Military Aviation News Archive
03/16/2018
Boeing Co, considered the frontrunner in the race to supply the Indian navy with new fighter jets, is now in contention for a much bigger $15 billion order after the government abruptly asked the air force to consider the twin-engine planes.
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03/16/2018
Saab's GlobalEye swing-role surveillance aircraft completed a 1h 46min debut flight from Linköping in Sweden on 14 March, less than three weeks after its formal unveiling. Carrying the temporary registration SE-RMY, the heavily modified Bombardier Global 6000 demonstrated "smooth handling, just as predicted," according to Saab experimental test pilot Magnus Fredriksson. The debut included "collecting extensive flight-test data using the on-board instrumentation suite," the company adds.
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03/15/2018
A US Navy F-18 Hornet crashed in the water on the Naval Air Station Key West property late Wednesday afternoon. The two pilots ejected and were later found, according to the US Navy.
Rescue crews recovered both pilots after search and rescue efforts and they were taken by ambulance to Lower Keys Medical Center, the US Navy reported Wednesday evening. Their condition has not been revealed.
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03/15/2018
Qatar has finally firmed a long-held tentative deal for NH Industries (NHI) NH90 helicopters, to be split between the naval and troop transport variants. The revised order sees the Gulf state increase its commitment to 28 helicopters, up from the 22 it initially signed for in 2014.
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03/15/2018
Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson may ask Congress to reallocate funds to the light-attack aircraft programme this year, a move which would accelerate the department’s purchase of the aircraft by one year to 2019.
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03/15/2018
Beijing will evolve the Chengdu J-20 fighter into roles well beyond aerial supremacy. The aircraft’s primary mission for the time being is “making way for other aircraft in an air battle,” says Zhang Hao, who heads an air force flight test centre. Zhang made the remarks in a story carried by Beijing’s official China Daily news organ.
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03/14/2018
South Korea has concluded a contract for 90 German-built Taurus KEPD 350 long-range precision-guided cruise missiles, the country’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) revealed on March 12. “The contract was signed in late February,” Kang Hwan-seok, a DAPA spokesperson, told reporters this Monday, according to Yonhap news agency.
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03/14/2018
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has signed a memorandum of intent with the UK Government to purchase 48 Eurofighter Typhoon multi-role fighter jets. The memorandum of intent has been signed during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the UK. In a statement, BAE Systems said: “This is a positive step towards agreeing a contract for our valued partner.
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03/14/2018
The US Air Force is likely to issue a request for proposal for its Boeing B-52H Stratofortress bomber engine replacement programme close to the first quarter of 2019, according to an Air Force document released on 13 March.
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03/13/2018
China will continue to improve and upgrade its cutting-edge J-20 stealth fighter jet, giving it more capabilities than merely penetrating an enemy's air defense networks, according to its chief designer.
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03/13/2018
During an official state visit to India from March 10 to 12, French President Emanuel Macron in talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promoted the sale of additional Dassault Rafale multirole fighter jets to the Indian Air Force (IAF). “It is a long-term contract which is mutually beneficial. I personally consider it as the heart of the strategic partnership,” the French president said in a statement following talks with the Indian prime minister on March 10.
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03/13/2018
The Indian Air Force reportedly is set to formally reboot its plans to purchase nearly 115 fighter jets within weeks, but it may tie any final contract to a demand that it also receive technical assistance for its domestic fifth generation fighter project. This decision would seem to confirm ongoing reports that India is not happy with the progress of its existing stealth fighter deal with Russia, might again give Lockheed Martin an upper hand since it is already building the F-35.
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03/13/2018
The US Marine Corps issued a request for information for its proposed ship-based vertical takeoff and landing drone, the MUX aircraft, on 8 March. MUX, which is short for Marine Air Ground Task Force – Unmanned Expeditionary Capabilities programme, would operate autonomously from the deck of an amphibious assault ship and is designed to fill what the USMC sees as its current inability to provide persistent multi-role aerial coverage 350nm (648km) beyond its ships.
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03/13/2018
State-owned Indonesia Trading Company (ITC) has proposed operating two Airbus Defence & Space A400M tactical transports to help balance domestic trade in Indonesia. On its website, the Indonesian air force states that it would be willing to provide crews to support such a venture. The remarks came after a meeting between air force chief of staff Yuyu Sutisna and president director of ITC, Agus Andiyani.
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03/12/2018
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has fielded a squadron of new Pakistan Aeronautical Complex JF-17 “Thunder” combat aircraft, according to a recent report by the Associated Press of Pakistan. The multi-role fighter jets are stationed at Pakistan’s Samungli Base near Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan.
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03/12/2018
The Sukhoi Su-27 “Flanker” was never planned to exported when it was originally developed, unlike its lighter cousin, the MiG-29. However, ever since being approved for export it has been one of the most popular fighter exports in the Asian region. The first customer for the Su-27 was China, which secured a procurement deal while the Soviet Union still existed. But how did Beijing accomplish this?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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