Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Boeing Pushing For New Engines, Advanced Cockpit on Super Hornets, Growlers

05/25/2016

The Navy has plans to boost its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler capabilities in the coming years to match an evolving threat, but plane manufacturer Boeing is still pushing for conformal fuel tanks, an advanced cockpit system and a new engine that the company says would add even more range and warfighting capability.

F-35 Block 3F test schedule slips as Lot 9-10 contracting drags on

05/25/2016

The Pentagon appears to be no closer to reaching an agreement with Lockheed Martin on contracts for the production of 151 F-35 Lightning II aircraft as part of low-rate production lots nine and 10.

CAE proposes 16 Draken A-4 Skyhawks for RCAF fighter training

05/25/2016

Canadian training and simulation firm CAE has teamed with American warplane contractor Draken International to offer 16 Douglas A-4 Skyhawks as aggressors for Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 combat training.

Venezuela’s Military in the Spotlight

05/25/2016

Venezuela’s military is ready for the looming invasion by the United States. That was the message President Nicolás Maduro seemed eager to convey over the weekend as he presided over a military exercise that put his country’s troops and weaponry center stage in the midst of a political crisis.

ISIS destroys Russian helicopter base, aircraft in Syria

05/25/2016

Force protection is critical in a foreign military engagement. Russia, it seems, is learning this the hard way. At least four helicopters and 20 trucks were destroyed at the T4 airbase near Palmyra, most likely by Grad rockets fired by the Islamic State. This is a significant loss to Russian forces in theater.

Rafale deal: France rejects bank guarantee, awaits India’s reply

05/25/2016

INDIA IS yet to respond, either verbally or in writing, to a letter sent to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on April 1 by his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, who made what is said to be the “best offer” his country can make in a government-to-government deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets, sources told The Indian Express.

The LCA’s 33-year journey far from tejas

05/25/2016

The Tejas LCA, India's indigenously developed light combat aircraft, which continues to be under development for the last three decades, is a compromised aircraft and has only 35 per cent indigenous components. The induction schedule has been revised several times from the initial 1995 deadline.

NATO Ready to Intervene in Situation in Libya if Requested by Unity Gov't

05/25/2016

NATO is ready to intervene in the situation in Libya if the country's Government of National Accord (GNA) files a corresponding request, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday.

Sweden 'In Talks' With Botswana Over Gripen C/D Fighter Jets

05/24/2016

Sweden’s state-funded military materials procurement agency is denying that a deal has been struck to sell 12 Saab JAS Gripen C/D multirole fighters to Botswana. Försvarets Materielverk (FMV) confirmed that while the organization is "in talks" with Botswana, the number of aircraft under discussion is around eight and not 16.

China plans base station for rescue operations in South China Sea

05/24/2016

A Chinese government bureau is planning a base station for an advanced rescue ship in the disputed Spratly Islands, state media reported on Monday, as China continues its push to develop civilian and military infrastructure in the contentious region. The ship, which would carry drones and underwater robots, is set to be deployed in the second half of the year, said Chen Xingguang, political commissar of the ship, which is under the South China Sea Rescue Bureau of the Ministry of Transport.

Turkish planes hit five PKK targets in Iraq: military

05/24/2016

Turkish military aircraft launched airstrikes Monday to hit Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq, the military has said. “The warplanes struck previously-identified targets such as gun positions, caves, shelters and bunkers in the Metina region. The strikes were conducted between 04:28 am and 05:34 am,” the General Staff said on its official site later the same day.

US, Russia, China: Why space is the next military flashpoint

05/24/2016

TENSIONS between the super powers are high and the race is on to dominate. But if you think the next major military battle for dominance will be over land or sea, or any other piece of the Earth, then think again. Experts predict the world’s global powers will soon be taking their battles into space.

Military Strikes Continue Against ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

05/24/2016

U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Iraq and Syria yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today. Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Russia Summons U.S. Military Attache Over Spy Plane Maneuver

05/24/2016

Russia said it summoned a U.S. defense attache on May 23 after an American military aircraft flew into civilian airspace during a reconnaissance mission near Russia's far-eastern border. Russia's defense ministry said that the USAF RC-135 surveilllance plane risked colliding with passenger planes as it flew over the Sea of Japan on May 22 because it had turned its transponders off and could not be detected by civilian radar, although it was flying at an altitude typically used by passenger jets

US Army Laser Chief: 'We Absolutely Blew Lots of Things Up'

05/24/2016

The US Army is looking into all sorts of ways to blast drones out of the sky. Including—get this—with a frickin’ laser beam. In April 2016, the ground combat branch deployed a truck-mounted laser cannon to a trial at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. During the exercise, troops used the beam to torch a tiny, quadcopter-type drone , the kind you can buy online.

America's B-2 Stealth Bomber: Ready for War Until 2050 (And Beyond)

05/24/2016

Air Force pilots of the 1980s-era stealthy B-2 Spirit bomber plan to upgrade and fly the aircraft on attack missions against enemy air defenses well into the 2050s, service officials said. “It is a dream to fly. It is so smooth,” Maj. Kent Mickelson, director of operations for 394th combat training squadron, told Scout Warrior in an interview.

Change How Air Force Buys Compass Call, JSTARS

05/24/2016

The 21st century is defined by connectivity, from our iPhones to the networks that power our economy. The US military is not immune to this. Either it seizes opportunities presented by the information age, or risks precipitating problems if it retreats into anachronistic paradigms.

Vietnam Arms Embargo to Be Fully Lifted, Obama Says in Hanoi

05/24/2016

The United States is rescinding a decades-old ban on sales of lethal military equipment to Vietnam, President Obama announced at a news conference in Hanoi on Monday, ending one of the last legal vestiges of the Vietnam War. The United States has long made lifting the embargo contingent on Vietnam’s improving its human rights record, and recently administration officials had hinted that the ban could be removed partly in response to China’s buildup in the South China Sea.

RAF TYPHOONS SCRAMBLE AGAINST INCOMING RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT

05/23/2016

The RAF has sent both jets and ships to engage in the defense of the Baltics. Four RAF Typhoons are participating in the current NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission. ccording to the UK Ministry of Defence in a piece published on May 17, 2016: Royal Air Force Typhoons have completed their second interception in less than a week during the latest NATO Baltic Air Policing mission.

EgyptAir pilot reportedly spoke with air traffic control minutes before crash

05/23/2016

The pilot of EgyptAir Flight 804 spoke to air traffic control for “several minutes” before the doomed aircraft took its fatal plunge, according to a report that directly contradicts initial accounts of the crash. Pilot Mohamed Said Shoukair had “a conversation” with air traffic controllers in Cairo, according to The Independent, citing French television station M6.

India’s Rafale deal stalls again

05/23/2016

Last month, it had seemed that India was on track to inking its long-awaited purchase of 36 Dassault Rafale multi-role fighters from France. At the time, the two sides had finally agreed upon a firm price, which was the main sticking point. In May, the Indian Ministry of Law and Justice began keeping a close eye on the Rafale deal, so as to avoid the prospect of corruption. It is not clear where matters stand today.

Russian & Chinese Drones Are Designed to Counter US Stealth Aircraft

05/23/2016

Both China and Russia appear to be building unmanned aerial vehicles designed to negate America’s advantages in stealth aircraft. Earlier this year, photos first emerged of a new High Altitude, Long Endurance (HALE) UAV termed the Divine Eagle that foreign observers believe is designed to detect and eliminate stealth enemy aircraft far from the Chinese mainland.

Threat from Russian and Chinese warplanes mounts

05/23/2016

Chinese and Russian warplanes have been increasingly aggressive intercepting U.S. military aircraft and patrolling near America’s West Coast, prompting the Air Force’s top combat officer to label their provocations one of his top worries. Air Force Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, who leads Air Combat Command, said in an interview with USA TODAY that meeting the challenge from the Russian and Chinese to flights in international airspace is essential but dangerous.

Why Do Chinese and Russian Fighters Keep Buzzing U.S. Spy Planes?

05/23/2016

When you’ve got an itch, you scratch it. That urge is often caused by an irritation, which is how China and Russia perceive recent U.S. military moves in their neighborhoods. That’s what accounts for a flurry of dangerous fly-bys of U.S. warplanes and ships by Beijing’s and Moscow’s aircraft. But figuring out the root motive—and even who’s in the right—is a little more complicated.

Russia to Hold Observation Flight Over UK, Ireland

05/23/2016

Russian specialists would carry out an observance flight over the territories of the United Kingdom and Ireland under the Open Skies Treaty. Russian specialists would carry out an observance flight over the territories of the United Kingdom and Ireland under the Open Skies Treaty, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Nuclear Risk Reduction Center said Monday.