Military Aviation News Archive
09/18/2009
A Boeing Harpoon Block II missile equipped with a redesigned Guidance Control Unit (GCU) flew for the first time in a test conducted on Sept. 10. It was launched from the USS Princeton off the coast of California and scored a direct hit on a land-based target on San Nicolas Island, Calif.
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09/18/2009
The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today kicked off a two-day conference with 140 potential partner and supplier companies in São Paulo, reaffirming its commitment to fulfill all of Brazil's requirements with its Super Hornet solution to the F-X2 fighter competition.
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09/18/2009
Boeing has completed delivery of the U.S. Air Force's first simulator for the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) to Little Rock Air Force Base. The Weapon System Trainer (WST) passed government acceptance testing and was declared "ready for use" on July 20.
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09/15/2009
A joint U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin flight crew flying a C-5M Super Galaxy strategic transport claimed 41 world aeronautical records in one flight on September 13.
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09/15/2009
Raytheon Company completed GBU-53/B datalink flight testing. This concludes all testing requirements for the company's Small Diameter Bomb II risk reduction program.
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09/14/2009
.S. F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets will take part in two-stage military exercises in Estonia and Lithuania aimed at improving interoperability and combat readiness of NATO forces in the Baltic region.
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09/14/2009
Boeing today unveiled additional details of the company's potential offering in the U.S. Air Force KC-X tanker competition, saying the KC-7A7 will offer maximum capability at the lowest cost.
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09/13/2009
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will supply its Heron Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) to MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA), who have been awarded a contract by the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) for an unmanned aerial surveillance solution.
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09/13/2009
If you are a paid Taliban operative or an Iraqi insurgent you may think you know how to slip through the mountains or skulk in the desert without U.S. forces noticing. Guess again. There’s a little thing invented in America in the 1980s called Ground Moving Target Indicator. It’s a radar-based sensor that paints you, your truck and the other two-legged and four-legged movers near you as dots on a map. A bunch of smart Americans at computer terminals can learn an awful lot about you every time yo
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09/13/2009
The first four Russian-made MiG-29K/KUB fighter jets, purchased by India for the modernized Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, will be delivered to the Indian navy in October, an Indian defense source said.
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09/09/2009
In November 2007, “Brazil Embarking Upon F-X2 Fighter Program?” discussed both the revived fighter competition, and Brazil’s surprising 50% boost to its defense budget. Other programs mentioned in that article included Brazil’s selection of a medium transport helicopter and of an attack helicopter, with other programs to follow. After decades of neglect, Brazil is reconstituting both its armed forces, and a defense industry that once offered an array of competitive products on the global stage.
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09/08/2009
Maj. Gen. Ronald "Ron" Ladnier, commander, 17th Air Force and U.S. Air Forces Africa, recently accepted the fifth of 14 Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] C-130Js to be based at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
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09/08/2009
The deal was announced in a statement issued by Presidents Luis Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Nicolas Sarkozy of France, who together took part in Brazil's Independence Day ceremonies in Brasilia. The precise value of the aircraft sale was not released pending final agreement on the terms but observers estimate its value at more than $2 billon.
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09/08/2009
The induction of advanced jet trainers into India’s Air Force has been a long and difficult process. After a nuumber of false starts, and indigenous efforts like HAL’s Ajeet that didn’t quite live up to expectations, a 20-year procurement process came to an end when India selected BAE’s Hawk 115Y as its future advanced jet trainer in 2004. The 66-plane order was worth about $1.2 billion, and included options for another 40 aircraft. The first 24 Hawk Mk.132 AJTs have already been delivered by BA
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09/04/2009
Russia and Syria are in talks on the delivery of at least eight MiG-31 Foxhound interceptors under a contract signed two years ago, a Russian business daily said on Thursday, citing an industry official.
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09/03/2009
Boeing the world's largest aerospace company, will present several key elements at Asian Aerospace 2009. Boeing will spotlight its commercial airplane family, with several of its Commercial Airplanes business unit experts speaking at the conference sessions and will conduct a pair of media briefings focusing on the current market as well as Boeing products and services. Asian Aerospace takes place Sept. 8-10, at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong.
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09/03/2009
Existing on-board sensor capability of tactical fighter aircraft can be leveraged to provide near real-time intelligence and enhanced situational awareness, as demonstrated by Lockheed Martin during the recent U.S. Air Force Empire Challenge exercise.
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08/31/2009
United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates visited Lockheed Martin’s [NYSE: LMT] final assembly operation for the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter today, conveying optimism for the program’s future and emphasizing the F-35’s importance to global security.
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08/31/2009
Russia is concluding talks with Saudi Arabia on selling 30 Mi-171B helicopters, a source close to the negotiations said on Tuesday.
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08/20/2009
The Russian Defense Ministry and the Tupolev aircraft maker have signed a contract on the development of a new-generation strategic bomber, the company's general director said on Wednesday.
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08/20/2009
Russia will fulfill a contract on the delivery of eight Su-30MK2 fighters to Vietnam in 2010, state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said on Wednesday. Russia and Vietnam signed a of $500 million agreement on the sale of eight Su-30MK2 fighters in January 2009.
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08/18/2009
Russia's Air Force may receive over 60 Su fighters worth at least 60 billion rubles ($1.9 bln) under a contract expected to be signed at the MAKS-2009 air show.
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08/18/2009
Production of MiG-35 multirole fighters offered for sale to India cannot start before 2013 or 2014, a Russian aircraft maker said on Thursday.
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08/17/2009
A short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter has become the first F-35 to complete an aerial refueling test using the Navy- and Marine Corps-style probe-and-drogue refueling system. Thursday’s successful mission is the first in a short series of tests that will clear the STOVL F-35B variant for extended-range flights, particularly to its primary test site at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
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08/13/2009
Boeing on July 29 successfully completed the first flight of a B-1 bomber upgraded with the Fully Integrated Data Link (FIDL). This upgrade includes new processors, color displays and communications architecture, enhancing B-1 crews' situational awareness and communications capability. The U.S. Air Force 419th Test Squadron conducted the flight from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
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