Military Aviation News Archive
10/02/2022
The expectations after February 24 were as follows – that Russia would disable Ukraine’s air defense systems in a short time. It kind of worked, but today we count the completion of that mission as a failure. Ukraine had and received from partner countries the Soviet S-300s. The US supplied [and continues to supply] low-altitude handheld systems such as the Stinger.
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10/02/2022
After being encircled by Ukrainian forces, Russia pulled troops out Saturday from an eastern Ukrainian city that it had been using as a front-line hub. It was the latest victory for the Ukrainian counteroffensive that has humiliated and angered the Kremlin.
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10/01/2022
France’s Ministry of Defense has revealed a 2023 budget worth billions more than the previous year to start a new “war economy,” driven by a directive to make significant investments in its defense industrial base. The €43.9 billion ($42.8 billion) projected for the French military is an increase of 36% over the 2017 budget and 7.4% over 2022 finances.
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10/01/2022
The US, along with five allied and partner nations participated in a week-long event to discuss the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft’s maintenance and operations. The five participant nations included Bulgaria, Poland, Belgium, Portugal and Romania. The multilateral event, known as European Partnership Flight (EPF), was held in Bucharest, Romania, on 19 September.
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10/01/2022
It was during a routine inspection in April that an Air Force technician found a single faulty Cartridge Actuated Device in the ejection seat of an F-35 at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The device — known colloquially as CAD — contained no magnesium powder, a necessary material for generating the explosive charge that allows a pilot to begin ejecting from an aircraft.
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10/01/2022
The Kuwait Air Force has taken delivery of another two Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft, bringing the total in the country to six. The delivery is part of a larger order for 28 fighters to boost the country’s military capabilities. The arrival of two new Kuwaiti Eurofighters was made possible with the support of the Italian Air Force, which provided air-to-air refueling through a KC-767A tanker aircraft.
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10/01/2022
Indonesia has reiterated its commitment to the KF-21 Boramae fighter under co-developed by South Korea and Indonesia. Indonesia’s deputy defense Muhammad Herindra visited Sacheon Air Base in South Korea on September 28. He met Korea’s defense minister Lee Jong-Sup as well as Minister of Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Eom Dong Hwan. The successful flight testing of the KF-21 is a tangible manifestation of the successful development of this fighter and is a long-awaited progress
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09/30/2022
For two days, two dozen aircraft and ground forces jointly trained for air defense operations in the Baltic. This exercise is part of NATO's recently adopted defense and deterrence policy. It is also taking place not far from the Kaliningrad exclave, whose Russian military potential is constantly monitored by numerous reconnaissance and electronic warfare aircraft.
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09/30/2022
The Ukrainian armed forces’ aggressive counterattacks in the south and east starting in late August have chewed up several of the Russian military’s most important formations. The elite 1st Guards Tanks Army and its supporting 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division, to name two. Also, the essential 3rd Army Corps—the Kremlin’s main reserve formation for the Ukraine war.
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09/30/2022
Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 12 conducted an AIM-9X missile live fire from the southern coast of Japan to exercise their air-to-air warfare capabilities. Fourth generation F/A-18 Hornets and 5th generation F-35B Lightning II aircraft from the group’s fighter squadrons, Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA(AW)) 533, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, and VMFA-242 respectively, participated in the exercise.
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09/30/2022
On September 29, 1990, a unique aircraft took off for the first time in Palmdale, California. During its 18-minute flight, it reached a speed of about 290 mph and a height of 12,500 feet before landing at Edwards Air Force Base. The aircraft was the YF-22, the test demonstrator for what would become the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter.
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09/29/2022
Following Kyiv’s successful counteroffensive against Russia’s invading forces, U.S. defense officials say Ukrainians have found new ways to use a patchwork of donated weaponry more effectively. The war has edged closer to a stalemate as it passes the seven-month mark. Faced with recent battlefield setbacks for his forces in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has tried to raise the stakes by threatening to use the nuclear arsenal and calling up military reservists.
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09/29/2022
Egypt has topped the list of arms importers from France in 2021 thanks to an order of 30 Rafale fighter jets, making the Middle East the largest arms buyer from France last year, according to an annual parliamentary report published yesterday. In 2021, Egypt requested the purchase of French weapons worth €4.5 billion, ($4.5 billion) followed by Greece (€2 billion), Croatia (€971 million), India (€492 million) and Saudi Arabia (€381 million), according to the report published by Challenges magazi
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09/29/2022
As Japan’s defense industry struggles, South Korea’s is thriving, driven not only by the need to counter Pyongyang’s growing military threats but also by Seoul’s ambition to make the country one of the world’s top defense exporters. Just how determined the government is to help the industry expand was highlighted in recent statements made by President Yoon Suk-yeol, who last month expressed his intention to make his country one of the world’s top four weapons suppliers.
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09/29/2022
The commander of U.S. 4th Fleet has ordered all ships and aircraft to make preparations for Hurricane Ian’s expected arrival. Ships began departures from Naval Station Mayport today (Sept. 27, 2022) and will complete heavy weather mooring if required to stay in port. Aircraft will initiate evacuations from area airfields or be secured in hangars rated to withstand hurricane force winds. Four ships and multiple rotary and fixed-wing aircraft are expected to relocate and remain out of the local
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09/28/2022
The Air Force’s sixth generation fighter program hasn’t produced a single operational aircraft yet, but the Defense Department inspector general is already looking into whether the service is moving too fast with untested tech.
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09/28/2022
Speaking to the local NTV news channel on September 23, Turkey’s presidential spokesperson, Ibrahim Kalin, confirmed the previously reported plan, saying, “We have negotiations with Europe regarding Eurofighter; Turkey will never be without alternatives.” In October 2021, Turkey asked the US for 40 F-16 jets and almost 80 modernization kits for its existing fleet of Fighting Falcons. With 270 F-16 C/Ds in service, the F-16 has been the mainstay of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) for the past 35 y
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09/28/2022
In 2012, as Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Frank Kendall described initiating F-35 production years before the first test flight as “acquisition malpractice.” He cited “optimistic predictions” that resulted in a program that is far more expensive than anticipated. Kendall’s remarks also apply to many other U.S. Air Force acquisition programs over the past 20-years.
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09/27/2022
As tensions between Taiwan and China continue to escalate, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defence reported that nearly 15 military aircraft from China as well as four ships breached the Taiwan Strait's median line on Sunday at around 5 p.m. (local time). Taking to Twitter, the ministry said that two Shenyang J-16 fighter planes were located near the southwest corner of Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) out of the 15 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft
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09/27/2022
Aerospace and defense giant Boeing secured a contract to produce 96 Apache helicopters for the Polish Armed Forces as the company scales up its manufacturing capabilities in Mesa, Arizona. Mariusz Blaszczak, Poland’s Minister of Defense, announced September 8th that the Central European nation had selected Boeing Defense, Space & Security to be its partner for the KRUK Attack Helicopter Program, an initiative started to replace the currently “outdated, Soviet-designed Mil Mi-24 fleet.”
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09/27/2022
Ukraine’s military is on the offensive against Russian forces and asking for more powerful weapons to press its advantage, but so far there is no sign that allies will step up their commitments. Instead, President Vladimir Putin dramatically raised the stakes in a Sept. 21 speech, threatening nuclear war and launching sham votes aimed at expanding Russia’s borders into occupied Ukraine.
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09/27/2022
U.S. Air Force guided missile experts are asking a team of Raytheon Technologies Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. to develop one of the first hypersonic cruise missiles to be in the U.S. inventory. Officials of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's Armament Directorate at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., announced a $985.3 million task order Thursday to the Raytheon Missiles & Defense segment in Tucson, Ariz., to design and develop the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM).
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09/27/2022
Walking into the Air and Space Forces Association’s Air, Space & Cyber this year, conference goers were immediately greeted with a large display from Google Cloud—a contender for the Pentagon’s major tactical cloud program and one of the conference’s major sponsors. On the floor, SAIC’s tower was right behind the Air Force Research Laboratory's booth, like a beacon of would-be connectivity.
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09/26/2022
On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.
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09/26/2022
Slightly after dusk on Sep. 22, Ukrainian air defense operators near Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine detected a swam of Russian drones volleying over the front lines. Coming at themwere some of Moscow’s newest weapons – Iranian–made Shaheed-136s. Russian President Vladimir Putin had trumpeted the purchase of these “suicide drones” after his July visit to Iran, placing great store in both their precision strike capabilities and reputed stealth. But Moscow and Tehran were both in for a shock.
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