Military Aviation News Archive
10/22/2024
Swedish aircraft maker Saab has made an appealing offer to deliver the first Gripen E/F within three years if awarded the contract. Taking the conversation forward, Saab Campaign Director and Head of Gripen for India Programme (Business Area Aeronautics) Kent-Ake Molin asserted that the Swedish firm was already exploring manufacturing opportunities in India to serve local and global markets with complete transfer of technology.
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10/22/2024
The two US Navy aviators who were killed in a fighter jet crash in the United States last week had recently returned from flying combat missions against the Houthis. Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay Evans and Lt. Serena Wileman were killed when their EA-18G Growler crashed during a training flight near Washington's Mount Rainier on October 15, the Navy said Monday.
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10/22/2024
A US F-35 stealth fighter jet landed aboard Japan's new destroyer-turned-aircraft carrier for the first time off the coast of California, the US military said, sharing photos of the event. It's a major step in integrating the F-35B short-takeoff/vertical landing variant used by the US Marine Corps and the British Royal Navy on its carriers into Japan's self-defense forces.
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10/21/2024
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 19 Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Thursday (Oct. 17) and 6 a.m. on Friday. Of the 19 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 15 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the nation’s northern, central, and southwestern air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND.
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10/21/2024
As the battle to power India’s 5th-generation fighter jet heats up, French aero-engine maker Safran is increasing its footprint in India. India has partnered with the US to build engines for Light Combat Aircraft, LCA MK1A and LCA MK2. However, the US firm is reluctant to part with the 100 percent technology. French Safran sees this as an opportunity to bolster defense ties with India.
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10/21/2024
Two crew members who were missing following the crash of a fighter jet in mountainous terrain in Washington state during a routine training flight have been declared dead, the U.S. Navy said Sunday. The EA-18G Growler jet from the Electronic Attack Squadron crashed east of Mount Rainier on Tuesday afternoon, according to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. Search teams, including a U.S. Navy MH-60S helicopter, launched from the air station to try to find the crew and crash site.
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10/21/2024
The defense ministers of Japan, the U.K. and Italy agreed to accelerate the joint development of a next-generation fighter jet, and announced that a trilateral government organization would be established by the end of this year to work with the parties producing the aircraft, Japanese officials said Sunday. The three countries agreed in 2022 to jointly produce a new combat aircraft that will be ready for deployment in 2035, under the Global Combat Air Program, or GCAP.
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10/20/2024
The roar of aircraft around Selfridge Air National Guard Base has returned. As of Tuesday crews completed their work on the runway resurfacing project and by Wednesday afternoon military planes that had been dispersed from the airfield at the start of construction in July were landing on the new surface.
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10/20/2024
As we know, the American armies, including the US Air Force, are facing serious problems in the area of ??human resources, hampered by insufficient recruitment and non-renewals of contracts, creating a haemorrhage that is difficult to stem. This problem now affects all specialties, including the most attractive and symbolic function of the US Air Force, fighter pilots.
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10/19/2024
A model of the next-generation fighter jet, currently under development by Japan, the United Kingdom, and Italy, was unveiled at the 2024 International Aerospace Exhibition held in Tokyo from October 16 to 19. The project, officially known as the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), aims to develop a cutting-edge fighter jet that integrates advanced capabilities across all three nations’ defense sectors.
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10/19/2024
The Air Force has picked Anduril and General Atomics to continue developing their autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft concepts over designs offered by Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. In a non-traditional move, the companies that were not picked will still be able to compete to produce the resulting aircraft.
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10/19/2024
France is considering collaboration with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to develop the Rafale F5 next-generation fighter aircraft. The countries are currently in talks about co-financing the initiative, with Abu Dhabi potentially covering the non-sovereign components of the fighter jet.
Paris will maintain exclusive control over the jet’s critical components, even if the other party agrees to the deal, according to French newspaper La Tribune.
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10/19/2024
South Korea’s homegrown fighter jet KF-21 is competing against US defense firm Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-16 for the Philippine government’s multirole fighter (MRF) aircraft procurement project, with an estimated budget of up to 400 billion pesos ($6.95 billion). According to industry sources on Friday, the KF-21, developed by Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI), and the Lockheed Martin F-16 have been shortlisted in the Philippine Air Force’s MRF project.
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10/18/2024
The US says it has carried out "precision strikes" against five weapons storage locations in areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthi movement. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said B-2 Spirit stealth bombers were part of the operation that targeted hardened underground facilities housing missiles and other munitions that the Iran-backed group had used to attack civilian and military ships.
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10/18/2024
Search efforts continued Thursday for the two-person crew of a Navy fighter jet that crashed near Washington's Mount Rainier earlier this week, officials said. The EA-18G Growler jet was on a routine training mission when it went down Tuesday in the scrubby landscape on the mountainside east of Rainier, about 30 miles west of Yakima, and officials have said the whereabouts of the crew remains a mystery.
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10/18/2024
Turkey has been conducting technical works aimed at accelerating its planned purchase of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, a defence ministry official said on Thursday. Ankara said last year it was in talks with Eurofighter consortium members Britain and Spain to buy Typhoons, though Germany objected the idea. Since then, it has complained of a lack of progress on the issue over Berlin's reluctance.
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10/18/2024
On August 28, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) announced the Swedish Saab Gripen E as its preferred combat aircraft to replace its aging F-16A/Bs. However, as the RTAF aspires to become one of the best air forces in Southeast Asia, it is unlikely to be satisfied with 4+ generation combat aircraft in the future. With denied access to the U.S.-made fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II, Thailand may turn to South Korea to fulfill its future airpower needs.
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10/18/2024
A historic agreement on the joint development of the Gripen fighter jet has been reached with the Swedish defence minister, Hungary’s Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky announced in a video posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday. Szalay-Bobrovniczky highlighted that the Gripens are the iconic, multi-role tactical aircraft of the Hungarian Air Force, originating from Sweden and serving as a key asset in Hungary’s defence.
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10/16/2024
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has achieved Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for its CF-18 Hornet Extension Project (HEP), marking a significant step forward in the modernization of the Canadian fighter fleet. The announcement comes as the first six HEP2-upgraded CF-18 Hornets were delivered to 3 Wing Bagotville in Quebec, part of a five-year collaboration with the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18 and EA-18G Program Office (PMA-265). The project aims to upgrade a total of 84 aircraft by 2026.
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10/16/2024
Ministers have been accused of “cutting” the RAF’s next generation fighter programme by 10 per cent this year as Rachel Reeves seeks budget savings. The Ministry of Defence has confirmed £160 million less than expected will be spent on the Tempest project amid wider fears about its future. It comes after Labour was accused of downgrading its pre-election commitment to increase military spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP “as soon as possible”.
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10/16/2024
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense reported an intense surge of military activity from China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) over a 24-hour period spanning from 05:00 on October 14 to 06:00 local time on October 15, 2024. A total of 153 PLAAF aircraft and 14 PLA Navy (PLAN) vessels were detected operating near Taiwan, raising concerns of escalating tensions in the region.
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10/16/2024
In a new milestone for the integration of Western weaponry with Russian/Soviet-origin platforms, the Ukrainian Air Force has announced that its Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker fighters have begun to be equipped with GBU-39 SDB glide bombs provided by the United States. This news was confirmed through a recent viral video on social media, showing ground crews loading and equipping a Ukrainian combat aircraft.
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10/16/2024
A new video from Taiwan's response to China's military exercises this week shows a Chinese J-15 carrier-based fighter jet through the sniper pod on an American-made F-16. The Chinese drills, which were called "Joint Sword-2024B," saw a record number of Chinese aircraft flying around Taiwan, according to data from Taiwan's defense ministry.
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10/15/2024
China employed 125 military aircraft in exercises aimed at Taiwan on Monday, a record for a single day, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said. It said 90 of the aircraft, including warplanes, helicopters and drones, were spotted within Taiwan’s air defense identification zone.
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10/15/2024
With German Chancellor Olaf Scholz scheduled to visit Türkiye on October 19, 2024, Germany has greenlit technical discussions with Türkiye for a potential sale of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets. This decision, taken in a confidential meeting by the German Federal Security Council, marks a shift from Berlin, which had previously blocked the sale over concerns that these aircraft could be used against Kurdish armed groups in Syria and Iraq.
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