Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Pakistan Stands Up New Fighter Squadron

03/12/2018

The Pakistan Air Force inaugurated a new JF-17 fighter squadron in Quetta last month. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) stood up a new fighter squadron composed of Aeronautical Complex/Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (PAC/CAC) JF-17 “Thunder” multirole fighter jets in Quetta, Balochistan last month, according to local media reports.

Army orders 35 more UH-72A Lakotas from Airbus

03/12/2018

Airbus Helicopters announced that it received a $273 million contract from the US Army to deliver 35 more UH-72A Lakotas. The helicopters will be used as training aircraft, and will be split between the initial entry rotary wing mission at Fort Rucker, Alabama, which will receive 17 aircraft, and the observer and controller mission at the Army’s combat training centres, which will receive 18 aircraft.

Riyadh advances on repeat Typhoon order

03/11/2018

Saudi Arabia could be set to acquire a follow-on batch of 48 Eurofighter Typhoons, pending the conclusion of government-to-government discussions with the UK disclosed on 9 March. "The UK government has signed a memorandum of intent with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to aim to finalise discussions for the purchase of 48 Typhoon aircraft," BAE says. The Royal Saudi Air Force already has acquired 72 of the European type.

Norway Says Russian Aircraft Ran Mock Attacks On A Secretive Radar Base

03/08/2018

The head of the Norway’s main military intelligence arm says his agency has watched as Russian military aircraft flew a number of simulated attacks on key military installations in his country and NATO warships in the region. The incidents offer yet more evidence that the Kremlin is taking an increasingly aggressive stance toward the Western alliance and that it is looking for ways harass it and its other European partners that don’t run the risk setting off an actual conflict.

F-35 development and support to cost $1 billion annually

03/08/2018

The Joint Program Office (JPO) estimates that continued development of the F-35 to deal with evolving threats and changing warfighting environments will cost the U.S. government more than $1 billion a year between 2018 and 2024. The figure came to light during testimony from Vice Admiral Mathias Winter to the U.S. House Armed Services Committee on 7 March.

Airbus to slash A400M assembly rate

03/08/2018

Airbus is to dramatically slow its final assembly rate for the A400M tactical transport from a high of 19 achieved in 2017 to only eight per year from 2020, the company confirms. "Production will be adjusted to eight units per year as of 2020, following production of 15 A400Ms in 2018 and 11 units in 2019," Airbus says.

Russian military plane crash in Syria kills 39

03/07/2018

A Russian military transport plane crashed in Syria on Tuesday killing all 39 people on board, Russian officials said, an incident that sharply raised the death toll from the Kremlin’s intervention in the Syrian war. President Vladimir Putin, who is running for re-election later this month, declared in December that the Russian mission in Syria was largely completed, but casualties continue to mount.

India Denies Interest in F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

03/07/2018

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has officially denied reports that it has requested a classified briefing by U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin on the capabilities of its fifth-generation stealth multi-role F-35A Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II, the aircraft’s conventional takeoff and landing version.

ANALYSIS: German military wrestles with aircraft availability

03/07/2018

Germany is struggling to maintain the operational readiness of its military aircraft inventory, as obsolescence issues and challenges around the introduction of new platforms combine to diminish front-line availability.

Super Hornet upgrade takes off with life-extension

03/07/2018

Boeing is to advance a planned service-life extension programme for the US Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, with the company having been contracted to perform work on an initial four aircraft.

Jordan, Qatar to acquire DB-110 reconnaissance pods

03/07/2018

Jordan and Qatar have been confirmed as new customers for United Technologies Aerospace Systems' (UTAS) DB-110 tactical reconnaissance pod, under deals worth a combined $51.2 million. Detailed by the US Department of Defense on 5 March, the awards have been made via an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract signed earlier this year by the US Air Force.

The Air Force may finally pit the legendary A-10 against the F-35 in an air support fly off next month

03/06/2018

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter may have been the subject of more postulation than any other military aircraft in history. After years of cost overruns, delays, and issues, the fighter platform that America has long touted as the most advanced on the planet is finally nearing a stage when its comparisons to tried and true combat aircraft can leave the drawing board and start being based on legitimate side by side comparisons.

Lockheed Martin’s Greenville facility gears up for major projects in 2018

03/06/2018

Since 1984, Lockheed Martin, a Maryland-based aerospace and defense company, has provided modification, maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for both military and civil aircraft from its 16-hangar facility at the S.C. Technology and Aviation Center in southern Greenville County. Now the company’s local operation is gearing up for another busy year.

America's F-4 Phantom: Taking On the World's Best Fighters (At 60 Years Old)

03/06/2018

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a legendary aircraft?—?an icon of the Vietnam War and the archetype of the third-generation jet fighter designs that entered service in the 1960s. More than 5,000 of these heavy supersonic fighters were built, and hundreds continue to serve and even see combat in several air forces today.

China Announces Largest Military Spending Increase In 3 Years

03/06/2018

China on Monday announced the largest increase in three years to its defense budget, saying it would spend 8.1 percent more than the previous year as the country continues a push to modernize its military and expand its air and naval capabilities.

Tata, Boeing inaugurate Hyderabad AH-64 fuselage line

03/06/2018

Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) and Boeing have inaugurated an assembly line in Hyderabad that will be the exclusive source of future AH-64 Apache fuselages. Under the Tata Boeing Aerospace (TBAL) joint venture, the fuselage sections will be produced at TASL’s production facility on the outskirts of Hyderabad, says Boeing in a statement. The joint venture was set up in 2015, and the line will start producing fuselage sections in 2018.

Air Forces Around the World Love This Killer Fighter Plane. And Its Not from America.

03/05/2018

The JAS-39 Gripen is the Swedish defense industry’s largest export, financially. The Gripen has seen considerable success replacing aging fighters in former Warsaw Pact countries, and has also seen sales in Africa, the Americas and Asia. But why is the Gripen successful on the export market? How does it stack up against other NATO products and Soviet jets?

Will BAE Systems’ Typhoon be our last fighter to reach for the sky?

03/05/2018

Workers on the Typhoon line at Warton in Lancashire were given the news they had long dreaded last October. Faced with dwindling orders, BAE Systems was slowing down production of the fighter jet to a trickle. About 750 jobs would be cut at Warton and its sister plant Samlesbury, the defence giant said, part of 1,400 job losses across its military air business. The production rate is expected to drop to 11 Typhoons a year — down from the previous rate of 20.

As Tempo Rises, the Most Active Reserve Rescue Unit Wants New Planes and Helos

03/05/2018

Reserve airmen of the 920th Rescue Wing are doing their part to keep aircraft here up to snuff, as they await the arrival of a new combat rescue helicopter and HC-130 recovery planes. And while leaders at the base are craving more modern planes, they're still years away from formal delivery. For the most active Reserve unit -- and the only Reserve rescue wing in the Air Force - officials said they need and want the best to be ready for the missions they are already tasked to do.

OPINION: F-35 cost issue is solvable, but needs fixing fast

03/05/2018

Some time in the next several weeks or months, the Lockheed Martin F-35 programme will pass a historic milestone. The system development and demonstration phase that began 17 years ago appears poised – barring any unforeseen showstoppers – to conclude by the end of summer. The aircraft, engine, simulators and logistics system will shift from development to operational status, albeit six years behind schedule.

Israel concerned over Su-57 debut in Syria

03/02/2018

Russia's surprise deployment of Sukhoi Su-57s to a base inside Syria has positioned its new stealth fighter within the same region of operations as the Israeli air force's Lockheed Martin F-35I. Video footage appearing to show Su-57s arriving in Syria was confirmed by pictures captured by an Israeli imaging satellite. The new type's deployment marks the peak of Moscow's direct intervention so far in Syria's long-running civil war.

ANALYSIS: Why Super Hercules is a strong performer

03/02/2018

With Lockheed Martin having marked the latest milestone in its C-130J “Super Hercules” programme on 9 February – the delivery of its 400th example – we use Flight Fleets Analyzer data to detail the type’s sales performance so far.

US military targets F-35 labour costs, repairs for savings

03/02/2018

US military officials have launched a new affordability initiative for the Lockheed Martin F-35 programme that targets labour costs and manufacturing efficiency, says Vice Adm Mat Winter, the F-35 programme executive officer.

Four Years After an ISIS Massacre, the Iraqi Air Force Opens a New Academy

03/01/2018

On Feb. 21, 2018, the Iraqi government announced that the Iraqi air force had reopened its academy at Balad air base. U.S. Central Command announced that the Coalition Aviation Advisory and Training Team will help establish standardized training programs. Forty cadets will start their coursework in March 2018.

Saab has sky-high sales hopes for GlobalEye

03/01/2018

Saab is poised to start ground-test activities with its first GlobalEye surveillance aircraft, having unveiled the heavily-adapted Bombardier Global 6000 for launch customer the United Arab Emirates. Rolled out at the Swedish company's Linköping site on 23 February, the modified business jet is the first of three such "swing-role" platforms ordered by the Gulf nation since November 2015.