Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Interview: India’s Rafale Deal

04/22/2015

While visiting France in early April, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the acquisition of 36 French Dassault Rafale jets. The announcement capped years of sometimes contentious negotiations, which had intensified since Modi came to power last year.

Selfridge ANGB Personnel, Aircraft Join Fight Against ISIS

04/22/2015

Personnel and aircraft from Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township have been deployed to join the fight against ISIS. Maj. Gen. Gregory J. Vadnais, the Adjutant General of the Michigan National Guard, announced Tuesday that approximately 350 airmen and 12 A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft from the 127th Wing of the Michigan Air National Guard have been deployed he Middle East as part of Operation Inherent Resolve to help in the fight against ISIS.

Kazakhstan Air Force receives Sukhoi Su-30SM fighter aircraft

04/22/2015

The Kazakhstan Air Force has received four Sukhoi Su-30SM Flanker C fighter aircraft from Irkut Corporation, a part of the Sukhoi Group. The new twin-engine multifunctional two-seat fighters were handed over at Taldykorgan air base in southern Kazakhstan. A maximum speed of 1,320 miles per hour can be achieved by the Su-30SM, meanwhile it has a ceiling of 56,800ft and a range of 1,620 miles. It is built to order at JSC Corporation Irkut.

Russian North Fleet Aviation Holding Anti-Ship Drills in Barents Sea

04/22/2015

Aviation from Russia's Northern Fleet has begun anti-ship military exercises in the Barents Sea beyond the Arctic Circle, the Northern Fleet's press service announced Tuesday. "Today, the crews of anti-ship Ka-27 [Helix] helicopters, Il-38 [May] and Tu-142 [Bear-F] airplanes from the Northern Fleet have begun planned exercises on the search and identification of submarines in the Barents Sea using hydro-acoustic equipment, as well as bombing," the press center said.

Fortress Crimea

04/21/2015

Before Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the presence of Russian military forces there was strictly defined by a 1997 treaty with Ukraine 1997. The specified that no more than 25,000 Russian military personnel could be present on the peninsula, and only 2,000 of them could be air force and another 2,000 could be marines. Equipment limits also applied. The Russians could have no more than 24 artillery, no more than 142 armored vehicles and 22 military aircraft.

The U.S. Air Force is determined to junk half its best jammers

04/21/2015

The U.S. Air Force is winnowing down its fleet of EC-130H Compass Call electronic attack planes. The 15 high-tech jammers belong to the 55th Electronic Combat Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. But if the flying branch has its way, it will retire seven at the turn of the fiscal year in October, according to the Pentagon's budget request.

Airlines increase pilot hiring, threaten AF retention

04/21/2015

When commercial airlines look at Air Force pilots, they see aviators with upward of 1,500 flying hours and 10 years or more of flying experience. And they want to hire them. As airlines continue to grow and Vietnam-era pilots retire, the airlines will hire about 20,000 pilots over the next 10 years. United, American, Delta and the rest of the world's aviation companies see the Air Force's 13,000 veteran pilots as a ready way to staff their cockpits.

Video of Islamic State capabilities alarms military experts

04/21/2015

The video opens with high-definition footage shot from a drone flying over an oil refinery in central Iraq, but this video isn’t from a multi-million-dollar American drone. It’s from a drone operated by the Islamic State that likely cost a few thousand dollars. And the refinery – Iraq’s largest – is held by government forces, who have been besieged by the militants for the better part of a year.

Pakistan dispatches 8 fighters to escort Xi's plane on state visit

04/21/2015

Pakistan dispatched eight JF-17 Thunder fighter jets to escort Chinese President Xi Jinping's plane Monday when it entered Pakistani air space for a state visit to the country. It is a diplomatic etiquette commonly adopted by countries to escort a foreign leader's plane with fighters during a state visit, aimed at showing the importance attached by them to the visit and paying homage to their distinguished guests.

Rafale deal: The diplomatic deftness of India’s Modi

04/21/2015

India's Rafale deal is not just purchasing fighter jets. It’s also about facing the challenge of national security, and balancing defense relationships as well as bilateral ties. A diplomatic deftness PM Narendra Modi seems to have lived up to. When India, the world's largest arms importer, makes a defense move it is watched keenly. The recent deal on 36 Rafale jets is no exception.

US Navy Sends Aircraft Carrier 'Theodore Roosevelt' to Waters of Yemen

04/21/2015

The two warships will join seven US warships in the area and come as Iran said it had dispatched nine warships toward Yemen. The aircraft carrier USS “Theodore Roosevelt and [guided-missile cruiser USS] Normandy have joined other US forces conducting maritime security operations in the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb and the Southern Red Sea,” the US Navy said.

Assad Denies Using Devastating Barrel Bombs by Gov’t Forces in Syria

04/21/2015

Earlier in April, human rights activists claimed that the Syrian regime conducted several barrel bomb attacks on Idlib governorate in March, affecting over 200 people. Human Rights Watch (HRW) cited photo and video evidence saying that up to six attacks involving use of toxic chemicals had been made.

US Air Force Consolidates Bomber Fleets Under One Command

04/21/2015

The decision will move the B-1 bomber fleets and Long Range Strike-Bombers under the same command as the B-2 and B-52 bombers. “Consolidating all of our Air Force assets in this critical mission area under a single command will help provide a unified voice to maintain the high standards necessary in stewardship of our nation’s bomber forces,” Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said on Monday.

Oil refinery at Baiji secured, but Iraq fighting still rages at Ramadi

04/20/2015

Iraqi security forces backed by heavy air support from the American-led coalition have secured Iraq’s largest oil refinery from a determined Islamic State offensive. But they continued to struggle to fend of Islamic State fighters trying to capture the capital of the country’s largest province. The two battles, one in north central Iraq and the other in the country’s west, are reminders that only a few weeks after trumpeting the capture of the city of Tikrit from Islamist fighters.

Saudis fund French weapons for use in Lebanon

04/20/2015

The weapons are part of a deal to bolster the country's defences against the Islamic State (IS) group and other jihadist groups pressing along Lebanon's Syrian border. On Monday, anti-tank guided missiles will be delivered to an air force base in Beirut, overseen by French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and his Lebanese counterpart, Samir Mokbel.

Russia’s Missile Wall in Iran

04/20/2015

The popular narrative surrounding the conflict between the West and Iran has always been one of a dangerous rogue state bent on obtaining nuclear weapons before triggering a nuclear-fueled Armageddon aimed at Israel. Underneath this elementary propaganda, lies a more complex truth underpinning a proxy conflict between East and West.

Sale of US arms fuels the wars of Arab states

04/20/2015

To wage war in Yemen, Saudi Arabia is using F-15 fighter jets bought from Boeing. Pilots from the United Arab Emirates are flying Lockheed Martin's F-16 to bomb both Yemen and Syria. Soon the Emirates are expected to complete a deal with General Atomics for a fleet of Predator drones to run spying missions in their neighborhood.

UAE Restarts Rafale Talks With France

04/20/2015

The United Arab Emirates has restarted talks on ordering the Dassault Rafale, with a planned major upgrade of the fighter jet in contrast to the off-the-shelf deals for Egypt and India, said an Arabian Gulf official source familiar with the issue. "Yes, there are renewed discussions," the gulf source said April 14. The talks could take some time "to reach an understanding" that meets the needs of the UAE Air Force, the source said.

Could Israeli F-35s turn the tables on Iranian S-300 missiles?

04/20/2015

Over the long years of its development, the F-35 fighter jet has been pummeled from every angle. What haven’t we heard: It’s overweight and underpowered; it’s a single engine when it should be a twin; its engine may suffer from a serious design and structural problem; its wings are too short, its stealth capacity too tenuous, its cost too prohibitive.

In the captain's seat

04/20/2015

There is something about the procurement of fighter aircraft from Western commercial sources that generates interest far greater than perhaps the sum of its economic or strategic content. The entire spectacle of open tendering, nail-biting selection followed by endless negotiations, all played out in the public arena, resembles a soap opera more than the very serious business of dealing with a strategic weapon system for war fighting.

Airbus to set up final assembly lines for military aircraft, helicopters in India

04/20/2015

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus SAS of Toulouse said it is willing to set-up final assembly lines and establish supply chain and related infrastructure for military transport aircraft and helicopters in India. The defence and space unit of Airbus has also plans to develop and manufacture electronic sensors with a partner in India, and has advanced discussions to support state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltdâ€™s combat aircraft programmes.

Iran Rolls Out New Programmable Drone

04/20/2015

"Basir is a self-control drone that moves according to the flight plan in the specified routes and land in the same take-off point after ending its mission," an official of the Northwestern city of Zanjan's 216 Armored Brigade Mohammad Mohammadi said Saturday, Fars news agency reported.

Greek and Turkish jets harass each other over international waters

04/19/2015

Two Greek F-16 jets intercepted two F-16 jets belonging to the Turkish Air Force on Saturday, according to a press release from the Turkish General Staff Headquarters. According to the report, the fighter jets were on a training flight in international air space over the Mediterranean Sea. Turkish General Staff said that the Turkish military planes were intercepted by the Greek planes for a total of 2 minutes and 40 seconds, prompting the Turkish jets to respond in kind.

Yemen militia says it is besieging rebels at strategic base

04/19/2015

Militiamen loyal to Yemen's exiled president besieged an air base Saturday once crucial to the U.S. drone program targeting al-Qaida militants in the country, trying to dislodge the Shiite rebels holding the complex, a spokesman said. Qa'ed Nasser, a spokesman for the pro-Hadi militia, said his fighters launched several attacks on the Al-Annad air base amid airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition targeting the rebels, known as Houthis.

'So others may live': HSC-25 routinely saves lives

04/19/2015

On a wall inside the HSC-25 command building at Andersen Air Force Base, a plaque hangs emblazoned with the phrase "So others may live." It's flanked on the sides and below by more than 1,000 smaller plaques, each commemorating a successful rescue, medevac or firefighting mission. Flight training officer Lt. Monica Mondloch said new plaques appear on the wall every few months, memorializing the mission's date, crew members and location.