Military Aviation News Archive
10/26/2024
US Central Command announced on Friday that F-16 fighter jets have arrived in the Middle East from Germany ahead of an impending Israeli strike on Iran. “US Air Force F-16s from the 480th Fighter Squadron based at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany arrive in the US Central Command area of responsibility,” CENTCOM wrote on X Friday.
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10/25/2024
With the purchase of six new Rafale jets, Greece will have 30 state-of-the-art French fighter aircraft. In this context, decision-makers in the Greek “Pentagon” have long expressed their desire for the government to acquire six additional new Rafale fighters so that the Air Force can maintain two squadrons of the French aircraft.
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10/24/2024
At least four people have been killed and 14 were injured Wednesday in what Turkish officials are calling a “terrorist attack” on a state-owned military aircraft factory outside Ankara. Three of the injured are in a serious condition, Turkish interior minister Ali Yerlikaya told reporters.
“Two terrorists, one male and one female, were neutralized,” he said. Yerlikaya added that investigations into their identities were ongoing.
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10/24/2024
The Ukrainian Air Force is working to solve one of the major issues on its way to obtaining a larger number of Western fighter jets. When Ukraine was pushing its partners to provide F-16 multirole fighters, the key problem was where and how to train pilots to operate these jets.
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10/24/2024
France has decided to supply Ukraine with the first batch of three Mirage 2000-5 aircraft. They will be armed with SCALP cruise missiles and AASM bombs, La Tribune says. “France will supply three Mirage 2000-5s to Ukraine in the first quarter of 2025. This figure has not yet been announced by either the Elysee Palace or the Ministry of the Armed Forces,” the agency writes.
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10/24/2024
According to sources from Turkey, cited by Iranian journalist Hayal Muazin, Iran plans to start producing Russian Su-30 and Su-35 fighter jets domestically. According to the information, Tehran has already received a license to manufacture these aircraft and is preparing to set up an assembly plant in the near future. “This will be a significant step in the development of Iranian aviation,” Muazin stated in his report.
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10/24/2024
The US Marines successfully tested their experimental unmanned "loyal wingman" aircraft alongside F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets earlier this month. The flight test, the fourth for the Marine Corp's XQ-58A Valkyrie, was a milestone for the program that helped advance the manned-unmanned teaming concept that the military is pursuing, an official said.
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10/23/2024
French media said that Iraq is still interested in purchasing France’s top-tier Dassault Rafale multirole fighter aircraft to use them in air patrol operations. The lack of Meteor air-to-air missiles beyond visual range will limit the aircraft’s overall effectiveness as air superiority fighters for Baghdad, according to Forbes. On October 18, the French weekly business journal La Tribune published an article about Iraq’s ongoing interest in the Rafale.
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10/23/2024
Australia needs to bring the civil, military and industrial components of aviation policy into a coherent whole. It should view the sector as a national enterprise to promote mutual support among its various parts. The civilian aviation workforce could be seen as a defence asset, for example, and various efforts to support aerospace manufacturing could be better coordinated to create a stronger industry.
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10/23/2024
North Korea might have dispatched fighter pilots to Russia, who are capable of flying Russian military aircraft and could participate in the war against Ukraine, according to Newsweek. The agency said that North Korea has not only sent ground forces to Russia but may have deployed fighter pilots to Vladivostok last month.
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10/23/2024
The defense market in the Philippines is intensifying as two major competitors, South Korea's KF-21 and the American F-16 from Lockheed Martin, have been shortlisted for the Philippine government’s multirole fighter (MRF) aircraft procurement project. According to an article from The Korea Economic Daily published on October 18, 2024, the KF-21 is considered a strong contender for meeting the Philippines' needs. With an estimated budget of 400 billion Philippine pesos ($6.95 billion).
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10/22/2024
Swedish aircraft maker Saab has made an appealing offer to deliver the first Gripen E/F within three years if awarded the contract. Taking the conversation forward, Saab Campaign Director and Head of Gripen for India Programme (Business Area Aeronautics) Kent-Ake Molin asserted that the Swedish firm was already exploring manufacturing opportunities in India to serve local and global markets with complete transfer of technology.
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10/22/2024
The two US Navy aviators who were killed in a fighter jet crash in the United States last week had recently returned from flying combat missions against the Houthis. Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay Evans and Lt. Serena Wileman were killed when their EA-18G Growler crashed during a training flight near Washington's Mount Rainier on October 15, the Navy said Monday.
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10/22/2024
A US F-35 stealth fighter jet landed aboard Japan's new destroyer-turned-aircraft carrier for the first time off the coast of California, the US military said, sharing photos of the event. It's a major step in integrating the F-35B short-takeoff/vertical landing variant used by the US Marine Corps and the British Royal Navy on its carriers into Japan's self-defense forces.
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10/21/2024
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) tracked 19 Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Thursday (Oct. 17) and 6 a.m. on Friday. Of the 19 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 15 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the nation’s northern, central, and southwestern air defense identification zone (ADIZ), according to the MND.
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10/21/2024
As the battle to power India’s 5th-generation fighter jet heats up, French aero-engine maker Safran is increasing its footprint in India. India has partnered with the US to build engines for Light Combat Aircraft, LCA MK1A and LCA MK2. However, the US firm is reluctant to part with the 100 percent technology. French Safran sees this as an opportunity to bolster defense ties with India.
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10/21/2024
Two crew members who were missing following the crash of a fighter jet in mountainous terrain in Washington state during a routine training flight have been declared dead, the U.S. Navy said Sunday. The EA-18G Growler jet from the Electronic Attack Squadron crashed east of Mount Rainier on Tuesday afternoon, according to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. Search teams, including a U.S. Navy MH-60S helicopter, launched from the air station to try to find the crew and crash site.
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10/21/2024
The defense ministers of Japan, the U.K. and Italy agreed to accelerate the joint development of a next-generation fighter jet, and announced that a trilateral government organization would be established by the end of this year to work with the parties producing the aircraft, Japanese officials said Sunday. The three countries agreed in 2022 to jointly produce a new combat aircraft that will be ready for deployment in 2035, under the Global Combat Air Program, or GCAP.
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10/20/2024
The roar of aircraft around Selfridge Air National Guard Base has returned. As of Tuesday crews completed their work on the runway resurfacing project and by Wednesday afternoon military planes that had been dispersed from the airfield at the start of construction in July were landing on the new surface.
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10/20/2024
As we know, the American armies, including the US Air Force, are facing serious problems in the area of ??human resources, hampered by insufficient recruitment and non-renewals of contracts, creating a haemorrhage that is difficult to stem. This problem now affects all specialties, including the most attractive and symbolic function of the US Air Force, fighter pilots.
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10/19/2024
A model of the next-generation fighter jet, currently under development by Japan, the United Kingdom, and Italy, was unveiled at the 2024 International Aerospace Exhibition held in Tokyo from October 16 to 19. The project, officially known as the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), aims to develop a cutting-edge fighter jet that integrates advanced capabilities across all three nations’ defense sectors.
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10/19/2024
The Air Force has picked Anduril and General Atomics to continue developing their autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft concepts over designs offered by Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. In a non-traditional move, the companies that were not picked will still be able to compete to produce the resulting aircraft.
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10/19/2024
France is considering collaboration with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to develop the Rafale F5 next-generation fighter aircraft. The countries are currently in talks about co-financing the initiative, with Abu Dhabi potentially covering the non-sovereign components of the fighter jet.
Paris will maintain exclusive control over the jet’s critical components, even if the other party agrees to the deal, according to French newspaper La Tribune.
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10/19/2024
South Korea’s homegrown fighter jet KF-21 is competing against US defense firm Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-16 for the Philippine government’s multirole fighter (MRF) aircraft procurement project, with an estimated budget of up to 400 billion pesos ($6.95 billion). According to industry sources on Friday, the KF-21, developed by Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI), and the Lockheed Martin F-16 have been shortlisted in the Philippine Air Force’s MRF project.
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10/18/2024
The US says it has carried out "precision strikes" against five weapons storage locations in areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthi movement. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said B-2 Spirit stealth bombers were part of the operation that targeted hardened underground facilities housing missiles and other munitions that the Iran-backed group had used to attack civilian and military ships.
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