Military Aviation News Archive
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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03/08/2017
Fifteen years after the Australian government signed on to the Joint Strike Fighter program to deliver a fifth-generation fighter, the F-35 was the star of the recent Avalon Airshow. The appearance of the Lockheed Martin stealth fighters in Australia has long been anticipated and comes in advance of their official delivery to the Australian government in 2018.
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03/08/2017
The MiG-35 is the favourite to win the recently announced tender for 8 multi-role fighters for the Bangladesh Air Force, the official representative of the Centre for Analysis of World Arms Trade (CAWAT) told RIA Novosti on Mar. 3. Russia’s Su-35, MiG-35 and Su-30SM are the leading contenders in the tender, the CAWAT official said. The MiG-35 is the only Russian platform equipped with an active electronically-scanned array (AESA) radar, he added.
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03/08/2017
Eight of the world’s 20 biggest military forces by troop numbers are in East Asia, with Japan coming 21st, but the Military Strength Index compiled by Credit Suisse gives only a 5 per cent weighting to personnel on the ground, placing greater importance on a country’s access to military hardware such as tanks, aircraft and warships.
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03/08/2017
For some time now, various news outlets have claimed that Israel is already using its pair of recently-delivered F-35I Adirs in a combat role even before they've been declared operational by the Israeli Air Force. But today, military aviation journalist Thomas Newdick conveyed a report by a French journalist that not only claimed the F-35Is have been active over Syria, but also details what targets they specifically took out on their mission there.
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03/08/2017
The Indian Navy has launched a global search for maritime fighter jets it plans to operate from future aircraft carriers and is awaiting response from top military contractors on what they have to offer. The navy wants 57 multi-role carrier-borne fighters (MRCBF) and the potential order could get bigger with an option clause to buy more jets. The hunt for new deck-based fighters comes at a time when the navy is left with just a solitary aircraft carrier.
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