Military Aviation News Archive
06/17/2021
China's bewilderingly quick construction of airfields atop man-made islands in the South China Sea, as well as its extra-territorial claims over that body of water, have grabbed headlines for years and the issue remains one of the most significant strategic and geopolitical problems of our time. Yet another far less discussed, but similar strategic expansion is underway in the western reaches of the Chinese mainland, which has gotten much less attention, yet it isn't all that less concerning.
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06/17/2021
Several U.S. Air Force aircraft including F-16s, C-130s, and KC-135s have deployed to northern Africa for the continent’s largest exercise, African Lion. The exercise drew 7,000 participants from nine nations and wraps up June 18 with USAF aircraft flying alongside Moroccan aircraft for close air support training and C-130s airdropping personnel.
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06/16/2021
NATO fighter jets policing the Baltic airspace were scrambled twice last week to identify and escort Russian military aircraft flying in the international airspace over the Baltic Sea, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said on Monday.
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06/16/2021
A second squadron of F-35A fighter jets is coming to Eglin Air Force Base, according to a Monday announcement from U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. While details were scarce, that news was confirmed Tuesday by public affairs personnel from the 33rd Fighter Wing, the Eglin-headquartered wing to which the new squadron will be assigned, and the 96th Test Wing, the base's host unit.
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06/16/2021
China has flown 28 warplanes into Taiwan-controlled airspace, the biggest sortie of its kind since the Taiwanese government began publishing information about the frequent incursions last year. The flights are widely seen as part of an effort by Beijing to dial up pressure on Taiwan, a self-governed democracy of about 24 million people off the Chinese coast that the Chinese government considers a part of China.
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06/15/2021
The United States will not conduct airstrikes to support Afghan security forces after it withdraws its remaining troops from Afghanistan, the head of U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, told Voice of America. In an interview published by VOA on Monday, Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie said the U.S. will conduct airstrikes in Afghanistan only when plans to conduct terrorist attacks against the American homeland, or those of its allies, have been uncovered.
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06/15/2021
So seems to be the reasoning behind the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force, which has deployed artificial intelligence (AI) in simulated aerial combat training against its flesh-and-blood aces, enabling human pilots to adapt to the rapid-reaction moves of AI fighter jets, while also training the AI on how to win every engagement, according to an initial report from the Global Times.
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06/15/2021
The one real advantage Afghanistan has had in its unrelenting war with the Taliban is in the air. With the withdrawal of U.S. forces though, Kabul is finding itself unprepared for the loss of the very air assets that, until now, have given it an edge over the insurgency.
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06/14/2021
Despite Rafale jets winning the first duel against Gripen aircraft, Sweden recently made a fresh bid to sell its SAAB Gripen fighter jets to India as the Indian Air Force looks to acquire 114 fighter jets to replace its aging fleet of Soviet-era jets.
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06/14/2021
President Joe Biden and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan have known each other for years, but their meeting Monday will be their first as heads of state. And it comes at a particularly tense moment for relations between their two countries.
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06/13/2021
While on a nighttime training mission, Schmitz, assigned to the 77th Fighter Squadron, could not recover his F-16 after he severely damaged the aircraft's landing gear upon touching down, striking an antenna array short of the runway. He attempted an ill-advised cable arrest with his mangled gear, as suggested by members in the control tower, then tried to eject as his left wing hit the runway, according to an Accident Investigation Board report released in November.
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06/13/2021
“Strategic ambiguity” underscores that the possibility of any American military and diplomatic assistance to Taiwan in a potential war between Taiwan and mainland China is deliberately unclear. “The ‘pros’ are principally that it would hopefully add further deterrence to the Chinese calculus if they knew that the US would conduct combat operations to defend Taiwan. But the ‘cons’ are that it is unclear what the US public would feel about such a strong commitment.”
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06/12/2021
The military combat plane that crashed in late May near Nellis Air Force Base had an in-flight wing flap issue, according to a report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board on Friday. About 2:17 p.m. on May 24, an experimental Dassault Aviation Mirage F-1 Turbo-jet, N567EM by Draken International was destroyed, killing its pilot, during a routine combat training. The plane was used in support of the U.S. Air Force on base in Las Vegas.
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06/12/2021
Russian planes breached Danish airspace twice on Friday, Ritzau reported, citing the Defense Ministry in Copenhagen. Trine Bramsen, Denmark’s defense minister, said such acts are “very rare” and to be taken “seriously,” according to Ritzau. “There should be no doubt that it’s unacceptable,” she said.
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06/12/2021
Airborne radar experts at Raytheon Technologies Corp. will build upgraded radar systems for advanced versions of the Boeing F-15 Eagle jet fighter under terms of a $3.1 billion contract U.S. Air Force contract announced Wednesday.
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06/10/2021
FS21 is a joint, multinational exercise with participants from the United States working with service members from Israel, Italy, and the United Kingdom, that optimizes the integration between 4th and 5th Generation aircraft, increases the level of cooperation in the F-35 logistics and expeditionary fields, and strengthens interoperability of allied and partner air forces during joint operations.
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06/09/2021
Swedish defense minister Peter Hultqvist on Tuesday reportedly re-pitched to sell SAAB’s Gripen fighter jets to India during an event hosted by the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers, Mint reported. This is the second time Sweden has pitched its Gripen jets to India. Earlier, Indian PM Narendra Modi met his Swedish counterpart Stefan Lofven in a video conference (March 05), under which the two leaders are said to have discussed key matters on various subjects including sale of Gripen jets.
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06/09/2021
Around 24 Chinese fighter jets, including J-11s and J-16s, recently held exercises near eastern Ladakh amid the heavy deployment of forces on the ground at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by both countries. The exercises come when both sides have been engaged in a military standoff for over a year now at the LAC in Ladakh.
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06/09/2021
As the decision on the next fighter jet to fly with the colors of the Swiss Air Force is about to be made, local media reports that the scales might be tilted in favor of the Dassault Rafale. The Air 2030 tender was launched in 2020 following the positive outcome of a referendum on whether Switzerland should acquire or not new fighter jets. 50.1% of voters have voted “yes” to the procurement of new aircraft for the Swiss Air Force.
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06/09/2021
The Russian Air Force’s Sukhoi Su-34 has been seen as one of Russia’s most capable strike fighters; it blends a time-proven airframe design with numerous modern performance features. The combat aircraft also proved it was more than capable when it was deployed to Syria, where it was employed in attacks against rebel and ISIS forces.
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06/08/2021
The Arctic Challenge Exercise (ACE), organized by Finland, Sweden, and Norway, is scheduled to be held from June 7-18, 2021 on the Rovaniemi airbase in Finland, Norway’s Bodo base, and Swedish base Lulea. This year’s edition of the drills is headed by the Finnish forces with a limited number of participants due to the coronavirus pandemic. Held every two years, ACE is one of Europe’s largest tactical air exercises.
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06/08/2021
The U.S. Navy's new unmanned tanker aircraft just completed its first aerial refueling of a manned fighter jet, the service said Monday. The MQ-25 Stingray drone was able to successfully attach to and refuel a Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet during a test flight June 4 out of MidAmerica Airport, Illinois, the service said in a release. The airport, near St. Louis, Missouri, serves as the location for the test program, overseen by the drone's manufacturer, Boeing.
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06/07/2021
Six Israeli F-35 stealth fighters landed in Italy last week to take part in a two-week air exercise in Italy with its air force, alongside those of the United States and United Kingdom, in the largest and farthest drill that the aircraft have taken part in to date, the military said Sunday. Though the explicit goal of the exercise is to improve the overall capabilities of the F-35 jet, which entered military service in late 2016
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06/07/2021
Not a day goes by without some new rumors about Russia’s military development, which are eventually confirmed, or sometimes not. This time, it looks like the “war of drones” concept is getting closer to turning into reality, as fighter jets become capable of coordinating not just one, but 4 simultaneous drone attacks.
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06/07/2021
The sheer dominance of the Israeli Air Force has come about through super-efficient training, intelligence operations conducted by Mossad and other agencies to gauge the vulnerability of its opponents, and a resilient approach to design and acquisition of new aircraft. One country that always but unsuccessfully challenged the Israeli air dominance was Egypt. The country is veering off course in its weapons procurement policy, purchasing more from nations such as Russia and France.
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