Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

China Deploys Supersonic Trainer Aircraft for Pilot Training

10/29/2015

Modernising its airforce at a rapid pace, China has introduced a third-generation supersonic trainer aircraft to its military flight schools to shorten pilots' training time and prepare them for advanced fighter jets. People's Liberation Army Air Force Aviation University deployed an undisclosed number of JL-9 Mountain Eagle two-seater trainer jets this month and has started to use them to train students, PLA Air Force's Daily, the official organ of the Chinese military, reported.

The LRS-B and its impact on aircraft, engine, and parts manufacturing

10/29/2015

Northrop Grumman won the U.S. Air Force’s Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) contract, beating out a joint bid by Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Under the contract, which may exceed $55 billion over its lifetime, Northrop will build the Air Forces’ next-generation stealth bomber, greatly bolstering the company’s position as a defense aircraft manufacturer, while throwing doubt over Boeing’s position.

Turkey to gift 34 light fighter aircraft to Pakistan

10/29/2015

Turkey will provide 34 T-37 aircraft and their spare parts to Pakistan free of cost under a landmark defence cooperation agreement signed between the two countries in Ankara on Wednesday. Turkish defence ministry spokesman Narita Farhan told media that the T-37 is a jet trainer light combat aircraft and Turkey, on Pakistan’s desire, extended a fleet of 34 aircraft along with spare parts to Pakistan.

U.S. Air Force Awards Lockheed Martin Majority Share of Paveway II Plus Laser Guided Bomb Contract

10/29/2015

Lockheed Martin received a $76 million contract from the U.S. Air Force for follow-on production of PavewayTM II Plus Laser Guided Bomb (LGB) kits. The contract represents the majority share of fiscal year 2015 funding, as well as 100 percent of available funding for Foreign Military Sales. Deliveries will begin in the second quarter of 2016 and include the guidance and tail assemblies for GBU-10 and GBU-12 LGBs.

US Urges Europe to Relocate Forces to Incirlik to Fight ISIL in Syria

10/29/2015

The United States is inviting its European partners to relocate military forces to the Incirlik air base in Turkey to bolster anti-Islamic State operations in Syria, US head of the Global Anti-ISIL Coalition Gen. John Allen said on Wednesday.

Amid Washington-Beijing Row, French Frigate Sails to South China Sea

10/29/2015

A French warship docked in a Chinese port Tuesday to start an extended visit to China's naval fleet in the South China Sea, where disputed territorial claims have ignited a row between Beijing and Washington.

China’s Military Built with Cloned Weapons

10/28/2015

Historically, China has been a great innovator contributing inventions such as gunpowder, paper and the compass to human advancement. However, China has earned an international reputation in recent decades as being the home of a prolific copycat culture.

IAF wants aerial refuelling, jammers, quick turnaround in new Tejas

10/28/2015

In New Delhi on September 23, decades of friction came to an end when key stakeholders in the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) finally agreed on the specifications of a fighter that would join the Indian Air Force (IAF) in large numbers, starting in 2018-19.

Warthogs, airmen return home after deployment against Islamic State

10/28/2015

Ten Air National Guard A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft and hundreds of airmen supporting them are back in Michigan after a six-month deployment flying missions against Islamic State group targets in Iraq and Syria. The pilots and their combat jets were part of the largest and longest mass deployment from Selfridge Air National Guard Base since the Korean War, guard officials said in a statement.

Defense secretary: US retooling fight against IS, including unilateral ground raids if needed

10/28/2015

Signaling a possible escalation of U.S. military action in the Middle East, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Tuesday that the United States is retooling its strategy in Iraq and Syria and would conduct unilateral ground raids if needed to target Islamic State militants.

Air Force fighter jets visit JBLM to help test new Boeing tanker

10/28/2015

Four times a week, a fighter jet from California lifts off from Joint Base Lewis-McChord for a rendezvous in the Northwest skies with one of the military’s newest machines. It’s a noticeable new routine at JBLM that’s meant to help the Air Force test its KC-46 tanker, a jet built by Boeing in King County to replace a third of the military’s aging fleet of Cold War-era refueling aircraft.

Northrop Grumman Wins Air Force's Long Range Strike Bomber Contract

10/28/2015

Northrop Grumman has won the contract to build the US Air Force’s next-generation Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B), an industry-shaping deal that breathes new life into the world's sixth-largest defense company. After US financial markets closed Tuesday evening, Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Air Force leadership announced that Northrop beat out the team of Boeing and Lockheed Martin for the contract,

Boeing and Lockheed Martin Statement on U.S. Air Force Long Range Strike-Bomber Decision

10/28/2015

The Boeing and Lockheed Martin team is disappointed by today’s announcement. We will have further discussions with our customer before determining our next steps. We are interested in knowing how the competition was scored in terms of price and risk, as we believe that the combination of Boeing and Lockheed Martin offers unparalleled experience, capability and resources for this critically important recapitalization program.

US in Close Communications With Beijing Over South China Sea Tensions

10/28/2015

According to US State Department Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP) spokesperson Katrina Adams comments on the US-China contacts after China summoned the US Ambassador over the South China Sea patrol.

US Navy Will Continue Operations in South China Sea - Carter

10/28/2015

The US Navy did send its destroyer within the 12-mile limit of a disputed island in the South China Sea and it will carry out more operations of the same kind in coming months, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.

China Vows to Boost National Security Due to US Warship in South China Sea

10/28/2015

Beijing will take measures to strengthen its national security after a US destroyer sailed through disputed territorial waters in the South China Sea, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said in a statement Tuesday.

A barrier broken

10/27/2015

The first batch of women officers will start piloting fighter jets by mid-2017. Even though women officers have been flying transport aircraft and helicopters for many years, this goes a step further.

U.S. Navy destroyer nears islands built by China in South China Sea

10/27/2015

The United States on Monday sent a guided-missile destroyer to challenge 12-nautical-mile territorial limits that China claims around artificial islands it built in the South China Sea. A U.S. defense official said the USS Lassen was nearing Subi and Mischief reefs in the Spratly archipelago, features that were submerged at high tide before China began a massive dredging project to turn them into islands in 2014.

Russia Conducts Missile Drill In Barents Sea Near Norway As Aircraft Carrier Allegedly Prepares To Travel To Syria For ISIS Fight

10/27/2015

Russia conducted firing drills in the Barents Sea near Norway Monday, testing a missile amid speculation that the country's only aircraft carrier could be preparing to travel to Syria to fight the Islamic State group. The spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry’s Northern Fleet told the Russian News Agency TASS that the drill on carrier Admiral Kuznetsov was part of a combat readiness check that also included an examination of its radio equipment.

US and Russia evade aircraft collisions for strategic intent

10/27/2015

The Russian air force has carried air strikes against Islamic State extremist forces in Syria for nearly a month. The air combat situation in the Middle East is growing more complex, since the United States and Russia have not reached a consensus on intelligence-sharing. Both sides have expressed concerns over the risk of US and Russian military aircraft colliding or fighting against each other. They are exploring how to evade such incidents.

Before Syria, Russia struggled to land air strikes on target

10/27/2015

In the courtyard of an apartment building in the town of Gori in ex-Soviet Georgia is a clue to whether Russia's air strikes on targets in Syria are as accurate as the Kremlin would like the rest of the world to believe.

Has the future of aircraft carriers already been sunk?

10/27/2015

They’re huge. They’re mighty. They’re mega-expensive. Aircraft carriers represent the height of military might. But the argument that they have had their day is gaining strength.

Japan to Receive New US Military Aircraft by 2020

10/27/2015

Beating out its main European competitor Airbus, Boeing has secured the first oversea sale of its new KC-46 Pegasus tanker aircraft Kyodo News reports. Japan’s Defense Minister, Gen Nakatani, confirmed the deal at a news conference last Friday noting that “with more aerial tankers, our aerial defense capability will be reinforced.”

Lockheed Martin Delivers 31st C-5M Super Galaxy

10/27/2015

Lockheed Martin delivered the 31st C-5M Super Galaxy to the U. S. Air Force on Oct. 23. A crew from the 22nd Airlift Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, Travis Air Force Base, California, ferried the aircraft from the Lockheed Martin facility here to Stewart Air National Guard Base, New York, where it will undergo internal paint restoration.

Brookings Institution: None of NATO’s Members Could Match Russia in the Sky

10/27/2015

The Russian Air Force in Syria left many Western military experts surprised, as they didn’t expect that Russia had the capacity to carry out military operations with such efficiency, the Washington-based Brookings Institution said.