Military Aviation News Archive
10/24/2015
The 4th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron hosted members of the 16th Electronic Warfare Squadron from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, during Combat Shield, Oct. 19-23. Combat Shield is an annual program aimed to provide operational combat Air Force units in Air Combat Command, a system-specific capability assessment for their aircraft’s radar warning receivers, electronic attack pods and integrated EW systems.
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10/24/2015
The first death in four years of an American service member under enemy fire in Iraq is raising questions about the nature of the U.S. commitment there and whether the administration is correct to claim that it's not engaged in a combat role.
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10/24/2015
An F18 fighter jet pilot has died after ejecting moments before the aircraft crashed near the RAF Lakenheath base in Suffolk. The crash is believed to have happened five miles north west of the airfield at around 10.30am. Cambridgeshire Constabulary confirmed officers at the scene are dealing with one fatality. The US jet was one of six returning from combat operations in the Middle East.
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10/24/2015
Technology creates new capabilities and that affect the role of some forces including that of the Israeli Air Force (IAF). While the IAF has and will have a crucial role in the task of protecting Israel’s security with some missions that it has performed solely, there is a quiet fight in the Israeli defence establishment to re-define some of the combat missions.
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10/24/2015
A recent study release by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) claims that the United States has made a huge strategic mistake in how the Navy has composed its air wings. But what the study does not mention is probably more important than what they say.
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10/23/2015
Pentagon said a number of A-10 Thunderbolt ground attack planes are arriving in Incirlik to replace F-16 jets as part of a "regular rotation that was planned." The AFP news agency put the number of newly arriving aircraft at 12 while Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said he does not have the exact number.
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10/23/2015
The Obama Administration is gearing up to sell eight new Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon jets to Pakistan, the New York Times reports. Those jets will add to Pakistan’s fleet of seventy-six existing “Vipers” as the type is colloquially known. Meanwhile, its arch-nemesis India’s air force shrinks by the day as planes age out and squadron are disbanded.
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10/23/2015
The Abbott government last year said it would spend an additional $12 billion to secure a fleet of 72 of the ultra-advanced ‘flying supercomputers’ — even as doubts continued to grow over its ability to meet already significantly delayed performance deadlines.
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10/23/2015
The United States is preparing to sell eight new F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, a media report has said ahead of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's meeting with President Barack Obama today. According to a report in The New York Times, the Congress was notified just days ago about the proposed sale of the additional fighter jets, although it is not clear if the White House plans to announce the sale of the aircraft during Mr Sharif's trip.
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10/23/2015
Poland has signed a contract with Bulgaria for repairing Russian-made Mikoyan MiG-29 aircraft in service with the Bulgarian Air Force. The contract envisages the repair of six engines and temporary use of two Polish-made engines for two years. The repair of each of the engines will cost 1.023 million [$1.13 million], transport expenses will be paid by the Polish side, Tass Defense reported today.
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10/23/2015
China’s government-owned aviation industry has an expansion plan in Africa to promote sales of Chinese-made aircraft that includes an aviation training center, regional marketing offices, maintenance centers, and spare-parts warehouses, TheDiplomat reports. China says at least 80 percent of training aircraft operated by African air forces are Chinese-made and it wants to increase exports of combat aircraft, according to the report.
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10/23/2015
One member of a U.S. special operations force was killed during an overnight mission to rescue hostages held by Islamic State militants in northern Iraq, the first American to die in ground combat with the militant group, U.S. officials said on Thursday. Sixty-nine hostages were rescued in the action, which targeted an Islamic State prison around 7 kilometers north of the town of Hawija, according to the security council of the Kurdistan region, whose counterterrorism forces took part.
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10/23/2015
The U.S. Navy accepted the first MH-60R helicopter slated for Denmark from Lockheed Martin in a ceremony today at the Lockheed Martin facility in Owego, New York. "We are excited to accept this aircraft bound for Denmark," said Rear Adm. CJ Jaynes, program executive officer for air anti-submarine warfare, assault and special mission programs, which oversees the U.S. Navy's H-60 program office.
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10/23/2015
Lockheed Martin received $176.1 million in contracts from the U.S. Air Force for Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod-Sensor Enhancement (ATP-SE) production and upgrade kits that will convert Sniper ATPs to the ATP-SE configuration. Sniper ATP-SE has improved sensors, a two-way datalink and algorithms that increase air-to-ground, air-to-air and maritime targeting capability. Upgrade kits consist of line replaceable units that will be installed in fielded ATPs. Deliveries of pods and upgrade kits will b
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10/23/2015
Lockheed Martin successfully completed the maiden flight of the F-16V, the latest and most advanced F-16 on the market today. The October 16 flight marks the first time an F-16 has flown with Northrop Grumman’s advanced APG-83 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR), which will deliver a quantum leap in capability for the venerable F-16.
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10/21/2015
Behind the provocative rhetoric by American and Chinese officials over the plan of the United States to test freedom of navigation in the South China Sea after China reclaimed some 2,900 acres of land in the disputed waters, there are efforts by both countries to avoid war. Especially hostilities breaking out over unintentional incidents as tension increase in the area claimed by China, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
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10/21/2015
In 1996, when China tried to intimidate voters on Taiwan by firing missiles close to the island, U.S. President Bill Clinton swiftly sent in two aircraft-carrier battle groups. His blunt message to Beijing: back off. America was at the zenith of its power, while China was virtually defenseless at sea and in the air, so the Pentagon could afford to act with swagger. A conflict, had China been foolish enough to provoke one, would have exposed its chronic military backwardness.
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10/21/2015
The state-owned Chinese company International Aero Development Corporation (IADC) recently launched an ambitious new expansion plan in Africa, according to Defense News. This includes an aviation training center, two regional marketing offices, two maintenance and support centers, and three spare-parts warehouses to promote sales and maintenance for Chinese-made aircraft.
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10/21/2015
U.S. adversaries including China, Russia, and Iran are developing military capabilities that will allow them to compete with shrinking and aging American forces in the coming years, according to a new report. The report, authored by the American Enterprise Institute and the Foreign Policy Initiative, warns that U.S. adversaries have been bolstering their militaries and purchasing cheaper weapon systems as the United States cuts its defense budget and delays acquisition of new equipment.
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10/21/2015
US defense contractor Lockheed Martin’s prospects for selling its F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter-bomber to Canada took a serious blow when Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party won Canada’s general election, according to media reports.
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10/21/2015
Mere hours after defeating Stephen Harper, Canadian Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau has told US President Obama that he will withdraw Canadian jets from Syria and Iraq.
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10/21/2015
US Department of Defense spokesperson Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza said that members of the US-led coalition against ISIL will receive the text of the Memorandum of Understanding on deconfliction of operations in Syrian airspace.
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10/21/2015
The US military is deploying A-10 ground attack aircraft to the Incirlik airbase in Turkey, Department of Defense spokesperson Peter Cook told reporters on Tuesday. About a dozen of the planes arrived to Turkey over the weekend and are expected to fly missions against ISIL terrorists in Iraq and Syria, according to media reports.
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10/21/2015
Moscow hopes that the memorandum will concern all countries taking part in the US-led coalition's air campaign against ISIL. The US vowed to share the safety rules with all parties operating in Syria, Konashenkov added. "We believe that the signing of such a document is an important step that has practical importance."
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10/20/2015
The actions of the Russian Air Force in Syria are very effective, making it possible that soon ISIL will be capitulated and the Syrian refugees will be able to return home, according to a political analyst at George Washington University.
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