Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Pakistan plane crash: Fighter jet crashes near Islamabad park

03/11/2020

In a statement, the PAF said the aircraft was carrying out rehearsals for the country's national day parade to be held on 23 March. Police and security forces have now cordoned off the site in the Shakarparian area, near several museums, golf clubs and Jinnah Stadium. The PAF said the pilot Wing Commander Noman Akram died in the crash.

The US Air Force is studying 2 bases to see which is best to handle the new B-21 bomber

03/11/2020

The Air Force is moving forward with assessments to determine where it can safely base its new B-21 Raider bomber. The service will soon start environmental impact studies to assess the effects of putting "Main Operating Base 1" for the new bomber at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota and at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas, according to a notice published in the US federal register on Friday.

Israeli defense firm Elbit wins US Air Force contract worth up to $476 million

03/11/2020

Israeli defense firm Elbit said Monday that its US subsidiary, Elbit America, had won a US Air Force contract worth up to $471 million. The company will supply a missile warning system to F-16 fighter jets belonging to the US Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command.

U.S. F-22s, Canadian CF-18s Intercepted Two Tu-142 Aircraft in Alaskan ADIZ. And Here Are Some Cool Shots.

03/11/2020

Looks like Russian Naval Aviation is pretty active in these days with their Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance and ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) aircraft. As you will probably remember, on Mar. 7, 2020, two Tu-142s (a Tu-142MK ASW aircraft and a Tu-142MR VLF band comms relay aircraft) flew close to the NATO airspace in northern Europe and were intercepted by the RNoAF F-16s and F-35s (at their first intercept of Russian aircraft) and by the RAF Eurofighter Typhoons.

CENTCOM, AFRICOM Urge Lawmakers Not to Cut MQ-9, Combat Air Patrols

03/11/2020

The Air Force’s plan to cut MQ-9 Reaper production and some air patrols in its fiscal 2021 budget request would negatively impact the ability to conduct operations and provide enough overwatch in hotspots in the Middle East and Africa, the top officials responsible for those regions said March 10.

Elbit to install infrared missile warning systems on US National Guard and Reserve F-16s

03/11/2020

Elbit Systems of America has won a $472 million fixed-price contract to provide pylon-based infrared missile warning systems for US Air National Guard and US Air Force Reserve Command F-16 fighters. The infrared missile warning systems are to be installed on an undisclosed number of Lockheed Martin F-16s over the course of 10 years, with work to be finished by February 2030, Elbit says on 9 March. Installations will occur in Fort Worth, Texas.

Japanese RF-4E Phantoms Have Just Carried Out Their Last Flight

03/10/2020

On Mar. 9, 2020, the Japan Air Self Defense Force retired its RF-4E/J reconnaissance aircraft at Hyakuri Air Base, in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. Assigned to the 501 Hikotai or Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, the “Photo Phantoms” made their last training sortie and all the unit’s Phantoms, with their peculiar sharkmouth, the unit’s woodpecker mark on the tail and the three camo schemes (European, Vietnam and Blue offshore camouflage) were eventually retired.

India’s HAL looks to boost profile in Asian markets

03/10/2020

India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is planning to establish facilities in several Asian markets to boost its international profile. In comments reported by the Press Trust of India (PTI) on 8 March, R Madhavan, HAL's chairman and managing director, said the company is looking at setting up "logistical bases" in Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.

What are Russian bombers doing in Irish airspace?

03/10/2020

The entry into Irish-controlled airspace by Russian air force Tupolev TU-95 “Bear” strategic bomber aircraft last week was unsurprising. We have been here many times before. In 2017 the Royal Air Force scrambled Typhoon combat aircraft from its Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) stations to respond to another sortie by Russian strategic bomber aircraft that skirted close to Irish sovereign airspace, which extends to 12 nautical miles off the Irish coast.

Red Flag 20-2: Maximizing combat readiness, capability, survivability between forces

03/10/2020

Deployed maintainers from all over the world flood the flight line turning wrenches to ensure their assigned aircraft are ready to take over the skies, this controlled chaos signifies Red Flag is back in session March 6-20, here. As one of the U.S. Air Force’s largest combat training exercises, this iteration includes participants from various services, including U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines as well as our allied forces from the Italian, German and Spanish air forces.

US Air Force buys two A-29 light attack aircraft for continued experiment

03/10/2020

Sierra Nevada Corporation has won a $23.2 million contract to supply two Sierra Nevada/Embraer A-29 light attack aircraft to the US Air Force (USAF). The award includes ground support equipment, pilot training, logistic support, aircraft sparing and sustainment, says Sierra Nevada on 3 March.

A-10 Warthog Pilots Reveals What It Is Like to Fly Into Battle

03/09/2020

Few aircraft have as die hard a following as the A-10 Thunderbolt II — from those serving overseas in combat zones, to military bases, and on numerousFacebook groups and “Save the A-10” pages. Its fans span the ranks from enlisted to officers, and across all fields. And of course, there are the pilots themselves, like Air Force Maj. Vince Sherer, who spent three combat tours flying Warthogs out of Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.

France, Italy eye Bangladesh market

03/09/2020

France and Italy have expressed intent to export new generation combat aircraft to Bangladesh, according to diplomatic sources in Paris and Rome. French defence minister Florence Parly was scheduled to reach Dhaka early Monday on a short visit to seemingly move the proposal for selling Rafale, a twin-jet fighter aircraft, and unmanned combat air vehicle among other military hardware.

Russian MOD Video Shows RAF Typhoons And RNoAF F-16s, F-35s From Inside Russian Navy Tu-142 During Intercept

03/09/2020

The Russian MoD has just released an interesting video that provides additional details about the long-range mission flown in international airspace by a Tu-142MK ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) and maritime patrol aircraft and a Tu-142MR Bear-J VLF band radio communications relay platform escorted by at least one MiG-31 Foxhound (armed with R-33 missiles) that caused the Royal Norwegian Air Force and the RAF to scramble their interceptors on Mar. 7, 2020.

U.S. private contractor buys 46 Australian retired F/A-18 Hornet fighters

03/08/2020

Australian Government Department of Defense has reported that U.S. private contractor Air USA is buying up to 46 F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft. “Workers at RAAF Base Williamtown will service and prepare up to 46 retired F/A-18 Classic Hornet aircraft that will be sold to air combat training company Air USA,” said in the release.

How Israel's Derby missile can change the game for India's fighter Tejas

03/08/2020

The reason why India's defense establishment is tilting towards the Derby missile is because it can be integrated into different types of fighter aircraft and can also be used as a surface-to-air missile for the Spyder air defense system.

Russia's Bombers Have Been Doing Serious Damage All Over Syria

03/08/2020

As the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) already had several dozen tactical bombers and fighters based in western Syria, it was widely assumed that deploying big bombers on long-distance raids was purely for symbolic and combat testing purposes. But in fact, VKS tactical aviation elements in Syria could not quite surge the desired level of firepower for the retaliation strike, particularly against targets in eastern Syria.

All the Reasons Why the Air Force's F-16 Is Still a Deadly Plane

03/07/2020

The F-16 Fighting Falcon bears an unusual distinctions: it is one of the only top jet fighters in the world to also be cost efficient. Fast and extremely agile, the light fighter does have some shortcomings in range and payload compared to larger twin-engine fighters like the F-15 Eagle, but that was easy to forgive due to costing less than half as much—around $18 million in 1999 ($27 million in 2017 dollars).

Despite Bloody Week In Afghanistan, U.S. Pushes Taliban Peace Talks Forward

03/07/2020

With less than four days to go before peace talks are to begin in Afghanistan between that nation's authorities and the Taliban insurgency, things are not looking promising. Taliban fighters are stepping up attacks on Afghan security forces. American warplanes are counterattacking. And a prisoner exchange that was to take place before those intra-Afghan talks start is being rejected by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

Helicopter-launched MBDA Sea Venom anti-ship missile hits target during test

03/07/2020

MBDA has successfully hit a target vessel with its Sea Venom anti-ship missile fired from a helicopter in a test. The first qualification firing trial of the medium-range weapon was done at DGA Essais de test site at Ile Du Levant in the Bay of Biscay, France on 20 February 2020, MBDA says on 6 March. The dummy target was a shipping container stacked on a large vessel at sea.

Northrop turns to Canberra to shore up Triton production

03/07/2020

Northrop Grumman says Australia should consider advancing its acquisition of the US Navy’s MQ-4C Triton UAV following the Trump administration’s proposal to pause production for the programme in FY2021 and FY2022. While pausing production, the administration wants instead to focus on the MQ-4C’s improved multi-intelligence configuration, designated IFC-4. The budget is subject to congressional approval.

Morocco Buys Israeli

03/06/2020

France finally delivered its three Harfang (Eagle) UAVs to Morocco in a $48 million sale that included ground support and maintenance equipment as well as extended tech support. Completing this sale took six years because Moroccan Islamic conservatives condemned the proposed deal because the Harfangs were actually an Israeli design renamed and modified somewhat for French service.

Is China About to Give Its Best Fighters Powerful New Jet Engines?

03/06/2020

Like its American counterpart the F-16 jet, the J-10—dubbed the Vigorous Dragon, or the Firebird by NATO—is a quite agile fourth-generation jet with an aerodynamically unstable airframe that has to be regulated by its flight control computer. But such maneuvers would have been impossible for a regular plane relying entirely upon conventional flight controls.

Not Again: China Is Building Another, Better Stealth Fighter

03/06/2020

China reportedly is developing a new stealth fighter. The new warplane, under development by the Shenyang Aircraft Design and Research Institute, could be a clean-sheet design. Or it might be a development of the company’s older FC-31, an export-optimized stealth fighter that has yet to secure a single order.

Weapon wing integration keeps Wildcat on target for carrier protection role

03/06/2020

The UK Royal Navy’s (RN’s) Wildcat HMA2 rotorcraft will be ready to defend the service’s largest-ever warships from next year, with the integration of key new armaments proceeding on schedule, Leonardo Helicopters says.