Military Aviation News Archive
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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08/12/2009
Indian media report that India and Russia will sign a contract for 5 more Russian Kamov-31 airborne early warning helicopters, after India’s Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS) cleared the purchase on Aug 4/09. The rumored cost is INR 9.5 billion (about $195-200 million), but that remains to be finalized in negotiations. Note that transparency is often low with Russian contracts, and India has often found that the final price differs from any negotiated deal with Russian firms.
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08/12/2009
In August 1990, Iraq’s Air Force had more than 500 aircraft in their inventory. The IqAF was decimated in 1991, after Saddam invaded Kuwait and ended up facing the US military and its allies. What remained was hobbled by extensive, and expensive, no-fly zones, until the war formally concluded in 2003 with a US-led invasion that eliminated Saddam’s regime. Rebuilding the IqAF under the new Iraqi government has been a slow process.
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08/11/2009
The Boeing Company and Schiebel Industries AG of Austria today announced they have signed a teaming agreement to pursue marketing and support opportunities for Schiebel's S-100 CAMCOPTER. The S-100 is a compact unmanned aerial vehicle that provides a platform for a wide variety of payloads, including a stabilized video system for surveillance and reconnaissance.
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08/11/2009
Boeing today delivered Qatar's first C-17 Globemaster III airlifter to the Qatar Emiri Air Force during a ceremony at the company's facility in Long Beach.
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08/10/2009
The Russian-built Sukhoi Su-30MK, the high-performance fighter being exported to India and China, consistently beat the F-15C in classified simulations, say U.S. Air Force and aerospace industry officials.
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