Military Aviation News Archive

Gripen E on target for debut flight in second quarter

03/16/2017

Saab’s Gripen E remains on course to make its flight debut during the second quarter of this year, as the Swedish manufacturer steps up its sales efforts for the new-generation fighter and its earlier C/D-standard variant.

ANALYSIS: USAF looks for autonomy breakthrough

03/16/2017

On a frigid February day, there is no sanctuary from the biting winds at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio. Yet even as the Midwestern gusts whip across vast fields and over immense hangars, the US Air Force’s colossal C-17 Globemasters soar over the base with ease.

Boeing Wins $371 Million for F-15 Combat Jet Supply Chain Services

03/16/2017

Boeing has scored a $371 million contract to modify supply chain services for the F-15 fighter aircraft used by the US Air Force, the Department of Defense announced in a press release.

China Building Potential Military Asset on Paracel Islands in South China Sea

03/16/2017

Satellite footage taken on March 6 reveals the construction of a port that analysts believe could turn out to be a military installation on the North Island of the Paracels Island group. Focus, a Taiwanese news agency, reported that leaders in Taipei are "keeping close tabs" on the construction work, which has so far included land-clearing and "preparation for a harbor."

Russian Naval Aviation to Overhaul, Boost Helicopter Fleet by 2025

03/16/2017

The Russian Navy has begun overhauling its fleet of shipborne helicopters as part of a state arms procurement program running into 2025, the Russian Defense Ministry’s press office said Wednesday.

US Carrier Strike Group Arrives in S Korea to Join Foal Eagle Exercises - Navy

03/16/2017

The US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson will join the annual US-South Korean military exercises following a port call in the South Korean city of Busan, the US Navy announced in a press release on Wednesday.

Typhoon continues trials with Brimstone weapon

03/16/2017

BAE Systems recently completed a series of trials with the Eurofighter Typhoon, testing its high precision MBDA Brimstone air-to-surface weapon. The trials were held at BAE Systems' facility in Warton, Lancashire, as part of the Phase 3 Enhancement package for the Typhoon aircraft. The effort supports the Centurion program, which aims to transition the U.K. Royal Air Force from Tornado capabilities to the Typhoon by the end of 2018.

Video shows British Typhoon combat plane performing a tailhook landing at RAF Coningsby following an emergency

03/16/2017

Tailhook landings by land-based aircraft are used in emergency situations to arrest planes experiencing failures that could imply a braking or steering malfunction. Like the one shown in the video.

ANALYSIS: Dassault seeks manufacturing efficiency as it waits for market rebound

03/15/2017

Dassault’s 2016 is perfectly summed up by its chief executive Éric Trappier: “I would prefer that besides the Rafale’s success that we also had more Falcon orders.” But the French airframer, it seems, cannot have both: either the Rafale multirole fighter is struggling and its Falcon business jets are soaring, so to speak, or the opposite is true.

Canada sends letter of request to US for interim F/A-18s

03/15/2017

On 13 March, the Canadian government sent the letter outlining capabilities, schedule and economic benefit requirements for the interim acquisition of 18 Super Hornets. Canada expects a response from the US as early as this fall, a 14 March government press release states. The US Department of Defense will then develop an official proposal with Boeing and sub-tier suppliers, including a notification to Congress on the potential Super Hornet sale to Canada.

THAAD Drama: China May Jam US Radar Signals in South Korea

03/15/2017

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) cited PLA air force aviation expert Fu Qianshao saying that Beijing would send planes near THAAD to obstruct the system’s long-range radar signals. China has been particularly vocal in decrying THAAD, prompting US Defense Secretary James Mattis to address both their and Moscow’s complaints in February, saying, "there is no other nation that needs to be concerned about THAAD other than North Korea," according to CNN.

Pacific Allies, Partners Meet for Region’s First F-35 Symposium

03/14/2017

The F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter aircraft takes center stage this week during Pacific Air Forces’ inaugural F-35 Symposium. The two-day conference, which starts tomorrow, marks the largest gathering of the region’s F-35 experts, including senior officers and warfighters from Japan, Australia and South Korea as well as the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force, PACAF officials said.

Bulgaria to start evaluating received offers for supply of combat aircraft

03/14/2017

Bulgaria will start assessing the offers it has received for the supply of a new type of combat aircraft on March 14, the defence ministry said on Monday. The defence ministry sent a request for proposal for the procurement of a new type of combat aircraft to Italy, Portugal and the United States, and Sweden in December 2016 to replace the Bulgarian Air Force's ageing fleet of Russian-made MiG fighter jets.

ANALYSIS: Malaysia's air force operates on shoestring budget

03/14/2017

The Royal Malaysian Air Force faces an uncertain future for its capability development plans, given the government’s budgetary limitations, constrained by slow economic growth and falling oil revenues.

Iran Deploys Jamming Tool to Combat Drones

03/14/2017

Iran may find itself at the forefront of drone warfare, after deploying a jamming device that not only seizes control of a remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), but can use the compromised aircraft against its operator.

Chinese J-20 Fighter Soon to Be Equipped With Domestically Produced Engines

03/14/2017

The Chinese fifth-generation stealth fighter Chengdu J-20 will be equipped with domestically manufactured engines soon, Chen Xiangbao, vice-president of the Aero Engine Corp of China (AECC), said on Monday.

U.S. to deploy unmanned attack aircraft to S. Korea: source

03/13/2017

The United States will deploy an unmanned attack aircraft to its military unit in South Korea to enhance its strike capabilities against ground targets in North Korea, a military official said Monday. The U.S. Army has begun the process to dispatch a squadron, which will operate the Grey Eagle unmanned aircraft, to a U.S. unit in Gunsan (274 kilometers south of Seoul)," the official told Yonhap News Agency asking not to be identified.

Lockheed Beware: Boeing Gives Navy a Cut-Price Deal on New Fighter Jets

03/13/2017

According to the military hardware experts at BGA-Aeroweb, the average flyaway cost on a Boeing F/A-18-E/F Super Hornet fighter jet is $60.9 million. Upgrade that warbird to an electronic warfare specialist like Boeing's EA-18G Growler, and you can expect to pay much more - $80.4 million per copy.

South Korean trainer jets land in Kaohsiung

03/13/2017

A squadron of advanced South Korean T-50 training planes and C-130 military transport aircraft landed in Taiwan's southern city Kaohsiung for refueling last Saturday. The squadron is comprised of six T-50 training planes and two military transport aircraft C-130. Three of the training planes departed Taiwan on Sunday afternoon, while the remaining planes will leave the country on March 13, 2017, said Deputy Director of Kaohsiung International Airport Yi-chung Sun.

Chinese military strategist Liu Kui says India's aircraft carrier strategy 'a failure'

03/13/2017

Liu Kui, of the Naval Equipment Research Institute of the PLA Navy, said that the recent decommissioning of INS Viraat, which left India with one aircraft carrier, had shown that India's long-time strategy to dominate the Indian Ocean with three aircraft carriers was "falling flat".

Njeru Githae meets US congressman Budd to iron out Sh42bn arms deal

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.

Boeing renews Korean F-15K sustainment pact

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.

US, German Inspectors to Fly Over Russia in March

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.

Russia's Su-34 Fighter Bomber to Get New Avionics, Weapons Array

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.

Russian private company has armed eastern fighters of Haftar’s forces

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.