Military Aviation News Archive

07/21/2016
The Government of India is set to finalise the purchase of 36 Rafale combat aircraft in fly-away condition from France for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The move comes as the IAF is in critical operational necessity for multirole combat aircraft. The Dassault Aviation-built multi-role jet fighter will be supplied as part of an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) signed by France and India in January this year.
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07/21/2016
Boeing demonstrated an improved display computer system on a US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles earlier this month, uniting the host of upgrades the service will implement on its F-15Es and F-15Cs.
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07/21/2016
Textron and the air force signed a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA), allowing the service for the first time to certificate the aircraft’s airworthiness in the absence of a programme of record, according to a 15 July news release.
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07/21/2016
A failed military coup last week will not affect Lockheed Martin’s business relationship with Turkey, though it could be too early to make that call, according to top Lockheed Martin executives.
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07/21/2016
Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan confirmed the delivery of the Russian-made S-300 air defense systems, noting that they were already partially deployed in the country, Iran's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee spokesman Seyed Hossein Naghavi Hosseini said Wednesday.
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07/21/2016
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has indicated that there could be a link between the pilots who shot down a Russian jet last November and the Gulen movement, blamed for last week's failed coup attempt, and suggested that foreign countries may have been involved in the attempt, as well.
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07/20/2016
Turkey has reportedly received its first Boeing CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift rotorcraft, following its completion in-country at the port of Izmir. Ankara has 11 of the type on order from the US government for its army, Flight Fleets Analyzer shows, plus options for three more.
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07/20/2016
Bell Helicopter and Boeing have received a more than half a billion dollar US Navy contract to build four MV-22 Osprey tilt rotors for Japan, the US Department of Defense announced.
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07/20/2016
Taking a page from the Pentagon playbook, China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) will now conduct regular combat patrols of the South China Sea.
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07/20/2016
The Mikoyan MiG-31 (NATO reporting name: Foxhound) supersonic interceptor is one of the fastest combat aircraft in the world, and remains an integral element of Russia’s aerospace defense arsenal.
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07/20/2016
India's deal with France to purchase Rafale fighter planes is taking more time than expected as the two sides have yet to reconcile their differences over a number of issues related to the deal.
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07/19/2016
China’s navy chief told his U.S. counterpart that Beijing would continue construction work on disputed South China Sea islands regardless of foreign opposition, state media said, underscoring Chinese defiance toward an unfavorable international-arbitration ruling. Adm. Wu Shengli’s comments on Monday came days after a July 12 arbitration tribunal at The Hague rejected Beijing’s historic and economic claims over much of the South China Sea, handing a legal victory to the Philippines.
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07/19/2016
Boeing's KC-46 tanker successfully refueled an A-10 combat aircraft, clearing the final hurdle before the Air Force approves the first production order. The "milestone C" testing was completed July 15 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. During a four-hour flight, the KC-46 offloaded 1,500 pounds of fuel to the A-10, at 15,000 feet. "This completed the required air refueling demonstrations needed for the upcoming production milestone decision," said Boeing spokesman Chick Ramey.
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07/19/2016
The Marine Corps’ F-35B is taking part in the Air Force’s premier air-to-air combat training exercise for the first time ever. The joint strike fighters from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 are participating in Exercise Red Flag, which began on July 11 and runs until July 29 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.
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07/19/2016
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is planning a move into the Indian market with its Predator family of unmanned air vehicles in the wake of diplomatic initiatives that should ease restrictions on the sale of the technology to New Delhi.
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07/19/2016
Three people were killed when a Portuguese air force Lockheed Martin C-130H tactical transport crashed at Montijo air base on 11 July. Flight Fleets Analyzer records the destroyed aircraft – tail number 16804 – as having been 38 years old. The loss leaves Portugal with an active fleet of four Hercules, with another in storage, it adds.
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07/19/2016
The Israeli air force has introduced ultrasound maintenance measures to enable it to swiftly repair cracks in the wings of its fighter fleet. The crack detection system grounds the fleet for the shortest possible time, the IAF says, adding that the service has used it recently to repair cracks in the wing support bulkhead of its Lockheed Martin F-16C/D fleet.
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07/19/2016
Aerial refuelling has become one of the top priorities of the Israeli air force, and in recent months various tests have been carried out to help provide longer-range operations for helicopters and heavy transport aircraft.
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07/18/2016
Over the last century of military aviation, several fighters have earned the nickname “flying coffin.” Over the last century of military aviation, several fighters have earned the nickname “flying coffin.” Military aviation inherently pushes up against the limits of technology and human endurance, particularly where fighter and pursuit aviation is concerned. Flying a fighter is remarkably dangerous, even when no one is trying to shoot you down.
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07/18/2016
In the 21st century, there are fighter jets, and then there are fighter jets. Which kind you get depends on how much you want to pay. Got hundreds of millions of dollars to toss around? Then like the U.S. government, you can hire Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) to design and build you an F-22 Raptor stealth fighter -- widely considered the most capable air superiority combat jet in the world.
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07/18/2016
However history ultimately judges the F-35 Lightning II, Lockheed’s stealthy aircraft will surely be described as one of the most hotly debated designs ever. The U.S. Air Force, hoping to declare its version of the “fifth generation” fighter jet ready for by the end of 2016, has launched a new P.R. blitz to show critics that the planes are every bit as good as it says.
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07/18/2016
On Saturday morning a Black Hawk military helicopter carrying the eight Turkish servicemen made an emergency landing at the airport of the northern Greek city of Alexandroupoli. The arrivals – three Majors, three Captains and two Sergeant Majors — requested political asylum in Greece, which later returned the helicopter to Turkey.
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07/18/2016
The Federal Aviation Administration has banned all flights between the United States and airports in Turkey. The indefinite ban took effect on Saturday in the wake of the failed coup attempt in Turkey that left 265 dead and over 2,000 injured.
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07/17/2016
Secretary of State John F. Kerry wrangled for hours with senior Russian officials in Moscow on Friday, discussing a plan that includes first-time coordination between the U.S. and Russia on airstrikes targeting militant groups operating in Syria. Late Friday, amid distractions over an unfolding military coup in NATO ally Turkey, Kerry announced agreement on a series of steps that he said, "if implemented in good faith," could ease the Syrian civil war, which has claimed nearly a half-million liv
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07/17/2016
The FAA banned all flights into and out of Turkey for U.S. aircraft on Saturday, one day after a coup attempt rocked the country that is a NATO member and critical U.S. ally. The agency issued a notice saying it was prohibiting all U.S. commercial and private aircraft from operating into or out of any airport in Turkey.
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