Military Aviation News Archive
08/27/2019
Boeing has delivered the 11th C-17 Globemaster III to the Indian Air Force India’s adding capability to meet current and future strategic airlift requirements. Boeing’s C-17 Globemaster III is a premier transporter for military, humanitarian and peacekeeping missions. The massive, sturdy, long-haul aircraft can carry large combat equipment, troops and humanitarian aid across long distances, directly to austere airfields anywhere in the world, in all weather conditions.
Read More...
08/27/2019
Rosoboronexport JSC (part of the Rostec State Corporation) has invited 120 delegations from 65 countries to the MAKS 2019 International Air Show, which will be held from August 27 to September 1, 2019 at the Gromov Flight Research Institute’s airfield in Zhukovsky, Moscow region.
Read More...
08/27/2019
China’s rapid military modernisation has triggered an intense discussion about Australia’s defence priorities, reviving old debates about an independent ‘defence of Australia’ doctrine or a deeper alliance with the United States. Missing from that debate, however, is an understanding of the weaknesses and shortcomings of the People’s Liberation Army.
Read More...
08/26/2019
From the vast deserts of Saudi Arabia to the crowded neighborhoods of Beirut, a drone war has taken flight across the wider Middle East, raising the stakes in the ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Since the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal last year, there has been an increasing tempo of attacks and alleged threats, notably this weekend, from unmanned aircraft flown by Tehran's and Washington's allies in the region.
Read More...
08/26/2019
“It was dusk, one of the worst times to use night vision goggles. The sun was going down over my right shoulder. The Mediterranean was dark and the sky was dark, like being in a gigantic black hole. It was hard to tell which way was up and which way was down. We started looking for targets outside of Tripoli. We had determined, by the amount of surface-to-air equipment there, the Gaddafi regime would be using it to target coalition aircraft. Eliminating the equipment was a high priority.”
Read More...
08/26/2019
In a rare announcement, the Israeli government said its military aircraft carried out a preemptive strike against Iran-linked targets southeast of Damascus on Sunday, allegedly thwarting a planned drone attack on Israeli territory. “The IDF, by Israeli aircraft, was able to thwart an Iranian attempt led by the Quds Force from Syria to conduct an attack on Israeli targets in northern Israel using killer drones,” IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus told reporters early Sunday.
Read More...
08/25/2019
Held at Mollis Air Base, Switzerland between Aug. 15 and Aug. 17, 2019 Zigermeet took place two months after the Swiss Air Force ended the evaluation for the five types of combat aircraft under consideration (Eurofighter Typhoon, the Boeing F-18 Super Hornet, the Dassault Rafale, the Lockheed Martin F-35A and the Saab Gripen E) to replace its ageing fleet of F-5 fighter jets, and older model F/A-18C/D fighters.
Read More...
08/25/2019
Noteworthy the Egyptian Air Force MiG-35 deal represents the largest order for the Fulcrum fighter aircraft in the post-Soviet period. Taken by Dmitri Terekhov at Zhukovsky Air Base, Russia, the interesting photo in this post shows first Egyptian Air Force (EAF) MiG-29/35.
Read More...
08/25/2019
Carriers may be on the verge of a global comeback. China’s ambitious aircraft carrier program is already well documented—but Beijing’s northeastern neighbors are set to deploy three new aircraft carriers between them. The United Kingdom will soon have two carriers of its own, as will Italy. There’s a common factor behind these developments, and that is the F-35B stealth jet.
Read More...
08/25/2019
Officials in Tokyo have requested Marines deploy F-35B fighters aboard Japan’s largest warships, a U.S. defense official confirmed to USNI News on Friday. The service is now studying the feasibility of deploying short take-off vertical landing (STOVL) fighters from JS Izumo (DDH-183) and JS Kaga (DDH-184), Japan’s 24,000-ton big deck amphibious.
Read More...
08/24/2019
MAKS International Airshow is setting up this week, and some of the most remarkable aircraft in the world are flying into Zhukovsky for the massive commercial, civil and military aviation business expo and airshow. Along with other aviation journalists and photographers from around the world, we clamber for the best spotting locations awaiting arrivals and watching rehearsals the week before the show opens.
Read More...
08/23/2019
We’re outside the fence of Zhukovsky Airport in Zhukovsky, Russia, about 40 kilometers from downtown Moscow. The instant Alex’s car comes to a stop we are out and setting up cameras. Alex, who speaks both English and Russian, plugs his earphone into his scanner.
Read More...
08/23/2019
MBDA’s Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM) appears set for integration on several Indian combat aircraft. The weapon will be part of the missile armament for Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) Tejas Mk-1A, a combat capable version of the Hawk Mk132 called Hawk-India (Hawk-i) and Sukhoi SU-30MKIs, in addition to upgraded Sepecat/HAL Jaguar strike aircraft.
Read More...
08/23/2019
The US Air Force (USAF) awarded Boeing a contract worth up to $999 billion for 27 wing replacements for the service’s Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft, with the option to order 85 more sets over the contract’s 11-year period.
Read More...
08/22/2019
As reported by AirforceTimes, lawmakers at a House Armed Services readiness subcommittee hearing on Mar. 22, 2017 were told by Lt. Gen. Scott Rice, director of the Air National Guard (ANG), about plans to retire its 236 F-15C/Ds to save costs. He added that the service plans to replace those retired aircraft with upgraded F-16s.
Read More...
08/22/2019
Northrop Grumman plans to more than double production capacity for the RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-4C Triton unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) to 12 aircraft per year in anticipation of growing demand for the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform.
Read More...
08/22/2019
Russian fighter manufacturer RSK MiG is preparing production of an updated version of the Ilyushin Il-114 regional turboprop in a bid to create additional workload beyond its long-standing MiG-29 family.
Read More...
08/22/2019
Washington's formal approval to sell 66 new Lockheed Martin F-16 C/D Block 70s to Taiwan provides a much-needed boost for the island state, but has already drawn the (inevitable) ire of Beijing. A Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) statement on the pivotal sale has been expected for some months, with confirmation finally coming late last week from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Read More...
08/21/2019
The U.S. Navy says two Blue Angels jets touched midair during a practice run in the Florida Panhandle. Navy spokeswoman Lt. Michelle Tucker tells the Pensacola News Journal a jet made momentary contact with the underside of a second jet’s outer wing Wednesday as the pilots practiced over the Naval Air Station Pensacola. She says no one was injured.
Read More...
08/21/2019
As India looks to overhaul its Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fleet for better, India also hopes to make a mark in the defence export market by offering upgraded Sukhoi aircraft to friendly nations. The Russian aircraft is one of the best fighters the Indian Air Force has and now India hopes to sell the tweaked versions to strategic partners.
Read More...
08/21/2019
The Turkish Air Force allegedly deployed some of their warplanes to the southern countryside of the Idlib Governorate after the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) scored a series of gains near the city of Khan Sheikhoun. According to the aviation publication Avia.Pro, two Russian Su-35 jets intercepted the Turkish warplanes and forced them to leave Syria’s airspace.
Read More...
08/21/2019
South Korea is set to receive four additional Lockheed Martin F-35As, bringing the number of the type on the Korean peninsula to eight. According to a report by official news agency Yonhap, quoting military sources, the four aircraft will arrive later this week. By the end of 2019 the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) will have ten examples on the peninsula, out of a total order for 40.
Read More...
08/20/2019
Eleven years after the U.S. Air Force retired the type, an F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter has made yet another public appearance. Dismantled and being hauled across the American West on a tractor-trailer. Photographer Chris McGreevy spotted the truck and its F-117 cargo on Aug. 16, 2019 on Columbia Way near the Palmdale Regional Airport outside Palmdale, California.
Read More...
08/20/2019
The US Navy (USN) is soliciting options to improve or replace the electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) air-to-air and air-to-surface targeting pods on its Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers. The move comes amid concern about the current hardware's readiness state and sustainment cost.
Read More...
08/19/2019
The Japanese Ministry of Defense announced formally its decision to select the U.S. F-35B stealth fighter as the country’s short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft. The decision was virtually assured given that the United States and Lockheed Martin, the aircraft’s manufacturer, were the only bidders for the Japanese contract.
Read More...