Military Aviation News Archive

Denmark Should Expand Anti-ISIL Operations to Syria - Foreign Minister

11/16/2015

The Danish aircraft should broaden its participation in the anti-Islamic State coalition, and participate in its aerial operations in Syria, Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen said.

US, Czech Experts to Fly Over Russia Under Open Skies Treaty - Official

11/16/2015

The US and Czech experts will conduct an observational flight over Russia under the Treaty on Open Skies on November 16-21, head of Russia's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center Sergei Ryzhkov said Monday.

Russia to Conduct Observation Flight Over Austria Under Open Skies Treaty

11/16/2015

The Russian experts will conduct an observation flight over Austria under the Treaty on Open Skies on November 16-19, head of Russia's National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center Sergei Ryzhkov said Monday.

After Paris, Is It Time to Roll on Raqqa, the ISIS Capital?

11/15/2015

As this stunned city tried to come to terms with the horror that struck it the night of Friday the 13th, the word “war” echoed in cafes, on the streets, and in the statements of government officials. Teams of suicide bombers from the so-called Islamic State, striking at soft targets in the heart of the city and a stadium on the outskirts, had taken their own lives along with those of at least 129 innocents, blasting away with Kalashnikovs at a rock concert and restaurants, and at a soccer game.

NATO’s Turn to Attack

11/15/2015

On the morning after France’s long night of terror, the language of war has been impossible to avoid. President François Hollande declared the attacks on Paris “an act of war that was waged by a terrorist army, a jihadist army, by Daesh [the Islamic State], against France.” The Islamic State has hailed the “blessed” operation of its “soldiers” and has vowed continued attacks. Pope Francis has described the current state of events as “a piece” of a piecemeal Third World War.

After Paris attacks, pressure builds for big military response to Islamic State

11/15/2015

The Paris terror attacks are likely to galvanize a stronger global military response to Islamic State, after a U.S.-led air war that has lasted more than a year has failed to contain a group now proving itself to be a growing worldwide threat. The United States, long accused of taking an incremental approach to the struggle, is under growing political pressure at home and abroad to do more and it is expected to examine ways to intensify the campaign, including through expanded air power.

ASDF to train women to pilot fighter jets

11/15/2015

The nation’s first female fighter pilots will be combat-ready and take to the skies by around 2018, the Defense Ministry said. The move is touted as part of the government's push to add more women in the workplace, as women, only about 30 in total, pilot transport aircraft, patrol planes and patrol helicopters.

France Pays Price for Front-Line Role From Syria to West Africa

11/15/2015

France, which has been hit by deadly terror attacks twice this year, is paying the price for its front-line role in combating Islamic militants. French special forces have been tracking Islamist militants in the Sahara since 2013. France was the first European country to join the U.S. air strikes on Islamic State in Iraq last year and is the only European country to join the U.S. in air strikes in Syria.

Modi's UK visit - HAL in talks with BAE to manufacture weaponized Hawks

11/15/2015

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is likely to manufacture the combat version of military aircraft Hawk in the coming months. HAL and BAE Systems discussed this in London during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the UK.

F-35 Program Ramps Up Training for Pilots, Technicians

11/15/2015

The F-35 joint strike fighter program is transitioning to a day when its pilots will come fresh out of flight school and the new jet fighter will be their first assignment. The services’ cadre of pilots so far have been veterans of other programs such as the F-15, F-16, Harrier or A-10s, said Mike Luntz, director of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 training systems. “Many of the pilots that we have trained to date have been the more experienced pilots,” he said in an interview.

Paris attacks test Liberal pledge to end ISIS combat mission

11/15/2015

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived at a G20 leaders’ summit that has been overshadowed by the brazen terror attacks in Paris, a killing spree blamed on Islamic State extremists that will test the commitment of the new Liberal government to end its combat mission against the militants.

Defence minister's marching orders: End Canadian combat mission in Iraq, Syria

11/14/2015

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has given new defence minister his marching orders - and Harjitt Sajjan's top priority is to end Canada's combat mission in Iraq and Syria. The Nov. 6 letter, released Friday in a package of so-called "mandate letters" from the prime minister to his cabinet members, was also notable for what it didn't say in terms of the other thorny defence issues facing the new Liberal government.

French Navy Tests Rafale’s RBE2 Radar From Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier

11/14/2015

The French Navy has completed the test of Rafale's new RBE2 active electronically-scanned array (AESA) radar from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle during combat missions over Iraq. The French Navy operated an AESA radar-equipped Rafale M F3 omnirole combat aircraft in the test during actual close air support (CAS) and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) combat missions over Iraq, Naval-Technology reported Thursday.

This is the first glimpse of America's most secretive spy plane

11/14/2015

The Pentagon is unflinchingly tight-lipped about any new, high tech planes it has in the works. But every so often, a bit of information manages to squeak out into the public domain. In 2013, the U.S. Air Force sent a secret spy plane out over the Pacific region. The unknown aircraft — possibly a drone — flew "national collection missions" — a euphemism for strategic intelligence against states like North Korea or China.

Need a Cheap Fighter Aircraft? The JF-17 Might Work

11/14/2015

The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) and its and its partner, the Pakistan Aeronautical complex (PAC) Kamra, is once-again reiterating that it has signed a deal to sell the JF-17 Thunder to an unnamed customer at the Dubai airshow.

Awesome Science: Did China Just Turn All Fighter Jets Invisible?

11/14/2015

A team of researchers from China is said to have created a material that could hide the world's best war machines from the all-seeing eyes of the most powerful anti-stealth microwave radars… and they have made the technology publicly available.

Russia’s T-50 PAK FA '100 Percent Digital Aircraft'

11/14/2015

The Russian T-50 (PAK FA) fifth-generation jet fighters is a "100 percent digital aircraft" because of the "smart covering" of its body, Igor Nasenkov, Deputy CEO of KRET Holding, told RIA Novosti. KRET, part of Russia’s Rostec hi-tech corporation, developed electronic systems for the aircraft.

US Approves Surveillance Aircraft Sales to Japan, Australia - Pentagon

11/14/2015

The US government has approved the sale of advanced electronic surveillance aircraft to Japan and Australia, the Department of Defense said in two contract notifications.

US sends B-52 nuclear bomber over disputed South China Sea islands

11/13/2015

A UNITED States B-52 strategic bomber flew over artificial Chinese islands in the South China Sea recently and was contacted by Chinese ground controllers but continued its mission undeterred, a Pentagon spokesman said overnight.

War against ISIS moves A-10 jet from cutting board to front lines

11/13/2015

Air Force Col. Martha McSally was leading a squadron of A-10 attack jets over Afghanistan when they encountered U.S. forces engaged in a desperate fight against Islamist insurgents. One of the embattled troops signaled his unit’s location with a small mirror that reflected sunlight upward. McSally, the first American woman to fly in combat, and the other pilots flew to the light and opened fire with the seven-barrel Gatling cannons nestled in the A-10s’ noses.

The F-23 Fighter: The Super Plane America Never Built

11/13/2015

The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is the best air superiority fighter ever built, but could America have done better? When the YF-22 prototype won the contract for the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) in April 1991, it was a lesser plane compared to the Northrop YF-23 in many ways. Though the YF-22 was a more maneuverable aircraft, the YF-23 had far greater supersonic cruise capability—especially when outfitted with the General Electric YF120 variable cycle engines.

A meaningful pose for photos by top Turkish commander

11/13/2015

Turkey, perhaps for the first time, allowed its soil to be used for combat operations by both NATO allies and non-NATO countries when it struck a deal with the US in late July to open Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey to the US-led coalition forces of about 60 nations in their fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

BAE Systems Cuts Earnings Outlook

11/13/2015

BAE Systems PLC on Thursday cut its earnings outlook for the year and said it would reduce production and jobs for the Typhoon combat jet after failing to secure export business it had expected to win. BAE Systems said full-year earnings per share should be 38 pence, the same as last year, after previously saying they would be “marginally higher,” the London-based arms maker said on Thursday. Earnings would have been lower if not for a 2 pence-a-share tax benefit.

Exposed: Are Secret U.S. Spy Planes Flying Over the Pacific?

11/13/2015

The Pentagon is unflinchingly tight-lipped about any new, high tech planes it has in the works. But every so often, a bit of information manages to squeak out into the public domain. In 2013, the U.S. Air Force sent a secret spy plane out over the Pacific region. The unknown aircraft – possibly a drone – flew “national collection missions” – a euphemism for strategic intelligence against states like North Korea or China.

India To Boost LCA Order; AF Questions Its Capabilities

11/13/2015

The Indian government will increase orders for its homegrown Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), called Tejas, from 20 to 120, but Air Force officials question the plane's capabilities, and the scheduled arrival of a more advanced model remains murky.