December, 2021 Military Aviation News
12/31/2021
Five Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Wednesday (Dec. 29), marking the 22nd intrusion this month. Four People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Shenyang J-11 fighter jets and one Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane flew into the southwest corner of the ADIZ, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND). In response, Taiwan sent aircraft, issued radio warnings, and deployed air defense missile systems to monitor the PLAAF planes.
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12/31/2021
The US faced a major blow as UAE suspended talks to buy the 50 Lockheed F-35 US fighter jets worth USD 23 billion. This is a major setback for the US both economically and diplomatically. China seems to be an emerging winner in the ongoing tussle between US-UAE. UAE suspended the purchase deal of F-35 fighter jets with the US and has chosen Huawei's, a Chinese company, 5G technology.
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12/31/2021
Here's What You Need To Remember: The F-22 also collided with current events, as the economic demands of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the lack of a peer adversary made a $300 million fighter plane, in the view of government officials at the time, an unsustainable cost.
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12/30/2021
Recently the Navy released a new vision for its aircraft carrier air wing that describes how it plans to keep its fighter jets relevant in the future. In a potential conflict with a near-peer adversary, such as Russia or China, the Navy's aircraft carriers could make the difference, especially against China, because of its proximity to the sea.
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12/30/2021
The dozens of Type 90, or “Kyumaru,” tanks rumbling through recent shooting drills on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido exemplify the challenge its arms makers face both at home and overseas as the country fortifies its defenses against strategic threats.
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12/30/2021
The rumor that has been going around for a couple of years has just been confirmed. Pakistan is acquiring more than 25 Chengdu J-10 «Vigorous Dragon» multirole fighters, to face India’s purchase of the Dassault Rafale. The news was made public by Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, Pakistan’s Interior Minister, during a public event.
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12/30/2021
India’s home grown light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mark 2 has achieved a milestone with the Deputy Chief of Air Staff (DCAS) accepting its comprehensive design review (CDR). DCAS air marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari accepted the CDR for Tejas Mark 2 last month, reported Business Standard.
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12/29/2021
NATO fighter jets scrambled around 370 times across Europe in 2021, mostly to check aircraft flying unannounced near Allied air space. Around 80 percent of the missions, 290 in total, were in response to flights by Russian military aircraft.
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12/29/2021
The government of Austria signed a deal with Italy on December 20 to procure 18 Leonardo AW169/169M helicopters, plus spares, training, and support, with an option for a further 18. The decision to buy the militarized version of the AW169 was announced in September 2020 by Austrian defense minister Klaudia Tanner.
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12/29/2021
The crash of a Royal Navy F-35B Lighting II sparked a race to find the jet’s remnants in November 2021. In the aftermath of the crash, the United Kingdom’s Navy scrambled to get to the site before the Russians could reach it and the potentially billions of dollars worth of top secret technology that went down with it.
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12/29/2021
The United Arab Emirates' landmark deal to procure 80 cutting-edge Dassault Rafale multirole fighter jets from France gives the Emirati Air Force a highly formidable interim solution until it finally takes delivery of F-35 Lightning IIs or another fifth-generation fighter. Turkey, on the other hand, still needs a similar stopgap solution and may find itself in a bind if the U.S. refuses to sell the advanced F-16s and modernization kits Ankara recently requested.
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12/29/2021
The Netherlands Ministry of Defence has declared initial operational capability (IOC) for the Royal Netherlands Air Force’s (RNLAF) F-35A fleet. The latest announcement makes the Netherlands the eighth nation and RNLAF the 12th military service to acheive IOC for their F-35 fleet of aircraft. Lockheed Martin F-35 Program vice-president and general manager Bridget Lauderdale said: “The declaration of IOC ushers in a new era of air power that gives the RNLAF transformational capabilities.
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12/28/2021
The Navy is further developing their MQ-25 Stingray aerial refueling drone, an odd-looking unmanned vehicle with a unique set of capabilities. The Navy explains that the “MQ-25 will be the world’s first operational, carrier-based unmanned aircraft and is integral to the future carrier air wing (CVW),” and that the MQ-25 “will provide an aerial refueling capability that extends the range, operational capability, and lethality of the CVW (carrier air wing) and carrier strike group (CSG).”
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12/28/2021
The U.S. Air Force has approved the divestment of four E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia throughout the fiscal year 2022. Airmen attached to the E-8 JSTARS fleet will be repurposed for new missions aligned with the future Air Force force design at Robins and other military bases as part of the changes, the Air Combat Command said Tuesday.
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12/28/2021
On December 24, the cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio approved 5.4 trillion yen ($47.2 billion) defense spending in fiscal year 2022, starting in April, amid the increasingly tense security environment in east Asia. Including U.S. Forces realignment-related expenses allocated for mitigating impacts on local communities, this marked another record figure for the eighth year in a row in the history of Japan’s national defense budget.
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12/28/2021
In some ways, the passage of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act counts as a significant achievement. Leaders in the House and Senate overcame grandstanding and obstruction by lawmakers on both sides to pass a bill with broad bipartisan support. In doing so, they addressed a range of critical issues, from reforming how sexual-assault cases are handled to combating hunger among military families.
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12/28/2021
The Indonesian National Defense-Air Force (TNI-AU) has given up its quest to acquire Russian combat aircraft. Instead, the service will shift its focus to two Western alternatives, the Boeing F-15EX Eagle II and the French Dassault Rafale. The TNI-AU continues to plan and execute a long-term strategy aimed at modernizing its fighter fleet by upgrading existing assets and expanding capabilities, an effort that dates back to phase one of the Minimum Essential Force program undertaken from 2009 thr
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12/27/2021
The Royal Saudi Air Force and their US counterparts concluded a bilateral exercise in western Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom’s defense ministry said on Sunday. The combat readiness maneuvers were held at King Abdullah Air Base and are part of a number of joint exercises between both countries’ air forces to enhance military cooperation, coordination and exchange of expertise.
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12/27/2021
Naval News reached out to the Joint Strike Fighter Program Office in December 2021 for an update on the F-35 and how the U.S. Defense Department views the latest developments in peer nations copying this single-engine, single pilot stealth fighter that has entered operational service with the U.S. Armed Forces and U.S. allies around the world.
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12/26/2021
A MiG-21 Bison of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Rajasthan on Friday evening, killing the pilot, Wing Commander Harshit Sinha. This is the fifth crash involving a Bison jet this year. “This evening, around 8:30 pm, a MiG-21 aircraft of IAF met with a flying accident in the western sector during a training sortie...,” the IAF said in a statement.
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12/25/2021
Japan’s Cabinet approved a record 5.4 trillion yen ($47 billion) defense budget for fiscal 2022 on Friday that includes funding for research and development of a new fighter jet and other “game-changing” weapons as Japan bolsters its defense capabilities in response to China’s growing military might and its tensions with Taiwan.
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12/25/2021
Russia’s Central Military District (CMD) has received five MiG-31BM high-altitude interceptor fighters as per the basic weapons and military equipment supply plan of 2021. According to a Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation statement, a batch of five interceptor jets entered service with CMD’s fighter aviation regiment.
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12/25/2021
The carrier is armed with the Phalanx CIWS, which can be used to destroy incoming threats such as small boats, surface torpedoes, anti-ship missiles, and helicopters. It functions as part of an integrated, layered defense system in order to intercept closest-in threats.
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12/25/2021
The Lockheed Martin SR-72, which is rumored to be the world’s fastest plane, is expected to make a test flight in 2025, eight years after its private proposal in 2013. SR-72 will be the successor of the SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest manned aircraft which smashed speed records in 1974 and was retired by the U.S. Air Force back in 1998.
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12/25/2021
The Indonesian government has announced that it will not proceed with the acquisition of Sukhoi Su-35 ‘Flanker-E' multirole combat aircraft. It has instead shortlisted the Dassault Rafale and the Boeing F-15EX Eagle II for the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU), Air Chief Marshal Fadjar Prasetyo said on 22 December.
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12/23/2021
A six-ship People’s Liberation Army Navy carrier group led by aircraft carrier Liaoning (16) is currently operating in the Pacific Ocean, according to releases from the Japanese military. The PLAN carrier group featuring Liaoning, destroyer Nanchang (101), a Luyang III-class destroyer, frigate Rizhao (598) and another Type 54A Jiangkai II frigate, along with a Type 901 replenishment ship, was in the vicinity of the waters off the uninhabited Oki Daito Island, 315 kilometers, or about 196 miles.
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12/23/2021
The year 2021 has been eventful for the Indian Air Force with the induction of the Rafale fighter aircraft, deployment of the S-400 air defence system and contract signing for the procurement of transport aircraft C295. The Narendra Modi government, ever since it came to power in 2014, has prioritised the modernisation of armed forces. This year, the government undertook several measures to modernise the Indian Air Force and equip it to be battle-ready. Let's take a look.
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12/22/2021
Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. company, announced the delivery of four Bell Huey II aircraft to the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AFBiH) on Dec. 4. The aircraft are part of a Foreign Military Sale signed in December 2019.
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12/22/2021
The ministry reported on Monday, December 20, that in the week from December 13 to 19, the fighter aircraft conducting the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic states intercepted one Antonov AN-12 aircraft flying from Russian mainland to the Kaliningrad Oblast. Its its onboard data transponder had been switched on, but the flight took place without a pre-filed flight plan and without maintaining radio communication with the regional air traffic control centre.
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12/22/2021
This kind of cyber-reliant modernization trajectory for the F-35, intended to ensure the stealth jet retains its performance edge well into the 2070s and beyond, also needs to ensure that computer systems are sufficiently “hardened” against cyberattacks and intruders.
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12/22/2021
The Eurofighter Typhoon is an air superiority fighter aircraft manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo. As its name implies, the Typhoon is a multinational collaboration among the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Its combat debut came in 2011 during the military intervention in Libya with the UK’s RAF and the Italian Air Force. Although it proved itself to be a capable ground-attack aircraft, the Typhoon was designed to be a dogfighter.
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12/22/2021
The Department of Defense hires private companies to provide "enemy" aircraft for U.S. military training. DOD awarded almost $8.4 billion for these air support contracts in FY 2015 through 2020. We found contract awards for air support have increased since FY 2015. For example, the Air Force awarded an air support contract for $83 million in 2015 and awarded a $6.4 billion contract in 2020.
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12/21/2021
After Turkey was barred from acquiring them, Greece’s Air Force wants to get US-made F-35 fighter jets to bolster the country’s arsenal, hopes rising after an amendment in the American Senate tied to the defense budget. That was co-authored by New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez and Florida Republican Marco Rubio in an increasingly rare bipartisan move in the US Senate that has split over ideological lines.
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12/20/2021
Expect to see these soon: Chinese social media is boasting of its rapidly growing naval strength, with comprehensive and powerful battle groups soon to begin roaming the world’s seas. A set of graphic representations of Beijing’s next-generation aircraft carrier, only known as Type 003 at this point, is capitalising upon a rapidly looming shift in the world’s balance of power.
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12/20/2021
The Shandong, the second aircraft carrier of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, recently set out for realistic combat-oriented drills in the South China Sea, in a move experts said on Sunday will enhance its capabilities.
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12/20/2021
The Turkish Air Force is set to train with Qatar’s French-made Dassault Rafale jets to counter the Greek military, which has increased its air force capabilities with newly acquired Rafale fighter aircraft from its ally France, Nordic Monitor has learned.
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12/20/2021
The passage by the US Senate of the country’s defense budget, including the Menendez-Rubio amendment enhancing defense cooperation with Greece, has revived talk about Greece’s possible acquisition of the fifth-generation F-35 stealth multirole combat aircraft.
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12/19/2021
The history of air combat has seen one recurring theme—new tactics are learned in battle, forgotten or discarded when battle concludes, and relearned at great cost during the next war. This cycle continued into the 1960s, when America was drawn into the Vietnam War. Despite having a skill and equipment advantage, US Navy aircrews were faring poorly against North Vietnamese fighters.
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12/19/2021
Earlier this month, the US military announced it had ended its combat role in Iraq. The move comes just a few months after a July meeting between Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and US President Joe Biden. Afterwards, the leaders issued a statement announcing that "there will be no US forces with a combat role in Iraq by December 31, 2021."
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12/19/2021
Turkey has reportedly offered Azerbaijan and Pakistan to join the production of national combat aircraft. "Our doors for the joint production of national combat aircraft are open to countries that want to cooperate with us," President of Turkey's Defense Industries Ismail Demir said in an interview with CNN Turk on Friday, December 17.
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12/19/2021
The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) received the second batch of the Meteor missile, which will equip the F-39 Gripen fighter, the first four units of which were delivered by Saab on November 24. The first batch, of a few units, had been purchased for development, integration and qualification of the aircraft. With the new armament, Brazil will make a leap in air combat capability, significantly increasing the Air Force’s deterrent capacity.
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12/19/2021
The US Government remains “very committed” to the sale of 50 F-35 combat aircraft to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as part of an agreement for the supply of $ 23.37 billion worth of military equipment to one of its main allies in the Middle East. This was indicated in a telephone call with journalists by a senior official in the Administration of President Joe Biden, who admitted, however, that it is a “very complicated sale.”
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12/17/2021
Boeing didn’t mention it, but Christopher Pyne did: the company’s Airpower Teaming System could be armed. Australia’s then defence minister, speaking at the unveiling of the ATS in February 2019, omitted details of kinetic missions that might be undertaken by the aircraft, a ‘loyal wingman’ drone. But they’re not hard to guess. Most obviously, they would be attacks on relatively easy surface targets but also, quite possibly, shooting down low-performance aircraft.
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12/17/2021
Four F-35A aircraft departed from Fort Worth, Texas, arrived at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, on Dec. 15, 2021, marking the arrival of the first Europe-based USAF’s Lightning II 5th generation.
Flying as RETRO 31-34 and supported by BLUE81, a KC-135R #59-1495, and BLUE82, a KC-10A Extender #84-0189, the four aircraft (#19-5473, #19-5474, #19-5475 and #19-5476) approached RAF Lakenheath as a 4 ship at 13.50L before braking off and then all of them landing on RWY24.
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12/17/2021
The U.K. Ministry of Defense has confirmed that a Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon FGR4 fighter jet shot down a hostile drone over Syria earlier this week, in what is the first confirmed air-to-air engagement for this type in British service. The event was also the first time that the RAF has fired an air-to-air missile during Operation Shader, the British contribution to the U.S.-led campaign against ISIS in the Middle East.
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12/17/2021
Lockheed Martin will offer a variant of its T-50A in the competition to build the Air Force’s new tactical fighter trainer rather than a clean-sheet design, the company said Dec. 14, insisting it will achieve “competitive pricing” with the aircraft. The jet was second in the T-X competition that Boeing won with a fresh design three years ago.
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12/16/2021
On November 2nd, 2021, Lt. Gen. Michael Loh, director of the Air National Guard, announced the selection of the Utah Air National Guard’s 151st Air Refueling Wing as the KC-135 Test Detachment for the Air National Guard (ANG) and Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) Test Center (AATC). This announcement officially formalizes an arrangement between the Utah Air National Guard and AATC to continue providing operational test capabilities to the KC-135 community.
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12/16/2021
The U.S. Air Force wants to soon add to its arsenal remotely piloted air combat vehicles that may be networked and controlled by piloted aircraft, according to the service’s top official. The news comes days after USAF Secretary Frank Kendall also confirmed that the Air Force will ask for funding for two classified remotely piloted air combat vehicles in the next defense budget, according to reports.
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12/15/2021
The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday announced it was suspending discussions with the United States over the purchase of the F-35 Lightning II fighter jet. A UAE official told CNN the country made the decision after "technical requirements, sovereign operational restrictions and cost/benefit analysis led to the re-assessment."
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12/15/2021
The U.S. Air Force says it wants a more realistic, cost effective way to transition advanced student pilots to the 5th generation strike fighter aircraft it envisions filling its fleet with. It’s looking at modified trainer-based platforms to meet that goal but what if a ready-made option already in exists in the form of Sweden’s oft-shunned Gripen?
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12/14/2021
The venerable AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM, which got its first kill back in 1992, is set to get another major boost in capability. Although the U.S. military has a designated successor now in the works, the West’s most popular radar-guided air-to-air missile is about to be fielded in a new iteration, known as F3R.
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12/14/2021
The aircraft would come from Norway, which is replacing its current fleet of F-16 with F-35 Lightning IIs. Draken recently took delivery of a dozen of these fighters, and Romania intends to acquire the remainder. According to the Romanian media Digi24, of the 454 million euros (USS 514 million approx.) that the operation would cost, 354 are for the purchase of the F-16s and 100 million are for the logistics support package and modernization work.
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12/14/2021
A group of Air Force fifth-generation fighter jets from Alaska are in Japan to train alongside Marine Corps and Japanese aircraft and demonstrate their ability to disperse and fight far from home. F-35A Lightning IIs from Eielson Air Force Base’s 354th Fighter Wing arrived at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni on Dec. 3 for Operation Iron Dagger, according to a Thursday news release from Pacific Air Forces.
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12/13/2021
When desperate Afghans fought their way into Kabul’s international airport during the last two weeks of August, most of those lucky enough to get past Taliban checkpoints, the crush of their panicked compatriots, and U.S. military and diplomatic gatekeepers found a spot on a departing airplane.
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12/13/2021
Rafale is a twin-jet combat aircraft capable of carrying out a wide range of short and long-range missions, including ground and sea attacks. Rafale is a twin-jet combat aircraft manufactured by Dassault Aviation and is capable of carrying out a wide range of short and long-range missions. It can be used to perform ground and sea attacks, reconnaissance, high-accuracy strikes and nuclear strike deterrence.
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12/12/2021
Congress could be able to require the U.S. military to prepare a pair of studies about what it would take to put new engines into current and future F-35 stealth jets later in this decade. There is an entirely new powerplant under development under the Adaptive Engine Transition Program, or AETP, with multiple prototypes being tested already. The hope is that the AETP engine or some other alternative would bring a significant performance boost to all three variants of the F-35s.
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12/11/2021
NATO members closest to the Russian threat are seeking “adjustments” to the alliance’s defense posture to show Russian President Vladimir Putin that America will defend NATO’s eastern flank in the event of hostilities in Ukraine. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian defense official who spoke to Air Force Magazine on condition of anonymity said “a signal” that the U.S. will deliver needed air defenses to Ukraine would be enough to deter Russia from mounting an invasion.
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12/11/2021
The Boeing Company recently won a modification contract to extend the service life of up to 32 F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft. The deal has been awarded by the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD. Valued at $366.5 million, the contract is scheduled to be completed by May 2024. The majority of work related to this deal will be executed in San Antonio, TX.
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12/11/2021
Finland has agreed to buy 64 Lockheed Martin fighter jets to replace its aging fleet of combat planes in a 10 billion-euro ($11.3 billion) deal that represents the Finnish military's largest ever purchase, the government said Friday. The Nordic country picked the U.S. company's F-35A fighters from among five contenders, which also included the Boeing F-18 Super Hornet, France's Dassault Rafale, Britain's Eurofighter Typhoon and Sweden's Saab Gripen.
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12/10/2021
Lockheed Martin has established a joint venture with Tata Advanced Systems to manufacture F-21 fighter wings at a production facility in India. The partnership comes after Tata manufactured parts for a fighter aircraft wing prototype to support a campaign to sell 114 F-21 fighters to the Indian Air Force.
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12/10/2021
Speaking to POLITICO at the Reagan National Defense Forum, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall revealed the existence of two new classified drone programs on Saturday, both built for combat rather than intelligence-gathering.
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12/09/2021
The fiscal 2022 defense authorization conference bill largely accedes to the U.S. Air Force request to retire 201 aircraft with some conditions and a prohibition on retiring A-10 Warthog close air support planes.
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12/08/2021
Nine Chinese military planes entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Tuesday (Dec. 7), marking the sixth intrusion this month. Six People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Chengdu J-10 fighter planes, two Shenyang J-16 fighter jets, and one Shaanxi Y-8 electronic warfare plane entered different areas within the southwestern corner of Taiwan’s ADIZ, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).
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12/08/2021
The Air Force demonstrated that it can operate the remotely-piloted MQ-9 Reaper over long-range flights in the Pacific using limited ground support gear and non-specialist ground personnel. The demonstration provided a boost for the service’s agile combat employment concept, it said Dec. 7.
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12/08/2021
The South African Air Force’s (SAAF’s) Gripen fleet is temporarily grounded, with no aircraft serviceable, due to a lack of funding and maintenance and support contracts not being renewed in time, but it is likely that the Gripens will be flying again in the new year.
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12/08/2021
A recent test flight of Boeing Australia’s Airpower Teaming System, the second such flight in the ‘Loyal Wingman’ program, which currently has two test aircraft, saw the first aircraft retract its undercarriage for the first time and the second aircraft take its first flight. A total of six have been ordered, with three to be acquired by the end of 2021.
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12/07/2021
Turkey has been delivering Turkish Bayraktar drones to Ukraine as scheduled according to the requirements of the deal and new delivery has nothing to do with the objection of Russia, the country’s top defense official said on Dec. 4.
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12/07/2021
The U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command approved the operation of KC-46A Pegasus to refuel AC-130J Ghostrider, HC-130J Combat King II, MC-130J Commando II, C-5M Super Galaxy and E-3G Sentry. Following this qualification, the KC-46 can now refuel nearly 70% of the receiving aircraft requiring in-flight refueling. Work is also underway to certify the Pegasus to refuel Air Force One.
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12/06/2021
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the service urgently needs to retire outdated air frames so it can focus on developing modern aircraft to counter a rapidly modernizing Chinese military. During a panel here Saturday at the Reagan National Defense Forum, Kendall mentioned MQ-9 Reapers, some C-130s, older tankers and the A-10 Warthog as examples of aging aircraft that will struggle in a conflict with China.
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12/06/2021
In a first for the Marine Corps, Marines from Marine Operational Test & Evaluation Squadron One conducted over-the-horizon heavy lift and troop transport ship-to-shore operations aboard CH-53K King Stallions over the Atlantic Ocean, Nov. 19-21.
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12/06/2021
Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have the potential to work together in the defense sector, Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) Chairperson Ismail Demir said, indicating that Abu Dhabi has shown interest in the Turkish sector.
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12/05/2021
Russia has claimed to have escorted a US spy plane away from its airspace amid a new US warning that Vladimir Putin intends to deploy 175,000 troops to invade Ukraine in early 2022.
Footage apparently taken in the cockpit of a Russian military aircraft appears to show them tailing an American RC-135 reconnaissance plane over the Black Sea.
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12/05/2021
Intimidation gets results. And that’s why China may be less willing than feared when it comes to invading Taiwan. For now. The drums of war have been beating loudly throughout 2021.
Defence Minister Peter Dutton told an Australian Press Club luncheon late last month that “If Taiwan is taken, then surely the Senkakus are next. Please don’t rely on your imagination. The Chinese Communist Party could not be any clearer — not always with their words, but certainly with their actions.”
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12/05/2021
Today, fifth-generation fighters rule the roost. Because of their enormous design, production, and operating costs, they tend to be developed by the countries with the most significant militaries—most prominently the United States, Russia, and China, each of which have devoted significant resources to operate them. The American F-22 Raptor jets and F-35 stealth fighter jets are probably the two best fighter aircraft in the world, although other modern planes, could credibly threaten them in the
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12/04/2021
China and Russia have strengthened their political, economic and military relations this year, despite their uneasy history in the past, as both countries say they resent what they call growing pressure from the West.
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12/04/2021
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has signed for 80 Dassault Rafale combat aircraft from France, the manufacturer announced on 3 December. Signed in the presence of the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Vice-Commander of the Armed Forces of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed ben Zayed Al Nahyane, the contract covers the F4 aircraft, representing the first export order for the latest standard Rafale.
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12/03/2021
The Israeli government has approved the planned procurement of a fleet of a dozen CH-53K helicopters, clearing a final regulatory hurdle for the buy and clearing the path for a final agreement to be signed by the end of the year. The approval from the Israeli government ministers committee for defense acquisition headed by prime minster Naftali Bennet was given on Nov. 28.
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12/03/2021
The Norwegian Defense Materiel Agency has signed a contract to sell up to 12 F-16 combat aircraft to US military provider Draken International to be used as part of training services, the Norwegian government announced on Thursday on its website.
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12/02/2021
Speaking at the Dubai Air Show in mid-November, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Executive Vice President Greg Ulmer said that the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has requested details for the supply of 30 C-130J Hercules. “They are talking to us about potential for 24 C-130J-30s and six KC-130Js,” Ulmer told overseas journalists.
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12/02/2021
Northrop Grumman has received a $153 million dollar contract award from the U.S. Navy for full-rate production of lots 10 and 11 of the AGM-88E2 Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM), the company said Dec. 1. The contract includes production of missiles for the U.S. Navy and German air force.
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12/02/2021
The Malaysian government has mandated a requirement for prospective suppliers of the 18 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) for the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), currently being evaluated, to source or procure at least 30 percent of products/services from domestic companies.
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12/02/2021
The Air Force is considering a new trainer aircraft — one intended to emulate 4th and 5th generation fighter jets and be able to better train the service’s newest fighter pilots how to fly in combat. Nope, not the T-7A Red Hawk. Another one. Maybe.
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12/01/2021
Airbus Defence and Space announced on September 1 that it has received an order from the Republic of Kazakhstan for two A400M airlifters. The order brings the number of A400M customers to nine. The first aircraft is scheduled to be handed over in 2024. To support the aircraft, Airbus will deliver a complete training and maintenance support package.
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12/01/2021
The Russian military will commence ground tests of its upgraded Tupolev Tu-160 bomber in December, TASS revealed, citing sources. The ground tests will begin with a maiden trial run on the Kazan Aviation Enterprise runway, the outlet added.
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12/01/2021
A repeat Eurofighter buy represents Spain’s best option for replacing an aged fleet of Canary Islands-based Boeing F-18 fighters, Airbus has claimed, after Lockheed Martin recently cited interest in its F-35 from Madrid. “The F-35 is an available aircraft, but for Spanish industry and for the Spanish customer, the Eurofighter is the right choice,” claims Kurt Rossner, Airbus Defence & Space’s head of combat aircraft systems.
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