Special Purpose

Military Aviation News Archive

Russian Helicopters to Unveil New Aircraft, Drone at Innovation Expos

10/03/2015

The Days of Innovations of the Southern, Western and Central military districts are scheduled for October 5-6 in the southwest city of Rostov-on-Don, Kubinka in Moscow Region, and Yekaterinburg respectively. "The company will introduce modifications of Ka-52K, Mi-26T2, Mi-8AMTSh-VA helicopters and a VR-Technologies UAV in the Moscow region," Russian Helicopters said.

US and Russia to hold urgent talks on Syria strikes after Putin defies West, 'targets US-backed rebels' - live updates

10/02/2015

Russian air strikes risk driving Syria’s “entire opposition” into the arms of Isil, Britain warned on Wednesday, as President Vladimir Putin's jets bombed targets in three different provinces, report Harriet Alexander in New York and Roland Oliphant in Moscow.

Russians Strike Targets in Syria, but Not ISIS Areas

10/01/2015

Russian aircraft carried out a bombing attack against Syrian opposition fighters on Wednesday, including at least one group trained by the C.I.A., eliciting angry protests from American officials and plunging the complex sectarian war there into dangerous new territory.

Boeing Receives Order from India for 22 Apache and 15 Chinook Helicopters

10/01/2015

The India Minat will greatly enhance India’s capabilities across a range of militaristry of Defence has finalized its order with Boeing for production, training and support of Apache and Chinook helicopters thy and humanitarian missions. India will receive 22 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and 15 CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters. Both are the newest models of those aircraft.

Su-34: Russia’s Ultimate ISIL-Crushing Machine

10/01/2015

As Russia begins its air campaign against the self-proclaimed Islamic State terrorist group in Syria, the jet responsible is the Sukhoi Su-34 Fullback, Russia’s secret weapon in the skies.

Russia Approves Use of Armed Forces in Syria

10/01/2015

Russia’s upper house of parliament on Wednesday approved the country’s armed forces to be used abroad. The decision includes only the use of the Air Force and does not foresee any ground troops operations, Kremlin Administration Aide Sergei Ivanov said Wednesday.

Next-gen monitors to help fighter pilots cut out distractions

09/27/2015

Using optics, material sciences, electronics and precise designing to develop an advanced head-up display for aircraft. Consider a pilot in a fighter aircraft, flying at 2,000 km per hour. All the controls inside the cockpit are placed either besides the pilot’s seat or at positions for which he needs to divert his attention from his ‘forward vision’. A pilot needs to change his line of vision repeatedly to keep track of information like airspeed, heading scale, climb descent rate, angle of atta

Russia's T-50 5th Generation Fighter Jets to Enter Service in 2017

09/27/2015

Russia’s Sukhoi T-50 fifth generation prototype fighter jets will enter into service with the Russian Armed Force in 2017, Russian Air and Space Forces Commander Col. Gen. Viktor Bondarev told reporters Saturday.

Our shrinking military power

09/26/2015

Over a period of nearly 10 years, the Harper government has been at pains to project an image of Canada as a military nation and a military power. It has done so in a wide variety of ways. It lavishly celebrated the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, even though that war took place long before Canada was a nation and primarily pitted the forces of Great Britain and the United States against each other.

America's F-35 Stealth Fighter vs. China's New J-31: Who Wins?

09/26/2015

Recently revealed details concerning China’s Shenyang J-31 fighter suggest that the aircraft not only looks like the Pentagon’s Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), but it also offers comparable aerodynamic performance. But the real question is how far along Beijing has come in the development of subsystems like radars and engines. Moreover, there is the question of how well Chinese industry can integrate all of those disparate technologies into an operational aircraft.

India is Sharing Secrets of Its Predator-Like Drone to Boost Military

09/24/2015

India is opening up the designs of its first indigenously developed drones to domestic private companies, seeking to spur further technological advances and encourage manufacturing as Prime Minister Narendra Modi modernizes the military.

Search still on for missing military aircraft, pilots

09/24/2015

The military has yet to locate an AT-3 Air Force Academy training aircraft and its two pilots after the plane lost contact with air traffic controllers on Tuesday during a routine training flight. In a statement, the Ministry of National Defense said it set up a search and rescue center shortly after the incident to look for the pilots and the aircraft that was last seen on radar screens in skies over central Taiwan early Tuesday afternoon.

Chinese Military Aircraft Intercepts US Spy Plane, Performs 'Unsafe' Maneuver Over Yellow Sea

09/24/2015

A Chinese military aircraft performed an “unsafe” maneuver while intercepting a U.S. spy plane last week, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday. The incident was revealed the same day that China’s President Xi Jinping touched down in the United States for a weeklong and potentially pivotal visit, according to Reuters.

Rejected U.S. tech transfer jeopardizes S. Korea’s KF-X project

09/24/2015

South Korea’s ambitious project to develop an indigenous fighter jet is running into a major impasse as the United States’ rejection of a core technology transfer sent the country scrambling to find replacements for the multi-billion dollar project. In what would be one of South Korea’s biggest defense projects, the country has been pushing the Korean Fighter Experimental, or KF-X, project, also dubbed locally “Boramae.”

Russia's Su-35 Fighter vs. America's F-16 Fighting Falcon: Who Wins?

09/24/2015

The Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon has been the mainstay of the U.S. and allied air forces for decades. Over the years, the aircraft has evolved from a lightweight visual range dogfighter into a potent multirole warplane that flies the gamut of missions ranging from the suppression of enemy air defenses to air superiority.

Here’s how the Russian Air Force moved 28 aircraft to Syria (almost) undetected

09/24/2015

Satellite imagery released in the last couple of days has exposed the presence of 28 Russian aircraft at al-Assad airfield, near Latakia, in western Syria. The photographs taken from space gave us the possibility to identify the combat planes as 4x Su-30SMs, 12x Su-25s (based on their color scheme, these are Su-25SMs belonging to the 368th Assault Aviation Regiment from Budyonnovsk) and 12 Su-24M2s along with about a dozen helicopters, including 10 Mi-24PN, Mi-35M and a couple of Mi-8AMTSh.

Nigerian Troops Free Hundreds of Women, Children, Arrest Boko Haram Leader

09/24/2015

An operation launched Tuesday by the Nigerian military in the villages of Jangurori and Bulatori rescued 241 women and children from two camps controlled by the Boko Haram terrorist group.

Upgraded Anti-Submarine Planes Enter Russia's Pacific Fleet

09/24/2015

Russia’s modernized anti-submarine warfare planes have entered into service with Russia’s Pacific Fleet, the aircraft’s developer announced Wednesday. "The Il-38N anti-submarine planes [NATO reporting name May] upgraded by the Ilyushin Aviation Complex has entered service with the Naval Aviation of the Russian Pacific Fleet," the developer’s press service said in a statement.

Researchers unveiled cloaking technology that the US military has been waiting for

09/23/2015

Breakthrough research from the University of California-San Diego could take the US military one step closer towards having cloaked aircraft and drones. Researchers Li Yi Hsu, Thomas Lepetit, and Boubacar Kante have succeeded in creating an ultra thin “dielectric metasurface cloak,” which is composed of a multitude of ceramic cylinders embedded into a layer of Teflon.

The China Challenge: Island-building — a military threat in the South China Sea

09/23/2015

New details surfaced last week outlining Chinese military activities in the South China Sea where construction on several thousand acres of disputed islands is now the center of Beijing’s bid to gain control the strategic waterway. Despite appeals from US leaders to halt the island construction and militarization on them, the build up of military facilities by China in the South China Sea is continuing.

Russia Added numerous Aircraft to expand their Military in Syria

09/23/2015

One of the officials told AFP of the additional presence of around 20 combat helicopters and said Russian forces are flying surveillance drones over the Middle Eastern nation’s airspace. “The equipment and personnel just keep flowing in,” another official told the Times. “They were very busy over the weekend.” According to the New York Times, Russia’s military presence in Syria also includes at least three surface-to-air missiles, nine tanks and around 500 marines.

Marines on the hunt for gear to combat tomorrow's threat

09/23/2015

Post-Afghanistan missions will likely be dispersed and unpredictable, creating unique challenges for leaders who develop the gear Marines need to defeat the enemy. Framing those efforts is Expeditionary Force 21, the Corps' 10-year road map that predicts Marines will be conducting crisis response missions that could leave small teams of Marines deployed independently for weeks at a time, said Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh.

US A-10s arrive in Estonia for 6-month rotation

09/23/2015

Twelve A-10s arrived Monday at Amari Air Base in Estonia, the first stop in a deployment to Europe that’s expected to last about six months, the Air Force said Tuesday. The deployment marks the second time the Warthogs have been sent to Europe as part of a so-called theater security package.

THE RAAF’S AIR COMBAT GROUP: MIDDLE EAST OPERATIONS AND THE WAY AHEAD

09/23/2015

During my visit to Australia in August 2015, I had a chance to talk with an experienced fighter pilot and squadron commander, and now commander of Air Combat Group about his time in Operation Okra and the way ahead for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

Northrop Grumman and Selex Combine To Offer IRST Pod

09/23/2015

At the AFA Conference last week, Northrop Grumman (NG) and Selex ES revealed details of the InfraRed Search and Track (IRST) pod that they are proposing to meet a new U.S. Air Force requirement. The transatlantic partnership is building on NG’s new concept of an Open Pod that can be adapted for various tasks, including communications, electronic warfare and targeting.