Military Aviation News Archive

Joint Strike Fighter soars to $95M

03/12/2010

The cost of a single Joint Strike Fighter has soared to $95 million in the past eight years, a 50 percent increase, Pentagon officials told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

Tanker Deal Gives a Lift to Boeing

03/12/2010

Northrop Grumman’s withdrawal this week from a $40 billion contest to build aerial refueling tankers provides Boeing with some welcome certainty about its future as a major builder of military aircraft.

Ground Forces Highlight Singapore Air Show

03/12/2010

On one side of the static display at Singapore’s February air show was a row of almost a dozen front-line combat aircraft. In terms of their basic design, the newest was the F-15, ordered into development just over 40 years ago. With “the local customer”—as the Singapore armed forces are known in the nation—thus far committed to the F-35, the rest of the fighter world stayed away, and news was to be found in the exhibit halls.

Dhaka plans purchase of more combat aircraft, missiles

03/12/2010

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said her government plans to procure fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles, helicopters and other armament to strengthen the armed forces.

F-35B STOVL-mode Flight

03/12/2010

The first Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter passes overhead at 40 knots (46 mph) prior to a slow landing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., on Wednesday, March 10.

US-Europe tensions rise over arms deals, exports

03/11/2010

The United States and Europe face growing tensions over restrictions on export deals involving BAE Systems (BAES.L) while European politicians protest the collapse of efforts to sell aerial tankers to the United States.

IAF's AN-32 aircraft upgradation begins

03/11/2010

The first batch of five military transport aircraft of Indian Air Force has arrived in Ukraine for overhaul and modernisation.

UAV Could Be Battlefield Ambulance

03/11/2010

The Israel Defense Forces medical corps is looking at procuring an innovative unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that will evacuate critical casualties directly from the battlefield to the hospital. This would get more wounded to the hospital within the “golden hour,” the critical time in which a medical evacuation has the best chance of saving a wounded soldier’s life.

US Faces Helicopter Shortage in Afghanistan

03/11/2010

As the threat of roadside bombs and ambushes has escalated in Afghanistan, U.S. and coalition forces have been forced to move everything from food supplies to mail delivery away from the ground and into the air. That, in turn, has prompted another problem: a critical lack of cargo helicopters.

Northrop Grumman Successfully Demonstrates Capabilities of LITENING Targeting System on U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F

03/11/2010

Northrop Grumman Corporation today announced it successfully demonstrated its LITENING advanced targeting capabilities on the U.S. Navy's premier fighter/attack aircraft, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, marking the eighth U.S. combat aircraft to fly the advanced targeting system.

Lockheed Martin C-5M Super Galaxy Is ‘Effective, Suitable And Mission Capable’ For USAF Operations

03/11/2010

The Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) Center has rated the Lockheed Martin C-5M as "effective, suitable and mission capable" based on results from OT&E testing completed in January 2010.

Hawker Beechcraft Delivers 500th T-6 Military Trainer to U.S. Government

03/10/2010

Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) this week announced the delivery of the 500th Beechcraft T-6 military trainer to the United States Government. The milestone aircraft, a T-6B, went to the U.S. Navy and will be based at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton, Fla. Deliveries began in 2000 after the aircraft was initially selected to fill the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System role for the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and the U.S. Navy (USN) in 1996.

EADS loses £692m as new military plane costs spiral upwards

03/10/2010

The parent of European aerospace giant Airbus lost €763m (£692m) last year after paying €1.8bn in penalties and extra costs over its controversial new military transporter plane.

China warns US against selling F-16s to Taiwan

03/10/2010

China on Tuesday warned the United States against any future arms sales to Taiwan, including F-16 fighter jets the island has been pushing for in hopes of upgrading its air defense capabilities.

Northrop Grumman Expands Composites Manufacturing Training for Major Turkish F-35 Supplier

03/10/2010

Northrop Grumman Corporation is adding momentum to Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc.'s (TAI) readiness to build complete center fuselages for the F-35 Lightning II aircraft by teaching its engineers how to build the complex composite structures used in the jet.

Boeing Receives Phase 1 of Contract for US Air Force QF-16 Drone

03/10/2010

Boeing has been awarded a U.S. Air Force contract worth approximately $69.7 million for the initial engineering, manufacturing and development of QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Targets to replace the QF-4 fleet. Under the terms of the remainder of the contract, expected to be awarded in coming years, up to 126 QF-16 drones will deliver beginning in 2014.

Pak-US joint air exercises planned

03/09/2010

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and the US Air Force (USAF) will conduct joint exercises in the US towards the end of this year and the F-16 aircraft of the PAF will participate in the manoeuvres, defence and diplomatic sources told The News here.

Statement From Northrop Grumman on U.S. Air Force Aerial Refueling Tanker Program

03/09/2010

"After a comprehensive analysis of the final RFP, Northrop Grumman has determined that it will not submit a bid to the Department of Defense for the KC-X program. We reached this conclusion based on the structure of the source selection methodology defined in the RFP, which clearly favors Boeing's smaller refueling tanker and does not provide adequate value recognition of the added capability of a larger tanker, precluding us from any competitive opportunity.

A400M Partners Sees Potential For 300 Export Orders

03/09/2010

European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. NV (EAD.FR) and the seven governments involved in the long-delayed Airbus A400M military airlifter program reckon there is potential export demand for 300 of the planes, French Defense Minister Herve Morin said Monday.

'Over 24,000 cr spent on defence equipment purchase till Feb'

03/09/2010

Government on Monday said Rs 24,122 crores has been spent till February 2010 to procure various defence equipment for the armed forces during the current financial year.

Boeing 'Phantom Eye' Hydrogen Powered Vehicle Takes Shape

03/09/2010

The Boeing Company has begun to build Phantom Eye -- its first unmanned, liquid-hydrogen powered, high altitude long endurance (HALE) demonstrator aircraft.

UAE air force weighs up Italian and Korean options

03/08/2010

An Italian aerospace company’s campaign to sell 48 trainer jets and light attack aircraft to the UAE is under pressure after a high-level delegation visited South Korean defence companies last month, including the offices of its arch-rival.

Lockheed Martin, Pentagon, Say F-35 Program Back on Track

03/08/2010

Lockheed Martin Corp. and the Pentagon assured their international partners Thursday that problems in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program have been resolved and development of the next-generation warplane is back on track.

USAF considers options to preserve F-22 production tooling

03/08/2010

Five months after the US Congress approved the cancellation of the Lockheed Martin F-22, the air force is still deciding whether to preserve or scrap the production tooling.

Taiwan says China now has edge in air power

03/08/2010

China now has better fighter jets than Taiwan, according to a military report by the island's defence ministry as the air force Monday renewed its bid to obtain new F-16s from the United States.