Military Aviation News Archive

F-35 deployment to Japan hit with sustainment problems

04/26/2018

Since the US Marine Corps’ deployment of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan in January 2017 the aircraft has been hit with an assortment of sustainment problems.

ILA: Boeing unveils team for German Chinook bid

04/26/2018

Boeing has partnered with 10 aerospace suppliers that have operations in Germany to support its bid to supply CH-47 Chinooks for the nation’s heavy-lift helicopter competition. In addition to several German equipment and training specialist suppliers, the group includes CAE, Diehl Defence, Honeywell, Liebherr, Rockwell Collins and Rolls-Royce.

ILA: Eurofighter to upgrade Typhoon engine to lift sales

04/26/2018

Eurofighter will upgrade the engines and systems on its Typhoon combat aircraft as part of a bid to replace Germany’s fleet of Panavia Tornados and support efforts to sell additional aircraft to other European countries. On 24 April, Airbus and Eurofighter submitted to Germany’s defence ministry an offer to replace the nation's 90 Tornados, which are to be phased out from 2025.

Aero Vodochody and IAI to collaborate on advanced L-159

04/25/2018

Czech Republic-based Aero Vodochody and Israel Aerospace Industries are to develop and market an advanced version of the former's L-159 trainer and light attack aircraft. The partners will integrate a new avionics suite and "other solutions" onto the platform, as well as jointly marketing the Honeywell F124-GA-100-powered type.

China's aircraft carrier leads live combat drill in East China Sea

04/24/2018

The Chinese aircraft carrier formation, featuring the carrier Liaoning, held "live combat drill" in the East China Sea, state media reported early Tuesday. Te formation took part in anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare training with an "opposing force." said State-run Xinhua news agency.

Lockheed Martin to Propose 5th Gen F-22/F-35 Hybrid to Japan

04/24/2018

Late Friday, April 20, Reuters journalists Tim Kelly and Nobuhiro Kubo reported that Lockheed Martin will propose a new 5th generation low-observable (stealth) combat aircraft to Japan. According to Kelly and Kubo’s article, the two sources who provided the information to Reuters have direct knowledge of the upcoming proposal.

Iraq's An-32 Cargo Planes Turned Bombers Flew Nearly Twice As Many Strikes As its F-16s

04/24/2018

Following a recent strike its F-16IQ Viper multi-role jets flew against ISIS terrorists in neighboring Syria, the Iraqi Air Force has released a detailed infographic showing how many combat and combat support missions each of its aircraft types have flown over the past nearly four years. Of particular note is that the country’s An-32 cargo planes have conducted more airstrikes than either Iraq’s F-16s or its Aero L-159 Advanced Light Combat Aircraft, or ALCA, light attack jets.

State Department clears $1.2 billion sale of Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawks to Mexico

04/24/2018

The US State Department cleared the possible sale of eight Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopters to Mexico for $1.2 billion on 19 April. The order also includes spare engines, radios and navigation equipment. Weapons and targeting equipment also included in the possible purchase are 1,000 SSQ-36/53/62 sonobuoys; 10 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles; 38 Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System II rockets; 30 Mk-54 lightweight hybrid torpedoes; 12 M-240D machine guns; and 12 GAU-21 machine guns.

Tokyo eyes multiple routes for new fighter jet

04/24/2018

Japan’s Acquisition, Technology, & Logistics Agency (ATLA) continues to weigh ideas for a futuristic fighter to replace the nation’s Mitsubishi F-2 aircraft. “We have been doing the RFI process continuously, and our questions have been changing,” says an official familiar with the programme to develop a new aircraft, likely to be designated F-3.

USAF eyes more orders as B-21 finishes preliminary design review

04/24/2018

Northrop Grumman has finished preliminary design review of the B-21 Raider stealth bomber. The heavy bomber is now moving towards a critical design review, says Lt Gen Arnold Bunch, the air force's military deputy for acquisition during an 18 April Senate Armed Services hearing. Critical design review is the next step before assembly of the first aircraft can begin.

US diplomat threatens Turkey's F-35 role in S-400 spat

04/24/2018

Assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell’s remarks during 18 April hearing in Congress escalated a simmering confrontation with a NATO ally and combat partner against ISIS, which agreed to acquire the Almaz-Antey S-400 Triumf system even as it plans to take delivery of its first F-35A later this year.

Losing US air superiority risks ground forces

04/19/2018

The asymmetric advantage that the U.S. military possesses ? and that has prevented enemy aircraft attacks on American ground forces since April 15, 1953 ? is eroding.

RAAF receives final C-27J airlifter

04/19/2018

The Royal Australian Air Force has received its tenth and final Alenia C-27J Spartan tactical transport. “The Spartan provides flexibility to defence operations, allowing us to land at airfields that are smaller or unsuitable for our much larger transport aircraft like the [Lockheed Martin] C-130J Hercules and [Boeing] C-17A Globemaster,” says defence minister Marise Payne.

New software flaw requires FAA intervention to avoid KC-46 schedule slip

04/19/2018

A newly-discovered software flaw could trigger another schedule delay for the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus unless the US Federal Aviation Administration approves a temporary waiver from certification requirements. In a document submitted to the FAA on 26 March, Boeing requests a time-limited exemption from the FAA’s supplemental type certification criteria for the 767-2C, the commercial aircraft model on which the KC-46A is derived.

USAF awards Lockheed Martin $928 million contract for hypersonic cruise missile

04/19/2018

Huntsville, Alabama-based Lockheed Martin Space will develop the US Air Force’s first hypersonic cruise missile under a new contract awarded on 18 April. The indefinite-delivery and indefinite quantity award worth up to $928 million suggests the USAF is ready to move past several decades of development and demonstrations of weapons that can cruise for long distances at speeds exceeding Mach 5.

UK re-forms 617 Sqn for F-35B era

04/19/2018

The Royal Air Force's 617 Sqn – the UK's first frontline unit to field the Lockheed Martin F-35B – has been officially re-formed during a ceremony in Washington DC. Staffed by a mix of RAF and Royal Navy pilots and support personnel, lead elements of 617 Sqn are currently involved in training at MCAS Beaufort in South Carolina, using the UK's current 15 short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) Lightning IIs.

NATO faces down Russia: Fighter jets scrambled to DEFEND Europe four times in ONE WEEK

04/18/2018

Russian military planes were intercepted by the NATO Air Policing team tasked with guarding airspace over the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. NATO fighters were scrambled to escort the Russian aircraft on four separate occasions between April 9 and April 14, according to the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence. On each occasion the Russian aircraft were flying to or from Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave situated between Poland and Lithuania along the Baltic coast.

The US Air Force is short more than one-quarter of the fighter pilots it needs, according to a government report

04/18/2018

Air Force officials have been warning about the force's dire pilot shortage, and a recent Government Accountability Office report illustrates just how bad the shortfall has gotten. The report assesses the gaps between the actual number of fighter pilots that the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy have and the number of positions they are authorized to have.

Army Aviator Describes the Biggest Problems Facing Military Aviation

04/18/2018

This past Friday, an AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed during a training mission at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the latest in a slew of deadly mishaps from across the services in the past week. The accident comes on the heels of a damning report from the Military Times, documenting an alarming rise in accidents stretching back over four years.

Will Malaysia Buy Pakistan’s JF-17 Fighter Jet?

04/17/2018

Pakistan and Malaysia are purportedly engaged in preliminary talks over the possible procurement of an unknown number of Pakistan Aeronautical Complex/Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (PAC/CAC) JF-17 “Thunder” multirole fighter jets, a PAC official told IHS Jane’s at the Defense Services Asia (DSA) 2018 exhibition in Kuala Lumpur on April 16.

JASSM-ER makes combat debut against Syrian chemical weapons facilities

04/17/2018

US, French and British aircraft fired several cruise missiles at chemical weapons research and production facilities in Syria on 13 April, resulting in the combat debut of the Lockheed Martin AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Extended-Range.

German Sea Lion helicopter development gathers pace

04/17/2018

NH Industries (NHI) is gearing up to begin qualification activities later this year for the naval-variant NH90 helicopters being procured by Germany under its Sea Lion programme. Berlin is to acquire 18 NFH rotorcraft as replacements for its navy's 21-strong fleet of elderly Westland Sea Kings, used for search and rescue and transport missions, with deliveries of the first three examples to take place in late 2019.

Syria fired 40 missiles 'at nothing' after allied air strikes destroyed three Assad chemical sites

04/15/2018

he Assad Regime fired 40 defensive missiles at thin air in a failed attempt to save the three Syrian chemical weapons sites destroyed by allied air strikes, the Pentagon said. A total of 105 missiles rained down on a research centre in Damascus as well as a storage site and a bunker 15 miles west of Homs at 4am Syrian time.

F-22 Raptor Came To A Rest On Its Belly During Major Mishap Friday At NAS Fallon

04/15/2018

An F-22A Raptor belonging to Elmendorf Air Force Base's 3rd Wing was involved in a major mishap this weekend. Details remain sketchy and are likely to change, but a source told The War Zone that the jet may have retracted its gear too early during takeoff, with the aircraft slamming back down on the runway at relatively high speed and skidding its way to a stop. Thankfully the pilot was able to egress from the aircraft without major injuries.

US and allies launch strikes on Syria chemical weapons sites

04/14/2018

The US, UK and France have bombed multiple government targets in Syria in an early morning operation targeting alleged chemical weapons sites. The strikes are in response to a suspected chemical attack on the Syrian town of Douma last week. "A combined operation with the armed forces of France and the United Kingdom is now underway," President Trump said in an address to the nation. Explosions were reported near the Syrian capital Damascus.