operations with a heavy load of live air-to-air missiles.
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04/19/2021
Israel and Greece have signed their biggest ever defense procurement deal, which Israel said Sunday would strengthen political and economic ties between the two countries as their air forces launched a joint exercise. The agreement includes a $1.65 billion contract for the establishment and operation of a training center for the Hellenic Air Force by Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems over 22 years, Israel's defense ministry said.
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04/19/2021
At least five rockets hit the Iraqi military airbase at Balad north of Baghdad, wounding two Iraqi soldiers, the Iraqi military said in a statement. Security officials had said earlier that the Katyusha rockets had fallen on the area of the base that houses US contractors, and that no casualties had been reported.
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04/19/2021
IAF fighter jets were set to take part in the “Iniohos” exercise starting on Sunday in Greece. The exercise will include dozens of aircraft, in which the IAF will participate alongside several other partnering nations, the military said in a statement on Sunday. It said that they will simulate scenarios of air-to-air combat, air superiority, and advanced surface-to-air missile threats above enemy territory.
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04/18/2021
The Israeli military has carried out air attacks against what it says were targets in the Gaza Strip following a rocket attack from the Palestinian enclave, the second such exchange in recent days. Saturday’s attacks hit what the military described as “terror targets” operated by Gaza’s ruling faction Hamas.
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04/18/2021
The Chinese military sent yet another aircraft into Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Saturday, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced that day. The Chinese J-16 multirole fighter conducted a sortie in airspace southwest of Taiwan, between Taiwan and the Taiwanese-held Pratas Islands, according to the MND.
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04/17/2021
Setting the stage for creation of the second Rafale squadron at Hasimara in West Bengal, Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Bhadauria will flag off six Rafale fighter jets from Merignac-Bordeaux airbase in south-western France on 21 April. The arrival of these six Rafale jets will raise the number of these fourth-generation-plus fighter jets with the Indian Air Force (IAF) to 20.
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04/17/2021
“During routine training mission at the landing approach at the training aviation center of the city of Balkhash, the Su-30SM multi-role fighter jet crashed,” the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan reported. A statement from the press service confirmed that both the pilots of the aircraft ejected safely and [have] been rescued.
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04/16/2021
In September 2020, the USMC Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211 (VMFA-211) embarked ten F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters onboard the UK’s new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, joining British platforms of the same aircraft type. The deployment underlined the interoperability benefits of acquiring an aircraft such as the F-35B, as well as its role in projecting the UK’s carrier strike capability, according to Cdr Edward Phillips, HMS Queen Elizabeth’s Commander Air.
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04/16/2021
As part of an effort to maximize Mobility Air Forces and Combat Air Forces integration as well as enhance agile combat employment capabilities in the Indo-Pacific theater, a contingent of Airmen from the 19th Airlift Wing participated in an off-station training exercise at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, March 29 – April 7.
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04/16/2021
South Korea has rolled out the prototype of its new indigenous fighter, the KF-21 Boramae. The new jet will complement the country’s mostly American-made fleet, fitting between its older F-15 and F-16 fighters and complementing its brand-new, fifth-generation F-35s.
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04/15/2021
The skies above Myanmar's hinterlands have thundered from Russian-made jets over the past three weeks as they bomb strongholds of ethnic rebels along the country's borders with China and Thailand. On other nights, witnesses say, Russian-made attack helicopters shattered the silence and lit up the sky.
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04/15/2021
This major F-35 programme milestone strengthens national defence and global partnerships between the United States, Denmark and other F-35 partner and buying nations. “The security situation around the world is increasingly complex,” said Trine Bramsen, Danish minister of defence. “Being able to defend yourself and your allies is crucial. For peace. For stability. For freedom and democracy. With the new F-35 fighter jets we will increase our ability to protect Denmark.
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04/15/2021
A US Air Force F-15C Eagle fighter fired the longest known air-to-air "kill" shot to date in a recent test, the service said Wednesday. The fighter fired an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) at a BQ-167 target drone and scored a "kill" from the farthest distance ever recorded during testing at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida in March, the 53rd Wing said in a statement.
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04/14/2021
According to presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, 14 Nigerian pilots are currently training with the aircraft at the Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. Mr. Garba posted a video of what appeared to be test-flight operations on his verified Twitter handle. The video was credited to the Sierra Nevada Corporation, a private American aerospace firm.
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04/14/2021
China sent 25 warplanes into Taiwan's air defense identification zone on Monday, the largest breach of that space since the island began regularly reporting such activity in September, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said. The Chinese flights came a day after the US secretary of state warned Beijing that Washington was committed to the defense of the democratic, self-governed island, which China considers part of its sovereign territory.
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04/14/2021
Ukraine, faced with Russian troops on two fronts, has gone public with plans to buy combat aircraft that are not Russian-made. The vulnerable NATO partner plans to become independent of Vladimir Putin’s military in a crucial domain.
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04/13/2021
The Su-57 project will occupy a sizable chunk of Russian defense spending. The Kremlin is keen to offset as much of these costs as possible through a series of high-profile export contracts.
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04/13/2021
Twenty-five Chinese air force aircraft including fighter jets and nuclear-capable bombers entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on Monday, the island’s government said, the largest reported incursion to date.
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04/13/2021
The Air Force officially rolled out its newest fighter jet on Wednesday at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, where the service finally announced its name. The F-15EX will be called the "Eagle II," following the naming tradition of the F-15C Eagle and the F-15E Strike Eagle.
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04/06/2021
Taiwan's Defense Ministry on Monday reported a new incursion by China's air force into the island's air defense identification zone, made up of eight fighter jets and two other aircraft, one of which flew through the strategic Bashi Channel. Chinese-claimed Taiwan has complained over the last few months of repeated missions by China's air force near the island, concentrated in the southwestern part its air defense zone near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.
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04/06/2021
The F-16 multirole fighter aircraft, now made by Lockheed Martin, is getting a new shield system. L3Harris Technologies, a Florida-based firm, announced in late March that it had received a contract from Lockheed to develop “a new advanced electronic warfare system to protect the international F-16 jet against emerging radar and electronic threats.”
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04/06/2021
The F4 generation of the Dassault Rafale is backed by an investment of $2.3 billion by the French defense ministry, announced in January 2019. The latest F4 version will see the incorporation of new generation technologies, especially enhanced aircraft connectivity, through software-defined radio, new links, and satellite communications.
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04/05/2021
Korea Aerospace Industries Co. (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft manufacturer, said Sunday it aims to develop its own transport and multipurpose aircraft for the military. KAI has reached a consensus with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration on the need to develop transport and multipurpose aircraft to meet domestic demand for the planes, the company's Executive Vice President Ryu Kwang-su told Yonhap News Agency on the sidelines of a press conference.
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04/05/2021
Israel's air force received on Sunday a new intelligence aircraft that will provide the military with "unprecedented" reconnaissance capabilities, the Defense Ministry said. The so-called "Oron" airplane landed on Sunday in the Nevatim airbase in southern Israel after more than nine years of developments by the Defense Ministry, the Israeli Air Force, the Intelligence Directorate, the Israeli Navy, and the Israel Aerospace Industries, according to a statement issued by the Defense Ministry.
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04/05/2021
The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning and five escort vessels have passed through a key waterway off Japan on their way to the Pacific Ocean, the Joint Staff Office of the Japanese Defense Ministry said Sunday. The carrier group was spotted around 8 a.m. Saturday roughly 470 km southwest of Nagasaki Prefecture's Danjo Islands, the joint staff said. The convoy then passed through the Miyako Strait, the 250 km-wide waterway between Okinawa Island and Miyako Island.
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04/05/2021
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had deployed as many as 24 fighter jets, including the JF-17, in response to India’s airstrike on Balakot terrorist camps on February 26, 2019. Several of these jets managed to cross the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto India-Pakistan border, releasing precision-guided glide bombs on Indian military installations in the Rajouri sector in Jammu and Kashmir.
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04/04/2021
The U.S. Navy today awarded Boeinga $1.6 billion production contract for the next 11 P-8A Poseidon aircraft. Nine aircraft will join the U.S. Navy fleet and two will go to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), a cooperative partner in the P-8A joint program since 2009. The contract brings the total number of U.S. Navy P-8A aircraft under contract to 128 and the RAAF total to 14.
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04/04/2021
A Chinese military Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft entered Taiwan's southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Saturday, but left the area after Taiwan scrambled fighter jets in response to the intrusion, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. The aircraft flew into the airspace between Taiwan and the Dongsha Islands in the South China Sea, which are controlled by Taiwan, according to a chart provided by the MND.
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04/03/2021
The Norfolk-based USS Dwight D. Eisenhower strike group started flight operations this week to support the continuing campaign against Islamic State remnants in Syria and Iraq. Aircraft from Carrier Air Wing 3, based at Naval Air Station Oceana, began flying March 31 in support of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve to demonstrate U.S. commitment to security in the region.
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04/03/2021
The Nigerian air force says it has yet to establish the whereabouts of a military plane that disappeared off the radar Wednesday evening near Borno -- an insurgency troubled state in the country's northeast region. A Nigerian air force spokesman told CNN Thursday afternoon that the fighter jet had been deployed to provide air support to ground troops, who were under fire from Boko Haram fighters before radar contact was lost.
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04/03/2021
The Japanese air force is assigning its new F-35 stealth fighters to alert duty, meaning that any day now the radar-evading jets could take off on short notice in order to intercept and shadow Chinese warplanes probing Japan’s air-defense zone. But if Tokyo had its way, the F-35 would sit out this dull, labor-intensive work. The stealth fighter is too expensive, too unreliable and too valuable for other missions to waste it on boring up-and-down flights.
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04/03/2021
Air Combat Command is changing the aircraft maintenance organizational structure to improve synchronization between maintenance and fighter squadrons. This new structure, called Combat Oriented Maintenance Organization, or COMO, flattens the maintenance organizational structure and transitions aircraft maintenance units into fighter generation squadrons.
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04/02/2021
China has stepped up its military posturing around Taiwan over the past week, a trend that is set to fuel growing concerns that Beijing might move closer to attacking the island. Taiwan and Japan on Monday both reported incursions into their respective air defence identification zones, the first simultaneous announcement from Taipei and Tokyo.
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04/02/2021
Canada's top military procurement official says he is optimistic the federal government will finally end its decade-long search for a new fighter jet for the Royal Canadian Air Force next year despite challenges and delays from the pandemic. Three fighter-jet makers submitted their bids last summer to provide the military with 88 new aircraft to replace the Air Force's aging CF-18s, and government evaluators are now busily assessing those proposals to determine which best fits Canada's needs.
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04/02/2021
As they conduct bombing and surveillance missions around the globe, today's U.S. military pilots rely on aerial refueling aircraft built as early as 1957, when the Soviet Union dominated American security fears, the average home cost $12,000 and "I Love Lucy" was debuting new episodes. The cost of keeping those aging jets in the air has grown sharply while the military awaits a next-generation refueling plane whose rollout has been repeatedly delayed by design and production issues.
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04/02/2021
Ukraine’s Lviv State Aircraft Repair Plant (LSARP) has repaired and handed over a MiG-29UB trainer aircraft to the Ukrainian Air Force (UAF). LSARP is part of state-owned defence industrial group Ukroboronprom and is the only enterprise in the country that repairs the MiG-29.
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04/01/2021
A Philippine military plane with local journalists on board ignored repeated radio warnings to “stay away” and “leave immediately” on Tuesday as it flew low over contested reefs near where Chinese vessels were moored in the South China Sea. The incident occurred as hundreds of Chinese vessels believed to be manned by militias in the South China Sea have spread to a wider area, the Philippines said on Wednesday, defying its demand for the flotilla to be withdrawn immediately.
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04/01/2021
The U.S. Army has awarded contracts to both Bell and a Sikorsky-Boeing team to continue into a second phase of competitive development and risk reduction as the service prepares to begin its formal program to acquire a future long-range assault aircraft, or FLRAA, by 2030.
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04/01/2021
China is readying itself for American and Japanese involvement in any Taiwan Strait conflict, with recent warplane exercises around the island aimed at displaying its ability to isolate Taiwan from potential support, according to analysts in Beijing and Taipei.
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04/01/2021
Speaking at an International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) virtual event, the head of the UK’s Armed Forces Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) General Sir Nick Carter said that by 2030 a Royal Air Force(RAF) tactical formation could be made of up two Typhoon Fighter Jets, ten Mosquito uncrewed fighter aircraft and 100 Alvino swarming uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs).
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