Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

U.S. may let Tajikistan hold on to fleeing Afghan aircraft

06/21/2022

The United States may let Tajikistan hold on to Afghan military aircraft donated by the U.S. that sought shelter in the Central Asian country following the U.S. withdrawal from Kabul last August, a U.S. military commander said. U.S.-trained Afghan pilots flew dozens of military planes and helicopters to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as they fled the Islamist Taliban who took over the country as foreign forces withdrew.

South Korean Air Force conducts large-scale exercise to counter ‘enemy provocations’

06/21/2022

The South Korean Air Force on Monday kicked off a large-scale aerial military exercise to enhance combat readiness and prepare for possible “enemy provocations,” including a surprise invasion. The theater-level “Soaring Eagle” combat training exercise is being staged over five days through Friday at the 29th Tactical Fighter Weapons Group located at an air base in the central city of Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.

House Moves to Upgrade, Not Retire, Oldest F-22s

06/21/2022

The Air Force’s plans to divest its oldest 33 F-22 Raptor fighters met with a sharp rebuke from the House Armed Services Committee, which moved instead to mandate the Air Force maintain the full Raptor fleet and upgrade the older planes to the newest configuration in its version of the 2023 National Defense Authorization bill.

Russian pilots still use non-military navigation equipment

06/21/2022

Russian military pilots are still actively using insecure, non-military navigation equipment due to the low quality of Russian own navigation systems. Ukraine has shared abundant evidence that Russians have added off-the-shelf GPS systems, such as Garmin, to the cockpit of its combat aircraft. During the interrogation of the Russian pilot captured on June 18, it turned out that he had with him a Garmin navigator and a smartphone with the ‘Pronebo’ soft in order to have more accurate navigation.

China completes third aircraft carrier, first with a catapult launch system

06/21/2022

China has launched its third aircraft carrier and the first to feature a catapult aircraft launch system. The ship designed and built in China was christened as “Fujian” named after the Chinese province opposite Taiwan, according to state-run news agency Xinhua. According to Defense News, “Fujian” was launched at the Shanghai shipyard where it had undergone construction since 2018.

RAF’s F-35Bs participate in exercise Ocean Hit in Bay of Biscay

06/21/2022

The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) has deployed four F-35B Lightning II aircraft to participate in the air combat training exercise, Ocean Hit. The exercise was conducted in the Bay of Biscay, a gulf of the north-east Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. As part of the exercise, the F-35B aircraft trained with Nato and European partner nations in a combat scenario.

NATO Aims to Bolster Eastern Flank With Stealth Aircraft

06/20/2022

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shaken the foundation of European security to its core and generated a host of sweeping future plans to expand, strengthen, and improve NATO. n close coordination with NATO allies, the Pentagon will pre-position equipment, pursue “scalable” forward formations, streamline multinational command and control, and emphasize rapid deployment ability to respond to future contingencies.

3 Chinese military aircraft intrudes on Taiwan's ADIZ

06/20/2022

Three Chinese military aircraft on Saturday (local time) breached Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Two People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Shenyang J-16 fighter jets and one Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane were tracked in the southwest corner of Taiwan's ADIZ, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND), reported Taiwan News.

Air Force's first fifth-generation fighter combat instructors

06/20/2022

Each Air Warfare Instructor Course (AWIC) includes a Fighter Combat Instructor (FCI) course, which debuted for the F-35A Lightning II this year. Commanding Officer of No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit, Wing Commander Jordan Sander, spoke to Squadron Leader Eamon Hamilton about bringing a fifth-generation fighter capability into AWIC.

Ukraine Army destroys about 33,350 enemy troops and 1,456 tanks

06/19/2022

Russia has already lost about 33,350 troops in Ukraine (+200 over the past day). The relevant statement was made by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Jordan buys 8 F-16 Block 70 fighters, but the US stopped production

06/19/2022

Another country has wanted to acquire the latest version of the 4 ++ generation F-16 Block 70 fighter, and this is the Kingdom of Jordan. The Middle East country has ordered eight fighter jets, but there is a problem: orders from Bahrain, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Morocco, and Taiwan are waiting in the production line.

Iranian F-14 fighter jet crashes, pilots survive

06/19/2022

Iranian F-14 fighter jet crashed on Saturday, causing injury to one of its crew members, media in I mentioned the Islamic Republic. He added, “The plane experienced a technical malfunction… the pilot and his co-pilot landed with “Umbrellas”, the ministry’s spokesperson said for The military in Isfahan province where crash Event.

Russian Aircraft Crashes Amid Aggressive Ukrainian Retaliation; Fighter Pilot Ejects Safely — Reports

06/18/2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently made an emotional pitch begging for military aid that could help strike enemy positions amid relentless Russian shelling on Ukrainian positions in the Luhansk region. Reports suggest that a Russian Su-25 fighter jet crashed near the Ukrainian border. A video showed the fighter’s charred wreckage near Russia’s Belgorod region, which shares borders with Ukraine’s Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Sumy provinces.

Raytheon selected for key project to modernise USAF’s A-10 aircraft

06/18/2022

Raytheon Technologies’ company Raytheon Intelligence & Space (RI&S) has been selected for a $46.2m project-level agreement to modernise the US Air Force’s (USAF) A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft. The firm-fixed-price contract falls under the System of Systems Consortium’s (SOSSEC) Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) consortium initiative Other Transaction Authority (OTA).

Air Force selects future aircrew helmet

06/18/2022

The Air Force selected LIFT Airborne Technologies in April to continue with prototype development of a new helmet for Air Force fixed-wing aircrew. The helmet prototype was chosen after Air Combat Command initiated the search for a next-generation helmet to address issues with long-term neck and back injuries, optimize aircraft technology, improve pilot longevity, and provide better fitment to diverse aircrews.

Why Ukraine’s wins against Russian aircraft should worry the US Air Force

06/18/2022

There’s an old sports cliché that offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships — and the U.S. Air Force may learn a thing or two from seeing it play out in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That’s because Ukraine, despite having a smaller, lower-tech air force than Russia, has managed to keep Russian aircraft largely out of the country through the clever use of mobile anti-aircraft missile launchers and their knowledge of the terrain, according to a recently-published essay by airpower e

China unveils cutting-edge aircraft carrier, first to be locally designed

06/18/2022

China unveiled its first homegrown aircraft carrier on Friday, a vessel with advanced aircraft launch technology similar to its U.S. counterparts, in an event designed to symbolize the country’s expanding military might. In a ribbon-cutting ceremony held at the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, officials unveiled the Type 003 warship, called “Fujian” according to the country’s defense ministry and state media.

A-10 retirements, more Air Force F-35s in Senate defense policy bill

06/17/2022

The Air Force could finally get its chance to start retiring some of its older A-10 Warthog attack planes. The Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday announced it had advanced its version of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, which supports the Air Force’s plans to divest 21 A-10s at Fort Wayne Air National Guard Base in Indiana. The Air Force said earlier this year, when it released its proposed fiscal 2023 budget, it would replace those Warthogs with an equal number of F-16s.

ACE trailer undergoes operational tests and development with Total Force

06/17/2022

Airmen from California 144th Fighter Wing continued operational tests of an Agile Combat Employment trailer, June 9, 2022, at the Fresno Air National Guard Base, California. The ACE trailer is a one-of-a-kind operational prototype that enables a small team of Airmen to launch and recover fighter jets from an austere location. It was only the second operational use of the basing trailer thus far to launch and recover fighter jets. The trailer served as the hub for all maintenance operations.

Six NATO countries sign agreement to collaborate on next-gen helo

06/17/2022

Six NATO countries signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly work on concepts for a next-generation helicopter on June 16 at a meeting of alliance defense ministers in Brussels. France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are committing €26.7 million, or roughly $28 million, for the Next-Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) project, according to a NATO statement. Canada will likely be an observer nation.

Agile Combat Employment: UOTT Takes Part in Lightning carrier concept aboard USS Tripoli

06/17/2022

The U.S. Operational Test Team (UOTT) supported a U.S. Marine Corps F-35 spring test event aboard the USS Tripoli, led by the Navy’s Operational Test and Evaluation Force (OPTEVFOR). The mission demonstrated the Lightning carrier concept where several F-35B aircraft rapidly launch from a Landing Helicopter Assault (LHA) ship to conduct missions involving large strike packages or hours of defensive counter air.

Russia is struggling to get its MiG-35 fighter jet off the ground

06/17/2022

The MiG-35 "Fulcrum-F" is a medium-weight, fourth-generation "++" multirole fighter aircraft produced as a highly upgraded version of the MiG-29K/KUB and MiG-29M/M2. First announced publicly in 2007 at the Aero India air show in Bengaluru, development of the craft has been notably slow, with the earliest production beginning in 2013 or 2014 and the first successful flight not occurring until 2017.

Sweden Might Acquire Second-Hand C-130Js From Italy

06/16/2022

Sweden is looking to replace its six old C-130Hs (Tp84 according to the Swedish MoD designation) with four second-hand C-130Js from Italy, as the procurement of the latter has been judged as a better option than an upgrade program. While this has not yet been officially confirmed from the two countries, Air Forces Monthly reported the news after an interview with the Swedish Air Force Chief of Staff.

Construction Of Airbase On Tinian Island In Case Guam Gets Knocked Out Has Begun

06/16/2022

Satellite imagery shows major construction at Tinian International Airport that we can say with near certainty is linked directly to plans to expand the facility's ability to act as a divert airfield for the U.S. military in a crisis. More than a decade in the making, the project is intended to provide a vital alternative operating location to the U.S. Air Force's massive Andersen Air Force Base on the island of Guam, just to the southwest of Tinian, should that base be put out of action for any

Honing the combat edge – AWIC 22

06/16/2022

The skies over the Top End are once again reverberating to the sound of combat aircraft as Exercise Diamond Storm draws to its conclusion. The exercise, involving multiple fighter aircraft from the RAAF’s Air Combat Group, C-130J Hercules from the Air Mobility Group and a P-8A Poseidon from Surveillance and Response Group, will graduate the latest generation of Air Warfare instructors who will then go on to be subject matter experts back in their parent units.