Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Evacuation planes using combat landings, decoy flares at Kabul airport

08/24/2021

Evacuation planes landing in Kabul to rescue US citizens and Afghans are taking no chances — they’re making nose-dive combat landings and deploying decoy flares to ward off potential missile attacks. One French Air Force A400M taking off from the beleaguered airport launched a half-dozen flares moments after takeoff, footage from ITV Turkey posted by CBS News shows. The flares are designed to draw heat-seeking missiles away from the aircraft.

Su-75 CheckMate: Russia’s Radical Shift In Fighter Jet Design Thanks To Lockheed’s F-35 & Boeing’s X-32 Aircraft?

08/23/2021

Observers have been noting how the Sukhoi Su-75 ‘CheckMate’ revealed in July this year represented a transformation in Russian fighter design, based on the plane’s striking similarities to US jets (the F-35, and the Boeing X-32 experimental aircraft).

Evacuation planes using combat landings, decoy flares at Kabul airport

08/23/2021

Evacuation planes landing in Kabul to rescue US citizens and Afghans are taking no chances — they’re making nose-dive combat landings and deploying decoy flares to ward off potential missile attacks. One French Air Force A400M taking off from the beleaguered airport launched a half-dozen flares moments after takeoff, footage from ITV Turkey posted by CBS News shows. The flares are designed to draw heat-seeking missiles away from the aircraft.

Anti-Taliban leader Massoud wants to talk but ready to fight

08/23/2021

Ahmad Massoud, leader of Afghanistan's last major outpost of anti-Taliban resistance, said on Sunday he hoped to hold peaceful talks with the Islamist movement that seized power in Kabul a week ago but that his forces were ready to fight.

Spain military aircraft flies to Dubai to evacuate personnel from Afghanistan

08/21/2021

A Spanish military plane carrying 110 evacuees from Afghanistan took off from Kabul Friday to land in Dubai. Some 50 out of the passengers are to travel on to Spain, according to the Foreign Affairs minister, José Manuel Albares. Among the passengers are three Afghan families from the embassy in Kabul and captain of the Afghan paralympic basketball team, Nilofar Bayat among others.

US Air Force Deploys Powerful Spy Aircraft To Keep An Eye On Kabul; Only Russia, China Operate Such Jets

08/21/2021

The RC-135 spy plane was inducted into the US Airforce in January 1964 amid the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Boeing Defence and Integrated Systems designed and developed the aircraft, which was meant to replace the C-135 Stratolifter and aid the US in its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations against the erstwhile Soviet Union.

Fighter jets with Northern Lightning exercise drop JDAM munitions for first time at Fort McCoy’s impact area

08/21/2021

On Aug. 9, an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon dropped a 500-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) in a designated area of Fort McCoy’s impact area on North Post for the first time in post history as part of training in the Northern Lightning 2021 exercise.

United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group and USS America Expeditionary Strike Group Join Together for LSGE 21 Operations

08/21/2021

United Kingdom (U.K.) Carrier Strike Group (CSG 21) and USS America Expeditionary Strike Group (AMA ESG) with embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, begin multinational advanced aviation operations in support of Large Scale Global Exercise (LSGE) 21, Aug. 20.

Taliban Seizes Enormous US-Funded War Chest with Thousands of Armored Vehicles, Helicopters, Drones

08/20/2021

After stunning the Biden administration with a lightning takeover of Afghanistan on Sunday, the Taliban found some unexpected presents from the fleeing Afghan army, including U.S.-made planes, armored vehicles, guns, and even night-vision goggles.

Here are Morocco’s top priorities for modernizing its Air Force

08/19/2021

If you’re in the business of selling drones, precision weapons or stealth technology, Morocco’s Air Force could be your next customer. The African nation is bolstering military-to-military relations and connecting with defense companies to modernize its air power capabilities. Moroccan officials have singled out the use of drones in combat as “a key dimension of its military modernization efforts,” according to Samuel Ramani, a defense expert at the University of Oxford.

Italy Increasing Tempest Funding And Planning New Support Aircraft Acquisitions

08/19/2021

The Italian Air Force will get new tankers, SIGINT and CAEW assets while also continuing the development of special C-27J variants, as disclosed in the new multiyear defense planning document.

British fighters intercepts Russian military aircraft over Black Sea

08/18/2021

In a release Tuesday, Royal Air Force reported that Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets on Quick Reaction Alert based in Romania with 121 Expeditionary Air Wing have scrambled to intercept a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer aircraft. The Typhoons, from Number 121 Expeditionary Air Wing, are conducting NATO Enhanced Air Policing and scrambled as the Russian aircraft was detected entering the Bucharest Flight Information Region, heading towards Romanian territorial airspace.

99 Tejas light combat aircraft to be powered by American GE engines

08/18/2021

State-owned plane maker Hindustan Aeronautical Limited has placed an order worth Rs 5375 crore for 99 F404-GE-IN20 engines and support services with US-based GE Aviation, to power the Tejas light combat aircraft. According to HAL CMD R Madhavan, this is the largest-ever purchase order placed by the state-owned aircraft manufacturer for the light combat aircraft.

The Taliban has access to US military aircraft. Now what happens?

08/18/2021

Once the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan’s airfield in Kandahar on Friday, it didn’t take long for photos to appear on social media showing Taliban fighters posing with military helicopters such as U.S.-made Black Hawks and Soviet-made Mi-17s. After the group took over Mazar-i-Sharif airport this weekend, more photos followed, this time of Taliban members standing next to an A-29 attack plane and MD-530 utility helicopter.

USAF Will be Able to Airlift ‘Thousands’ from Afghanistan as More Troops Arrive in Kabul

08/16/2021

The Air Force will deploy enough aircraft to ferry out “thousands per day” from Kabul as the American diplomatic presence draws down and more Afghan interpreters are brought out of the country, the Pentagon said Aug. 13.

Russian Beriev Be-200 Amphibious Firefighting Aircraft Has Crashed In Turkey

08/15/2021

A Russian Beriev Be-200 aircraft crashed near near Kahramanmaras, in southeastern Turkey, during a firefighting mission, to fight a fire that broke out during the day as a result of a lightning strike in the forest area on Aug. 14, 2021. According to the reports, five crew members (military, belonging to the Russian Federation) and three Turkish forest inspectors were killed in the incident (some sources say just 7 people were aboard).

An upgraded version of the Sukhoi Su-57 will go into production starting in 2025

08/15/2021

Sources in the Russian military-industrial complex have reportedly stated that an upgraded and modernized version of the Su-57 is to begin serial production as of 2025. The modernization is part of the Megalopolis development program. According to TASS, among the main improvements of this «new Su-57» is the incorporation of the second stage engine, the Izdelie 30, and the renovation and upgrade of the cockpit, probably to unify as much as possible the production of the Su-57 and S-75 Checkmate.

The Taliban Captured Helicopters. Can They Capture an Air Force?

08/15/2021

The Afghan National Security Forces has a long record of losing track of U.S.-supplied guns and rifles. But as the Taliban gains territory following the U.S. troop withdrawal, Afghanistan could lose far more lethal weapons: combat aircraft. The Pentagon says that has not happened yet, and that the Afghan Air Force continues to fly missions and carry out airstrikes against the Taliban every day.

A-10C Thunderbolt IIs And C-146A Wolfhounds Conducted First Ever Highway Operations In The US

08/13/2021

The U.S. Air Force operated some of its aircraft from a state highway as part of the Agile Combat Employment concept during exercise Northern Strike 21. According to the press release, this was the first time in history that the Air Force has purposely landed modern aircraft on a civilian roadway in the United States, with four A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and two C-146A Wolfhounds landing on the Michigan State Highway M-32 near Alpena on August 5, 2021.

Lockheed proposes to set up MRO facility for F-21s in India

08/13/2021

US aerospace company Lockheed Martin Corp. is open to setting up a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility in India for F-21 to further sweeten its bid for the 114 fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF), its representatives said on Wednesday. Michael Kelley, vice president, India, Lockheed Martin aeronautics strategy and business development, and Brett Medlin, the F-21 India campaign lead, are in the country to hold talks with government and IAF officials on the multibillion-do

Kratos to build target drones to help combat aircraft pilots practice the launch of air-to-air missiles

08/13/2021

Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems Inc., Sacramento, Calif., will build BQM-167A Air Force Subscale Aerial Target (AFSAT) drones under terms of a potential $338.1 million U.S. Air Force contract announced Friday.

To afford next-gen combat aircraft, the US Air Force will make cuts to ISR inventory

08/09/2021

As the U.S. Air Force restructures its aircraft inventory to compete with China, the service is taking calculated risks in its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft portfolio, a top general said Wednesday. In its fiscal 2022 budget request, the Air Force proposed mothballing four of its 16 E-8 JSTARS aircraft, which are used for ground surveillance and targeting, as well as 20 Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk Block 30 surveillance drones.

U.S. military holding training exercise in Wisconsin's skies starting next week

08/08/2021

You may be hearing more jets flying through the sky next week as Camp Douglas in Juneau County hosts about 60 aircraft and 1,000 members of the U.S. military for a 12-day-long training exercise.

Turkey's Proposed Unmanned Fighter Jet to Have Low Visibility and Aggressive Maneuverability

08/08/2021

Turkey’s Baykar Savunma has revealed that the unmanned fighter jet it is currently working on will have low visibility and aggressive maneuverability. After being ejected from the F-35 program, Turkey is banking on the large stealth jet drone to provide it with the ability to penetrate enemy air defenses and attack military targets.

Michigan Air National Guard lands jets, takes off from US highway in military first

08/06/2021

The Michigan Air National Guard took off and landed multiple planes on a four-lane stretch of State Highway M-32 Thursday, which is the first time that modern combat aircraft have intentionally landed on a U.S. civilian road, the Selfridge base said. Part of M-32 near Alpena in the northwestern part of the state was closed down for the training exercise, which was dubbed "Thunder Landing Zone (LZ)."