Military Aviation News Archive
06/13/2023
The House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee has decided to greenlight continued divestment of the A-10 Warthog, according to draft text of the subcommittee’s markup of the fiscal 2024 defense policy bill obtained by Breaking Defense. The subcommittee would also seek to impose some provisions on the development of the Air Force and Navy’s next-gen fighters and drones that could join them in combat.
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06/08/2023
The Indian Ambassador to Argentina, Dinesh Bhatia, and the Chief of the Argentine Air Force, Brigadier General Xavier Isaac, had a meeting on Tuesday. They talked about working together on Tejas Combat Aircraft and different types of helicopters made by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The Indian Embassy in Argentina tweeted about this, saying that Ambassador Dinesh Bhatia joined a delegation from HAL to meet Brigadier General Xavier Isaac and the Argentine Air Force technical team.
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06/08/2023
U.S. Navy aerial warfare experts are asking Raytheon Technologies Corp. to build 571 AIM-9X precision short-range infrared-guided air-to-air missiles for jet fighters and other combat aircraft under terms of a $263.7 million order announced in December. Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., are asking the Raytheon Missiles & Defense segment in Tucson, Ariz., to build lot 23 AIM-9X block II air-to-air missiles for the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and foreig
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06/08/2023
The headquarters of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in Sacheon, located approximately 300 kilometers south of Seoul, served as the venue for the ceremony, which revolved around the theme of “Firm Commitment, Secure Future.” The ceremony witnessed the presence of Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, alongside his Polish counterpart Mariusz Blaszczak, together with Korea’s Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Jung Sang-hwa, and Defense Acquisition Program Administration Chief Eom Dong-hwan.
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06/08/2023
"The SBU counterintelligence exposed another FSB agent during counter-sabotage operations in the Dnipro region. The offender was collecting intelligence for Russian occupants on the types and number of aircraft of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as their basing locations and flight directions. He also passed on the locations of military enlistment offices to the invaders and tried to identify railroad lines used to supply ammunition to the front.
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06/08/2023
How does it feel to fly the F-35, the fifth-generation combat and intelligence-collection platform that is currently the best aircraft on the planet and the tip of the spear for both the US and Israeli air forces? Tony “Brick” Wilson is an F-35 test pilot for Lockheed Martin, which produces the aircraft. Previously, he served in the US Navy and was the first pilot to land an F-35C on an aircraft carrier.
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06/07/2023
On May 19, U.S. President Joe Biden announced the country would help train and support the transfer by European allies of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. But the F-16s are older aircraft that will need to be replaced in just a few years, so some consideration should be paid now to what’s next for the Ukraine Air Force.
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06/06/2023
A senior U.S. diplomat held candid and productive talks on Monday with Chinese officials, the State Department said, despite some criticism that his visit to China coincided with the anniversary of Beijing's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. The visit to Beijing by Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, followed China's snub last week of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who had sought a formal meeting with his Chinese counterpart.
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06/06/2023
The defense ministers of Germany and the United Kingdom have pledged to keep up their respective military presence in the Indo-Pacific region, while also outlining their plans for military deployments, at a regional security summit in Singapore. Britain’s Ben Wallace and Germany’s Oscar Pistorius were speaking at their respective plenaries during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, an event organized by the International Institute of Strategic Studies that ran June 2-4.
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06/06/2023
Two Norwegian F-35, on QRA for NATO in the north, were scrambled from Evenes airport Monday morning to meet and identify a group of Russian military planes flying west out from the Kola Peninsula. Spokesperson Marius Vågenes Villanger with the Joint Headquarters says in a phone interview with the Barents Observer this happened between 08.30 and 11.00 Norwegian time.
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06/06/2023
The Air Force is offering a bigger bonus - up to $50,000 per year - as it hopes to keep some of its most experienced pilots and retain aviators amid a pilot shortage. Certain pilots - including remote piloted aircraft pilots, air battle managers and combat systems officers - can apply for the Legacy Aviation Bonus Program starting Tuesday and through Sept. 15. Major changes to the program include "an increase in the monetary cap from $35,000 per year up to $50,000 per year" for those who are eli
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06/06/2023
An Air Force plan to acquire a new type of semi-autonomous drones follows an emerging pattern of buying items that are already at least partially available commercially and modifying them for Defense Department needs. The collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) will fly alongside fighter jets as a robot wingman that extends the jets’ capabilities without requiring another pilot.
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06/05/2023
An unresponsive airplane flying over Washington, D.C., on Sunday prompted military fighter jets to intercept the plane at hypersonic levels, causing a loud sonic boom heard around D.C. and Virginia, officials said. The plane later crashed in Virginia and no survivors were found.
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06/05/2023
A handful of former German fighter pilots are reportedly working as military trainers in China and receiving enormous salaries, indicating yet another incident of “poaching” by China after similar patterns were recorded in the US, the UK, and France.
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06/05/2023
China’s defense minister defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, telling a gathering of some of the world’s top defense officials in Singapore on Sunday that such so-called “freedom of navigation” patrols are a provocation to China.
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06/03/2023
The Russian-occupied Azov Sea port city of Berdyansk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast was struck by a Ukrainian missile on Friday, an occupation official said. Located about 60 miles from the front lines, Berdyansk is the latest example of long-distance targets Ukraine can now hit thanks to donated weapons. This is at least the fourth attack on the port city in the past few weeks.
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06/03/2023
The US Air Force (USAF) is denying reports that an unmanned aerial system (UAS) powered by artificial intelligence turned against its operators during an exercise. Recent comments by a USAF test pilot at a Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) summit in London appeared to indicate such an event had occurred during a training exercise simulation.
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06/03/2023
The blazing Langkawi sun did little to deter the crowds that had gathered on the tarmac to catch a glimpse of the ear-busting action unfolding above them at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre, right beside the island’s airport.
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06/02/2023
Team Misawa hosted the latest iteration of a PACIFIC WEASEL exercise over Draughon Range near Misawa Air Base, Japan, May 26, 2023. PAC WEASEL is a recurring air combat exercise that allows joint and bilateral partners to discover innovative solutions for any given mission. This exercise series supports the U.S. commitment to defend a free and open Indo-Pacific region by enhancing the readiness and tactical capabilities of U.S. Forces Japan and Japan Self-Defense Forces.
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06/02/2023
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that Poland will help Ukraine train F-16 combat aircraft pilots, After speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several other European officials at the meeting of European leaders in Moldova.
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06/02/2023
Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) had the distinction of signing the largest contract for an export sale to the armed forces of Malaysia during the May 23-27 Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA). The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) will acquire 18 of the FA-50 Block 20 “Fighting Eagle” trainer/light combat aircraft, a jet jointly developed by KAI with Lockheed Martin in the US. These aircraft will replace the BAE Systems Hawk 208 light fighters already in service.
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06/01/2023
U.S. defense officials are warning of an "alarming increase" in aggressive intercepts from Chinese military aircraft and vessels following a close encounter between a Chinese fighter jet and a U.S. military plane in international airspace over the South China Sea last week. These "risky" intercepts have the "potential to create an unsafe incident or miscalculation," said two U.S. defense officials who spoke about the incident on the condition of anonymity.
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06/01/2023
A Navy F-5N Tiger II crashed about 25 miles off the coast of Naval Air Station Key West, Fla., at 9:20 a.m local time., the service announced on Wednesday. The pilot of the fighter, assigned to the “Sun Downers” of Fighter Squadron Composite (VFC) 111, was recovered by the crew of a MH-60S Knight Hawk. The pilot was flown to a Miami hospital for further treatment, according to a service statement.
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06/01/2023
Over the next two weeks, more than two dozen US Air Force jets and tankers will participate in the drills, which began on May 29 and will last through June 9. The Arctic drills will feature 150 aircraft from 14 nations and take place at bases across Sweden, Finland, and Norway.
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06/01/2023
The Biden administration is poised to sign off on a deal that would allow General Electric Co to produce jet engines powering Indian military aircraft in that country, according to three people briefed on the decision. A deal finalizing the joint production of the engines is expected to be inked and announced by the time President Joe Biden hosts Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an official state visit on June 22, the people said on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been
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