Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Ukraine Situation Report: Russia Training Belarus Pilots To Fly Jets With ‘Special Warheads’

12/20/2022

During his first visit to Belarus in more than three years, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed with his counterpart, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, on a wide range of military and economic issues, including training Belarusian pilots to fly combat jets equipped with “special warheads,” according to the official Belarusian BelTa new agency. Lukashenko also thanked Putin for providing nuclear-capable Iskander short-range ballistic missiles and an S-400 air defense complex to Bela

Sweden’s Gripen Fighter Aircraft to Undergo Major Upgrade

12/20/2022

Swedish aerospace firm Saab announced Friday that it has been awarded a contract for 3.5 billion Swedish Krona ($338 million) to perform major upgrades on the Gripen multi-role fighter aircraft. According to the company, the plane will be equipped with a new engine to improve its flight performance. A more effective electronic warfare system will also be integrated to deny adversaries the ability to jam or disrupt the Gripen.

Turkey’s future unmanned fighter jet conducts first flight

12/20/2022

Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar Tech on Dec. 14 conducted the first flight test of its next-generation unmanned fighter jet, known as the Bayraktar Kizilelma. The drone is expected to be the air force backbone of the Turkish Navy’s future flagship, LHD Anadolu.

B-2 Bomber Fleet Grounded Indefinitely

12/20/2022

The U.S. Air Force’s entire fleet of B-2 Spirits is grounded, and the sole runway at their home base remains closed after one of the stealth bombers had a malfunction while flying and was forced to make an emergency landing Dec. 10. The head of Global Strike Command, Gen. Timothy Ray, directed the “safety pause” to inspect the fleet after the incident, Master Sgt. Beth Del Vecchio of Bomb Wing Public Affairs told Defense One in an email.

Japan and U.S. set up military intelligence team at Yokota Air Base

12/19/2022

Japan and the United States have launched a new organization to analyze information collected by their defense equipment, including U.S. unmanned aircraft recently deployed near the East China Sea, where China is intensifying its military activities.

‘Double HARM’: Ukrainian MiG-29 Fires Two AGM-88 Missiles Simultaneously Presumably At Russian Positions

12/18/2022

On December 16, a video showing a Ukrainian MiG-29 jet launching two AGM-88 HARMs surfaced online, indicating that these missiles still play an important role in striking Russian defenses. AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) is a tactical air-to-surface anti-radiation missile targeted at high-frequency radars to locate and strike the target.

Russia’s Shadowy Mercenary Air Force Is Losing More And More Jets In Ukraine

12/18/2022

The Sukhoi Su-24M supersonic bomber that was shot down and crashed practically on top of Ukrainian positions outside Bakhmut on Dec. 2 was flown by a pair of veteran aviators on contract with The Wagner Group, Russia’s notorious and mysterious mercenary firm. The Su-24 is at least the third Wagner-flown warplane the Ukrainians have shot down since Russia widened its war on Ukraine starting in February. Wagner also has lost a pair of Sukhoi Su-25 attack jets.

Turkey produced the mission computer for its 5th-gen aircraft

12/18/2022

Turkey has produced the mission computer of its fifth-generation fighter jet. This is clear from a post on Twitter by the account International Defense Analysis. In the post announcing the development and delivery of the mission computer for the aircraft, photos of the finished integrated circuits of the computer were shared.

European Future Combat Air Program Wants Demonstrators Flying By 2029

12/17/2022

The governments of France, Germany, and Spain have awarded a contract to industry to develop flying demonstrators for a Future Combat Air System (FCAS), which will eventually include a manned New Generation Fighter (NGF) aircraft. The contract — worth 3.2 billion Euros, or around $3.4 billion at the current exchange rate — comes a week to the day after the United Kingdom, Japan, and Italy announced they would team up to jointly develop a new fighter jet, under the Global Combat Air Program.

Gripen officially joins Brazil’s operational fighter fleet

12/17/2022

Brazil is set to officially add the Saab Gripen NG, locally designated as F-39, to the combat fleet of its air force on Dec. 19. The first of five F-39s, delivered from Sweden between December 2021 and April 2022, are now at Anapolis Air Base near the federal capital Brasilia. They were initially used for testing and training flying from Sao Paulo and other places.

Air Force asks Northrop Grumman to provide 42 AESA radar systems for F-16 fighters in $99.4 million order

12/16/2022

U.S. Air Force aerial warfare experts are ordering additional modern active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for F-16 jet fighter aircraft under terms of an $99.4 million order last month. Officials of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Fighter Bomber Directorate, F-16 Division, at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, are asking the Northrop Grumman Corp. Mission Systems segment in Linthicum Heights, Md., for 42 production radars and spare parts.

Germany places firm order for 35 F-35A, first delivery expected in 2026

12/16/2022

The German parliament has given the green light for the acquisition of 35 F-35A fighters for a total of €10 billion. The first six aircraft are expected in 2026. The order was confirmed by both the Bundeswehr (the German military) and the US manufacturer Lockheed Martin. “At its meeting on December 14[, 2022], the budget committee of the German Bundestag approved the funds for the procurement of the stealth multipurpose combat aircraft,” the Bundeswehr announced in a statement.

Fighter jet alliance with Japan could boost Asian exports, say chiefs

12/16/2022

The UK and Italy’s groundbreaking partnership with Japan to build a new combat jet could open up export markets in Asia that have historically proved difficult to penetrate, according to the chief executives of two of the industrial groups involved.

Video shows pilot ejecting from F-35 military jet, making crash landing in Fort Worth

12/16/2022

A pilot ejected from a military fighter jet, making a crash landing on a runway Thursday morning in Fort Worth. Video shows a pilot in the sky with a parachute after ejecting from an aircraft that had been hovering above the ground moments earlier.

How The Italian Media Treated The News Of The Deadly Eurofighter Crash Yesterday

12/15/2022

An Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon (F-2000 in accordance to Italy’s MOD Mission Design Series), assigned to the 37° Stormo (Wing), crashed around 18:30LT on Dec. 13, 2022, approximately five miles to the southeast of Trapani Air Base, Italy. According to the official information, the aircraft, flying along with another F-2000, was on approach to the airfield, when the incident occurred.

Germany to receive first F-35s in 2026 to rejuvenate air force

12/15/2022

Germany is set to receive the first batch of its F-35 fighter jets in 2026, though the initial eight units will remain stationed in the U.S. for training purposes, creating a tight schedule to build up more advanced air-defense capabilities before the aging Tornado models are retired in 2030.

Want air power? Then you need to buy aircraft.

12/15/2022

Shockwaves swept the Washington security establishment this fall upon hearing the U.S. Air Force is going to retire F-15C/Ds based at Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan, without a direct replacement, instead reverting to a rotational presence. Members of Congress even threatened legislation to block the move. Bottom line: This development should not surprise anyone.

The Air Force is trying out a new kind of tanker: its C-17 cargo plane

12/14/2022

On Dec. 2, a C-17 Globemaster III refueled a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber on the ground for the first time — the latest test of the cargo jet’s versatility. The experiment was a milestone for the bomber as well, expanding its ability to hopscotch around the globe.

Finally, A NATO Country Offers Its Fighter Jets To Ukraine; Slovak Minister’s Proposal Unlikely To Impress Zelensky

12/14/2022

Ukraine has pleaded with NATO countries on several occasions to arm it with advanced fighter jets to establish air superiority against the Russian Aerospace forces. While a transfer of western fighter jets is considered a red line that could provoke Russia, NATO could soon be supplying the MiG-29s to Ukraine. According to recent media reports, NATO member Slovakia is considering sending MiG-29 jets to Ukraine.

No SAAB Gripens For Ukraine! Sweden ‘Rejects’ Kyiv’s Plea For JAS-39 Fighter Jets; Says ‘No Plans, To Be Honest’

12/14/2022

Swedish SAAB JAS-39 Gripen has been projected as the most suitable option for Ukraine to take on the advanced Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS). However, in what could come as a disappointment to Kyiv, the Nordic country has reportedly fallen short of conceding to the demand for its newly announced military aid.

Argentina’s president throws cold water on fighter jet program

12/14/2022

Argentina’s president has ruled out the possibility of procuring supersonic fighter jets for the country’s Air Force in the short term. In an interview with the Financial Times’s “Global Boardroom” program last week, Alberto Fernandez was asked about the aircraft program, saying “there are other priorities before buying weapons, definitely.” “There are no war problems, peace is the common denominator between us,” he added, referring to South American nations.

Untangling Project Tempest, GCAP and British dreams of a Sixth Generation Combat Aircraft

12/14/2022

In engineering slang, Project Tempest is a ‘pipe-cleaner’. The UK hasn’t built a supersonic combat jet since the EAP of the 1980s, and the early joint Typhoon development was years ago. Everyone who was worked on those projects has either retired or is about to. So Project Tempest was a dusting-off, assessment and cleaning up of Britain’s ability to create new advanced combat aircraft.

Swiss Air Force says goodbye to the PC-9

12/12/2022

On 8 December 2022, the Schweizer Luftwaffe (Swiss Air Force) ended the operations with the Pilatus PC-9, when C-412 was taking off from Emmen air base for its last flight to RUAG at Lodrino. The Pilatus PC-9 two-seater turboprop trainer and successor to the Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer, was primarily used by the Swiss Air Force as a target towing aircraft for Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) training.

Russia: ‘Russian fighters go down, we lose pilots and aircraft’

12/12/2022

Mr. Roman Skomorokhov, an author on the Russian-language online portal TopWar published an article on the state of the Russian Air Force. He does not spare his criticism of the leadership of the Russian Aerospace Forces [VKS], as well as the Kremlin, making nostalgic comparisons with the era of the Soviet Union and today’s Russia.

No LCA Tejas, No JF-17: Argentina Puts A Full Stop On Immediate Purchase Of Fighter Jets From India Or China

12/12/2022

The announcement appears to have put a full stop to a fighter aircraft tender that pitted the Chinese-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder against the India-built HAL Tejas. The Argentine President announced during an interview with Financial Times. Later, Fernandez’s Twitter account retweeted the excerpt that contained the quote.