Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

US Navy completes second live fire test of AIM-120D-3 missile from F/A-18F fighter

05/15/2021

The weapon safely launched from an F/A-18F Super Hornet and flew the expected flight path over the Point Mugu Sea Test Range in California. The preliminary analysis provided by the prime contractor, Raytheon Missiles & Defense, indicates all primary and secondary objectives of the shot were met.

The F-22 Raptor Could Truly Be Headed for Retirement. Here's Why.

05/15/2021

Is there something faster, stealthier, more maneuverable, and more lethal than the F-22? It seems that could be true. So little is known about the now airborne 6th-Gen stealth fighter aircraft, yet it is a potential breakthrough platform that is exploding onto the scene years ahead of what was previously anticipated.

Screaming Eagles take flight in cutting-edge Black Hawk simulator

05/15/2021

Fort Campbell, Kentucky, is entering the latest frontier of flight simulation technology with the Army-owned and operated Black Hawk Aircrew Trainer, or BAT, a highly immersive device that the installation began using May 3. Boasting a complete UH-60 cockpit, state-of-the-art visual systems and a dedicated operating station for instructors, the BAT allows pilots to build mission readiness while saving the Army both time and money.

Air Force Wants to Cut 421 Old Fighters, Buy 304 New Ones

05/15/2021

The Air Force will ask Congress to retire 421 legacy aircraft through 2026, replacing them with just 304 new fighters, according to fiscal 2022 budget talking points obtained by Air Force Magazine. The savings derived from operating a smaller fleet will be put toward acquiring new systems such as the Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter later this decade, and a new Multi-Role fighter, called MR-X, in the 2030s.

Navy orders six AN/APG-79(V)4 AESA airborne radar systems from Raytheon for Marine Corps combat aircraft

05/15/2021

Radar experts at Raytheon Technologies Corp. will provide the U.S. Marine Corps with six AN/APG-79(V)4 active electronically scanned array (AESA) airborne radar systems under terms of a $20 million order announced last week. Officials of the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., are asking the Raytheon Intelligence & Space segment in El Segundo, Calif., for replacement AESA radar systems for the Marine Corps F/A-18C/D Hornet carrier-based jet fighter-bomber.

Pentagon to seek 85 F-35 jets in next year's budget request

05/14/2021

The Biden administration will seek $11 billion to buy 85 Lockheed Martin F-35 jets in the coming fiscal year, tracking a plan outlined last year by the Trump administration, according to a U.S. official. With a $715 billion budget request for fiscal year 2022, the Pentagon had considered increasing the quantity of next-generation fighters it planned to buy but decided to instead focus on using additional funding to upgrade the F-35 with new capabilities every six months, the official said.

China threatens to inflict 'economic carnage' on Australia for spending big on defence - and warns our gas exports could soon be banned

05/14/2021

China has threatened to bring 'economic carnage' upon Australia in response to big defence spending announced in Tuesday's federal budget. The government outlined a huge boost for the defence force, more funding for spies and help for exporters to find new markets in a massive push back against an increasingly assertive Beijing.

Helicopter attack on Nigerian civilians puts British pilot training under fresh scrutiny

05/14/2021

Nigeria’s air force has attacked civilian targets including a school six months after Declassified revealed that a private company in England was training military helicopter pilots from Africa’s most populous nation. Multiple villages in Konshisha district, eastern Nigeria, were destroyed by a military helicopter on 8 April in retaliation for the killing of 11 soldiers by “armed bandits” during a communal dispute over land.

China’s Red and Blue fighter teams in mock battle

05/14/2021

God forbid, should war break out, between the US and China for any reason, they would have to deal with US aircraft carriers, in a big way. Those lethal nuclear-powered “large deck” US Navy carriers that ply the seven seas, also come with a formidable carrier strike group.

Chinese military turboprop enters Taiwan’s ADIZ

05/13/2021

A Chinese military plane entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on Wednesday (May 12), marking the seventh intrusion this month. One People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane flew into the southwest corner of Taiwan’s ADIZ Wednesday afternoon, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND). In response, Taiwan sent aircraft, broadcast radio warnings, and deployed air defense missile systems to track the PLAAF plane.

Russia intercepts three French military planes over Black Sea as tensions soar

05/13/2021

The Russian Su-27 fighter jet intercepted two Mirage 2000 tactical combat planes and a French air force C-135 aerial refueling tanker over the Black Sea earlier today. Russia’s National Defense Control Center said: "The Russian fighter’s pilot identified the aerial targets as two Mirage 2000 tactical aircraft and a C-135 aerial refueling tanker of the French Air Force and shadowed them over the Black Sea.

Taiwanese F-16s Have Fired AIM-120 AMRAAM Missiles Locally For The First Time

05/13/2021

Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets operated by Taiwan’s Republic of China Air Force, or ROCAF, have test-fired AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs, for the first time on the island, according to reports. The missiles were apparently launched from a pair of recently upgraded F-16V jets, which had reached initial combat capability last March.

Air Force Chief Hints At Retiring the F-22 Raptor in Fighter Downsize

05/13/2021

The U.S. Air Force wants to downsize from seven types of fighter jets or attack aircraft to a mix of four, including the A-10 Warthog close-air support aircraft, the service's top general said Wednesday. Speaking during the annual McAleese conference, Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown said the service expects to determine the right mix of aircraft for the future through its "TacAir study." It will also assess how future fighter concepts will fit into the current mix of fourth- and fifth-generation fighter

F-35 jets protect the Baltic air space for the first time

05/12/2021

The four Italian Air Force F-35A jets replace the German Air Force’s four Eurofighter aircraft, deployed to Ämari Air Base since August 2020. F-35s have landed in Estonia before – in 2017, two US Air Force F-35As, deployed to the UK, flew from RAF Lakenheath to Ämari for a short visit. But this is the first time the stealth aircraft have been deployed as part of the Baltic Air Policing mission.

French Military Leader Asserts Islamic State is 'Regenerating' Underground

05/11/2021

French military leader said that the Islamic State (IS) is "regenerating" underground with stealth and developing its military as France is sending warships and aircraft to Syria and Iraq in order to examine the threat the group poses, the Associated Press reported. Rear Admiral Marc Aussedat, the head of a task force that features the Charles de Gaulle nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, said reconnaissance flights are being carried out to help French forces on the ground observe the Islamic Stat

British military aircraft must hit net-zero carbon target by 2040, says Air Force chief

05/11/2021

The United Kingdom has set a requirement that its Royal Air Force have net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. But according to Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston, the service needs to work under the assumption that it has to hit that target a decade earlier — and accept that other budget priorities will be cut to make it happen.

What the United States Wants From Japan in Taiwan

05/11/2021

When Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga became the first foreign leader to visit U.S. President Joe Biden in the White House last month, their joint statement garnered a lot of attention. For the first time since 1969, the leaders referenced their shared interest in the “importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait” and “the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.”

China ramps up UAVs with Chengdu industrial park

05/11/2021

For years, drone warfare has been an essentially American pursuit. The new age of armed robots has been symbolized by Predators and Reapers spewing deadly Hellfire missiles. But guess who’s the biggest exporter of combat drones? China. “In 2014–18 China became the largest exporter in the niche market of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), with states in the Middle East among the main recipients,” according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Air Force awards A-10 pilot for skillfully belly landing her plane without landing gear after 'catastrophic' failure

05/11/2021

The US Air Force awarded a fighter pilot for skillfully landing a damaged aircraft without a cockpit canopy or working landing gear after what the service described as a "catastrophic" failure. Capt. Taylor Bye, a 75th Fighter Squadron pilot, pulled off an emergency belly landing in her A-10C Thunderbolt II fighter jet in April last year after a gun malfunction over Grand Bay Range at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia sent panels and her cockpit canopy flying and prevented her landing gear from de

USAF to test two F-15EX jets in Northern Edge 21 exercise

05/11/2021

The exercise, which started on 3 May, is being conducted on and above the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, the Gulf of Alaska, and temporary maritime activities area. Hosted by the US Pacific Air Forces, the joint training exercise will see participation from over 15,000 service members. It will run until 14 May. According to the USAF, F-15EX’s participation in the exercise will allow the service to implement changes in advance before fielding.

What’s impeding Indonesia’s military ambitions?

05/11/2021

The recent loss of a 40-year-old Indonesian submarine has highlighted the need for the Southeast Asian nation to replace many of its military platforms, but plans to do so have been stymied by budget shortfalls and a lack of adherence to its long-term vision.

Britain’s Royal Air Force chief talks F-35 tally and divesting equipment

05/10/2021

On March 16, the United Kingdom rolled out its Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, a document that will serve as the guidepost for its military going forward. Included in that document were both cuts to existing systems and investments in new technologies.

Chinese drones a killer eye in the sky in Myanmar

05/10/2021

When Myanmar’s military junta seeks to gain a tactical advantage against pro-democracy demonstrators or ethnic resistance groups, it sometimes deploys Chinese-made drones to survey the situation and provide crackdown targets.

Chinese delegation in Argentina to offer the Air Force, the supersonic aircraft JF-17

05/09/2021

A top-ranking delegation from China's National Aero-Technology import-export corporation, CATIC, is currently in Argentina to discuss defense cooperation and with the proposal to offer the Argentine Air Force supersonic capable aircraft, according to InfoDefensa.ar, an Argentine site which specializes in defense industry issues.

Why China’s Type 075 warship is more than it seems – the secret is in its hull number

05/09/2021

It’s just two digits but the number on the hull of the first of China’s largest amphibious landing helicopter docks (LHD) points to a high value. The first Type 075 Yushen-class Hainan ship was given the pennant number “31” when the PLA Navy commissioned it on April 23, the navy’s 72nd anniversary.