Military Aviation News Archive

Israel to Receive 'Largest Military Aid Package in US History'

06/09/2016

While criticizing Israeli policy, US National Security Advisor Susan Rice has nonetheless promised to provide a large military aid package to the Middle Eastern nation.

Russian State Arms Exporter Plans to Promote Russian-Made Drones Abroad

06/09/2016

Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport plans to promote its drones, including the Takhion and Granat-4, on the global market, the company said Wednesday.

U.S. explores reviving F-22 tactical fighter program to counter military upgrades in China, Russia

06/08/2016

The Pentagon collected its final F-22 Raptor from Lockheed Martin Corp. four years ago. Amid the Cold War’s end and shrinking defence budgets, the most advanced fighter jet ever built was deemed both unnecessary and unaffordable.

Putin’s New Stealth Jet Is on a Mission: To Prove Russia Can Still Fight

06/08/2016

Russia’s new stealth fighter made an eyebrow-raising surprise appearance on June 5—soaring over the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow ripped from Ukraine in early 2014. The T-50—Russia’s answer to the U.S. Air Force’s F-22—is far from war-ready. Indeed, the twin-engine, radar-evading warplane is suffering such serious design, quality-control, and financing problems that it might never enter frontline service in large numbers.

Russia-Israel Ties Grow With Kremlin's Influence in Region

06/08/2016

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's second meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin in less than two months Tuesday underscores increasingly closer relations between the U.S. ally and Russia as Moscow's influence grows in the Middle East. Russia's military campaign in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is showing no sign of ending, despite the Kremlin's March announcement of a partial withdrawal of forces.

What’s Wrong With The F-22 Raptor?

06/08/2016

Some things just don’t work out. Sometimes the best of intentions and plenty of money can’t overcome problems that were inherent in the design of a thing. And when the thing gets built, the shortcomings predicted from dispassionate analysis become showstoppers. There is no shame in abandoning projects as long as they are killed off quickly enough so that not too much damage is done.

JAGM beats Hellfire capability in early live-fire test

06/08/2016

The US Army has proven in a recent live-fire test that a MQ-1 Gray Eagle with a Lockheed Martin joint air to ground missile (JAGM) can beat the capability offered today by the AGM-114 Hellfire against moving targets.

Denmark receives first three MH-60R Seahawks

06/08/2016

Denmark has received the first three of an eventual nine Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk anti-submarine warfare helicopters to replace its fleet of ageing Westland Lynx 90s. To be operated by the Royal Danish Air Force, the remainder of the order will be delivered by mid-2018.

Boeing Wins $667Mln Contract to Supply Qatar With Apache Helicopters

06/08/2016

The Boeing Company has won a two-thirds-of-a-billion dollar US Army foreign military sales contract to supply the Gulf Arab nation of Qatar with 24 Apache ground-support helicopters, the US Department of Defense announced.

Mass Production: China to Build 1,000 220-Ton Planes

06/08/2016

In January, the China Daily reported that the People’s Liberation Army Air Force was preparing to develop a new fleet of stealth fighters and heavy transport aircraft. The latter, the Xian Y-20 transport, was in particularly high demand, given Beijing’s lack of a "fast and reliable platform" to deliver arms and soldiers over long distances.

Malabar Exercise: Japan to Join India, US in Joint Naval Drills

06/08/2016

The South China Sea issue is again going to be in the limelight as India, the US and Japan are set to hold a trilateral naval exercise in the Western Pacific Ocean off the east coast of Okinawa. The trilateral exercise called ‘Malabar Exercise' will start on Friday and run through June 17 and is likely to strengthen naval ties between India, the US and Japan amid militarization of South China Sea by China.

Turkish Aerospace Industries, Sikorsky to Build Helicopters for Ankara

06/08/2016

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and US-based Sikorsky Aircraft corporation signed contracts worth $3.5 billion to start the production of helicopters for the needs of the Turkish army, Turkey's center of technology said on Tuesday .

U.S. carrier now pounding ISIS from Mediterranean

06/07/2016

The planes never seem to stop coming and going. After six months in the Persian Gulf, the USS Harry Truman aircraft carrier has moved to the Mediterranean Sea, from where its bombers are jetting off faster and more frequently to strike ISIS targets in war-ravaged Syria and Iraq.

Croatia, Tunisia First To Receive U.S. Kiowa Warriors

06/07/2016

Croatia and Tunisia are the first nations to receive OH-58D Kiowa Warrior armed scout helicopters retired by the U.S. Army. Tunisia, announced most recently as a recipient, will use the helicopters to battle Islamic extremists, according to the Department of Defense.

The U.S. Air Force May Have Just Built Its Last Fighter Jet

06/07/2016

The U.S. Air Force has just released its latest official strategy for controlling the sky for the next 15 years. And for the first time in generations, the “air-superiority” plan doesn’t necessarily include a new fighter jet. That’s right—the world’s leading air force, the operator of the world’s biggest and most sophisticated fleet of fighter planes, isn’t currently planning on developing a major new fighter. The Air Force may be getting the F-35—its current fighter.

How Vietnam Can Stop the South China Sea ADIZ

06/07/2016

What is China’s next big move in the South China Sea? Ask the experts this question and tally their predictions. The action that will get the most votes is likely to be the imposition of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Indeed, a widespread view among the South China Sea watchers is that China will sooner or later declare an ADIZ in this semi-closed maritime domain, where it has reclaimed thousands of acres of land to build long airstrips, high-frequency radars, combat aircraft.

US Navy Deploys Most Carrier Strike Groups Since 2012

06/07/2016

For the first time in nearly four years, the US Navy has four aircraft carrier strike groups deployed at the same time. Two more carriers are carrying out local operations, making for six of the fleet’s ten active carriers underway — an unusually high percentage. And another is preparing to go.

As F-35 Debate Rages On, Canada May Be Forced to Buy Temporary Jet Fleet

06/07/2016

As the Canadian government debates whether to buy the infamous F-35, it may be forced to buy the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter to insure its air force remains airborne.

As Afghanistan Ramps Up Airstrikes, Air Force Relies on Unguided Bomb

06/07/2016

The Afghan military has increased its airstrikes against the Taliban over this year, but civilian casualties are an increasing concern, given that the air force relies on unguided, or "dumb," bombs.

Russian Jets Destroy Four Terrorist-Controlled Oil Facilities in Syria

06/07/2016

Russian warplanes based in Syria have destroyed four illegal oil production facilities on Daesh controlled territory in Syria in the past 24-hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.

Full Throttle: Why Russian Aerobatic Teams Can Do What Americans Can't

06/07/2016

Not a single aerobatics team in the world performs breathtaking flying maneuvers on combat aircraft as opposed to combat training warplanes except for Russia's world-famous Swifts and Russian Knights, former elite test pilot Vladlen Rusanov told the Vzglyad newspaper.

Tensions escalate over South China Sea claims

06/06/2016

At security summit, Beijing vows to ignore pending international court ruling while US steps up military patrols. Asia's largest defence summit concluded on Sunday amid growing fears of a legal and military showdown in the South China Sea over China's rapid construction of artificial islands with ports, airstrips and helipads in one of the world's most bitterly contested waterways.

Aggressive China Triggers Asia Arms Race

06/06/2016

Global defence contractors are circling for business in Asia, with countries from Australia to Vietnam upgrading and adding everything from submarines to fighter jets as China expands its military reach. According to consultancy IHS Jane’s report, the combined defence budgets in the Asia-Pacific region will grow from $435 billion last year to $533 billion in 2020, furthering a shift in global military spending away from Western Europe and North America toward emerging markets, especially in Asia

America vs Russia - Nuclear-Armed Bombers

06/06/2016

An essay in "The National Interest" analyzes nuclear-weapons competition between the U.S. and Russia. The essay argues that U.S. - Russian strategic nuclear deterrence - involving bombers, ICBMs and submarines - will remain for decades to come.

US Arms Sales to Vietnam: A Military Analysis

06/06/2016

With the recent announcement by U.S. President Barack Obama that the United States will lift a decades-old embargo on the sale of military equipment to Vietnam, the question arises—given that the president’s decision is partially seen as a move to counterbalance China’s growing military power in the region—in what way a U.S.-Vietnamese weapons deal could potentially influence the military balance in the region, and in particular, the South China Sea.