Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

F-22 Raptors Roar Over Turkish-Occupied Famagusta Days After US Removed Arms Embargo On Cyprus; Ankara Fumes

10/30/2022

On October 26, an undisclosed number of F-22 fighter jets flew over Cyprus, according to Greek media, which claimed that Ankara was not pleased with the detour the F-22s made over the north of the island. The fighter jets are said to have flown over Famagusta, part of Turkish-occupied Cyprus. The mission over Cyprus was carried out by F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft from the 90th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron.

Rafale Fighter Jets’ Export Success Is Taking A Toll On French Pilots; Report Calls It Detrimental For Air Force

10/30/2022

French military pilots are facing an alarming training deficit, according to a recent report by a French lawmaker on behalf of the National Defense and Armed Forces Committee that discussed the challenges the French Air Force pilots will face in 2023.

55 new aircraft to beef up Nigeria’s airpower

10/30/2022

The Nigerian Air Force is set to receive 55 brand new aircraft of varying types from manufacturers across the world, as part of efforts towards strengthening Nigeria’s security posture. Deliveries for these aircraft will begin in December 2022, and continue into the next year, which represents one of Nigeria’s largest acquisition haul in over several decades. The new aircraft will add to those already delivered since 2015.

Gujarat: Tata to make military aircraft with Airbus in India

10/29/2022

India's Tata group is set to begin making military aircraft in the country in the first such project by a local private company. Tata and Airbus will make C-295 transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force, the government announced on Thursday. The project, valued at 219bn rupees ($2bn; £1.7bn), will be based in the western state of Gujarat.

After setbacks on the ground, Myanmar junta holds power by ruling the skies

10/29/2022

The bombing of a concert in Kachin state last weekend that killed more than 60 people showed the brutal advantage the Myanmar military retains in its struggling campaign for control of the country: its air power. Junta forces have faced a number of setbacks since ousting the democratically elected government in a coup 20 months ago. Between 12,000 and 15,000 of its soldiers may have been killed, according to a Stimson Center report.

A-10 Warthogs to brush up on maritime combat in Pacific deployment

10/29/2022

A group of A-10C Thunderbolt II attack planes are deployed to Guam for training amid tensions between the U.S. and its regional rivals, China and North Korea, the Air Force said Wednesday. The A-10s, also known as “Warthogs,” belong to the 23rd Air Expeditionary Wing at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. The jets arrived at the U.S. territory on Oct. 23.

“We did not do enough for Ukraine’s Air Force.” Former US Ambassador to NATO

10/29/2022

In the initial phases of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, aerial warfare was rapidly overlooked. The Ukrainian Air Force did not have the capacity to pose a threat to Russia’s advance. And since it failed to completely neutralize Ukraine’s air defense systems and establish air supremacy, the Russian Air Force has persisted in using its combat aircraft the way its strategy and doctrine prescribe: as airborne artillery.

20 Chinese warplanes, 2 warships tracked around Taiwan

10/28/2022

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 20 Chinese military aircraft and two naval vessels around the country, including nine warplanes that intruded on Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) with many crossing the median line Thursday (Oct. 27). The MND said that 20 People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) military aircraft and two People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels had been tracked around Taiwan as of 5 p.m. that evening.

Su-33 Flanker-D Problems: Bigger Isn’t Always Better

10/28/2022

The Su-33 could be Russia’s most dangerous carrier fighter. But the airplane’s footprint is somewhat larger—and on Russia’s only aircraft carrier, available real estate is at a premium. The Su-33 is closely associated with Russia's only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetzov. And since the Su-33 is a carrier-capable fighter, it is a familiar sight on the carrier’s uniquely sloped ski-jump flight deck, although it typically lands less often.

U.S. F-15s To Leave Okinawa Without Permanent Replacement: Report

10/28/2022

The only overseas U.S. Air Force F-15C/D Eagle units, at Kadena Air Base on the Japanese island of Okinawa, are to be withdrawn next year, according to a report today in the Financial Times. The move would see the current permanent units under the 18th Wing replaced by rotational fighter detachments. Not surprisingly, the news has already attracted criticism as a retrograde measure at a time when Chinese military power and political ambitions are expanding in the region.

Russia Pairs Its Cutting Edge Su-35 Fighters With ‘Least Sophisticated’ Dumb Bombs To Strike Ukraine

10/28/2022

In the video footage, Ukrainian troops seem to be on patrol when the super maneuverable Flanker emerges out of a sudden, flies at ultra-low altitude, and drops three bombs that explode in the following seconds. In the meantime, a Ukrainian soldier tries to bring down the Russian jet by firing an anti-aircraft missile from a MANPADS. Still, the missile does not appear to have reached the fighter jet, and the fighter disappears from the sky.

US Pilot Working For China Detained Down Under; Was Helping Beijing With Aircraft Carrier Ops

10/26/2022

A spokesperson for the Attorney-General’s Department of Australia informed Reuters that a person was detained on October 21 in response to a request from the US government. Daniel Edmund Duggan, 54, was detained by the Australian Federal Police on Friday in Orange, a small town in New South Wales. Court records, two law enforcement sources, and his attorney confirmed that he appeared before a judge on the same day, Reuters reported.

‘Heartbreaking’ Record of Accidents: US Air Force Launches F-35 Crash Recovery Training For The Very First Time

10/26/2022

As F-35 crashes mount, rare crash recovery training has been launched by USAF. The US Air Combat Command recently announced that the 388th Maintenance Group held a unique F-35 crash recovery course using a recently decommissioned, now-reassembled F-35A Lightning II.

German air chief: F-35 buy safe despite rising inflation costs

10/26/2022

As Germany’s inflation rate hit double digits last month among escalating energy and food prices, concerns have risen over the country’s ability to pay for its planned multibillion-euro military spending run. The air force’s most critical fighter procurement program, however, is expected to weather inflation-related cost increases intact, according to the service’s chief of staff.

First KC-390 Millennium Cargo Aircraft Arrives In Portugal

10/26/2022

Escorted by two F-16s, the first KC-390 Millennium cargo aircraft for the Portuguese Air Force landed at Beja air base on Oct. 16, 2022. This is the first of five aircraft acquired by Portugal in 2019, which will soon become the first European operator of the Brazilian aircraft made by Embraer. The aircraft took off from Gavião Peixoto, São Paulo, on Oct. 15 and, after two fuel stops, it finally arrived at its new home.

Aero Vodochody conducts maiden flight of L-159 T2X trainer prototype

10/26/2022

Czech aircraft company Aero Vodochody has conducted the first flight test of its L-159 T2X combat trainer aircraft prototype. The demonstration was conducted recently at Vodochody’s airport in the Czech Republic. The latest milestone comes after four years of intensive work performed by the company to modernise and upgrade the L-159 aircraft to fulfil the emerging needs of fifth-generation fighter pilot training programmes.

Britain warns Russia against 'dirty bomb' false flag attack in Ukraine

10/24/2022

Ben Wallace has refuted Russian claims that the West was conspiring with Ukraine to stage an attack involving a 'dirty bomb'. Sergei Shoigu, the Russian Defence Minister, told his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu that the war was rapidly deteriorating and "trending towards further uncontrolled escalation".

US Air Force’s new stealth bomber will finally debut Dec. 2

10/24/2022

The U.S. Air Force confirmed on Oct. 20 that it plans to reveal the B-21 Raider stealth bomber aircraft Dec. 2 during an unveiling ceremony hosted and sponsored by the Northrop Grumman Corporation at its production facilities in Palmdale, California. The B-21 is a long-range, highly survivable, penetrating strike stealth bomber that will incrementally replace the B-1 and B-2 bombers, becoming the backbone of the U.S. Air Force bomber fleet.

Insane First-Person Footage Of A Russian Pilot Ejecting From A Su-25SM Over Ukraine

10/24/2022

A crazy footage has started doing the rounds on social networks: posted by the popular Russian Fighterbomber Telegram channel (and then made available on their Youtube channel), the video shows the ejection of a Russian pilot from a Su-25SM involved in a mission over Ukraine.

Russian fighter jet crashes in Siberia, killing two crew members

10/24/2022

A Russian warplane has crashed into a residential building in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, killing both crew members – the second such fatal incident in a Russian residential area in six days involving a Sukhoi fighter plane. The crashes appear to reflect the growing strain that the fighting in Ukraine has put on the Russian air force. The Irkutsk governor, Igor Kobzev, said the Su-30 fighter jet came down on a private, two-storey building housing two families. There were no casualties on the g

Russian Su-30 SM Fighter Jet Scores A ‘Kill’ Against Ukrainian Aircraft During Swing Role Ops; MOD Shares Video

10/23/2022

The video shows two Su-30SM fighters taxiing out and then taking off in swing-role configuration carrying wingtip mounted electronic warfare (EW) pods, two RVV-MD close combat missiles, two RVV-SD medium-range missiles, and two Kh-29 air-to-surface missiles. n swing role configuration, a fighter has the weapons and the software to execute air-to-air and air-to-ground attacks during the same mission.

Flying just outside Ukraine, NATO's sentinel planes warn of Russia's battlefield moves

10/23/2022

As the military pilots on board one of NATO's airborne warning and command planes skirt just inside Poland's border with Ukraine, the real action is happening metres behind them. Surveillance operators and weapons controllers crowd around one of the multitude of radar screens peering deep inside wartime Ukraine.

Margarita Robles quietly finalises the purchase of F-35 fighter jets from the US

10/23/2022

A small cell of the highest confidence of the Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, has already finalised negotiations with the US Department of Defence and the Lockheed Martin industrial corporation for the purchase of the F-35, the fifth-generation stealth fighter of which more than 840 aircraft are already flying in the air forces of 17 nations.

Argentina seeks HAL helicopters, high-level team to look at Dhruv, Prachand and LUH

10/22/2022

A high level team from Argentina is arriving soon in India and will visit state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to look at the helicopters which are being manufactured in Bengaluru. The team will be looking at Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv, Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Prachand and the HAL Light Utility Helicopter (LUH).

Spain will again send fighter jets to Bulgaria and Romania before the end of the year

10/22/2022

Spain will send eight Eurofighter fighter jets to Bulgaria in November to help the country monitor Baltic airspace as part of NATO’s mission to protect its eastern flank in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Defence. The department headed by Margarita Robles also announced the dispatch of aircraft to Romania in December, without specifying the number or type of aircraft.