Military Aviation News Archive
09/03/2022
Of the 19 aerial refuelers, the USAF has ordered 15 under a $2.2 billion production contract. The remaining four will be delivered to Israel, for which the cost must not exceed $927 million. The work on the KC-46A production will take place in Boeing’s Seattle facility and is expected to be completed by November 30, 2025.
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09/03/2022
Early morning, April 18, 1943. A formation of 16 P-38 Lightning aircraft cruises 50 feet above the Solomon Sea en route to a fixed point 400 miles northwest of Guadalcanal. Secrecy and detection avoidance demand complete radio silence and a roundabout route that adds 200 miles to the trip. Operation Vengeance is underway. Its target: Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, commander in chief of the Imperial Japanese Combined Fleet.
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09/02/2022
The Meteor missile was launched from Gripen E at an altitude of approximately 16500 ft above the Vidsel test range in northern Sweden. “It feels very good that we have now completed the first test firing with Meteor from Gripen E. It is a very important milestone both for the program and for Saab. It shows that the weapon capability of Gripen is at the absolute forefront,” says Mikael Olsson, Head of Flight Test & Verification, Saab.
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09/02/2022
The Air Force announced huge cuts to the F-15EX and HH-60W Jolly Green II programs this year, but neither of those efforts is headed for a “critical” cost overrun that would trigger the programs to be rebaselined or canceled, the service confirmed to Breaking Defense.
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09/02/2022
On the first day of the Vostok 2022 strategic command and staff exercises, fighter aircraft from the Eastern Military District went on combat alert at operational airfields, TASS reported, citing the ministry of defense. Russia’s top-tier Su-35S, Su-30SM, and MiG-31 fighters from the Eastern Military District participated in the mission.
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09/02/2022
The rapid pace of development across China’s military aircraft scene has been well documented, with Western observers keenly awaiting new designs and variants of existing ones, while manufacturing plants keep up a seemingly relentless pace of deliveries. What’s been less well covered, however, is the domestic production of air-launched weapons to arm these aircraft. For many years, Chinese progress in air-to-air missiles, or AAMs, in particular, was overlooked or achievements downplayed.
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09/01/2022
Argentina’s Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Juan Martin Paleo, recently visited Pakistan to inspect PAF’s JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, which Argentina will procure in the coming months. During his visit, General Juan toured Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra where he was briefed about the capabilities of JF-17 Thunder Block III 4+ generation multirole fighter aircraft.
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09/01/2022
China has been trying since a long time to emerge as a major defence exporter to India's neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan etc. The F-7 BGI is a multi-role capable aircraft manufactured by Chengdu Aircraft Corporation, China. It was specially designed to meet the requirements of Bangladesh Air Force for cost-effective multi-role fighter aircraft. It is said to be the most advanced version of the F-7 fighter aircraft ever.
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09/01/2022
The Ukraine Air Force only has access to the Soviet-era MiG aircraft in its defense against Russian aggression. However, a recent video shared by the military outfit shows the MiG-29s firing U.S. supplied anti-radar missiles. Six months into the ongoing conflict, Ukraine has held its ground against the mighty Russian onslaught. We have previously reported how Ukrainian drones have troubled Russian supply lines and how munitions supplied by Ukraine's Western allies have been helpful.
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09/01/2022
In the face of the pacing challenge from China and threats from Russia, Iran, North Korea and extremist groups, the Defense Department must transition from experimentation and prototyping to fielding capabilities much more quickly, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen H. Hicks said.?
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09/01/2022
Members of the Air Combat Command Federal Laboratory, test pilots at Edwards Air Force Base, and software developers from the 309th Software Engineering Group achieved several milestones on an in-flight F-22 Raptor, Aug. 24. The achievement is the first instance of third-party software running on a fifth-generation fighter and the first in-flight use of open-source container orchestration software on any fighter aircraft.
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08/29/2022
Two US warships yesterday sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the US Navy said, the first such transit since China staged unprecedented military drills around Taiwan, which the Ministry of National Defense said are still ongoing. In a statement, the US Navy said the transit “demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
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08/29/2022
The first cargo of 24 Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft has arrived in Qatar from the United Kingdom, according to the Qatar News Agency (QNA). At the Dukhan/Tamim Airbase on Saturday, Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani greeted the arrival of the fighter planes. The Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft would be deployed as part of a squadron with F15-QA and Rafale planes to provide security during the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year, according to QNA.
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08/29/2022
The Ukrainian military renewed its requests to allies for the donation of advanced jet fighters, with a special focus on the American-made General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, in a series of social media posts on Ukraine's Aviation Day on Saturday.
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08/28/2022
A total of 21 Chinese military aircraft and five naval ships were detected in areas around Taiwan on Saturday, including 13 warplanes that flew into the southwestern part of Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ). According to the Ministry of National Defense (MND), the 13 Chinese planes that entered Taiwan's southwestern ADIZ consisted of seven Shenyang J-16 and two Chengdu J-10 fighter jets as well as four H-6 bombers.
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08/28/2022
Russia’s importance as an arms supplier to Asian states is likely to decline in the short term due to export constraints resulting from the Russia–Ukraine conflict. Russia’s need to use more of its own armaments in the Russia–Ukraine conflict, the sanctions imposed by the United States and European Union, and the perceived poor performance of Russian arms in the conflict itself may provide an opening for exports from competing arms suppliers including the United States and China.
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08/28/2022
To face the global geopolitical challenges, India and Argentina on Friday reaffirmed their commitment to further deepening and diversifying their bilateral cooperation, in various sectors including nuclear energy, defence, and space. The Argentine side expressed its interest in the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft `Tejas’ being manufactured by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL). If the deal goes through, HAL will have to rework the LCA Tejas as per requirements of the South American nation.
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08/27/2022
According to what the head of the Polish MoD posted via his Twitter channel, it is now clear where the newly acquired aircraft of the Polish Air Force will be stationed. The information has been released on the Polish National Aviation Day. The Minister stated that the newly procured FA-50 advanced fighter trainers will be stationed at Minsk Mazowiecki (ICAO code: EPMM) – currently serving as a base for the upgraded Polish MiG-29 Fulcrums.
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08/27/2022
Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus and a close ally of Russia in its war in Ukraine, announced today that some of his country’s combat aircraft had been modified to carry nuclear weapons. There are currently reports, including from the Reuters agency, that long-withdrawn Belarusian Su-24 Fencer strike aircraft are involved, although this doesn’t stack up for several reasons.
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08/26/2022
According to information published by Tass on August 18, 2022, Russia’s fifth-generation Su-57 multirole fighter may serve as the basis for developing prospective aircraft for new Russian aircraft carriers. The Su-57 is a fifth-generation Russian-made multifunctional fighter designed to destroy all types of air, ground and surface targets. It has supersonic cruising speed, internal armament, radar-absorbing coating, as well as the latest onboard equipment.
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08/26/2022
Fighter jets from Japan and South Korea are making their debut at a large-scale air combat exercise in northern Australia, along with F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighters from the host nation and the United States. The aircraft and personnel from the U.S. allies will take part in the biennial Exercise Pitch Black alongside that from 15 other nations, making up a force of over 100 aircraft and 2,500 personnel at what the Royal Australian Air Force or RAAF calls its “premier multinational air co
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08/25/2022
Australia’s new Air Force Chief has said surveillance missions would continue in the South China Sea despite a “recent spate of unsafe incidences” in the contested region. In May, a Royal Australian Air Force surveillance plane was intercepted by a Chinese fighter jet in international air space claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea region.
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08/25/2022
The Canadian government in March 2022 began the finalization phase of the Future Fighter Capability Program to purchase 88 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets through prime contractor Lockheed Martin and the United States government. The parties will now need months of negotiation on key contractual elements like when and where aircraft are to be delivered, pilot and maintainer training, logistics, and a final price tag – estimated to be worth $19 billion.
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08/25/2022
The 2023 draft budget for the Ministry of Defence’s branch of government is EUR 6.1 billion, representing an increase of EUR 1 billion, or 20%, on the current budget. The figure is explained by general increases in the Defence Forces’ operating expenditure, in defence materiel procurement and in support for the activities of national defence organisations. The increases seek respond to the changes in the Defence Forces’ operating environment.
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08/25/2022
F-16 fighter jets from the 132nd Fleet Weapons and Tactics Command, located at the 3rd Main Jet Base Command in the Turkish Air Force Command, escorted US B-52s as part of the NATO mission. During the operation conducted in Slovakian airspace to protect NATO’s eastern flank, Turkish F-16s were tasked with protecting American B-52s loaded with AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile munitions.
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