Military Aviation News Archive

Argentinian Kfir negotiations set to resume

01/05/2017

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has so far exported 40 Kfir Block 60 upgraded fighter aircraft, and plans to assemble and upgrade another 12-14 for Argentina.

French air force, Qinetiq confirmed as PC-21 buyers

01/05/2017

Worth more than Swfr300 million ($292 million) to the company, the orders will lead to the production of 17 aircraft for the French air force, a further two for previous buyer Jordan and two for the UK company Qinetiq, for use by the Empire Test Pilots’ School (ETPS).

General Atomics Wins Contract to Expand Spain's Fleet of Reaper Drones

01/05/2017

General Atomics has been awarded a $56 million contract for the Spain MQ-9 Exportable Block 5 Procurement program. Under the contract, the company will provide MQ-9 aircraft and its associated equipment over the next two years and the work is expected to be completed by January 31, 2019, the Defense Department added.

Russia to Sell ‘Sophisticated’ Arms To Manila After Foreign Policy U-Turn

01/05/2017

One day following the Russian Navy’s arrival in the Philippines to run regional threat-assessment drills, Russian Ambassador Igor Khovaev expressed Moscow’s enthusiasm to equip the island nation with high-tech military hardware.

Critical India-Russia Pact to Improve Fighter Aircraft Availability

01/05/2017

India and Russia are trying to correct the tardy supply of spares for fighter aircraft with a pact that would pave the way for local manufacturing of spares. This move should give further impetus to Indo-Russia defense ties.

No decision yet on competing for Air Force jet contract, Textron says

01/04/2017

The Air Force has released details on what it will be looking for in its next jet trainer, but Textron AirLand is still evaluating whether it will offer its Scorpion tactical jet in a competition to win the massive contract. On Dec. 30, the Air Force released its request for proposal on the requirements for the Advanced Pilot Training, or T-X, program.

Opinion: Improve Land-based Electronic Warfare Aircraft Readiness

01/04/2017

President-Elect Donald Trump has called for hard-hitting initiatives to be included in a first-100-day thrust to make America strong again. Hoping to be included in that effort are some common-sense, low-cost changes to our land-based expeditionary electronic warfare (EW) force posture that would immediately improve operational readiness and have a positive economic effect to boot.

Pentagon Arsenal Plane to Fly With F-35, F-22

01/04/2017

The Pentagon’s emerging “Arsenal Plane” or “flying bomb truck” is likely to be a modified, high-tech adaptation of the iconic B-52 bomber designed to fire air-to-air weapons, release swarms of mini-drones and provide additional fire-power to 5th generation stealth fighters such as the F-35 and F-22, Pentagon officials and analysts said.

J-15 fighter jets from China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier make South China Sea debut

01/04/2017

China’s aircraft carrier-based J-15 fighter jets made a high-profile debut over the South China Sea on Monday amid tensions with the United States. The J-15 “Flying Shark”, stationed on board the Liaoning, China’s sole aircraft carrier, since 2013, practised operations as the vessel sailed in heavy seas, Xinhua reported.

China's new stealth fighter FC-31 has to beat these combat jets to rule the skies

01/04/2017

On December 23, grainy videos and images of a new Chinese stealth jet fighter, Shenyang FC-31 emerged from websites belonging to Chinese military bloggers. The first flight of the FC-31 jet brings it closer to the abilities that US possesses like selling stealth jet to other countries.

Maiden flight for M-345 trainer

01/04/2017

“The aircraft conducted itself perfectly, meeting the expectations of the design parameters while showing excellent performance,” says Quirino Bucci, a test pilot for Leonardo’s aircraft division. He offered particular praise for the Williams International FJ44-4M-34 engine which “demonstrated a great capacity to react to regime changes, which is a fundamental characteristic for a basic training aircraft”.

Israel retires F-16A fleet

01/04/2017

The F-16A has been in service with the IAF since 1980, and has participated in all combat operations since then, including an attack on an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981. In recent years older aircraft were operated mainly by the IAF's “red squadron” in an adversary training role, and the Israeli ministry of defence is now trying to sell 40 F-16As.

India Announces New Fighter Jets to Be Produced Domestically

01/04/2017

Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said at a news conference Tuesday that New Delhi is inviting global bids for a foreign-designed single-engine fighter that would be assembled in India. According to Parrikar, a western partner for the fighter will be chosen based on pricing and terms for the transfer of the technology.

China Uses First Aircraft Carrier in South China Sea Take-Off, Landing Drills

01/04/2017

China has conducted take-off and landing drills in the South China Sea involving its sole aircraft carrier, media reported Tuesday, citing navy officials. The Liaoning aircraft carrier has been deployed in the waters of the South China Sea with missile destroyers and other vessels since Sunday, the Japanese NHK broadcaster reported.

Trump’s F-35 tweets a worrying signal for West’s air defences

01/02/2017

President-elect Donald Trump has again unleashed controversy, this time over the future of the US F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Trump recently tweeted that “based on the tremendous cost and cost overruns of the Lockheed Martin F-35, I have asked Boeing to price-out a comparable F-18 Super Hornet”, and adding: “ … about the F-35. It’s a disaster, it’s totally out of control.”

Will China Fill the Skies With Stealth Jets?

01/02/2017

China is one step closer to selling stealth jets to militaries around world, now that the latest copy of China’s newest stealth fighter has reportedly flown for the first time. The debut of FC-31 number two brings China closer to being an exporter of radar-evading warplanes—and draws the United States closer to, perhaps some day, facing Chinese-made stealth fighters in combat.

Special: Attack Missions in the A-10

01/02/2017

Known for an ability to keep flying after taking multiple rounds of enemy machine gun fire, land and operate in rugged terrain, destroy groups of enemy fighters with a 30mm cannon and unleash a wide arsenal of attack weapons, the A-10 is described by pilots as a “flying tank” in the sky -- able to hover over ground war and provide life-saving close air support in high-threat combat environments.

Today in Aviation History: First flight of the Soviet Built MiG-15

01/02/2017

On December 30, 1947 the MiG-15 fighter jet designed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union (USSR) first flew. The swept wing MiG-15 was small, agile and fast making it a very formidable aircraft. The MiG-15 had a wingspan of only 33 feet, was 33 feet long and stood 12 feet tall. Comparably the United States F-86 fighter jet had a wingspan of 37 feet, was 37 feet long and height of just over 14 feet.

The Brains of the Operation

01/02/2017

In 1937, the Army Air Corps “called for a twin-engine interceptor to pursue and destroy enemy aircraft at high altitude. It also called for a maximum level-altitude flight speed of at least 360 miles per hour and the ability to reach an altitude of 20,000 feet within six minutes. These were unheard-of performance goals at that time in aviation history, and they required the design of an advanced fighter in the truest sense of that phrase.”

The five coolest military innovations of 2016

12/31/2016

IT WAS a good year for imaginative military innovations. From Star Wars-style speeders to an inescapable surveillance drone, many of the futuristic advances seem straight out of science fiction or Hollywood blockbusters.

Military rushes aircraft to pick injured soldier from war front, drawing praises

12/31/2016

The Nigerian military has rushed an Augusta helicopter to the battle front in Rann, northern Borno, to pick one of the four soldiers wounded in Friday’s fierce battle with fighters of the Boko Haram terror sect. Nigerian soldiers had killed at least 15 terrorists after the sect members sprung a surprise attack on their location on Friday morning, as exclusively reported by PREMIUM TIMES.

Air Force F-35 Trains Against Russian, Chinese Air Defenses

12/31/2016

The Air Force F-35 is using “open air” ranges and computer simulation to practice combat missions against the best Chinese and Russian-made air-defense technologies – as a way to prepare to enemy threats anticipated in the mid-2020s and beyond. The testing is aimed at addressing the most current air defense system threats such as Russian-made systems and also focused on potential next-generation or yet-to-exist threats, Harrigian said.

Aircraft carrier version of Tejas still alive, despite navy opposition

12/31/2016

A decade ago, a far-sighted navy chief, Admiral Arun Prakash, posted his most talented engineering officer, Commander CD Balaji, to develop the Naval Tejas fighter at the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), which oversees the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme.

US Air Force releases final T-X trainer RFP

12/31/2016

T-X contenders are off to the races today, after the US Air Force released its much anticipated final request for proposals for the T-38 trainer replacement programme. The $16.3 billion RFP encompasses a total of 350 aircraft, including delivery of the initial five test aircraft, contract options for LRIP lots 1 and 2 and full-rate production of lots 3 through 11.

OPINION: Trump's unfriendly fire threatens F-35

12/31/2016

It was one thing for Donald Trump to take aim on Twitter at Boeing’s replacement for the Air Force One presidential fleet. Posh executive aircraft with billion-dollar price tags are popular targets as new heads of state take office: within a month of entering the White House in 2009, President Barack Obama made a similar, public critique of a presidential helicopter deal.