Military Aviation News Archive

PARIS: Lockheed Martin commits to building F-16 in India

06/20/2017

Lockheed Martin has committed to manufacturing the F-16 in India should it win the air force’s single-engined fighter competition, and has signed a deal with Tata Advanced Systems to carry out this work in-country.

PARIS: Syrian shoot-down marks first 'kill' for Super Hornet

06/20/2017

A US Navy Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet shot down a Syrian air force Sukhoi Su-22 in an engagement over Syria on 18 June. The US aircraft had been supporting Syrian opposition forces near Ja'Din, south of Tabqah, when the Su-22 released bombs against them.

PARIS: Rafael talks up hard-hitting ground attack weapons

06/20/2017

Israeli defence firm Rafael is reaching the end of the development process for its Spice 250 air-to-ground weapons system. The first units will be delivered to customers early next year, says Yuval Miller, general manager of the company's Air & C4ISR Systems division. The weapon carries a warhead in the 250kg (550lb) class and, using winglets, can glide to targets up to 54nm (100km) away from the launch platform.

PARIS: Bell closing on military sales to Eastern Europe

06/20/2017

Bell Helicopter will this year deliver its military rotorcraft to international customers for the first time in 20 years, a move the US airframer believes will mark its return to the global stage. "I hate to use the phrase 'we are back', but we are back," says Bell vice-president of military sales Rich Harris.

PARIS: China promotes unmanned airpower

06/20/2017

The Wing Loong II is an updated version of the Wing Loong I. According to AVIC, the Wing Loong II has a maximum take-off weight of 4,200kg (9,260lb), nearly four times greater than its predecessor. It also has six hard points, compared with just two for its sibling.

Russian Military Cooperation Service Denies Demands of Extra $7Bln From India

06/20/2017

Reports that Moscow demanded an additional $7 billion from Deli for the Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) joint project are not true, the head of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) said Monday.

Russia Warns U.S. After Downing of Syrian Warplane

06/19/2017

Russia on Monday condemned the American military’s downing of a Syrian warplane, suspending the use of a military hotline that Washington and Moscow have used to avoid collisions in Syrian airspace and threatening to target aircraft flown by the United States and its allies over Syria. The moves were the most recent example of an intensifying clash of words and interests between the two powers, which support different sides in the yearslong war in Syria.

Russia's MiG-21: The Fighter Jet That Could Fly for 100 Years?

06/19/2017

China has ended production on the J-7, meaning that we have seen the last MiG-21 variant roll the assembly line. Croatia and Romania will dispose of their Fishbeds in the next five years. After a spate of accidents, India is finally retiring its MiG-21s (assuming it can ever actually acquire or produce a replacement). Chinese J-7s have been relegated to local defense and training duties.

Putin on a show of strength: Russian fighter jets, bombers and helicopters fire and evade missiles in spectacular 'military Olympics' tournament

06/19/2017

Russian jet fighters, missiles racing through the sky and great plumes of smoke. Thankfully, this is not the beginning of World War Three but, rather, an aerial tournament, known as Aviadarts. The self-styled 'military Olympics' competition is designed to test flight skills and precision shooting and is being held this year at the Pogonovo range in the Voronezh region, south of Moscow.

Italy's Leonardo Sees Asia, South American Interest in M-346 Attack Fighter

06/19/2017

Italian defence group Leonardo SpA on Sunday unveiled the new fighter attack version of its M-346 advanced trainer, saying many air forces had already expressed interest in the planes, especially in Asia and South America. Leonardo, which presented the new fighter variant at the Paris Air Show, said the M-346 fighter would be equipped with the Grifo multi-mode fire control radar, also built by Leonardo.

Germany Reveals When Its Jets Will Resume Flights Over Syria

06/19/2017

German Tornado fighter jets will resume their flights over Syria in October after the relocation of the Bundeswehr military detachment from Incirlik base in Turkey to Jordan, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said in an interview with German newspaper BILD am SONNTAG.

India Scraps One Billion Dollar Deal of Multirole Helicopters With Sikorsky

06/19/2017

A few days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US, the Indian defense ministry has scrapped a naval multi-role helicopter deal with US firm Sikorsky after failing to reach an agreement on price since 2014.

US-Led Coalition Confirms Downing Syrian Plane

06/19/2017

The US-led international anti-terrorist coalition confirmed bringing down the Syrian government forces aircraft earlier, adding that the plane had been bombing US-backed opposition forces' troops. The coalition claims that it prevented the Syrian forces from advancing to the positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) south of Tabqah by shooting down the aircraft.

OPINION: Don't bet on Dassault joining Euro fighter effort

06/17/2017

Although its combined defence spending is dwarfed by the USA’s fiscal might, Europe currently has an embarrassment of riches in the fighter sector, with three models toughing it out for export deals.

Qatar orders 36 F-15QA fighters

06/17/2017

Qatar has signed a deal for 36 Boeing F-15QA fighter aircraft. The deal is reportedly worth $12 billion, according to media reports quoting official Qatari sources. The deal was finalised in Washington DC by Qatari defence minister Khalid Al Attiyah and US defence secretary Jim Mattis.

US Navy seeks next-generation oxygen system for T-45s

06/17/2017

The US Navy and industry will pursue a next-generation on board oxygen generator system (OBOGS) while the service implements fixes to mitigate persistent oxygen and pressurization issues on its Boeing/BAE Systems T-45 trainers and Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.

Daesh Leader's Death to Facilitate Liberation of Raqqa - Russian Senator

06/17/2017

The alleged death of Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a Russian Aerospace Forces strike could help facilitate the liberation of its stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria, a senior Russian senator told Sputnik.

“No diagnosis” on pilot oxygen issue

06/15/2017

US Navy pilots flying T-45 Goshawk trainers and F/A-18E/F Super Hornets continue to struggle with oxygen problems, yet the service has found no root cause to date. The navy grounded its T-45s indefinitely after pilots reported oxygen deprivation. T-45 instructors, but not students, were allowed returned to flying in April but under restrictions.

Airbus on track to resolve A400M gearbox and contract issues

06/15/2017

After testing a beach landing capability with a Royal Air Force A400M earlier this month, Airbus Defence & Space says it is on track to qualify a redesigned helicopter refuelling system, roll-out a final solution to a power gearbox problem and resolve a dispute over penalties caused by delivery delays.

Tail rotor crack discovery grounds Israel's Apache fleet

06/15/2017

Israel's air force has temporarily grounded its Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, after a crack was found in one of their tail rotors during a routine check. The decision was made by air force commander Maj Gen Amir Eshel, pending an investigation. The cracked tail rotor has been sent to the service's central maintenance unit to undergo a series of tests.

Raytheon Inks Over $82Mln to Produce Air-to-Air Missiles

06/15/2017

The Department of Defense announced that Raytheon has been awarded a more than $82-million contract to produce AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and supporting equipment. Raytheon has been awarded a more than $82-million contract to produce AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and supporting equipment for the US Navy as well as for Poland, Romania, Belgium and Indonesia, the Department of Defense announced in a press release.

Russia Launches Tactical, Naval Aviation Drills in Western Military District

06/15/2017

According to Russian Defense Ministry, tactical and naval aviation exercises kicked off in the Western Military District. "The joint flight and tactical exercise of the operational-tactical aviation of the Baltic Fleet's Air Force and Air Defense and naval aviation units kicked off in the Western Military District. Pilots of the operational-tactical aviation from [Russia's western] Voronezh Region started practicing joint actions with fighters of the Baltic Sea Fleet's naval aviation over the Ba

BANGLADESH INKS ORDER FOR FIVE MI-171SH HELICOPTERS

06/14/2017

The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) inked an order for five Mil Mi-171Sh helicopters from Russian Helicopters on Monday, June 12. In a statement released by Bangladesh’s Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the agreement was signed at the BAF Air Headquarters with the BAF leadership and Russian Embassy officials in attendance. In December, Bangladesh’s Minister of Law Anisul Huq disclosed that several big-ticket acquisitions will be finalized in the fiscal year of 2016-2017.

Navy still unsure what's causing aircraft oxygen system failures

06/14/2017

After more than two months, the Navy still has no idea what is causing serious problems with the oxygen systems in its training aircraft and fighters. “We’re not doing well on the diagnosis,” Vice Adm. Paul A. Grosklags, commander of Naval Air Systems, told lawmakers on Tuesday. “To date, we have been unable to find any smoking gun.”

Multibillion-dollar stealth fighter plane is suffocating its pilots

06/14/2017

About a quarter of the F-35 fighter jets made by Lockheed Martin Corp., or 55 planes, have stopped flying until further notice because of irregularities in pilots’ oxygen supplies, US Air Force spokesman Capt. Mark Graff said Monday.