November, 2021 Military Aviation News
11/30/2021
Boeing might be out from the Future Fighter Capability Project (FFCP) that aims to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force’s fleet of legacy CF-188 Hornets (local designation of the F/A-18), as Canada’s federal government reportedly said that the replacement proposal based on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet did not meet the federal government’s requirements. The Canadian Press first reported the news saying that, according to three sources from industry and government who spoke on condition of anonymity
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11/30/2021
After more than three decades, the Royal Australian Air Force has formally bid farewell to its F/A-18A/B fighter jet, often referred to as the Classic Hornet, as it gets ready to withdraw its last examples of the type. The F/A-18A/B was Australia’s premier fighter and its first line of air defense for most of that time, but it has since been complemented by the F/A-18F Super Hornet and will be superseded by the F-35A stealth fighter.
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11/29/2021
Taiwan said 27 Chinese aircraft entered its air defense buffer zone on Sunday, the latest in a long series of incursions as part of Beijing's pressure on the self-ruled island. The Defense Ministry said Taiwan scrambled combat aircraft to "warn" the Chinese planes to leave. It also deployed missile systems to monitor them.
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11/28/2021
As US lawmakers' visit to Taipei irked China, as Beijing sent eight military aircraft into Taiwan's air defence identification zone (ADIZ), local media reported on Friday. The five US lawmakers arrived in Taiwan on Thursday to meet with government officials. The five-representative delegation is the second US congressional delegation visit to Taiwan this month. The recent visit is following a three-day visit to Taiwan by Senator John Cornyn-led group in November this year, reported Taiwan News.
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11/28/2021
Of all the F-15 photos we’ve featured so far, this one has to be the most exciting. It was captured by a Senior Airman on the tarmac of the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, at a time when the aircraft was preparing for a deployment overseas.
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11/27/2021
In September 2020, Swiss voters agreed to CHF6 billion ($6.4 billion) being spent on replacing Switzerland's ageing fleet of F-5 Tigers and F/A-18 Hornet jets by 2030. In June of this year, Switzerland appeared to have struck a bargain deal with United States manufacturer Lockheed Martin to provide 36 F-35A aircraft for just over CHF5 billion.
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11/27/2021
Saab this week announced that the Gripen E—a major enhancement of the original Gripen fighter design—has now entered the delivery phase. Six serial production aircraft have left the factory and are now being prepared and tested prior to delivery to the aircraft’s two customers. Four of the aircraft are destined for the Força Aérea Brasileira, and two for Sweden’s Flygvapnet.
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11/27/2021
The upgrade of MiG-31 high-altitude fighter-interceptors will boost the efficiency of their missions, in particular to protect Russia’s northern frontiers amid other states’ growing interest in the Northern Sea Route, Merited Military Pilot of Russia, Major-General Vladimir Popov told TASS on Friday.
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11/25/2021
Michael Hostetter, vice-president of Boeing Defense, Space, and Security Germany, told Janes that a letter of intent to proceed with the planned sale is expected to be released in January, immediately after the German government is seated in early December. In 2020, Germany’s Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer stated that Berlin plans to buy 30 American-made F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and 15 EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft.
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11/25/2021
Stationed at the naval base in São Pedro d’Aldeia, the aircraft will boost the Brazilian Navy’s mission capabilities including anti-surface warfare and maritime surveillance.
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11/25/2021
The militaries of each NATO Ally rely on machines and vehicles to help them perform at the highest levels. Meet the men and women who operate those vehicles and learn how their machines help keep people safe. This Italian pilot, who must remain anonymous for security reasons, flies the F-35A fighter jet, a fifth-generation multirole combat aircraft.
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11/25/2021
Russia carried out a military drill on naval bases in the Black Sea, south of Ukraine, with about ten crews of combat planes and ships that targeted hypothetical enemy warships, the Black Sea Fleet’s press office said on Wednesday.
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11/24/2021
“We believe we have a genuine requirement for them … it gives us visibility and intelligence gathering capabilities that we might not otherwise have,” said Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, when he spoke before the House Armed Services Committee in March 2020.
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11/24/2021
Pakistan on Tuesday rejected India's claim that an Indian pilot shot down the Islamic nation's F-16 fighter plane in 2019. The statement from Pakistan came a day after Indian President Ram Nath Kovind awarded pilot Abhinandan Varthaman India's third-highest honor, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top military officials looking on at the ceremony in New Delhi.
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11/24/2021
In the last week of October 2021, a number of Chinese combat air developments were uncovered in a short span of time. The first of these was the emergence of the expected twin-seat variant of the J-20 air superiority fighter at Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC), documented by progressively clearer photos and videos.
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11/23/2021
It followed a war-game at a desert airbase just north of the Israeli port city of Eilat last month, which sent fighter planes from Israel and seven other countries roaring into the skies. Such drills aim to send a strong warning to Iran, which has recently been holding its own large military exercises, and stress strategic alliances.
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11/23/2021
China used last week’s Dubai Airshow to show off its upgraded version of the L-15 attack fighter trainer, as part of an effort to broaden its influence in the Mideast and North Africa.
Showcased both on ground and in the air during the five-day show, the latest variant of the aircraft features “high performance, reliability and cost efficiency,” a spokesperson at China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC) told Breaking Defense.
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11/23/2021
Radar experts at Raytheon Technologies Corp. will provide the 19 AN/APG-79(V)4 active electronically scanned array (AESA) airborne radar systems to upgrade U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C/D combat jets under terms of a $63.1 million order announced Thursday.
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11/23/2021
U.S. Army aviation experts are ordering MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned combat aircraft for reconnaissance and attack, as well as satellite communications (SATCOM) air data terminals, maintenance, repair, and support services under terms of a $103.2 million order announced Thursday.
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11/22/2021
The United States and its allies should move more urgently in the face of rapidly evolving Chinese military tactics, the new U.S. commander of the Indo-Pacific region warned on Saturday. Admiral John Aquilino spoke at the Halifax International Security Forum and urged allies to take part in more joint military exercises, which have been growing in size and complexity in the region over the last couple of years.
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11/22/2021
Nine Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Sunday (Nov. 21), marking the 20th intrusion this month. Two People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Shenyang J-16 fighter jets, four Chengdu J-10 fighter planes, and one KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft entered the southwest corner of Taiwan’s ADIZ, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND). Meanwhile, two Xian H-6 bombers flew into the southwest and southeast corners of the zone.
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11/21/2021
Unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, have become one of the weapons most closely associated with the global war on terror. Hundreds of U.S. drones, also known as remotely piloted aircraft, of various types have spent countless hours tracking terrorists and providing American and coalition troops with early warning.
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11/21/2021
An Air Force pilot was killed and two others injured Friday morning in a 'mishap' involving two trainer aircrafts at a Texas base. Officials at Laughlin Air Force Base said an accident involving a pair T-38 Talon jets occurred on the runway around 10am. One of the injured pilots was taken to San Antonio's Brooke Army Medical Center in critical condition. Their current condition remains unknown.
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11/21/2021
Amid India-China border tensions, the Chinese PLAAF recently dispatched an H-6K bomber close to the LAC, the disputed border with India. Satellite imagery accessed by the media outlets has revealed that China’s Air Force (PLAAF) has three airbases opposite eastern Ladakh – Kashgar, Hotan and Ngari Gunsa.
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11/20/2021
Like all areas of society, the Royal Air Force can't escape the need to go green or to save money, and it hopes that virtual training can help it do just that. It costs tens of thousands of pounds every time the RAF sends a pilot up in a Typhoon as part of a training exercise, but in the future the Air Force hopes to reduce how often this happens, and BAE Systems is helping it achieve that goal. Pilot training is currently 70 per cent in the air, and 30 per cent synthetic training.
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11/20/2021
Reports suggest that if negotiations progress at this pace, an announcement could be made before the end of this year. The French media also reported that President Emmanuel Macron will visit Abu Dhabi on December 2, followed by visits to Doha (Qatar) and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) on December 3 and 4.
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11/20/2021
Tyndall Air Force Base’s unique airspace paves the way not only for the U.S. Air Force but also for sister service, the U.S. Navy, and many other service partners who come together to conduct mission objectives in as close to real world operations as possible. Tyndall welcomed Sailors stationed at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, to bring their F/A-18 Super Hornet, for the 53rd Wing’s Weapons System Evaluation Program 22.02 to utilize the training environment.
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11/19/2021
A British F-35, one of the newest stealth fighter jets in the UK military, crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday morning while operating off the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, the UK Defense Ministry said in a tweet. The pilot ejected and was returned safely to the ship, and an investigation of the incident, which occurred during routine flight operations, had begun, the ministry said.
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11/18/2021
Russia delivered military equipment to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan this year, including combat aircraft and missile systems, Director of Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev said in an interview with the RBC media group on Tuesday. "For example, we delivered Su-30SM aircraft, Mi-35M helicopters, Buk-M2E surface-to-air missile systems.
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11/18/2021
Ever since the standoff with India over Ladakh began last year, Chinese state media have frequently played up deployment of various military systems to the region. These have ranged from new artillery systems to tanks to helicopters, which have often been shown in exercises in “high-altitude areas”, a euphemism for the border with India. In comparison, Chinese state media have reported more sparsely on deployment of fighter aircraft and bombers of the People's Liberation Army Air Force.
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11/18/2021
Highly placed sources have confirmed to the Financial Express Online that, “Presently the ASEAN nation Malaysia is in the midst of evaluating the Request of Proposal (RfP) it had floated earlier this year for getting the light fighter jets for its Air Force.” India’s indigenous Light Combat Aircraft “Tejas’’ is in the forefront of Malaysia’s requirement of 36 low cost light fighter aircraft for its Air Force.
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11/18/2021
The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has awarded a $143-million contract to Textron Aviation Defense LLC for the supply of eight AT-6 Wolverines, making it the first foreign customer of the US light-attack aircraft. Made during the Dubai Airshow 2021, the agreement requires the American defense firm to provide ground support equipment, spare parts, training, and other necessary equipment for the aircraft’s operation.
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11/18/2021
Sometimes saving your life means risking an early death. Earlier on Wednesday, an F35 fighter jet of the U.K. crashed into the Mediterranean Sea during a conventional operation, in a loss that cost the island nation at least $134 million (£100 million). Luckily, no one was injured, since the pilot ejected before impact and was subsequently recovered from the water.
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11/17/2021
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has confirmed that there was one fatality in the crash involving a Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Hawk MK108 combat aircraft in Butterworth tonight. He also said that a second airman sustained injuries in the incident that occurred at about 10.07pm last night at the runway within the Butterworth Air Force Base.
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11/17/2021
A Swiss parliamentary committee said Tuesday it would probe the government’s decision to purchase 36 Lockheed Martin F-35A fighter jets to replace its ageing fleet. The management scrutiny committee of the National Council lower house of parliament decided to investigate “the legality and advisability of certain aspects of the evaluation procedure taken for choosing the Swiss military’s new combat aircraft”, it said in a statement.
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11/17/2021
The United Aircraft Corporation is working on the development of Russia’s first single-engine fighter jet, the aptly named ‘Checkmate’. Its price is expected to be very affordable - $30-35 million. The low cost, as well as political considerations, mean that many countries that currently can’t afford to join the club of owners of 5th-generation fighters will be able to do so, thanks to the Russian manufacturer.
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11/16/2021
Russia will be actively looking to court international buyers, notably those in the Middle East at the Dubai Air Show 2021, which runs this week from Sunday to Thursday. Among the aircraft that will be on display is its new single-engine Checkmate light tactical fighter, a platform that has been widely touted as a more affordable option to America’s F-35 Lightning II. Currently, fourteen nations operate the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter, and Russia clearly doesn’t want to los
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11/15/2021
South Korea's military has unveiled a computer-generated video of a homegrown fighter and radar-evading drones in a joint sortie, offering a glimpse into a future battle concept mixing the manned and unmanned assets currently under development. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) recently posted the short video on its YouTube channel, depicting the KF-21 fighter flanked by three stealth drones in joint air operations over South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo.
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11/15/2021
Dassault Aviation is highlighting its military and business jets at the Dubai Airshow, including a Rafale C combat aircraft, the Falcon 900LX and 8X, and a mockup of the upcoming 6X's cabin. The Rafale is being presented by the French Armeé De L'Air & De L'Espace (air and space force), which operates a detachment of the fighters at the UAE’s Al Dhafra Air Base, and visitors can watch it taking part in the daily flying display.
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11/15/2021
Russia is in talks with Turkey and has offered its help in developing advanced fighter jets, news agencies cited a top defense official as saying on Sunday, while no agreement has been reached so far. “Russia has repeatedly expressed readiness to assist Turkey (in the development of a fifth-generation fighter jet),” Dmitry Shugayev, head of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC), told RIA news agency at the Dubai Airshow exhibition.
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11/14/2021
US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on the margins of the G20 gathering in Rome, ending weeks of speculation about whether such a summit would take place. Earlier that month, a short-lived diplomatic crisis had demonstrated just how strained ties between the two countries are.
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11/14/2021
The Spanish Ministry of Defence has signed the formal order for the acquisition of three Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport aircraft (MRTT). Under the agreement, the handover of the first aircraft in transport configuration is scheduled in the coming days, followed by its conversion to MRTT in 2024. The handover of the first fully converted aircraft is scheduled in 2023 and the third and final unit in 2025.
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11/13/2021
Dramatic cockpit footage has captured the moment an RAF jet intercepted a Russian bomber as it headed towards British airspace on Friday, as tensions on the Poland-Belarus border ratcheted up and fears grew of an invasion of Ukraine. The two nuclear-capable Russian Tu-160 'White Swan' bombers entered 'the UK area of interest,' the MoD confirmed after the incident.
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11/13/2021
Agile Combat Employment, or ACE for short, is a U.S. Air Force (USAF) operational concept that aims to give America an edge over its adversaries, by simply taking advantage of existing infrastructure, pre-positioned hardware, and personnel trained in multiple areas to strike fast and hard.
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11/13/2021
The Russian Su-57 fifth-generation fighter and also MiG-35, Su-35 and Su-30 combat aircraft enjoy great demand in Middle East countries, Head of the state tech corporation Rostec Sergei Chemezov told TASS in the run-up to the Dubai Airshow 2021 international aviation exhibition on Friday.
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11/12/2021
U.S. Air Force researchers are making last call for a four-year $50 million project to develop the next generation of directional low-probability-of-intercept networked aerial layer communications for high-performance combat jets. Officials of the Air Force Research Laboratory's Information Directorate in Rome, N.Y., re-issued a broad agency announcement (FA875020S7003) on Monday for the Next-Generation Airborne Directional Networking project.
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11/12/2021
The State Department is mulling the sale of armed drones to Indonesia, but concerns over human rights abuses and the country’s past purchases of Russian equipment have set off a debate inside the Biden administration over approving the move, according to government and defense industry officials.
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11/12/2021
State-owned technology company Rostec said that a prototype of the latest generation of Russian single-engine fighters Checkmate was delivered on board the An-124 “Ruslan” freighter to the United Arab Emirates for display at the Dubai Airshow. In fact, a prototype of the new Checkmate single-engine combat aircraft has arrived in the UAE for its participation in the Dubai International Airshow. The state-owned company said the plane was delivered to the Dubai World Central complex by an An-124.
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11/10/2021
The F-35 fighter jet could be the plane that flies over the plain in Spain as the NATO country looks to become the latest European nation to acquire the fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft. If the European nation gets the greenlight to buy the weapon, then it will join the ranks of the UK, Belgium, Poland and Italy. Greece and the Czech Republic have expressed interest in the Joint Strike Fighter too.
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11/10/2021
China's military said on Tuesday it had conducted a combat readiness patrol in the direction of the Taiwan Strait, after its defence ministry condemned a visit to Taiwan by a U.S. congressional delegation it said had arrived on a military aircraft. The patrol was aimed at the "seriously wrong" words and actions of "relevant countries" on the Taiwan issue and the activities of pro-independence forces in Taiwan, a Chinese military spokesperson said in a statement.
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11/09/2021
Satellite photos have revealed China’s is so concerned with being able to destroy the United States’ enormous 100,000-ton aircraft carriers that it has built a mobile mock-up target in the middle of a desert. The US Naval Institute has published images based on a report from AllSource Analysis identifying a new use for an old ballistic missile live-fire testing range in the Taklamakan Desert, near the town of Ruoqiang in Xinjiang.
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11/09/2021
South Korea's sole aircraft maker has secured a deal worth $360 million from the Iraqi government to provide logistics support, pilot flight training and maintenance education for light attack and training aircraft.
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11/09/2021
By the end of this decade, the Spanish Air Force will replace its half-century-old fighter trainers with data-centric aircraft to train its pilots to fly fifth- and sixth-generation jets. And even though a contract isn’t yet on the horizon, Airbus is ready to start building.
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11/08/2021
Spain reportedly considers an order for a total of 50 F-35 stealth fighter jets. The order would comprise 25 F-35B and 25 F-35A, a Lockheed-Martin official told Jane’s on the sideline of a Royal Institute of International Affairs session. The F-35A would come as a replacement for the aging F/A-18 Hornets of the Ejército del Aire, the Spanish Air Force. As for the F-35B, it would allow the Spanish Navy to retire its antique AV-8 Harrier II, operating from the Juan Carlos I aircraft carrier.
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11/07/2021
Israeli and Saudi fighter jets participated in the same patrol mission (albeit at different times) on Oct. 30, accompanying a U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber circumnavigating the Arabian Peninsula and attempting to send a deterrence message to Tehran. Riyadh's willingness to join a military mission involving Israel is the latest indication that the actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran are incentivizing some Arab capitals to tiptoe toward overt security cooperation with Israel.
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11/06/2021
Saudi Arabia plans on topping up its stocks of AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs, with a batch of no fewer than 280 examples, worth $650 million, with which to arm its fighter jets. The planned missile spending spree comes as the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) continues its relentless campaign to shoot down drones launched against its territory by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen.
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11/06/2021
After nearly 15 years in development and a $4 billion Air Force investment, two brand-new fighter engines are in test, promising game-changing improvement in range and thrust. Which airplane they will equip first—and when—is suddenly a hot debate in Washington.
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11/06/2021
First flown in December of 1988, the venerable SAAB JAS 39 "Gripen" (Griffon) might actually be one of the most capable non-stealth jet fighters ever built. Designed to replace the SAAB 35 "Viggen" and SAAB 37 "Draken", the JAS 39 officially entered service in 1997.
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11/04/2021
Korea Aerospace Industries, South Korea’s sole aircraft manufacturer, is in talks with the Slovakian government to sell 10 FA-50 homegrown trainer jets in a $500 million deal, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Wednesday. KAI is set to sign a deal with Slovakian aircraft repair company LOTN on Wednesday in Hungary upon President Moon Jae-in’s European tour this week.
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11/04/2021
Avionics designers at Lockheed Martin Corp. are exploring ways to connect Sikorsky’s next-generation helicopters with combat aircraft such as F-35 jet fighters. American Military News reports. Continue reading original article
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11/04/2021
It was July 20, 2017, and Capt. Brett DeVries was in trouble. The Michigan Air National Guard pilot was flying an A-10 Thunderbolt II attack plane on a training mission over Michigan’s Grayling Air Gunnery Range when the aircraft’s 30mm cannon malfunctioned, blowing off the A-10’s canopy and sending his maps and checklists flying.
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11/04/2021
In a just-released advertisement, Northrop Grumman drops a hint at what might be their entry into the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program, an effort to field a sixth-generation combat aircraft.
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11/03/2021
Russia’s state tech corporation Rostec will for the first time demonstrate the Checkmate fifth-generation single-engine fighter at the Dubai Airshow 2021 that will run in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on November 14-18, a source in the aircraft-building industry told TASS on Tuesday.
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11/03/2021
Last month the United States Air Force awarded a $1,579,662,187 contract to General Electric, GE Edison Works, Cincinnati, for the purchase of twenty-nine engines—installs and spares—in support of the production of 12 Boeing F-15EX Eagle II aircraft. Initial deliveries of the engines will begin in October 2023.
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11/03/2021
Amid a simmering ‘missile race’ on the Korean peninsula, South Korea and the United States are running a large-scale air exercise in the region, with around 200 aircraft reportedly involved. The maneuvers represent a return to the large-scale collaboration of this kind between the two nations that was scaled back dramatically as Washington attempted to negotiate with North Korea about its nuclear weapons program.
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