Military Aviation News Archive
03/26/2017
Irkut Corporation, manufacturer of Russia's Sukhoi brand of fighter aircraft, has offered the Indian Air Force a proposal to carry out a 'major modernization' of India's fleet of Sukhoi Su-30MKI multirole air superiority fighters. What benefits will the upgrade mean for the Indian Air Force? Sputnik investigates.
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03/26/2017
The Indian Navy successfully conducted the maiden trial-firing of a newly installed surface-to-air missile system from its Russian-origin aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. The missile system, the Israel-made Barak 8, was taken out from a decommissioned warship and fitted into the Vikramaditya, the former Admiral Gorshkov, in 2015. The missile system has been fitted on the warship by cutting the deck.
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03/26/2017
The Indian Navy's three Tupolev Tu-142M aircraft will be decommissioned on March 29. The aircraft will be converted into a museum in collaboration with an Indian state. The navy had already begun gradually phasing out the Tupolevs, nicknamed Albatross, which were key in anti-submarine warfare and maritime patrol roles.
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03/26/2017
The Department of Defense announced that the United States awarded a $909 million contract to AAR Supply Chain for the Air Force’s landing gear logistical program.“AAR Supply Chain Inc., Wood Dale, Illinois, has been awarded a $909,394,297 firm-fixed-price with economic price adjustment requirements contract for the Landing Gear Performance Based Logistics One program,” the release stated on Friday.
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03/25/2017
Britain is not buying V-22 Osprey aircraft to fly from its new aircraft carriers, the government has confirmed. “The V-22 Osprey is not part of the resourced plan to deliver the UK Carrier Strike capability,” said junior defence minister Earl Howe. “However, the Ministry of Defence will continue to explore a variety of options to augment the capabilities of the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers in future.”
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03/25/2017
The Philippines is set to have additional six new FA-50 fighter jets from South Korea in the following weeks, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said Thursday. On Wednesday, two of the six Philippine FA-50 fighter jets (tail numbers 007 and 008) would arrive in the country. Two more would land in April and the last two in May, according to Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla.
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03/25/2017
The plane can stop dramatically in mid-air, turn on a dime, and rapidly accelerate. The Russian Knights, the elite aerobatic demonstration team of the Russian Air Force, is showcasing the new Sukhoi Su-30 fighters at the LIMA 2017 maritime and aerospace exhibition in Malaysia, March 21-25.
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03/25/2017
India and Russia have failed to make progress on one of their most prestigious defense deals—the co-development and production of the Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), known in India as the Perspective Multi-role Fighter (PMF).
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03/25/2017
France is overhauling its popular Rafale multi-role fighter jet to better serve in combat missions, the French defense ministry said this week. The makeover comes as France is pouring millions of new dollars into defense spending to bolster national security. France has directed contractor Dassault Aviation to upgrade the Rafale with changes to its missiles, engines and new capabilities.
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03/25/2017
Germany and Airbus Defense and Space are working on the initial stages of a new program to replace Berlin’s long-serving fleet of the Panavia Tornado bombers and complement the Luftwaffe’s Eurofighter Typhoon air superiority fighters. The Future Combat Air System (FCAS)—as the Bundeswehr program is called—would likely be a system of systems that combines manned and unmanned elements.
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03/25/2017
The Boeing KC-46A tanker’s costs have decreased by $7.3 billion, or about 14%, since its initial estimate but the programme could see future delays, according to a Government Accountability Report released this week.
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03/25/2017
Afghanistan has bolstered to a dozen its in-country fleet of Embraer/Sierra Nevada A-29 Super Tucano light-attack aircraft, with the arrival of its latest four examples in Kabul. Flown from the US Air Force’s Moody AFB in Georgia, the A-29s arrived in Afghanistan on 20 March. They will undergo “a brief reconfiguration, after which they will be ready for combat operations in the 2017 fighting season”, according to the USAF.
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03/25/2017
Military strategists in Poland are torn as to whether to bolster the country’s aerial arsenal with more beleaguered F-35 Joint Strike Fighters or upgraded F-16 Fighting Falcons. "I can say that, regarding the F-16 and F-35 aircraft, there is an ongoing discussion on which one to select," Deputy Defense Minister Bartosz Kownacki recently told the Polish Parliament.
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03/23/2017
Lockheed Martin is considering whether it has a plane in its inventory that can meet the U.S. Air Force’s nascent light attack aircraft requirement, but may subvert expectations by not offering the T-50, a top company executive tells Defense News.
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03/23/2017
France's Rafale fighter jet is emerging as the frontrunner as Malaysia looks to replace its aging fleet of combat aircraft, a source in the Southeast Asian nation's defence ministry said on Wednesday, despite narrowing its defence spending this year. French President Francois Hollande was expected to make a pitch for the Rafale, made by Dassault Aviation SA, when he and his team visit Malaysia next week, the source said.
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03/23/2017
Belgian Defence Minister Steven Vandeput has announced plans to replace its existing fleet of F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, in a bid to improve its air combat capability. The 54 F-16s currently in service with Belgium will be replaced by 34 new multi-role combat aircraft. Vandeput said: "The government has made the courageous decision to renew our air combat capability and to replace the F-16s fleet, and with this capability we are making an important contribution to Nato's collective defence.
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03/23/2017
The US Air Force says it’s too soon to say whether the service will swap out retired Boeing F-15C and F-15Ds for updated Lockheed Martin F-16. During a 22 House Armed Services Committee, Representative Joe Wilson asked the director of the Air National Guard whether replacing the F-15C and F-15D fleet would have a negative impact on air superiority. Lt Gen Scott Rice answered that updated F-16s could fill the gaps left by the retired F-15s.
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03/23/2017
Korea Aerospace Industies (KAI) is promoting its T-50 advanced jet trainer, light attack aircraft to Kuala Lumpur. KAI had a large stand at this year’s show at the Langkawi Internationa Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition. Its appearancec was also in support of the South Korean air force’s Black Eagles display team, which performed daily in the show’s flying display.
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03/23/2017
Swiss aerospace firm Ruag is working on opportunities to sell its Do228NG aircraft in Malaysia, as it also increases its MRO presence in the country. The company is in discussions with two local operators to sell up to three Do288NGs for chartered passenger services to island resorts, says David Jones, Ruag’s general manager in Malaysia.
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03/23/2017
At a ceremony at the Langkawi Aerospace and Defence Exhibition (LIMA), defence minister Hishamuddin Hussein recieved a plaque from the European firm’s chief executive, Fernando Alonso. “With this delivery, the RMAF now has a fleet of four aircraft, and can start to fully benefit from the A400M’s unique capabilities,” says Alonso.
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03/23/2017
US defense contractor Elbit Systems won nearly $50 million for 126 helmet display tracker systems (HDTS) to concentrate fire power on targets delivered by MH-60 Sikorsky Seahawk maritime combat helicopters, the Department of Defense said in a press release.
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03/23/2017
The PLA put the US on notice Wednesday after issuing a warning to the Pentagon for sending a military aircraft over the disputed East China Sea, a pair of US officials told Fox News. The East China Sea is bordered by Shanghai to the west, South Korea to the North, and Japan to the east. A US military official confirmed the presence of the B-1 near South Korea while corroborating the report that Chinese officials let the US Air Force know that Beijing was not pleased with the mission.
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03/23/2017
Efficiency of Russian weapons was proved by fight against terrorism, for example, in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, adding that the analysis of practical use of defense technologies would improve the quality of military equipment.
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03/22/2017
With the Royal Malaysian Air Force’s multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) replacement programme seemingly back on track, Rafale International believes its jet is well-placed to be the best bet for Malaysia. With fighter aircraft undoubtedly being the most strategic weapon of any air force today, it said, both in terms of combat effectiveness and critical technologies, the Rafale is the right answer to conduct modern warfare safely and efficiently, thanks to its multi-role capabilities.
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03/22/2017
Ukraine is developing a new indigenous lightweight fighter aircraft fighter according to a new report. However, the project has existed in some form for more than ten years. According to a report in Jane’s, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced that Kiev would develop its own twin-engine, multirole fighter during a visit to the Ivchenko-Progress engine design bureau.
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