Military Aviation News Archive

Why the famed Russian Air Force failed in Ukraine and the vital lessons IAF can draw from it

10/16/2022

Defeat of Russian air power in Ukraine raises hard questions for IAF. In the 1st of a 3-part series, ThePrint investigates lessons from Ukraine war for IAF’s equipment & doctrines.

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MEP urges Ukraine’s western partners to send fighter jets to intercept Russian cruise missiles

10/16/2022

Ukraine should receive Western warplanes and other necessary means to counter Russian cruise missiles and forestall further Russian attacks. This was stated in a comment by Guildhall by the Member of the European Parliament from Poland, a member of the Development Committee, Beata Kempa, Ukrinform reports.

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US Air Force F-22 Raptor Fires Record-High 28 Missiles During Trial

10/15/2022

A US Air Force F-22 Raptor has successfully loaded and fired a record-high 28 air-to-air missiles during a weapon system evaluation at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. The service’s 94th Fighter Squadron and 94th Fighter Generation Squadron initiated the live-fire test, employing more than $14 million of missiles. According to the Air Combat Command, the squadrons demonstrated a “high-level of proficiency” while firing the weapons from the stealth tactical fighter aircraft.

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Ukrainian air force pilot killed after fighter jet crashes

10/15/2022

Ukraine’s Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat confirmed to journalists the loss of the military aircraft. One crew member has died and one has sustained injuries after the jet crashed. “After completing the combat mission, the invaders hit the plane with a missile. The crew tried to return the aircraft to the home airbase, but the plane did not fly and crashed in the Poltava region,” Ignat said.

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NATO’s Eurofighter Typhoons Challenging Russian Fighters; Scrambled 16 Times To Intercept RuAF Jets

10/15/2022

For the last few weeks, as the war in Ukraine rages and Russia’s relations with the United States (US) and Europe go from bad to worse, Russian fighter jets have repeatedly flown over the Baltic Sea. With just eight ‘Alpha Scrambles’ (alert departures) in the week before October 10 and a total of 16 in the last two months, Italian Air Force (ItAF) Eurofighter Typhoons have intercepted and escorted Russian Air Forces (RuAF) Sukhoi Su-30, Su-27, Su-24M and even Illyusin Il-20 spy planes.

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Ukraine Confirms 1st Known Case Of Fighter Jet Going Down To A Kamikaze Drone; EurAsian Times’ Assessment Hits Bulls Eye!

10/15/2022

The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed in a Facebook post that a fighter jet of one of the tactical aviation brigades crashed near Vinnytsia while carrying out a combat mission to destroy enemy kamikaze drones, ‘Shahed-136.’ The Air Force said that the fighter jet crashed because of an unspecified technical malfunction that led the pilot to lose control of the aircraft. Nevertheless, the pilot managed to eject and is currently hospitalized.

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Ukraine Air Defenses Claim Record Day: Six Attack Helicopters & 19 Drones Downed

10/14/2022

Ukraine’s military claimed the national air defense system had a record day of successes, shooting down six Russian Federation (RF) attack helicopters and 19 Iran-made kamikaze drones, an Army General Staff (AGS) statement released on Thursday, Oct. 13, said.

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US Air Force must build trust to add drone wingmen, report says

10/14/2022

The Air Force is all-in on the concept of drone wingmen teamed up with human piloted fighters as the future of air combat. But how exactly will the human pilots inside F-35s or the Next Generation Air Dominance platform work with and guide collaborative combat aircraft? And will these drone wingmen be ready to fight under their human pilots’ instructions in a future war?

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Russians mine bridges on Kramatorsk front, conscripts armed with poor assault rifles General Staff of Armed Forces of Ukraine

10/13/2022

Russian troops continue offensive operations on the Bakhmut and Avdiivka fronts, and the conscripts go to war armed with Soviet-style protective wear and AK-12 assault rifles, which have proven themselves ineffective on the battlefield in Ukraine.

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MiG 29K fighter aircraft crashes over sea on a routine sortie off Goa coast

10/13/2022

A MiG-29K trainer crashed off Goa today after developing a technical malfunction. A MiG 29K was on a routine sortie over the sea off Goa and developed a technical malfunction while returning to base.“The Pilot ejected safely & has been recovered in a swift SAR op; the Pilot was reported to be in stable condition. BoI ordered to investigate the cause of the incident,” said Indian Navy.

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Ukraine War Propels F-35 Sales! Austria Looks To Replace Eurofighters With US Stealth Fighters — Reports

10/13/2022

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to a wave of insecurity running through Europe. As a result, various European nations have expressed interest in the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter, with the landlocked country of Austria becoming the latest to join the bandwagon.

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Air Force praises new pilot training but struggles to hire instructors

10/12/2022

The Air Force expects to complete its two-year transition to the new undergraduate pilot training curriculum by the end of October, the head of Air Education and Training Command recently told reporters. Service officials contend that “Undergraduate Pilot Training 2.5,” a software-heavy, self-paced version of the course, is producing better-prepared pilots faster than before.

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Tanker aircraft procurement rises with the likelihood of global deployment

10/12/2022

Tanker aircraft spending is expected to see an upswing in over the next few years, with procurement rising from today’s value of $4.5bn up to peaks of $6.6bn in 2024, according to GlobalData. As various nations alter their armed forces to become more ‘expeditionary’ and mobile in posture, demand for aerial refuelling capabilities will rise to support this increased mobility, predicts Tristan Sauer, defence analyst at GlobalData.

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Bulgaria receives first interim fighter offers

10/12/2022

With its MiG-29s (pictured) nearing the end of their service lives and the newly acquired F-16 Block 70s not set to arrive for a few years, Bulgaria is planning to field interim fighter aircraft from 2023 to the end of the decade to bridge the capability gap. (Bulgarian Air Force) Bulgaria has begun to receive offers for the supply of interim combat aircraft as it struggles to maintain the airworthiness of its MiG-29s at the same time as managing a delay to the arrival of its Lockheed Martin F-1

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How long does it take to train a British military pilot?

10/11/2022

Tobias Ellwood, Chair of the Defence Committee, asked: “To ask the Secretary of State Defence, how long it takes on average to train (a) fast jet, (b) heavy lift and (c) rotary pilots.” James Heappey, Minister of State for the Ministry of Defence, responded: “The average time for trainee pilots completing flying training in the current Financial Year, to the point of joining an Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) is 4.8 years for Fast Jet; 5.4 years for Multi Engine (heavy lift) and; 6.9 years for

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Russians suffer losses and attack on two fronts General Staff

10/11/2022

The Russian army is trying to keep captured territories under their control and conduct attacks on the Bakhmut and Avdiivka fronts; however, the Russians have suffered additional losses on the Kherson front.

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Ukraine Is No Syria! Why Russia Tasted Success In Syria But Is Getting Clobbered In Its Backyard – Experts Explain

10/11/2022

In an unprecedented attack that exposed Moscow’s weak military defenses, a mammoth explosion severely damaged Russia’s multi-billion Kerch Bridge. Incidentally, Russia had been trying to defend this bridge from Ukraine for months.

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Bulgaria receives initial bids for fallback fighters

10/11/2022

Bulgaria’s Ministry of Defense has requested fighter jet lease offers from four countries, as the nation scrambles to secure its air-combat capabilities until the first eight American F-16s become operational in 2027 or 2028. The development comes shortly after the country’s caretaker government decided to ask the parliament to approve a second F-16 order for a further eight jets, valued at about $1.3 billion.

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Russian Air Force Activity Near Polish Airspace Is ‘Intensifying’ According To The Italian Air Force

10/11/2022

The Italian Eurofighters deployed to Poland have carried out 16 alert scrambles to intercept 19 Russian combat aircraft in the last few weeks. An “impressive number” according to the commander of the Italian Task Force.

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Russia rains missiles down on Ukraine's capital and other cities in retaliation for Crimea bridge blast

10/11/2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that people were killed and injured in multiple missile strikes across Ukraine, including the first bombardment of the capital, Kyiv, in months. CBS News senior foreign correspondent Charlie D'Agata said the strikes, which could signal a major escalation in the eight-month-old war, appeared to be entirely punitive — retaliation meant to terrorize Ukrainian civilians in densely-populated urban neighborhoods, close to government buildings.

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India’s Air Force Gets a ‘Made in India’ High-Altitude Combat Helicopter

10/10/2022

Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday officially introduced a domestically developed light-combat helicopter into the Indian Air Force, hailing the aircraft’s addition as a big step for India’s self-reliance in the defense sector. “For a long time, India has had to be dependent on foreign attack helicopters,” said Mr. Singh, speaking at an Air Force base in the western desert state of Rajasthan. “This is an important milestone in India’s defense production.”

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Russo-Ukraine War - 08 October 2022 - Day 227

10/10/2022

The UK Ministry of Defence reported early on 08 October 2022, an explosion damaged the Kerch Strait Bridge, the road and rail crossing which links Russian-occupied Crimea and the Krasnodar region of Russia. Two of the four carriageways of the roadway have collapsed in several places over a length of approximately 250m. It is almost certain that some vehicle transits via the other two carriageways have resumed, but capacity will be seriously degraded.

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The war in Ukraine may keep Russia's new Su-75 stealth fighter jet out of the air

10/10/2022

The Su-75 "Checkmate" is Russia's attempt at an export fifth-generation fighter. Billed as a cheaper F-35 with better specs than the JAS-39 Gripen, Russia designed the Su-75 specifically to sell to countries with no homegrown aeronautical industry. Originally revealed at the MAKS Airshow last year, the Su-75 was hailed as a solid move by Russia's United Aerospace Corporation, building off the Su-57 platform — Russia's first fifth-generation fighter.

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Russia Turkey Relations: Turkey will not buy Su-35 fighter aircraft from Russia instead of American F-16, big blow to Putin

10/09/2022

Turkey has intensified the search for another option after the cancellation of the deal for F-16 fighter jets with America. Turkish media have reported that if the F-16 plan fails, the Eurofighter Typhoon may be considered for purchase from Europe. The Eurofighter Typhoon has been jointly developed by the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain. Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo together manufacture this fighter aircraft.

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US and Japan conduct joint military drill involving aircraft carrier in Sea of Japan

10/09/2022

In light of North Korea's ongoing missile launches, the United States and Japan are conducting a combined military exercise with the American aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan in the vicinity of Japan, the Japanese defence ministry announced on Saturday.

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