Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

China builds new Great Wall as global sea conflict escalates

07/18/2021

Chairman Xi Jinping insisted it would never happen. But it has. China has permanently stationed combat aircraft on its illegal artificial island fortresses in yet another South China Sea escalation. Y-8Q anti-submarine patrol and KJ-500 airborne early warning & control (AWAC) aircraft were spotted by the US Naval Institute in May. It didn’t seem entirely unusual. Such aircraft had dropped in on the islands before.

Opinion: It's time to ground Canada's purchase of fighter jets

07/18/2021

Two years ago, the Liberal government launched a multi-billion-dollar competition for 88 new fighter jets. The government is now evaluating three bids: Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth fighter, Boeing’s Super Hornet, and SAAB’s Gripen. Early next year, the government expects to choose the successful bid and award the contract.

Is Pakistan Using Its Airforce Inc JF-17 Fighter Jets To Support The Taliban Against Afghan Army?

07/17/2021

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan has resulted in the resurgence of the Taliban in the country. While the Afghan forces continue to counter the insurgents at various places, Afghanistan’s Vice President Amrullah Saleh has accused the Pakistan Air Force of extending help to the Taliban. Amid the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, the Taliban has taken control of a major trading town located on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, the Spin Boldak-Chaman border post.

Russia Conducts Combat Readiness Exercise in New Regions

07/17/2021

Russia’s Central Military District (CMD) announced on Thursday that the country’s armed forces have conducted combat readiness exercises in new geographic areas. The drills were held in the regions of Samara, Saratov, Sverdlovsk, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, and Krasnoyarsk. Similar exercises were also conducted in the Republic of Khakassia.

Eaglin returns to Okinawa to command 18th Wing as Carey heads for job with NATO

07/17/2021

A new commander returned to Okinawa and took charge of America’s largest combat air wing Friday during a ceremony in sweltering heat at Kadena Air Base. Brig. Gen. David Eaglin took command of the 18th Wing from Brig. Gen. Joel Carey at a hangar ceremony flanked by over 200 airmen and two aircraft, including the iconic F-15C Eagle. Eaglin arrived from Osan Air Base, South Korea, following a two-year stint as deputy commander of 7th Air Force.

US Air Force to send dozens of F-22 fighter jets to the Pacific amid tensions with China

07/17/2021

The United States Air Force is sending more than two dozen F-22 stealth fighters to an exercise in the western Pacific this month, an unusually large deployment of the powerful jets that analysts say sends a strong message to a possible adversary in China. Pacific Air Forces in Hawaii this week said approximately 25 F-22s Raptors from the Hawaii Air National Guard and from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, will deploy this month to Guam and Tinian islands for Operation Pacific Iron 2021.

Polish Air Force F-16s About to Deploy To Iceland For the First Time

07/15/2021

According to Polska-Zbrojna, the Polish Air Force is readying its Lask-based F-16s to deploy to Iceland, to support NATO’s Icelandic Air Policing. The deployment of the Polish aircraft is to begin as of August this year. Lt. Col. Michal Kras, Detachment Commander hailing from the Polish Air Force, referred to the deployment, in the interview for Polska Zbrojna, as a demonstration of allied solidarity. The Polish Aircraft would be engaged in air policing efforts in the North Atlantic.

USAF Defends C-130 Cuts as Service Looks to Future of Tactical Airlift

07/15/2021

The Air Force faces an uphill fight with its plans to cut five units worth of C-130s, largely from the Guard and Reserve. The service, however, says the tactical airlift fleet can afford to absorb some risk and that there could be future lift possibilities outside of the venerable Hercules. USAF wants to cut 55 C-130 tails, down to a fleet size of 255. Lt. Gen. David S. Nahom, the deputy chief of staff for plans and programs, said that number “covers what we need for our tactical airlift fleet a

F-22 Raptors from Alaska and Hawaii to fly in large numbers for China-focused exercise in Western Pacific

07/15/2021

Hawaii Air National Guard F-22s are deploying to an exercise in the Western Pacific that includes a large number—about 25—of the stealth fighters from Hawaii and Alaska that are a key part of the “kick down the door " force for any possible conflict with China. “Pacific Iron 2021 " will focus on deploying and sustaining air power from smaller and dispersed bases on Guam and Tinian Island in the Northern Mariana Islands and also includes about 10 F-15E Strike Eagles and two C-130J cargo aircraft.

India set to ink $700 mn fighter jet engine deal with US soon

07/15/2021

India is all set to ink another major defence deal with the United States (US), to acquire fighter jet engines worth $700 million. Negotiations are almost over for the engines that will be used to power the homegrown Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

Azerbaijan, Pakistan And Qatar Emiri Air Force Combat Aircraft Stole The Scene At Anatolian Eagle 2021 in Turkey

07/15/2021

Anatolian Eagle (AE) does not need introductions: organized by the Turkish Air Force at Konya Air Base, in central Anatolia, south of Ankara, Turkey, AE is a very well-known series of exercises hosted by the Turkish and attended each year by several foreign air arms. It is inspired by the U.S. Red Flag and Maple Flag series, the aim of which is to train fighter pilots for the first few days of a modern conflict.

Rostec Gets Ready to Reveal Its New Russian Fighter Jet

07/15/2021

Russian defense giant Rostec published a Youtube video on Tuesday teasing a new fighter jet that is expected to be unveiled at the MAKS-2021 aviation exhibition. The trailer featured a blurry, long-distance shot of an aircraft, accompanied by B-roll footage of what appears to be —namely, the United Arab Emirates, India, Vietnam, and Argentina—reacting to the announcement.

The Colombian Air Force received 2 new T-6C Texan II training aircraft

07/14/2021

Yesterday, the first 2 new Beechcraft T-6C Texan II training aircraft arrived in Colombia, out of a total of 8 acquired in 2020. According to the press release of the Colombian Air Force (FAC for its initials in Spanish), the official reception ceremony took place at the Air Combat Command No.1. It was attended by the Minister of National Defense, Diego Molano Aponte, and General Ramsés Rueda Rueda, Commander of the Colombian Air Force.

Turkish Aerospace aims leaving $500M in country with localization

07/14/2021

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) locally produces more than 600 aircraft components in cooperation with around 250 national companies, which will prevent a total of $500 million from leaving the country to foreign suppliers in the coming years. The company contributes to the development of the auxiliary industry at all stages from production processes to tests of the final product, as well as research and development (R&D) activities in the engineering and technical fields for high-tech produc

U.K. Bolstering Defense Budget

07/14/2021

Key U.S. ally the United Kingdom is growing its defense investments in its land, air and sea platforms, the nation’s defense chief said July 13. “We are giving our forces the military strength they need to deter adversaries in this new competitive age,” said Ben Wallace, U.K. secretary of state for defense. “We are investing heavily in modernizing our warfighting capability.”

IAF likely to operationalise second squadron of Rafale aircraft by July-end

07/14/2021

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is likely to operationalise its second squadron of the Rafale combat aircraft by the end of July and it will be based in Hasimara air base in West Bengal, officials said on Tuesday. The first squadron of the Rafale jets is stationed at Ambala Air Force station in Haryana. The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29, 2020, nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 of the aircraft at a cost of arou

Boosting the Australia–Malaysia strategic partnership

07/13/2021

Against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia and Malaysia have elevated their strategic partnership by launching the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) on 27 January 2021. Given the tenacious strategic context of Southeast Asia today, CSP defence cooperation has high potential spinoffs for Australia and Malaysia.

Indian Army Pushes Govt On ‘Urgent’ Acquisition Of Russian Ka-226 Helicopters

07/12/2021

With the older Chetak and Cheetah helicopters at the fag-end of their technical life, India’s chopper arsenal needs urgent upgradation. The Indian armed forces are set to request the government to acquire “a minimum inescapable quantity” of the Russian Kamov-226-T helicopters in a fly-away condition, reported The Times of India.

Why is China sending ‘grandpa fighter jets’ to test Taiwan’s air defences?

07/12/2021

The Chinese military’s use of ageing J-7 jets in a Taiwan fly-past last month has raised questions about why the second-generation fighters were deployed alongside more modern warplanes. Military sources raised the possibility that the planes had been converted into drones, which offer a cost-efficient way of honing the People’s Liberation Army’s combat drills and testing Taiwan’s response, and added they may also have been a way of testing whether all the island’s warplanes have resumed operati

China builds its own Area 51 in outback as arms race continues

07/11/2021

It’s big. It’s remote. It’s mysterious. It’s an enormous radioactive desert in “outback” China. And Beijing is building its equivalent to Area 51 there. Two of them. The arms race between East and West is once again heating up. Stealth is old news. As are cruise missiles and high-flying spy planes. The “black” projects of the 2020s are all about drones, artificial intelligence and sixth-generation combat aircraft.

Air Force to bring new rescue, attack missions to Davis-Monthan, retire oldest A-10s

07/10/2021

The Department of the Air Force has announced plans to move close air support and rescue missions, including A-10 Thunderbolt II and HH-60 Pave Hawk weapons schools and test squadrons, to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base beginning in fiscal year 2022. The proposed plan would transfer rescue and attack missions, aircraft and personnel to Davis-Monthan AFB as part of the Air Force’s vision of making the base the Center of Excellence for close air support and rescue missions.

Why America could lose its next war

07/10/2021

The U.S. Department of Defense loves a good buzz phrase: capability over capacity, making the tough choices, taking risk now to reduce future risk. The DoD has used all three to rationalize a fiscal 2022 budget that shrinks the U.S. military’s size in the hope that new technologies will eventually lead to new acquisitions. The truth is the proposed budget is the latest in a series of funding requests that have fallen short of what the DoD needs to rebuild for the future.

Special Report: Afghan pilots assassinated by Taliban as U.S. withdraws

07/10/2021

Afghan Air Force Major Dastagir Zamaray had grown so fearful of Taliban assassinations of off-duty forces in Kabul that he decided to sell his home to move to a safer pocket of Afghanistan's sprawling capital. Instead of being greeted by a prospective buyer at his realtor's office earlier this year, the 41-year-old pilot was confronted by a gunman who walked inside and, without a word, fatally shot the real estate agent in the mouth.

China Upgrading Fifth-Gen Fighter Capabilities

07/10/2021

Experts say U.S. fifth-generation fighter aircraft — the stealthy F-22 and F-35 — remain the best in the world. However, China is upgrading its J-20 “Mighty Dragon” to try to close the gap. The J-20A, developed by Chengdu Aerospace Corp., is the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s heavy twin-engine, single seat, low observability, multi-role jet that made its first flight in 2011.

Video shows Russian Su-30 fighter jets buzzing a US Poseidon spy plane over the Black Sea as another NATO ship is 'tracked' by Putin's forces two weeks after HMS Defender stand-off

07/08/2021

Russian fighter jets have been filmed 'buzzing' a US spy plane over the Black Sea in the latest standoff between Moscow and western powers in the contested region. Footage released by the Russian Defence Ministry showed two Sukhoi Su-30 fighters flying close alongside a Boeing P-8 Poseidon of the US Navy on Tuesday evening. The Kremlin said fighters were scrambled as the plane approached its airspace and blocked in from 'violating the state border'.