Military Aviation News Archive
06/22/2020
Following multiple border clashes with Pakistan in 2019 and more recently with Chinese forces in Galwan Valley, a number of Indian officials and military analysts have referred to the French Rafale fighter as a guarantor of a favourable outcome in future conflicts. The Rafale is a ‘4+ generation’ French fighter which first flew in 1986, and the Indian Air Force plans to induct 36 of the aircraft into service by 2025. The fighter is particularly prized for its low operational cost and maintenance
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06/22/2020
Russia has denied US claims that it has new aircraft active in Libyan airspace. The denial came in the form of a short tweet by the Russian embassy in Greece last Thursday (18 June) quoting Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. The tweet read: ‘‘Deliberate falsifications ‘ve been made regarding military equipment. Equipment delivered to Libya long ago is presented as recent Russian deliveries. Reports based on info from unreliable sources interested in supporting Hafter’s adversarie
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06/22/2020
China is set to release its 2020 research report on the US military presence in the Asia-Pacific region amid the US' recent increased military activities near China, including repeated trespassing into China's territorial waters in the South China Sea by warships this year. The possibility of a conflict could substantially increase, which must be managed and prevented, the report says.
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06/22/2020
A Chinese fighter jet briefly entered the nation’s airspace at about noon yesterday, the Republic of China (ROC) Air Force said in a news release. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force Chengdu J-10 fighter was detected near the southwestern region of Taiwan’s airspace, and was immediately intercepted and escorted away following radio warnings, it said.
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06/21/2020
Amid efforts to de-escalate tensions at the India-China border in Galwan Valley of Ladakh, the Indian Air Force has reportedly flown in combat air patrols after information of Chinese incursions at multiple sites, an NDTV report stated.
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06/20/2020
Russian aircraft delivered to Libya in late May are being actively flown in Libya. These Russian aircraft are being used to support private military companies (PMCs) sponsored by the Russian government. U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) has photographic evidence of a Russian aircraft taking off from al-Jufra, Libya. A MiG-29 was also photographed operating in the vicinity of the city of Sirte, Libya.
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06/20/2020
The face-off between India and China in Ladakh, which resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers, has put the spotlight on their war machines. On paper, China may look superior, but India has more experience in the high-terrain battlefield. Mint takes a deep dive.
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06/20/2020
Military chopper and fighter jet activity were seen in Leh region of Ladakh on Friday.
The activity assumes significance in view of the ongoing dispute with China and after the violent face-off with Chinese troops in Galwan valley in Ladakh. Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force has moved its critical frontline assets including the Sukhoi-30MKI, Mirage 2000 and Jaguar fighter aircraft fleet to advanced positions where they can fly in at a very short notice to carry out operations.
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06/20/2020
Two B-2 Spirit strategic stealth bombers were Thursday flying from an airbase in Missouri across the North Atlantic to the skies over the northernmost parts of the Norwegian Sea. The origin of the planes belonging to the 509th Bomb Wing and indications of the flight patterns were confirmed by the public affairs office of the United States European Command.
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06/20/2020
A second F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation stealth fighter jet squadron is expected to be stood up at Eglin Air Force Base next year, a move “which will effectively double our operation by 2022,” Col. Jon Wheeler, commander of the Eglin-based 33rd Fighter Wing, said this week. Wheeler spoke at an online defense issues forum convened Thursday via YouTube by U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz. He said the new squadron will bring an additional 24 aircraft and between 370 and 410 additional personnel to the base
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06/20/2020
U.S. Air Force aerial warfare experts will upgrade RF and microwave hardware and software on modern active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for F-16 jet fighter aircraft. Officials of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, announced an $18.7 million order to last week to the Northrop Grumman Corp. Mission Systems segment in Linthicum Heights, Md.
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06/20/2020
The Russian military sent Su-30 Flanker and Su-35 Flanker-E fighter jets and MiG-31 Foxhound interceptors to monitor two U.S. Air Force B-52H bombers that flew over the Sea of Okhotsk yesterday. This the first time B-52Hs have flown into this body water, which is surrounded on three sides by Russian territory and where American combat aircraft typically have not ventured in the past, in recent memory.
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06/19/2020
The Air Force will test a new fighter pilot training plan designed to fix deficiencies and reduce the time needed to transform a raw student pilot into a fighter flight lead from 40 to as few as 22 months. The new concept of operations exploits the in-jet simulation capability of the new T-7 Red Hawk, paired with ground-based virtual reality and artificial intelligence to accelerate student progress.
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06/19/2020
Standoff weapons are just too expensive to be relied on exclusively for an ongoing air campaign against China or Russia, and the better investment is more bombers, according to the author of a new paper from the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
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06/19/2020
A US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet crashed into the sea Thursday, the US Navy's 7th Fleet said in a statement. The fighter jet, part of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt's air wing, crashed during routine pilot proficiency training. Both naval aviators were able to safely eject from the aircraft and were recovered by a helicopter crew from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 8. Both individuals are in good condition.
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06/19/2020
In a move likely to boost the strength of its fighter jet squadrons, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has proposed to acquire 33 new combat aircraft including 12 Sukhoi and 21 MiG-29s. A proposal for speedy acquisition of these combat fighter jets has already been initiated and sent to the central government for approval.
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06/18/2020
The tensions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between Indian security forces and China’s PLA have renewed the question of how New Delhi should deal with a rising, assertive Beijing.
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06/18/2020
China has a group of honor guard members to Moscow as part of a deliberate show of support by attending Russia’s seventy-fifth World War II Soviet Victory Parade, a move signaling ongoing collaboration or even partnership between the two countries. At the same time, the Chinese move appears to be a clear effort to demonstrate the range and scope of its Y-20 cargo plane which, Chinese media reports, will soon be developed into a tanker refueling aircraft variant.
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06/17/2020
A Hawk aircraft of the Indonesian Air Force that crashed into a residential area in Riau Province on Monday had just completed a combat training mission in Siabu, said TNI AU Commander Marshal Fadjar Prasetyo. The Hawk 0209 TT fighter aircraft crashed in Siak Hulu Sub-district, Kampar District, Riau Province, after reportedly developing engine trouble.
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06/17/2020
Raytheon has confirmed the first successful guided release of a StormBreaker smart weapon from a US Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, ahead of the missile’s planned integration into the F-15E Eagle and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. No, it isn't the Marvel superhero's axe, forged in the heart of a dying star, it is however the latest generation of guided missile that will enhance the lethality of both the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the fifth-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
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06/17/2020
Amid the ongoing border standoff with China, the BrahMos air launched cruise missile has received clearance for combat use. The BrahMos armed SU-30 squadron was inaugurated earlier this year in January. "The fleet release clearance certification has paved the way for the pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) squadrons to use the missile during combat missions," BrahMos Corporation told India Today.
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06/17/2020
The received wisdom that “missiles and rockets don’t win wars,” always a dubious assertion, is now obsolete and demonstrably false. Modern precision-guided missiles have the same combat effectiveness as fighting aircraft yet are easier to operate and less vulnerable as they don’t rely on huge, immovable, target-rich air bases. Precision-guided missiles and rockets can paralyze the civilian and military infrastructures of entire countries, thus paving the way to their defeat in war.
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06/17/2020
The U.S. government has approved the potential sale of an extensive upgrade package, dubbed the Hornet Extension Program, for Canada's CF-18A/B+ Hornet fighter jets. The proposed deal most notably includes enough AN/APG-79(V)4 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars to equip two squadrons worth of jets, which would give those aircraft a desperately needed boost in their ability to detect, track, and engage threats at extended ranges.
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06/16/2020
NATO fighter jets stationed in the Baltic states as part of the NATO air policing mission were scrambled eight times last week to identify and escort military aircraft of the Russian Federation in the international airspace over the Baltic Sea, Lithuania's Ministry of Defense said on Monday.
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06/16/2020
A military aircraft ploughed into a residential area in the Kubang Jaya Village, Siak Hulu Sub-district, Kampar District, in Riau Province on Monday. "Yes, an aircraft crashed some 500 meters from my house. The incident occurred at around 8:30 a.m. local time," Wahyu, a local resident, stated. No further report was received of any casualty, and the Air Force personnel have sealed off the crash site.
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