Military Aviation News Archive

Canada Supports Anti-Daesh Coalition

01/21/2016

Canada will continue to provide military support to a US-led coalition against Daesh jihadist group, despite a decision to halt airstrikes on the militants’ positions, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau said Wednesday.

Russia's Only Aircraft Carrier Not to Be Used in East Mediterranean

01/21/2016

Highly-ranked official in the Russian military industrial complex said that Russia’s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, will not be used in operations in the Eastern Mediterranean against Daesh terrorists.

Defense Contractor Northrop Grumman Planning to Fly T-X Prototype in 2016

01/21/2016

Northrop Grumman will fly a prototype of its T-X concept aircraft sometime in the next six months, ahead of an upcoming Air Force competition to replace the aging T-38 fleet used for advanced jet training.

Taiwan's Other Big News: Is Taipei Getting U.S. Harrier Jets?

01/20/2016

It was reported late last week that Washington might offer Taipei surplus Boeing AV-8B Harrier II Plus strike aircraft as the U.S. Marine Corps retires the venerable jump-jets in favor the stealthy, supersonic F-35B Joint Strike Fighter. According to Defense News, the Harriers would be offered under the Defense Security Cooperation Agency’s Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program.

Boost in aircraft, personnel part of Pacific pivot for Yokota

01/20/2016

The U.S. is adding more than 1,100 personnel and spending $1 billion on new C-130J aircraft and support facilities at Yokota Air Base as part of the Pacific pivot. The servicemembers and their families will arrive at the base over the next few years along with a Special Operations Squadron bringing 10 CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, said Col. Douglas C. DeLaMater, 374th Airlift Wing commander.

Canada Excluded From Anti-Islamic State Coalition Meeting

01/20/2016

Canada has been excluded from a meeting of defense ministers in Paris this week to discuss the fight against Islamic State militants. The apparent snub follows new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's vow that he would remove the country's six fighter jets from the anti-IS coalition and at a time the U.S. is looking for its allies to step up their contributions.

Report: Germany's Tornado Recon Jets 'Can't Fly at Night'

01/20/2016

German Tornado jets deployed to Syria for reconnaissance missions can't fly at night, Bild daily reported Tuesday in a new embarrassment for the Defense Ministry, which has been battling equipment problems. The six aircraft sent to Syria are fitted with surveillance technology, and had been touted as being capable of taking high-resolution photos and infrared images, even at night and in bad weather.

USAF faces cost conundrum with F-35, KC-46 and LRS-B

01/20/2016

As the secretary of the air force has put it many times, the US military is on the losing side of the cost curve – with few aircraft coming in, and cuts, cuts and more cuts just to pay the bills. In terms of aircraft, USAF is smaller today than at any point since it split from the army in 1947. This month marks the 25th anniversary of Operation Desert Storm – arguably the greatest display of combat airpower in history. Now, the air branch is reminiscing about how mighty it once was.

More U.S. military drones are crashing than ever as new problems emerge

01/20/2016

A record number of Air Force drones crashed in major accidents last year, documents show, straining the U.S. military’s fleet of robotic aircraft when it is in more demand than ever for counterterrorism missions in an expanding array of war zones.

Countering China: Back to the Philippines

01/20/2016

For the past two years, Chinese territorial encroachment in the South China Sea has surged to unprecedented levels. Last week the Philippine Supreme Court handed down a decision that could provide the ideal way for the U.S. to respond.

Report: Chinese Soldiers Linked to US Military Hacking Case

01/20/2016

wo Chinese soldiers were “co-conspirators” in a plot to steal US military secrets, including designs for the F-35 stealth fighter and other warplanes, a Canadian newspaper reported Tuesday. The unnamed pair allegedly worked with a recent immigrant to Canada now facing extradition to the United States to identify and raid secure databases of US military contractors, said the Globe and Mail newspaper, citing a prosecution summary of a cyber espionage probe launched in 2014.

General Atomics to Sell Reaper Drones to France for $43.7Mln - Pentagon

01/20/2016

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has won a $43.7 million US Air Force foreign military sales contract to supply France with MQ-9 Reaper Drones, the US Department of Defense announced.

Life of RAF Tornado squadron further extended to 2018

01/19/2016

Further detail on the UK Ministry of Defence’s November Strategic Defence & Security Review (SDSR) has revealed the retirement of a Panavia Tornado GR4 squadron will be pushed back to 2018, from the previously announced 2017 date.

Report: Russian Military Presence in Syria Upgrading Military Skills of Hezbollah

01/19/2016

The Russian military presence in Syria is significantly upgrading the military skills of Hezbollah, according to an Israeli general. In a report for a Washington think tank, Gen.Muni Katz, a former commander of the Israeli division posted on the Lebanese border, said that the Lebanese militia, whose strategy against Israel had previously been defense oriented, is indirectly picking up lessons in sophisticated offensive warfare from their new Russian comrades-in-arms.

China’s Aircraft Carrier Ambitions

01/19/2016

The international media landed itself a gift shortly before ushering in 2016, when it transpired at a recent Chinese Defense Ministry press conference that Beijing’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, and the second one for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) after the Liaoning entered service since September 25, 2012, is currently under construction.

Is ISIS Operating a Secret High-Tech Weapons Lab?

01/19/2016

New video footage seems to reveal that the Islamic State (ISIS) operates its own research lab that is developing weapons of unprecedented sophistication for a nonstate actor. If the footage is confirmed, ISIS poses a much more lethal threat than first thought, not only against ground attacks, but also against airpower.

Search off Hawaii Finds Life Rafts but No Sign of 12 Marines

01/19/2016

Authorities searching the area where two Marine helicopters crashed off Hawaii have found some life rafts that were carried aboard the aircraft, but still no sign of the 12 crew members who were on board. The Coast Guard said Monday that three of the four life rafts confirmed to have been aboard the helicopters have been recovered and efforts were being made to recover the fourth. Some of the rafts were inflated, but it was unclear how they came to be inflated, USCG Chief Petty Officer Sara Mooe

F-22 Performs over Syria/Iraq Despite Comms Issues

01/19/2016

As Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) continues over Iraq and Syria, the U.S. Air Force has maintained the involvement of top-of-the-line Lockheed Martin (LM) F-22 Raptor stealth fighters. On six-month rotations to Al Dhafra airbase in the United Arab Emirtates, the Raptors have flown approximately 300 sorties in OIR, dropping weapons and providing “mission assurance” to other elements of the strike package, according to U.S. Air Force officials.

Combat-coded F-35A to begin dropping bombs

01/19/2016

In February or early March, a combat-coded F-35A from the 34th Fighter Squadron at Hill AFB will release an inert, laser-guided bomb at the nearby Utah Test and Training Range. What will seem ordinary and routine to the pilot will actually be a “monumental achievement” for the multinational F-35 programme, which has been building to this moment since Lockheed Martin won the Joint Strike Fighter contract in 2001.

Modern Military Hardware to Total 70% in Russian Southern District in 2016

01/19/2016

About 1,200 units of modern and modernized weapons and military hardware are expected to be delivered to the Russian Southern Military District forces, according to Commander of the Southern Military District Col. Gen. Alexander Galkin.

Russia Hopes Easing of Tehran Sanctions Will Boost Helicopter Sales to Iran

01/19/2016

For Russian Helicopters company, the end of sanctions against Tehran means an opportunity to supply Iran with new military helicopters and after-sales services, according to the Russian state technology company Rostec.

Swedish-Finn Alliance May Influence Fighter Choice

01/18/2016

The deepening in bilateral defense collaboration between non-aligned Nordic states Sweden and Finland is expected to include the establishment of joint units and the sharing of naval and Air Force infrastructure. Moreover, Sweden remains interested in selling the JAS Gripen-E to Finland, which has begun the process of replacing the Air Force’s F/A-18 C/D Hornet aircraft, which are scheduled to be retired between 2025 and 2030.

Specially Painted Helicopters Celebrate Coast Guard Aviation Centenary

01/18/2016

US Coast Guard Air Station Astoria received a yellow-painted MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter at its base in Warrenton on Jan. 15, in celebration of 100 years of Coast Guard aviation. The Jayhawk helicopter, the first of all this year’s specially painted aircraft delivered by the Coast Guard to an operational unit, arrived from Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and will operate out of the Warrenton base for the next 4 years.

With or without the F-16s, Pakistan will remain a regional game changer

01/18/2016

Fighting Falcon F-16, an American built multi-role fighter jet, has enjoyed a deep-rooted relationship with Pakistan for over three decades. Thanks to its design, it offers an almost complete solution to the tactical and narrowed strategic demands of a compact Air Force like Pakistan’s. Its matchless aerodynamics and upgraded avionics put it a notch above its peers of third generation fighters.

Abandoned Defence Deal: Pakistan’s JF-17 fighter jets offer

01/18/2016

Congratulatory messages on several social networking sites flowed in big numbers from Pakistanis around the world saying kudos to their Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on his first ‘sale’ of 8 JF-17 thunder jets to Sri Lanka, but within a few days, it came down with a thud when Sri Lanka said, “Sorry we call it a day with the deal.” Several Pakistani media also quoted that the deal for JF-17s will be inked during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s three-day visit to Colombo that took place two weeks ago.