Military Aviation News Archive
03/13/2017
Nairobi’s envoy to Washington met with the American politician seeking to block Kenya’s $418 million (Sh42 billion) purchase of military aircraft to fight Al-Shabaab. United States Congressman Ted Budd and Kenya’s Ambassador to the US Robinson Njeru Githae had a “productive conversation” that lasted 45-minutes in the congressman’s office on Capitol Hill, said Mr James Braid, Mr Budd’s deputy chief of staff. Mr Githae was not available for comment.
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03/13/2017
Boeing has won a five year contract to sustain Seoul’s fleet of F-15K fighter aircraft. The contract involves both materials and technical support, and will see Boeing use local suppliers to maintain and manufacture F-15K components, says the US airframer. Boeing’s initial support deal was signed in 2012. The US company did not provide a value for the contract renewal.
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03/13/2017
Head of Russia's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center Sergei Ryzhkov said that a group of US and German specialists will carry out an observation flight over the Russian territory under the Open Skies Treaty on March 13-18, while Russian experts will carry out observation flights over Germany and the Benelux Union states.
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03/13/2017
Russia’s Su-34 fighter-bombers, which proved highly effective in the fight against terrorists in Syria, will be upgraded with new avionics, military expert Boris Rozhin told Sputnik. “The share of modern weapons systems in our Aerospace Forces is about 66 percent now, and is slated to reach 70 percent by 2020,” Rozhin said.
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03/12/2017
A force of several dozen armed private security contractors from Russia operated until last month in a part of Libya that is under the control of regional leader Khalifa Haftar, the head of the firm that hired the contractors told Reuters. It is the clearest signal to date that Moscow is prepared to back up its public diplomatic support for Haftar – even at the risk of alarming Western governments already irked at Russia’s intervention in Syria to prop up President Bashar al-Assad.
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03/12/2017
The military has completed its after-action review of the controversial raid in Yemen in January, with several defense officials providing details of the findings to CNN Friday. They described why the raid was launched, how the battle became so intense, what led to the death of a Navy SEAL and several civilians, and the usefulness of the intelligence gained.
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03/12/2017
Women have redefined gender roles in the workplace, and the Philippine Air Force (PAF), the air unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, is no exception. The sight of women working in the military — where physical prowess and aggression are expected — is both a breakthrough and a continuing challenge for women who find themselves in male-dominated and male-identified jobs.
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03/12/2017
Iran wants to increase its defense tech cooperation with Russia, including the joint development of more anti-missile defense systems and fighter aircraft, Emad Abshenass of Iran Press told Sputnik.
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03/12/2017
An upgraded version of Russia's Su-34 fighter bomber will be equipped with a sophisticated electronic countermeasures system that will allow one such warplane to protect a squadron of other strike fighters from enemy radar, Russian military expert Viktor Murakhovsky told Sputnik.
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03/11/2017
With the decommissioning of INS Viraat -- world’s oldest aircraft carrier -- on Monday, India is left with a single carrier, the INS Vikramaditya. Now it is steadily pacing towards having a second carrier, an indigenous one, which will be called the Vikrant like the first ever Indian carrier.
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03/11/2017
A major issue for U.S. defense planners looking to an intensifying competition for military overmatch vis-à-vis prospective high-end adversaries, is the shrinking U.S. aerospace and defense sector. Decades of consolidation, driven by declining defense budgets, increasingly onerous regulations, the scarcity of major new programs, the war on profits and an unpredictable customer, has reduced the number of competitors in the major product lines to less than a handful of prime contractors.
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03/11/2017
New Delhi was the only export customer for the type, which has been used primarily in the anti-submarine warfare and maritime patrol roles, in addition to performing photographic and radio reconnaissance missions. Increasing maintenance costs, obsolescence-related issues and the induction of India’s new Boeing P-8I maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft have been cited as reasons for the decision to phase out the aged type.
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03/11/2017
Concerns over the future of an Anglo-French project to develop an unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) in the wake of the UK’s decision to leave the EU are real but not insurmountable, believes one of the two companies spearheading the programme.
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03/11/2017
China has put its new Chengdu J20 stealth fighter jet in service, in efforts to develop a marine corps and a “first class” Navy, while simultaneously narrowing the military gap with US. Beijing’s military is undergoing major upgrades, complete with advanced submarines and anti-satellite missiles, all under the supervision of President Xi Jinping.
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03/11/2017
Sources from the Indian Defense Ministry have told The Times of India that Delhi would participate in the joint development of a new PAK FA-derived fifth gen fighter in cooperation with Russia only if the Russian side included full-scale technology transfer as part of the deal. Russian experts are divided over the implications of this ultimatum.
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03/11/2017
The loss of two fighter jets from the aircraft wing of Russia's Admiral Kuznetsov cruiser during the operation in Syria in 2016 was caused by the break of the carrier's arresting wire, a defense industry source told Sputnik on Friday.
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03/10/2017
Some F-35B STOVL (Short Take Off Vertical Landing) are taking part in Exercise Foal Eagle in South Korea, according to U.S. military sources who talked to Yonhap News Agency. The aircraft Lightning II will carry out “ground attack” tasks during the two-month drills. “The addition of the F-35B is meant to deliver a strong message to the North that they could be used against the rogue state in case of a conflict breaking out on the Korean Peninsula”.
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03/10/2017
China’s cyber capabilities are continuously evolving in parallel with the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) ongoing military reforms and modernization drives. As the PLA invests in the development of comprehensive cyber capabilities, the character of future conflicts in East Asia will increasingly reflect cyber-kinetic strategic interactions.
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03/10/2017
The Kremlin plans to buy 10 new Sukhoi Su-35S fighter aircraft in 2017, a top Russian defense official disclosed to state-controlled media. Russia's aircraft procurement plans for the year were discussed by First Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov during an interview with the TASS news agency.
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03/10/2017
China has put into service its new generation J-20 stealth fighter, a warplane it hopes will narrow the military gap with the United States, as senior naval officers said the country was building a "first class" navy and developing a marine corps. Chinese President Xi Jinping is overseeing a sweeping modernization of the country's armed forces, the largest in the world, including anti-satellite missiles and advanced submarines, seeking to project power far from its shores.
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03/10/2017
Georgia is to get rid of its fleet of 12 combat aircraft and replace them with drones, Eurasianet reported on March 7 citing Brigadier General Vladimir Chichibaia. Only one of the dozen Russian-made Sukhoi Su-25 jets has flown recently because the supplier of parts - Russia - has declined to provide them to Georgia.
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03/10/2017
After parting ways with Raytheon, Leonardo is flying solo in the US Air Force’s T-X trainer competition but still plans to establish final assembly for the M-346 trainer derivative in the USA.. The Italian company will announce the location of the manufacturing facility soon, DRS chief executive Bill Lynn told FlightGlobal in a 9 March interview. The T-100 will maintain the M-346’s two Honeywell F124 engines, which are manufactured in Arizona, and its CAE simulators will be built in Florida.
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03/10/2017
The aircraft carrier last sailed under her own power in July 2016, and the fighter compliment of British Aerospace Sea Harrier FRS51 fighters were phased out in May 2016. Apart from the Sea Harrier, the integral airborne compliment of the ship comprised Sea King Mk 42Bs, Mk 42 Cs and the Hindustan Aeronautics-built Chetak (SA316 Alouette III). The Dhruv ALH and Kamov Ka-31 were also operated from the aircraft carrier.
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03/10/2017
The US government is working on a plan to replace Afghanistan’s Russian-made fleet of Mi-17 transport helicopters, US Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Gen. Joseph Votel told Congress on Thursday.
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03/10/2017
In what could aggravate concern in India, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), China's largest missile maker, is developing a stealth military drone that can evade anti-aircraft weapons."The company is focusing on the development of a long-endurance stealth drone and a near-space drone," said Wei Yiyin, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp's deputy general manager and a member of the CPPCC National Committee, to China Daily.
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