Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Airbus to advance automatic tanker trial for customer

11/14/2019

Further flight testing of a developmental automatic boom refuelling capability for the A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) will be performed for an undisclosed customer next year, Airbus Defence & Space has disclosed. Trials work on the company’s A3R automatic air-to-air refuelling technology conducted since 2017 has included its A310 testbed making automatic in-flight contacts with Lockheed Martin F-16s and an A330 MRTT.

Leonardo Helicopters upbeat on AW159 sales prospects

11/14/2019

Leonardo Helicopters is maintaining its belief in the AW159 Wildcat, despite a barren sales period that has seen its backlog for the platform dwindle to zero. This week, the manufacturer celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Wildcat’s 12 November 2009 first flight. However, with deliveries to the UK and export customers exhausted, there are no new examples of the medium-class helicopter in production.

Apache’s Longbow radar gets software boost

11/14/2019

The AN/APG-78 Longbow mast-mounted radar that equips the Boeing AH-64E Apache has completed the US Army’s Follow-On Test and Evaluation (FOT&E) II. The fire control radar, produced by a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman called Longbow LLC, demonstrated several new modes and longer range detection capability against land, air and sea targets, says Northrop Grumman.

Tokyo orders additional JSMs for F-35s

11/14/2019

Tokyo has placed a follow-on order with Norwegian firm Kongsberg for Joint Strike Missiles to equip its Lockheed Martin F-35s. The follow-on contract is valued at NKr450 million ($49 million), according to Kongsberg. It does not disclose the number of weapons involved, or the delivery timeframe.

Russia Is Trying to Jam the Air Force's F-35 Radar in Syria

11/12/2019

Russian forces have been jamming GPS systems in the Middle East. The electronic-warfare campaign could affect U.S. forces gathering in the region in advance of potential strikes on Iran. “Since last spring, pilots flying through the Middle East, specifically around Syria, have noted that their GPS systems have displayed the wrong location or stopped working entirely,” The Times of Israel reported in late June 2019.

A familiar adversary emerges in Israel’s proxy war with Iran

11/12/2019

It has often been said that Israel lives in a troubled neighborhood. Multiple regional wars and violent conflagrations with at least half a dozen regional states and armed groups certainly depict a country ill at ease with its neighbors.

?General Atomics to demonstrate MQ-9 maritime patrols for Europe

11/12/2019

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems plans to demonstrate its MQ-9 Guardian unmanned air vehicle’s (UAV) maritime patrol surveillance capabilities for European nations in December. The company is working with the Greek air force to conduct several demonstration flights from the Greek air base of Larissa, it says in a media release on 11 November. General Atomics also plans to showcase its detect-and-avoid system, which helps the UAV fly near civilian or other manned aircraft without risking col

US F-35 stealth jets to deploy near main Russian military base in Syria: media

11/11/2019

The U.S. Air Force will deploy its F-35 stealth jets to Israel in order to maintain a strong presence in the region, the Israeli publication 9TV reported, as quoted by the Russian publication Avia.Pro on Sunday. “The Americans will place a huge number of hangars for their F-35 fighters on the territory of the Jewish state. We are talking about hundreds of combat aircraft, which creates a certain threat to Russian military facilities in the Middle East,” Avia.Pro said.

Germany Warns France Against Undermining NATO Security Alliance

11/11/2019

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned on Sunday against undermining NATO, in Berlin's strongest response to date to French President Emmanuel Macron's critical remarks about the security alliance. Macron told The Economist this week that NATO was experiencing "brain death", citing a lack of coordination and U.S. unpredictability under President Donald Trump. He also expressed doubt about the U.S.-led alliance's security maxim that an attack on one ally would be treated as an attack on all.

Balancing the need for air dominance, long-range strike and airlift in a contested environment

11/11/2019

The nation’s long-vaunted strategic “sea-air gap” moat is shrinking, placing increased pressure on the tactical and strategic capabilities of the Royal Australian Air Force, which is further complicated by the regional proliferation of advanced combat aircraft, precision high-speed munitions and missile systems.

Did a Russian Made Missile Hit an Israeli F-35 Stealth Fighter in 2017?

11/10/2019

Did a Russian anti-aircraft missile hit one of Israel’s new F-35 stealth fighters? Pro-Russian media are claiming that an Israeli F-35I was hit and damaged by a Russian-made S-200 surface-to-air missile during an Israeli air strike in Syria earlier this month. Israel says one of its F-35s was damaged—after colliding with a bird.

The Air Force’s upgraded AC-130 gunship is working overtime in Afghanistan

11/09/2019

It's been just over four months since the Air Force's AC-130J Ghostrider kicked off combat missions in the skies above Afghanistan, and the aircraft that the service once described as "the ultimate battle plane" and "a bomb truck with guns on it" is already bringing the pain on a daily basis.

Russia’s Air Force to Receive First Serial-Produced Su-57 Fighter Jet by Year’s End

11/09/2019

The Russian Air Force is expected to receive the first serial-produced Su-57 fighter aircraft, the Russia first purported indigenously designed and built fifth-generation stealth fighter, by the end of this year, Deputy Defense Minister, Alexei Krivoruchko, told reporters during a visit to the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) Komsomolk on-Amur aircraft plant in the Russian Far East this week.

If The F-22 Was A Game-Changer, The F-35 Is A Revolution In Warfare

11/09/2019

Obviously, technology has changed dramatically since 1940. While contemporary fighters can now go more than five times as fast as the Spitfires and Messerschmitt fighters of the Battle of Britain, two new technologies promise to make hit-and-run tactics more effective: stealth technology and long-range air-to-air missiles.

Egypt and Russia Carry Out Joint Air Defence Drills Amid Fast Growing Military Ties

11/09/2019

Egyptian and Russian forces have carried out joint air defence exercises using new Russian weapons platforms, the latest of several drills between the two powers which have grown more frequent in recent years. The overthrow of Egypt’s Western backed islamist government in 2013 by popular protest led by the country’s armed forces led Cairo to seek closer defence ties with Moscow - and within weeks the African state had placed considerable orders for Russian hardware.

UAE requests 10-unit Chinook acquisition

11/09/2019

US officials have approved the possible sale of 10 Boeing CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to the United Arab Emirates. In a 7 November notification, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) gives the total contract value as $830 million.

Naval Air: South Korea Improvises

11/08/2019

In October South Korea announced it was buying 20 more F-35 stealth fighters. There are already 40 on order and South Korea will have received 13 by the end of 2019. Those 60 F-35s will cost $9.7 billion and a decision still has to be made as to whether any of the second 20 will be the VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) F-35B version. The first 40 will all be the basic F-35A which just operates from land-based airfields. But South Korea has ships that F-35Bs could operate from.

The Air Force's first stealth aircraft, which was retired a decade ago, was spotted flying over Nevada again

11/08/2019

It's not a secret that the US Air Force is still flying the F-117 Nighthawk stealth aircraft at Tonopah Test Range (TTR) although the iconic Black Jet was officially retired from active service in 2008.

US Navy moves to put Link 16 in MQ-8C unmanned helicopter

11/08/2019

The US Navy (USN) is moving forward with its plan to add Link 16 communications terminals to its fleet of Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopters. The service intends to buy 50 Link 16 terminals over the course of five years to install on the unmanned air vehicles (UAV), according to a sources-sought notice posted online on 1 November.

Norway reaches IOC milestone with F-35

11/08/2019

Norway has declared initial operating capability (IOC) status for its Lockheed Martin F-35As, with the milestone having been reached on 6 November. The achievement followed a deployment to Rygge air station to check that the aircraft could be successfully operated away from its home base of Orland.

Berlin targets Eurofighter AESA deal and top-up buy

11/08/2019

Germany appears poised to advance a joint programme with Spain to equip the nations’ later-model Eurofighters with active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars, as Berlin also nears approving the acquisition of 38 new aircraft to replace its Tranche 1-standard interceptors.

Airbus proposes ECR/SEAD Eurofighter, emphasises German requirement

11/07/2019

Airbus Defence and Space (DS) has showcased a new electronic attack and counter-ground-based air defence variant of the Eurofighter combat aircraft as it looks to secure Germany's Tornado replacement requirement.

Air Force JSTARS wrap up 18-year Middle East deployment

11/07/2019

The Air Force’s E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft have exited the Middle East after being deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility for 18 years. Known as JSTARS, the airborne ground surveillance, battle management and command and control aircraft departed Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar Oct. 1, according to an Oct. 31 Air National Guard news release.

DoD warns China exporting killer autonomous drones to Middle East

11/07/2019

China is exporting unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) to the Middle East which are capable of launching autonomous attacks. That’s according to the Pentagon’s top leader, US defense secretary Mark Esper, who gave a speech about artificial intelligence at the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence public conference on 5 November.

DARPA looking for anti-laser defences for US aircraft

11/07/2019

Rapid improvements in high-energy laser weapons has the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) concerned that US aircraft could be targeted and attacked by adversaries in the future.